It's winter in the year 1974. A time before everyone had cell phones, and, if a car had a seat belt, it was a simple lap seat belt.
^^^
The evening news television reporter had his 'serious news' face on as he said, "Drivers were stranded on a fifty-mile section of Interstate 95 below the nation's capital."
The network broadcasted an aerial video that showed hundreds of cars not moving. They were packed on the highway behind jackknifed trucks and random cars that had slid into one another and off the road.
The anchor said, "Some were caught in this massive traffic jam for up to twenty-four hours. They spent the night huddled in their vehicles in below-freezing weather.
"Here is a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Transportation."
The screen showed a middle-aged woman. The chyron at the bottom of the television screen identified her as Marcie Parker.
The tape rolled, and Marcie said, 'It was the perfect recipe for a disaster. Northern Virginia's usual traffic congestion was made worse by falling sleet and snow. Then, several tractor-trailers jackknifed in Stafford County. That stopped all traffic on the interstate.
"We apologize to those who were trapped on the highway. No one predicted that the storm would dump so much snow and that there'd be so many accidents.
"The on and off-ramps were out of commission, and the highway too. The roads were blocked by cars and trucks. Some had been in accidents. Others spun out or slid off the road due to the ice and snow. We couldn't get our salt trucks and plows onto the highway."
The tape ended. The news anchor re-appeared and said, "By noon today, the road was reopened."
"Wow! That's unbelievable," Ernie said. "I didn't realize so many people were caught in that mess."
His wife, Edith, guffawed and said, "Six members of your family spent a frigid night on that road."
Ernie hugged and kissed his wife of forty-five years, looked at those in the room, and said, "You poor things. Trapped on the highway in the cold. I was beside myself with worry, wondering where you were."
"It was awful. Thank goodness I wasn't alone," Edith said. She smiled at her grandson.
"It would have been unbearable," Haley, Ernie's granddaughter, said, "if Dad hadn't been with me to keep me warm and kept my spirits up."
Her father's face turned red.
Gary, Ernie's and Edith's son-in-law, hugged his wife Gwyn, and joked, "It wasn't so bad. We got a break from the kids!"
Everyone laughed.
Gwyn gave her brawny husband a smooch on the cheek and said, "We had some quality time alone and tied our record for most whoopie in a twenty-four-hour period!"
"Gwyn! Please," Ernie chastised his daughter. "There are children present."
"No. There aren't," Gwyn said. "Haley is eighteen, and Hugh is twenty. We had to do something to pass the time and keep warm. What did the rest of you do?"
Edith stepped forward and intervened before anyone attempted to answer Gywn's question. She said, "We are thankful that everyone is safe. We got through the awful ordeal by relying on each other. We're a day late, but let's celebrate Ernie's seventieth birthday."
Gary got his young children from the other room, where they were watching cartoons.
The family gathered around the dining room table. Hank brought out a small section of cake with one candle.
"Is that all that's left of the birthday cake?" Edith asked.
"We were stuck in the car for twenty-three hours," her son said. "Our only provisions were a case of red wine and the cake. We ate cake and drank wine to survive."
The family laughed and sang "Happy Birthday" to Ernie.
Ernie smiled and blew out the candles.
^^^The day before^^^
Edith called her son, Hank, around ten-thirty a.m. and asked, "Do you have the birthday cake?"
"Not yet," Hank said. "My shop is open half a day on Saturdays. Haley and I will close it at noon, grab a bite to eat, and pick up the cake. We'll be on time for Dad's party."
"Good. Thanks for doing that," she said. "I'm getting my hair done, and sometimes the hairdresser runs late."
"Is it a problem for you to pick up Hugh?" Hank asked.
"No. I'll be driving by his college. I've called him. He's ready."
"Okay," Hank said. "See you later. Bye."
"Bye," his mom said.
^^^ 1:12 p.m. December 20, 1974, in Northern Virginia^^^
"Ah!" Haley screamed as her father, Hank, put on the brakes and brought his light green 1970 Chevy Impala to a sudden stop. Instinctively, his hand shot out to catch his eighteen-year-old daughter.
The car had a lap seat belt. However, only fourteen percent of Americans used them regularly. Hank didn't have his on. He assumed his daughter wasn't wearing hers. Especially when he saw her head fly toward the dashboard and windshield.
The lap seat belt kept her butt in her seat, but her head and torso were thrown forward.
His protective right hand wasn't needed to keep her face from hitting the windshield.
The car stopped.
Father and daughter looked at his hand which clutched her left breast, and their faces turned red.
"Ah. Ah. Sorry for touching you there," Hank apologized as he removed his hand from her soft feminine flesh. He looked embarrassed as he added, "For some reason, the cars in front of us stopped."
"I wonder if there's a magnet in my breasts that attracts male hands," she said, chagrinned. "You're forgiven. This was an accident.
"Please tell me what's up with boys?" Haley asked. "Last night, at a party a half dozen guys copped a feel. They think nothing about grabbing my ass or brushing up against my boob while walking past or dancing with me.
"One of my classmates was extremely brazen. He walked up to me and put his hands on my breasts. In front of everyone, he squeezed them and hollered, 'Honk! Honk!' Like they were clown horns."
"What? You're kidding?" Hank asked. His expression changed from embarrassed to distressed.
His daughter shook her head and said, "People had been drinking. The one who groped me laughed as if he had done the funniest thing. I was too stunned to respond. People laughed. The girls too.
"I was embarrassed and left the room."
She sighed and said, "Life was simpler when I was flat-chested, and the boys ignored me."
Hank didn't know what to say, so he remained silent.
Haley looked at her chest, giggled, and said, "Can you believe my boobs have gotten this big? Most girls got their period and boobs while in middle school. Nothing happened to me. I didn't get my period until I was fifteen.
"I thought I'd be slim and have small breasts, like Mom, and then the summer before my senior year of high school, after my eighteenth birthday, I went from an A cup to a C. I got hips and a butt, and suddenly, boys noticed me.
"I wasn't ready for the attention I got. The other girls don't get flustered by a crude comment or a pinch on the bum. I'm nervous and unsure of myself around boys."
Haley looked at her Dad. He had an odd expression on his face. She asked, "Are you uncomfortable with the topic? This is the kind of thing I'd talked to Mom about, but she passed away two years ago."
Hank looked like he was in pain.
Haley asked, "I know you love Mom and miss her. Does it hurt that I mentioned her?" She looked concerned and confused.