Her car flew past my house that night. I had been outside with my dog and lazily walking through the yard enjoying the stars. She knew I lived there, but didn't give my home a second thought. She was in a hurry. Hurrying to leave someplace or to get to another. I wondered which?
I decided in a split second that I needed to know. I was tired of not knowing, of wondering, of hoping.
I ran inside the back door and grabbed my car keys. I placed the dog in my room and returned to where I made the decision to follow her. I got in my car and started the engine.
I followed her. By the time I pulled out, she was long gone, but there were only two directions she could have gone -- east or west. I chose east. If she were heading home, she would choose east. I chose east. I followed her.
As I pulled onto the highway, I saw far in the distance taillights from an automobile. They were too far away to distinguish neither shape nor ownership. I sped up far beyond the legal limits. My gut told me that I was following her. I followed her.
I gained on the car ahead but it wasn't easy. The driver was speeding as well. Hurrying from someplace or to something or someone. I didn't know.
The lights disappeared from view. I wasn't concerned. I knew there was a bend up ahead.
I rounded the bend and found darkness and a lonely stretch of road. The car was gone. Where? I thought with intensity. Agony. I slowed down and looked for a turn off. I found nothing.
I drove another mile or so and found a turn off. This couldn't be it. I would have seen the car on the straight stretch of road beyond the bend. I turned around.
On my return trip I saw it before the bend in the road. I saw it on the right. No wonder I didn't see it at first. The turn was right after the bend in the road. I sped past it the first time. This must be it! My pulse quickened. My body shook.
I pulled in and looked ahead. A small farmhouse sat back from the main road. I had never noticed it before in all of the years of driving this stretch of road. Light shown from the windows.
Her car was parked out front.
With a lump in my throat, I drove slowly and parked in an open space to the right. I turned the car off and sat. What am I doing? If she were to leave right now, how could she not see me, my car?
I needed to know, to stop wondering, to stop hoping. There was my answer.