the whole world to know it. Mary stopped gabbing long enough to unfasten her
seatbelt and lean over the seat to pick up the rattle, which had lodged itself
between the diaper bag and the transmission hump. Jeromy was grateful for the
pause, and took the opportunity to mentally review his sermon notes for the
evening.
"Let's see," he thought, "the first key to family happiness is a daily prayer
time . . ."
Suddenly, a rust-colored Mercedes 450 SEL darted out from an obscured
side street, directly in front of Jeromy's Buick station wagon. He swerved quickly
around the car to avoid a collision, and his heart lept as he narrowly missed it.
Jeromy quickly jerked his head to his right as he heard a stifled scream, just
in time to see Mary thrown from the window. He slammed on the brakes and in
his rear view mirror saw her body being thrown through the air from the impact as
the Mercedes slammed into her. Jeromy jumped out of the car and ran back to his
wife, who lay motionless on the side of the road. He knelt down and cradled her
head in his arms.