The rain poured down reminiscent of the widow's tears. The wind blew and the weatherman warned that the conditions were ripe for a severe thunderstorm. Lorraine Blake was prepared. The doors and windows were shut tight and the kids were safely playing in their rooms. She hated to drive in this weather but the mortgage payment must be sent. Thankfully her mother was there to watch the kids. She didn't know what she'd do without her, especially after Henry's death. Lorraine still nearly cried every time she stopped to think about the moment she heard the news.
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She'd been rearranging the living room furniture for what must have been the third time when the dreaded telegram came that turned her world around. Even though Henry had asked her not to, she had decided to re-cover the couch with a nice floral pattern. He wouldn't mind; he never questioned her decisions regarding her housework. The tiny brown and yellow print blended perfectly with the beige carpet, which had a stain from Molly's kitten. Lorraine had just assumed there would be time to redo them.
She was humming all day; she couldn't help it. Her beloved husband was finally coming home. Of all the things she couldn't wait to say to him it was :"how are you" that would mean the most. She never once dared ask him that in her letters, for she knew how he was. Trapped in a miserable war in conditions he did not wish to speak of, Henry chose to listen to her as she went about her business of talking about the events of her life. It was probably for the best that he didn't speak of the events of his, for the horrors were that great. He never sounded unhappy when he talked to her on the phone but she could only guess what he was hiding. Then again he never was one to get down. He was a pretty happy guy, that was one of the reasons she fell in love with him. If something was bothering him, he didn't show it, at least not with her. He didn't show his feelings too often but she knew he cared about her. He was a wonderful provider, and she was the envy of many of her friends.
But not today. For today the messenger came with the fateful telegram. " The United States Armed Forces regrets to inform you that Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake has been killed in the line of duty…." The paper fell to the ground as she slammed the door in the messenger's face, which was surely not the first time he'd witnessed such an occurrence. Dead…her husband was dead! Certainly there was a mistake. In the line of duty? He was on his way home for goodness' sake. There was no more duty for him to perform. He'd fulfilled his obligation. His place was at home with his family. Her mind raced with the first thoughts that came to mind. But he wasn't even in a combat unit. He was a surgeon for crying out loud. And then there were the children! What would she tell the children? How would they understand that Daddy would never come home?
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Oh how she cried over that man. Every day since Henry Blake had passed had seemed like a nightmare that would never end. They say time heals all wounds. If you've ever lost a loved one, you would know that it is not so. You learn to live with the loss, but you are never "healed" from the pain. Sometimes Lorraine would roll over in her sleep and imagine that she would find her husband next to her. And when she opened her eyes to see the empty space the grief would start again.
And she'd cried when she received letters of condolence from members of the 4077. She couldn't believe how thoughtful they had been to put into words how much her husband had meant to them. Hawkeye Pierce, in particular, had penned an especially eloquent letter that shared some examples of her husband's kindness and good humor. From what she gathered he seemed to have been the closest to her husband, although this Radar O'Reilly seemed quite fond of Henry as well. They all were, it seemed.
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On this day Lorraine needed to pay the mortgage. After checking in on the kids and saying goodbye to her mother, she headed out to town. She hated paying the bills. It was something Henry always took care of. He would be so proud of her now. It was a particularly difficult date, as it was their wedding anniversary. She'd tried to stay busy that day by playing with the kids and cooking a nice dinner. She even made a chocolate cake, Henry's favorite. It should be cool enough to frost and eat by the time she got back.
Not a day went by that she didn't think of Henry. One of her friends recently suggested that Lorraine be introduced to her friend's cousin, a lawyer. It was just too soon to even think about dating. Lorraine was almost insulted at the idea. Why no one could ever take Henry's place. Not with her, and certainly not with the kids.
Lorraine had a lot on her mind when the rain started pouring down suddenly. Lightening flashed as the car suddenly spun out of control. She hit the breaks and the car skidded wildly and she knew that she was in trouble. All she could see was the car but all she could think about was Henry and the kids. She desperately hit the brakes to the car but it was no use. The car was spinning out of control. She could hear her own scream even though she knew it was pointless. She could see two telephone posts and she was likely to hit either one of them.. There was nothing she could do to stop but prepare for impact. This was it. Was this what Henry experienced in the plane before it went down? Her ears popped as she held on for dear life. Lorraine furiously overcorrected the steering wheel despite the terrible knowledge of what was about to happen. She was going to crash and she shut her eyes.
And then out of nowhere a presence made itself known Something that felt like a curiously strong gust of wind pushed the car. And then the car stopped dead set in between the two telephone poles. Lorraine opened her eyes one by one, looking at her surroundings. This couldn't be real. She had survived the car accident. Badly shaken, she opened the door and stepped outside. It didn't matter that it was pouring down rain. She was alive, and she didn't know how. Now she remembered. Something had guided her car, that much she was certain of. She stepped back and looked at the placement of the car. What are the odds of the car landing in between two telephone poles? She should have been dead. Something had happened that she couldn't explain. Something, or someone had caused her to land safely in that ditch. There was no doubt in her mind who that someone was. Henry had made a promise to protect her, and he saw to it to the very end.
A/N: I was in a car accident scenario exactly like this one. I was a passenger in the car and a driver hit us, causing us to land in between two telephone poles. I even felt the gust of wind pushing the car. To this day I believe I had someone on my side.:) ……..Melinda