Roads

  The road is lovely, shrouded in autumn leaves. My favorite colors, my favorite season. Glorious scenery flies by as I shift into 6th in my favorite car--the convertible Beemer I got as part of the divorce settlement. Poor Dave never knew what hit him. He doesn't believe in lawyers so I picked his carcass like a Thanksgiving turkey. My favorite holiday, but this year I'll spend it all alone. Dave never wanted children. I went along with his plans, thinking he'd change his mind someday.

  The road was impassable after the earthquake. I traded the Beemer in for a Range Rover. After one winter alone, I was looking forward to spring. I decided one winter was one too many and tried dating again. It was rocky and full of potholes, just like the road home. I called the DOT to fix the road and stopped going to bars. That's when I met Sherman in December. He was my UPS delivery man. (Did I mention I also gave up going to malls to shop?)

  After our first date, Sherman confessed that he had a daughter, Danika. She was six. We went to see her Christmas pageant. She was one of the angels. She turned out to have an angel's personality, too. I found myself falling into the long-elusive role of mommy and loving it, despite Dave's dire predictions. Now it's autumn again and I drive a minivan, with a car seat in the back, over the repaired road to my house.