Wow! This has to be one of the craziest weekends I’ve ever had. Too bad my car was totaled in the process.

I needed to go see my grandma. Grandpa died maybe ten years ago, but Grandma was still hanging on, although she was in a home now. She wasn’t in a nursing home; she could still do many things, but living without Grandpa had really taken a toll on her and she didn’t want to live by herself. She put herself into an assisted living home and seemed to be pretty happy. But I still needed to see her.

I got there on Thursday afternoon and we went out to dinner and I was able to stay with her for the few nights I was there. We had a great time just talking, going through photo albums, walking in some parks. She was kind of frail, but still as feisty as ever. Being with her was really great, but by Sunday afternoon, I knew I needed to leave. I guess I wore her out, but I felt a lot better. She’s my rock!

She lives about 150 miles away from Nils and me and I had left pretty late Sunday. Still, it was only a few hours to drive and I wasn’t really tired, so I got going just about Grandma’s bedtime. I told her I’d call her in the morning after I got up.

I was cruising along on the expressway about halfway home, fighting a sudden squall that looked like it would turn into an all-night rain, when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a big SUV come tearing out of an entrance ramp and come straight across two lanes of the highway and then it crashed into my rear, spinning me around. I got control of my car and managed to get over to the side of the road. I tried to turn on my blinkers, but they weren’t working.

I don’t know why, but I got out of the car. I know I shouldn’t have, and the rain was just pouring, but I guess I wasn’t thinking too clearly. The SUV was on the other side of the road, but nobody was moving that I could see. I went around to see what damage had been done and saw the right rear side was completely caved in and the tire was flat. I suddenly felt faint and put my hand out to lean against the hood of the car.

Out of nowhere I felt a hand on my shoulder and as I started to turn, my knees gave out and I started to tumble. The hand on my shoulder went around me and held me up and a voice said, “Whoa, little one! Lean on me and we’ll get you to my car.” I looked up, and all I could see were kind, green eyes shining out of white hair.

The eyes and white hair practically carried me to another car that had parked a few yards in front of mine. My rescuer opened the car door and gently sat me in the seat. “Stay here while I check on the other car.” I leaned my head on the headrest. The car was warm but I was wet and shivering.

I think I may have passed out because I had no idea of how much time had passed. When I opened my eyes, there were lots of flashing lights: red, blue and white. White Hair and Green Eyes was talking to someone: “She’s a bit groggy. Let me see if I can wake her up to talk to you.”

He opened the door and leaned in. “Are you awake, hon?” he asked. “Can you speak to the police?” When I nodded, he backed away and a police officer hunkered down next to the open door. “Can you tell me what happened?” he asked and he just jotted things down as I told him what I remembered.

“What about the other car?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about them, Ma’am,” said the officer. “They’re a little banged up because they weren’t wearing their seatbelts, but their vehicle is drivable and we’ll follow them to make sure they get it off the highway. Mr. Joe, here, saw everything and he’s already called for a wrecker for your little car. Good thing you were wearing your seatbelt or you’d be in a world of hurt right now.” And with that, he stood up and closed the door again.

White Hair and Green Eyes, who I guess was Mr. Joe, opened the other door. “Well, I’m taking you home, miss. I called my wife and she’ll have something hot for you when we get there.” I kinda nodded and he reached across me to get the seatbelt and he buckled it into place. “You’ll like my wife: she’s a lot like you, I bet!” he chuckled as he pulled away from the scene. We drove for a couple of minutes.

I suddenly sat up. “My cellphone!” I cried. “I’ve gotta call Nils!”

“Don’t worry,” Green Eyes said. “While you were out of it, I found your phone and looked up your ICE information and called him. The police explained to him you’d be going with me and he could call anytime. I think he’s planning on picking you up tomorrow sometime.”

I think the adrenaline was totally leaving my system. All I could do was nod and lean back into the seat. Next thing I knew, we were pulling up to a house and Green Eyes was unbuckling me. He reached in and picked me up as easily as Nils always did and walked me up the walkway. Standing on the porch was someone in a fluffy white robe holding out her arms to me.

“Oh, Joe,” she said as Green Eyes set me on my feet. I definitely started to wobble. She wrapped me up in the robe. “She’s freezing! Why didn’t you at least put a jacket on her?”

Joe hung his head. “Well, it was warm in the car.”

“Men,” said Fluffy Robe. “Just let Irma get something hot into you, darlin’. You’ll be right as rain in no time. She kept her arms around me and walked me into the welcoming warmth of the house. She directed me into a kitchen with wonderful smells coming from it.