Bridge

Bridge

The temperature outside the beat up station wagon dropped a few more degrees as the night lingered on and the snow fell onto the waiting street, hindering visibility and drivability as well. Still, Mark Smith pushed on the gas trying his best to force his way through.

The road itself was a two lane road somewhere away from the main road and it had little lighting except for the headlamps of other passing vehicles. Mark noted that as he continued onward, there seemed to be fewer and fewer vehicles on the road.

Mark still pressed on. He had been away from home for a weekend company trip and his wife had stayed behind to hold down the fort so to speak and he was anxious to get back to her. So with that in mind, he kept on driving through the snow swept night until.. he had to come to a stop right next to a yellow barrier and 2 police officers.

One of them, dressed in a thick coat and rain hat came to the driver's side door and motioned him to roll down the window. Mark complied and asked the officer what had happened. The officer sighed and looked at him again as a f dreading telling him bad news.

"Sir," she began, "I hate to tell you this, but you'll have to turn around. That bridge over there is out. Sorry."

Mark opened his mouth to speak but just as he was about to , he heard an unexpected sputtering and he saw smoke coming from the hood of his car. The other officer came forward and observed the scene and shook his head in dismay while grabbing his radio and started talking into it.

The first officer looked at Mark and softened her expression more as Mark continued to stare aimlessly into space...

"It's okay, sir. My partner is calling a tow for you, but it's going to be a bit in this."

He gazed back at her with eyes that she could see were like those of a child who was pleading to make it all better. His eyes glistened with tears as he hit his head against the steering wheel whispering "why, why why?"

The other officer came by and said that the tow had been called but that would take an hour or more to get there.

The female officer turned back Mark and asked for his name.

Mark looked at her and said "Mark Smith" and he fumbled with his wallet and vehicle registration.

"Okay, Mark,. I don't need all of that. We're not gonna arrest anyone for breaking down in a snow storm. We do want to make sure to get you to a warm place, so I would like you to step out of the car so we can get inside."

"Inside? Inside where? Look , I have been away from my wife for too long and she is expecting me. I have never been late from one of these before. Never! I have to get home"

"Mr. Smith, I get it" shaking her head and fixing her steely blue eyes at him, "but tell me,.if you die out here from frostbite or exposure, do you think she would thank you for it?"

Mark looked at the officer with his tear.staines eyes and shook his head.

"Come on,.now.. I'll buy you a cup of hot chocolate. Mind the fort, a bit, Jimmy, I'll be back."

Jimmy, the other officer, saluted and returned to monitoring the road block.

Mark followed the officer to the little cafe that he hadn't noticed before and a man behind the counter had them to sit down at the bar. The officer took of her hat,. revealing a head of blonde hair streaked with grey.

Mark cleared his throat a bit before speaking.

"You know,.I never got your name officer..."

"Hobbs...Marcia Hobbs. Here you go," she said as she passed him a steaming hot cup of hot chocolate and proceeded to have some herself.

"I appreciate your kindness, Officer Hobbs. I am very grateful"

The lines on her face, curved upwards forming a grin as she looked at him.

"Years ago,.I had husband - a good husband. ". She took another sip before continuing. "He and I were.so in love and people said we were inseparable and for a while, we were."

Mark took a sip of the hot chocolate and the sweetness of seemed to calm his nerves a little.

"One night, a night like tonight,.he went to go get some ingredients that I had forgotten for a meal I was preparing for the holidays.

He never came back.

A tear escaped her eyes as she continued. For a while, I thought maybe he was just delayed by the storm. The next day I reported his disappearance to the police but they didn't find anything trace of him. I thought maybe he had walked out on me"

About a week later,.they found his body. He had lost control of his car and had crashed down a ravine."

She paused a moment to wipe a away a tear and put her cup on the counter.

Mark looked down at his cup and noticed that he had finished all the hot chocolate and he turned to look at her. "What was his name?"

"John. His name was John. What's your wife's name?"

"Melanie"

Mark turned back to the man behind the counter and he asked for refill for both of them. When the cups had been refilled, he turned back to Officer Hobbs and raised his cup.

"To John"

Hobbs raised her cup in return and said "to Melanie" and they both comsumed the hot drinks as the snow continued to fall outside.

The tow truck eventually arrived and Mark was able to call his wife, Melanie and let her know what had happened. He tried to apologize to her for not arriving on time, but she wouldn't hear of this and told him.that she was just grateful that he was safe. In tears, he thanked her and thanked the officers for their assistance.

On that snowy night, Mark and Officer Hobbs agreed to meet up again in a year at this same cafe to drink hot chocolate and say a toast to their spouses.

Officer Hobbs

eventually married another person, but she still met up with Mark once a year.