Gear Change

Being late February there was an extra sliver of light in the evening. An intense orange glow lit up the western sky as the sun sank beneath the horizon.

Sally and her mum, Anna, took one last look at what was left among the remnants of Christmas bargains.

Ever since Sally had begun to attend St Nicholas's Girls School six months earlier, she had looked longingly across the street at the 'Cool Dude' shopping centre. With some money left over from her Christmas presents she wanted to have a peek.

On Wednesday afternoons, Mum came by to pick up Sally. With a hint of Spring in the air, the pair entered the 'Cool Dude.'

It wasn't long until the crowds thinned out and lights were being hastily switched off.

A long queue of cars had formed and were slowly exiting the car park.

Darkness had fallen and snow flurries began to swirl.

Sally and Anna beat a hastier retreat than they had planned. Grabbing their purchases they were soon warm inside their red Peugeot. Anna eventually edged onto the motorway.

Within minutes, strong winds began to gust. Snow flurries increased and created blizzard-like conditions.

Sally leaned back in the passenger seat and plugged in her earphones, bopping happily to her favourite tunes.

Anna gripped the steering wheel ever tighter. It was at times like this she really missed her darling Tom's comforting words that he always trotted out in a crisis.' Don't worry my darling. We have each other. All will be well.'

But that was then and this is now. Five years felt like a long time since Tom's untimely passing. How often she longed to hear his voice and feel his touch.

'Mum,' Sally shouted,' look ahead, car broken down, they're trying to push it ..a woman is trying to push it on her own.'

Anna knew only too well the sheer loneliness of trying to do everything on your own.

Sally's phone pinged. Sally laughed heartily. Her brother Mario had just arrived at home and realised he had forgotten his house key.

'Damn,' he screamed down the phone.

'Serves you right, bro, ' Sally shot back.' Get up in time in the morning and get your stuff ready..ha ha!'

Anna smiled knowingly to herself, almost hearing the echo of her own parental words in her teenage daughter's voice.

Anna steered the Peugeot steadily and slowly along the snow-covered motorway. How grateful she was for the gizmos of the electronic age. Sally was busy laughing and chatting via Social Media.

'Look, Mum,' she murmured, 'isn't he so cute, Amy's Shitzu loves plonking his little paws in the snowdrift.'

'Snowdrift,' Anna shot back,' is it already a snowdrift?'

Anna knew if it weren't already a snowdrift, it would be soon.

Arriving at exit 19 they had difficulty taking the left turn in the piled-up snow. Anna wondered what might now lie ahead.

By now the February moon was high in the sky illuminating the layers of virgin snow that lay all around.

At the junction, a lone policeman stood with a high- viz jacket and a flashlight.

Seeing him raising his right hand, Anna attempted to come to a halt. The tyres skidded. Anna flinched.

A long line of rear red car lights now stretched far ahead.

Anna positioned the car in the thick layer of snow.

'Night Madam,' the policeman said,' motorists are obliged to wait here for clearance. Traffic worse than expected in these conditions.'

Pulling on the handbrake, Anna fished out her woollen gloves from the door compartment. She set the wipers to clear the windscreen intermittently.

Snow now almost reached up to the top of the policeman's goloshes.

Sally's phone pinged again. 'Where the hell are you?'Mario shouted down the phone.

'S-hh,' Sally whispered, 'there's a policeman standing by the car door.

The policeman plodded around making little circles in the snowdrifts to keep warm. Sometimes he took a long look into the car on the driver's side.

Sally felt a little uncomfortable.

Muffled messages echoed out on the policeman's walkie-talkie.

'Madam,' if you please, may I see your driving licence?'

Reaching into the back seat, Anna took her backpack and rummaged furiously. Finally, she found it.

The policeman shone his torch directly on to it and glanced again at Anna.

'Mrs Anna Smith from Glendsale?' he asked.

'Yes officer, that is correct,' Anna replied, staring into the blizzard.

'Such a fuss about papers,' she murmured to herself at a time like this.

'Was ever so sorry to hear of your late husband Tom's passing. Good mate of mine. Jim, Jim Baker's the name. Played football together at training camp.'

Anna figured it would be polite to sit up and pay attention.

Staring back at the officer, she could now make out his features beneath his policeman's cap.

'Yes,' she said to herself.

A lot greyer at the temples now. Jim Baker. She remembered how distraught he was that afternoon when he dropped by after his wife's tragic accident.

Pulling herself together in the freezing conditions, she replied, 'yes, Mr Baker, my late husband often spoke of your football prowess. Seems you could have made a career out of it.'

Anna didn't particularly care what she said at this stage, as she sat shivering in the arctic-like night. She just wished she could get home and make a hot toddy.

The traffic ahead began to move slowly forward.

Policeman Jim stretched his gloved hand through the car window to return the documents.

Holding her gaze momentarily he said, 'Mrs Smith, would you like to attend our club's next football match, as my guest, just for old times' sake?'

Beneath the glow of the moonlight, she could see the glint in his dark brown eyes.

Something stirred within her.

Sally was blissfully unaware of events unfolding on the other side of the car.

As the cars edged slowly forward, Anna engaged the gears but not before she had, with a smile on her face, said 'I'd love to Jim.'

Jim waved the mother and daughter onwards.

Anna wondered why she had begun to feel a warm glow again. Now the world didn't feel such an alien place anymore.

Perhaps her beloved Tom was still watching over her with those reassuring words 'All will be well.'

*********************