The Ride of Her Life

Mary Ann Sciavillo-Lopez                                       Word Count: 1999

3181 N. Brackenfern Pt.

Beverly Hills, FL 34465

352-409-3506

Maresmail759@aol.com

The Ride of Her Life

By Mary Ann Sciavillo-Lopez

Finally, Friday. Seemed like the weekend would never come, Jessica thought as she pressed the down-arrow to retrieve an elevator to the sixteenth floor of her company. As the elevator’s doors slowly opened, it didn’t surprise her to see that there were no other passengers in the cab.

No one else is foolish enough to work late on a Friday night… guess I’m the only one with nothing special planned, she considered.

“TGIF,” Jessica said aloud to no one.

Though the single women in her office were gracious enough to include her in their plans; dinner, dancing, or to view the latest romance flick, Jessica didn’t have a desire to socialize, not since her fiancé passed away.

Two years next week already.

An undiagnosed blood clot, sustained after falling off a ladder while hanging Christmas decorations on the roof of Jessica’s house, had traveled to his brain.

“Nothing you could have done… no symptoms to alert you.” The ER doctor consoled her. Even still, Jessica felt his death was her fault. She had finally met the man of her dreams and now he’s gone.

I just had to have the best-decorated house, for a foolish prize of a spa day. She repeated her usual mantra.

She shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. She entered the elevator just as the doors began to close.

The elevator journeyed only one floor when it jolted to an unexpected stop, catching Jessica off guard. She immediately felt vulnerable by the intrusion of a likely stranger entering. The doors glided open, and in walked a breathtakingly handsome man. He nodded in greeting at Jessica; a wide grin displayed deep dimples. He obviously wasn’t office personnel; he was dressed too casually in faded jeans and an aqua t-shirt that complemented his piercing blue eyes. He carried a toolbox in one hand and an oversized lunch box in the other.

“H-hello.” Jessica managed to say while trying to calm her momentary anxiety as he bent his six-foot-plus frame to press the “Close” door button.

She made a mental list of small talk, as the elevator began its descent, but she didn’t get the chance to engage in any conversation. Her thoughts were interrupted by the elevator lights flickering, leaving them momentarily in complete darkness until dull emergency lights glinted on.

A loud grinding noise resonating above them. The elevator began to shake violently It sounded as if the cables were about to snap, and then it came to an abrupt stop, tossing Jessica off balance. She twisted her ankle as the heel of one of her shoes broke off. The momentum tossed her into the arms of the stranger. He caught her in the nick-of-time and steadied her back up.

“Thank you,” Jessica whispered.

Pain immediately inflamed Jessica’s foot and up to her ankle as she tried to put her foot down. She groaned and grabbed onto the cabs guardrail so as not to fall.

“Are you alright?” the stranger asked.

“Not really. I twisted my ankle.” Jessica removed her broken shoe. She took her phone out of her pocketbook and turned on its flashlight. She inspected her ankle; bruising had already started to discolor her skin. The stranger kneeled by her.

“Mind if I take a look.”

Jessica shook her head. “Please.”

He gently lifted her foot onto his thigh and took a closer look. “Hmm, looks like a possible sprain. I have an ice pack in my lunchbox. Here, sit.” He helped Jessica to a sitting position and then retrieved the ice pack and handed it to her.

“Thank you,” Jessica said.

“You are welcome. I’m Zad, by the way.” His dimples smiled at her again.

“Jessica,” she shyly replied.

“I’m living out my worst nightmare,” Jessica stated, an octave higher than her normally soft voice.

“Fear of dark places?”

“No, claustrophobia, but the barely-there lights sure don’t help. Maybe you should try the emergency telephone.”

“Good idea,” Zed said. He grabbed ahold of the handle on the door of the metal phone box and yanked it open. He held the phone to his ear, their only lifeline to the building’s security.

Zad shook his head. “Dead.”

“Oh, great.”

Jessica opened her smartphone and turned it on to dial 911.

“No signal. This just keeps getting better.” She let out a nervous giggle. She couldn’t clearly see her elevator companion’s reaction to her panic, thankful that the dullness hid the tears welling up in her eyes.

“Try to relax,” he said as he sat alongside her and stretched out his long legs. “The best thing we can do is remain calm, keep your anxiety at bay.”

Jessica nodded in agreement, biting her bottom lip in the hope of suppressing her tears.

“Well, Jessica, it might be a little while before anyone realizes that we’re stuck in here, but no worries, my bag is well stocked. I’ve got several bottles of water, one- and one-half sub sandwiches, and several snacks that weren’t eaten. We’ll be just fine.” He opened the box, took out a bottle of water for each of them, and handed one to her.

“Thanks,” Jessica responded.

“You’re very welcome.”

“That’s quite the lunchbox you have there.”

“Oh, I always carry extra in case someone doesn’t have enough to eat.”

Jessica smiled. So sweet, she thought.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their water.

“Hey, I got an idea! How about if we occupy our time telling bits of our life’s

stories… some pleasant and happy memories.” Zad interrupted her ‘feeling sorry for herself’ thoughts, as her mother so often called Jessica’s sadness.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Zad said.

She felt his warm hand graze her wrist; it sent a shiver up her arm, as he found her hand and took it in his. “So, what about that story you promised.”

“That I prom...,” Jessica chuckled, realizing that he was teasing. “Okay. Umm. Oh, I know. My fiancé, John, and I were taking a walk one snowy Saturday, in the park off Regent Street, with our new Labradoodle. It was the puppy’s first experience with snow. We let him off his leash. He was hopping all around, like a bunny and burrowing his nose in all of the snowdrifts.” Jessica paused at the memory. “John and I started having a snowball fight. Well, Gabrielle must have thought ‘wow, a bunch of white balls appearing out of nowhere for me to chase.’ Before we knew it, Gabe had followed one snowball across the pond. What could Gabe possibly know of ice? His gait was already awkward; his body still hadn’t quite grown into his long legs, when all of a sudden his four paws flew out in four different directions,” Jessica giggled, demonstrating what the dog had looked like, spreading her arms out wide.

“He couldn’t stand. The more he tried, the harder it was for him to get his balance. Poor Gabe was whining. John started to make his way out to Gabe, very gingerly I might add, afraid that the ice might crack under him. The water wasn’t more than a foot-deep underneath, but too cold to want to get wet. So, John decided to get on all fours too and, ever so slowly, advanced toward Gabrielle. It felt like he managed about an inch a minute because it took him forever to reach Gabe, who, by now, was too distraught to move. Anyway, John managed to grab a hold of him by his harness and he slid him to dry land while still on his hands and knees. Meanwhile, I captured it all on my cell’s video. Oh, wait, I have it saved in the cloud. Want to see?”

“I’d love to.”

Jessica pushed several buttons on her phone and leaned closer to Zad, displaying the screen for both to watch. They laughed as the scene played out.

“You have a nice laugh,” Jessica commented. “Robust…real…like my Johnny.”

“You have a nice laugh too, Jessica.” He paused. “You know, it’s okay to laugh.”

She looked up at him. Odd thing for him to say. She wondered if he knew John.

“John passed away two years ago next week. Gabe has been my lifesaver now.” Jessica revealed.

“You're still mourning him.”

“Yes.” I’m confiding to a complete stranger, but she didn’t feel awkward talking to Zad about John.

“Life goes on, Jessica. God doesn’t want you to forget to live. John was a good Christian man. He would want you to go on living…and love again.”

“You knew John.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t remember you. Did I see you at his wake?”

“I was there.” He paused again. “Jessica, I know that you are a believer. Why won’t you accept that John has moved on and so must you.”

“I do. I do believe that. But why did God have to take him from me so soon?” Jessica's voice revealed anger, her voice crack. Tears she could no longer hold back streamed down her cheeks.

“You know God’s reasons are not always ours. You can keep focusing on the whys or you can find comfort in knowing that John is where he is supposed to be when he was supposed to be, nothing more, nothing less.”

“I accept that, I do, I do as a Christian, but everyone wants me to fall in love again. Johnny was my life, my one true love. I don’t want anyone else.”

“Well, you can find love again, Jessica, and you will. Do you honestly believe that God doesn’t have someone else set in your path? Do you think He only gave you one chance at love? Our God is awesome. He wants His children to be joyous. There’s someone looking for you right now if only you would give yourself permission to feel again. It’s been two years Jessica…live.”

“How? I’m not much for bar hopping or with people setting me up on blind dates.”

“No, you don’t have to meet new people that way. Just be open to those around you.”

Jessica smile nervously. Zad returned the smile and squeezed her hand.

A voice sounded outside the elevator interrupting their silence. “Hello!”

“Did you hear someone?” Zad asked.

Jessica nodded and quickly stood up on one foot and shouted towards the door. “Hello!” She banged on the door. “We’re stuck in the elevator. Please get us help.”

The voice yelled back. “Yes, we know. We are the help. Hold on a few more minutes. We’ll have you out in a jiffy.”

“Oh, thank God,” Jessica replied. “I was beginning to think we might be stuck in here until Monday.”

“Hey, no problem,” Zad teased. “I have plenty of supplies to hold us over.”

The elevator lights flickered back on. Jessica took a deep breath of relief. She bent over and grabbed her bag and shoes off the floor.

“Be happy, Jessica.”

She turned and looked at him and smiled just as the doors were released by a crowbar. The door’s sensors were triggered, and the elevator doors slid open. Standing in the threshold, Jessica glimpsed the smiling face of a handsome fireman. His eyes appeared to twinkle upon seeing her. The building’s night security guard stood behind him, but Jessica's eyes didn’t divert.

“Oh, Th-thank you so, so much,” Jessica stuttered.

“Are you okay?” The fireman asked.

“I twisted my ankle a bit, but I’m okay.” She hopped on one foot out of the cab.

“I thought I heard you say, ‘we’re stuck,’ but you're alone.” The fireman stated.

“What do...?” Jessica looked behind her. Zad was gone. “How…?”

“Are you sure you’re okay? Did you hit your head?”

Her legs suddenly felt wobbly, but not from her injury. What just happened, where’s Zad, she thought.

“Here,” The fireman wrapped his arm around Jessica’s waist.” Let me help you. We’ll have to walk down the flight of stairs.

“Okay.” Jessica stuttered.

“Hi, I’m Joe.”

Jessica’s heart leaped. She understood now and smiled. “I’m Jessica. Nice to meet you.”