Free Trapped Under Ice by M. J. Schiller Page B

Chad?”
    Beth started, her eyes darting to Cassie and then back to the road. “No, Cassie. No. What could have possibly happened with Chad? I’m just…not feeling well, is all.”
    Cassie frowned. The look said she wasn’t buying what her mom was trying to sell. Luckily, she seemed to decide it was better not to push as they continued the ride in silence.
    Still, weeks went by and Beth continued to live in the same sort of fog. She’d sit down to the computer to write and get up hours later, having added nothing to her latest book. After several wasted afternoons, she decided to keep the laptop closed for a while, until inspiration hit her. Blessed with another mild winter day, she decided to go for a speed walk to try to clear her head.
    No matter how fast she walked, her problems seemed to keep pace. For some unknown reason, she flashed back to a Christmas before Cassie was born.
     
    Beth’s family rented out a bed and breakfast in Pennsylvania for the weekend. She and Paul were looking forward to the getaway, because after a year of trying to get pregnant, they discovered she was experiencing some fertility problems. Her eggs were maturing, but not being released properly, so they started a course of daily shots. After months of disappointments, they were putting their hopes in the doctors. However, the heartbreak of all the ups and downs they experienced as they waited for their family to grow took its toll on them both.
    Lugging bags up the stairs of their B&B, they found their bedroom, high above the others. With an irregularly sloped ceiling and a canopied bed, she thought it was charming.
    “Oh, Paul. This is fantastic.”
    She was lying on the bed, soaking in the atmosphere, when Paul sat down beside her. “I have a surprise for you.”
    “Oh yeah?” she answered, her voice honeyed-seduction.
    “Not that,” he responded, tapping her lip once, “although I might take you up on that later. Sit up.”
    “Okay.”
    “Close your eyes. Okay…now open them.”
    Lying on the bed was a candy bar.
    “Did you get this at the gas station? That’s so sweet. You know that’s my favorite.” She kissed him.
    “Is there anything else?”
    “Huh?” she said, already opening her candy bar. She looked back down on the bed. Nestled in the quilt where the chocolate had been, a diamond/sapphire anniversary band lay in the folds. “Oh my gosh, Paul!” she squealed. “I can’t believe it!”
    He laughed. “Well, try it on.”
    “It’s beautiful.” She started crying. “I’ve got to show Dana.” She flew out of the room, running down the stairs to find her little sister.
    She heard him mutter as she reached the next floor. “How about that? I get a kiss for a candy bar, and she runs out on me for a ring. Go figure.” The sound of his laughter followed.
     
    Then, like a twist in some horror movie, Beth was transported to another time.
     
    “Is this Mrs. Paul Donovan?”
    A chill ran up her spine. Paul was away on a business trip. “Y-yes.”
    Then, the hesitation. “Mrs. Donovan, I’m calling from the Aurora Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.” Beth felt her knees starting to buckle. “Your husband was in a serious car accident...” The rest she barely heard. “His injuries were extensive…we used every measure available to us...”
     
    A car horn blew. She had come to a complete halt in the entrance to a convenience store parking lot. She scurried out of the way as the beat-up Beetle pulled into the parking lot. It had begun to snow again. She closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky, wondering how it was a drunk driver was able to rob her of the man she loved with her whole heart. She trudged the rest of the way home, numb from more than the cold.
     
    ***          
     
    Beth picked up the phone and was pleasantly surprised to hear the voice of her best friend, Cali.
    “Hey, babe. I think it’s time for a girls’ night. You up for it?”
    She wasn’t up for it,