There Once was a Woman...

By Shey Harte

A time and tale of achieving the absolute impossible, defying certain death, definitive proof that miracles do happen! “The silence during the rest of the ride home was deafening. Pepper was already planning, embracing the reality of what life will look like moving forward. She had spent years making sacrifices to ensure her children were not products of a divorced home. But this would be a hard left…or would it? She had lived with and through his indiscretions and betrayals since before they were married. Buying into each lie and deceptive promise each time. Admittedly, she was not wholly innocent herself. Was this the final straw? This was a different kind of betrayal. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!”

So let me briefly introduce you to Pepper LaGrange, a feisty, strong-willed woman, a survivor, and a force to be reckoned with who never accepted no as a final answer, always determined to have the last word one way or another. Pepper would defy all the odds! From the very beginning of that fateful day, the first reports detailing the severity of her injuries. Loved ones were told to pray for the best but expect the very worst. After twelve hours of surgery, the family was updated with a grim prognosis. “If and when she comes out of the coma, the probability is that she will remain in a vegetative state.” For each hurdle that she overcame, there was an equally impossible prognosis on the horizon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662455711

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Road Trip

It was mid-morni ng as Pepper and her husband Tony were getting ready to leave the house. Their daughters, Cinnamon and Coco, were excited to join in for a glimpse into what their mom was doing in her new part-time position surveying and graphing property lines out in the county’s rural areas where they lived. The master bedroom, main family living area, and office space were upstairs in the bi-level family home, while the kitchen, laundry, bath, family room, and girls’ bedrooms were downstairs. As the couple approached the downstairs, it became evident that the girls had not completed their weekly chores that were agreed would be done before this little adventure today. The timeline had been precise, with a busy day ahead, packed with outings. The girls had taken it upon themselves to change up the chore list, deciding to do a portion instead and extend their breakfast and TV time after showering.

As the girls were now in their tween and teen years, pushing boundaries and at times altogether disregarding rules and accountability, Pepper was determined to make an impression regarding integrity and responsibility, reminding them in detail what the original agreement had been. She made it clear to her girls that because they did not follow through with their word, there would be a consequence and they would not be coming with their parents today. Perhaps next weekend, they would be able to join them. The girls were less than thrilled about this option and protested until an alternative consequence was offered up by Mom; they both begrudgingly agreed that the consequence was appropriate. They would stay home, complete their chores, and be ready to go when their parents returned. Mom’s rule had always and forever been, no matter how mad you are, before leaving, hanging up the phone, or going to bed, We always say ‘I love you,’ because you never know… On this day, both girls were mad, and Pepper tauntingly sang I love you as she exited the house, the girls stomping off in protest.

Pepper and Tony left in the family car and proceeded toward the area she had been surveying. As they drove, Pepper thought, this almost seemed convenient as they could use the drive time to discuss their oldest daughter’s upcoming thirteenth birthday party plans. The discussion wasn’t going well. It was getting a little heated as they both had a very different idea of the event’s flavor. Pepper was a force to be reckoned with, and she usually got her way, especially when it came to her daughters. Pepper wanted to create the event to indulge her daughter’s wishes and personality; Tony preferred to base it on an old family tradition. The topic seemed to be escalating out of control until finally, she suggested they table it for now and justified her request with the notion of getting some surveying done. Simultaneously, she explained the process to him, taking advantage of the fact that he was driving so she could get it done in half the time, literally mapping, noting, and drawing while he was driving. Tony agreed that the conversation wasn’t going anywhere and it would be good to drop it for now.

Pepper got her materials all laid out and arranged, detailing the process as they drove. She was accomplishing significantly more than when she is alone due to the stop-and-go method of visually surveying, finding a place to pull off, document, map, and graph the pertinent information. Pepper was enjoying the flow, excited about the overall quantity of work to be submitted on Monday. She had been hoping to land a more permanent, part-time position with excellent benefits and this might allow her to slide to the front of the candidate pool. She wasn’t sure where she currently stood, but this certainly couldn’t hurt! Her thoughts wandered briefly, so this is what it feels like to have a persona driver or assistant. Charming, she thought. Maybe this could be a thing they could do together to begin to work out some wrinkles in their relationship. She was sad for just a moment as she thought about the original plan of the girls being with them. However, in the end, this was good getting extra work done and hopefully, she and Tony could still come to some compromise or resolution regarding the birthday party.

About that time, the cell phone for her other job rang, interrupting the thought process. Being a bail bond agent was fun and exciting, but at times, took a toll being on call twenty-four hours a day. Generally, it required dropping everything she was doing, shifting gears to handle a request, which could end up being a couple of hours of work, calls at all hours of the night; each call held equal opportunity to be lucrative or a waste of time. It seemed all-consuming at the least opportune moments; however, it was good money. Pepper answered the call, and indeed, it was a whopper of a bond, she stood to make a pretty penny. All in all, she was at a good stopping point and even better, she should be able to tie it all up with a pretty bow just in time to continue with the rest of the day’s outings. Best of all, it meant if she got further calls for the rest of the day, she could be more selective. She had by far surpassed her goal and company quota, not only for the week but for the month. This was a beauty!

Pepper had confirmed the caller’s details, disconnected the call, and shared the news, detailing the time she was to meet at the jail. At the same time, she began strategically organizing her supplies in the travel case. Tony turned the car around and they headed back toward town. Her thoughts were that it had been an excellent latter part of the morning; now, with the news, they were both feeling upbeat, relieved financially, in a great space overall so they could resume the birthday party discussion with a harmonious outcome. She would utilize all her best communication skills and strategies, remain calm, cool as a cucumber, and voila! Only nineteen days left to finalize details for the party. Pepper was frequently referenced Wonder Woman by friends and family for her ability to juggle and accomplish the impossible and many times, at the last minute. But this was pushing the bar for such a special event, even for Pepper.

As the discussion started, she felt optimistic. It quickly took a hard left turn in the opposite direction, as did their road trip back to town. The couple had decided to take the quickest route on a side road to the interstate; however, as can happen in small farming communities, there was a sudden road closure with no forewarning. There were a couple of options; one was to go back the way they came and around, taking twice as long but staying on the main County Highway. With tensions rising, she suggested another alternative route on dirt roads part of the way that would allow for her to still arrive on time. Tony made it clear he was not open to negotiating with her—adamant that he was going the way he wanted and not another alternative route—gruffly pointing out that she didn’t always get her way! She glared at him, looking away in silence, avoid making things worse than they already were. She sat in silence, staring out the side window, thinking of all the things she would like to say until confident in her ability to maintain verbal composure.

The disagreement and the temperature continued to rise. Both were hearted, unable to agree on even one detail. It seemed like the more the argument intensified, the faster Tony accelerated. Tony was driving way too fast, especially as they approached the upcoming curves on this road. Pepper was all too familiar with the roads out in this area; Tony was not. Today, he was on a mission to prove a point that he didn’t have to listen to her. She needed to calm down and decided a cigarette could help, lighting up and rolling the window down halfway. She was an oddball when it came to being a smoker; she hated the smell of cigarette smoke, couldn’t stand smoke in her face, didn’t allow anyone to use the ashtray in her car, and absolutely no smoking in her house or around her children. Pepper constantly chewed gum and used breath mints to delete the smell and taste of tobacco. She frequently spritzed perfume or body spray on herself. Amidst her surroundings, there were sure to be candles, diffusers, and a multitude of air fresheners. She often wondered and was teased by friends and family about why or how she was a smoker when she hated everything that had to do with smoking, aside from taking a drag.

Pepper was not wearing a seat belt.

Looking up, realizing just how close the curves were now, she yelled at Tony, Slow down!

He disregarded her warning and instead, accelerated with a snarky comment about getting her there on time.

Pepper yelled at him, You need to slow down! Are you trying to f—— kill me! Bracing herself as she watched the curve signs approaching.

This first curve was a sharp right maneuver with an angled slope and extreme gravitational force. Pepper was an excellent driver, not to mention adrenaline junky of sorts; she didn’t fear much of anything. Driving fast was one of her favorite rushes; they were both excellent drivers, but this was just blatant disregard for her safety. She loved going fast and even more so, on winding roads, she had taken this curve enough times to know precisely the breaking point, the point of no return having almost lost control once, pushing a little too far just for fun on this exact curve. The posted speed limit of twenty-five miles per hour seemed to be of no concern to Tony. At last glance, the speedometer read just above eighty miles per hour. By the time he finally hit the brakes, the attempt to slow down was far too late. There was no possible way he could slow the car down enough before they entered the curve. On the contrary, the sudden, harsh break on the sloping curve was a recipe for disaster. The car began to skid. The incline from the slope of the angled curve pulled hard as Tony lost control…not only of the vehicle but of his life and of the road trip.

Chapter 2

The Accident

It seemed that recently Tony ha d been hell-bent on teaching Pepper a lesson or two; this time, he had taken it way too far. By the time Tony realized that Pepper had indeed been right about the curve, he panicked, but it wouldn’t change the inevitable. The car was traveling over eighty-five miles per hour when he finally slammed on the brakes. The vehicle became airborne as it reached the top edge of the sloped curve. Halfway into the curve, the front tires reached the edge of the roadway, losing contact with the road and launching into the air. As the front of the car came down and made contact with the ground, it flipped end over end once and then rolled one and a half times before coming to rest on the driver’s side. The car landed in the large triangular ditch where two dirt roads and a state highway curve intersected. The vehicle came to a stop, still slightly rocking. Tires spinning. In a cloud of dirt and dust.

Tony was dazed. He laid inside the vehicle, still hanging onto the steering wheel with one hand. As he let go of the steering wheel, pain surged through his body. Tony shook his head, trying to gather himself. After a few moments, he maneuvered his way out from under the dash. The pain continued to surge through his body as he climbed up and out of the mangled wreckage, emerging from the passenger’s side window, and jumped to the ground. Frantically, looking for his wife. Pepper was not in the car, not anywhere. He could see around the vehicle. He broadened his visual search to the larger areas, up to the dirt roads and the highway…nothing, she was nowhere in sight.

As the dust continued to settle, Tony scanned the area, again looking everywhere. His vision was blurry. His head was throbbing; perhaps he was stunned enough that he had overlooked her laying in the bottom of the back seat of the car, which was pretty crushed and mangled. Or was she under the vehicle? Laying down on his stomach, peering into the back of the car, nothing! The car appeared to be flush on the ground in the dirt and weeds; she couldn’t be under it! Half running, Tony limped up the embankment to the highway, looking on the road, in the ditch on the other side of the road, nothing! He frantically turned in circles, holding his head, wiping his eyes and face, looking everywhere, again, turning toward the wreckage. He thought he saw a man running toward him from the farming operation across the road. The man was yelling and pointing toward the car. Tony clearly had a concussion and was struggling to focus, keep his balance, still hearing ringing in his ears that drowned out the man’s words running in his direction. As the man got closer, Tony was able to make out his words.

She’s in the irrigation ditch under the trees, and there’s water in the ditch! The farmhand had witnessed the whole thing and instructed another farmhand to call 911 as he ran to help.

This farm country, richly populated with various crops, depended on irrigation waters from ditches that ran for miles. The ditch was deep, full, and running fast as this was a prime time for water inlet from the dam. The two men ran from two different directions frantically toward the ditch. Tony stumbled and fell as he descended the embankment to cross the triangular ditch by the car. He momentarily felt another surge of pain throughout his body but quickly returned to his feet. The farmer had stayed on the pavement, just catching the edge of the triangular ditch to reach the other side of the dirt road and the irrigation ditch. This portion of the dirt road separated the ditch where the car came to rest and the irrigation ditch. Approaching simultaneously, the two men saw Pepper immersed in the irrigation ditch, her head barely above the flowing current. The ditch was indeed almost full. Miraculously, the water had not swept her away or sucked her under completely.

Two large lush oak trees stood tall above the irrigation ditch. After being ejected from the passenger side window of the car, Pepper had flown across the road. Airborne for 187 feet before colliding with the giant tree branch on the north tree’s left side. Where she hung, dangling briefly. Before falling into the irrigation ditch below. How long had it been? Were they too late?

The farmer stood by as Tony jumped into the ditch, yelling at his wife, Wake up, Pepper! Open your eyes, talk to me! Tony began lifting, pushing, pulling, and dragging her up out of the ditch.

She was nonresponsive as he slapped her cheeks, hoping for a response. He leaned down and could hear a gurgling sound and could feel the slightest breath coming from her mouth. He bent down and kissed her, closing his eyes.

Oh god, I’m so sorry. Open your eyes, Pepper!

He loved the way her breath always smelled so sweet and minty. He turned her slightly onto one side and held her, cradling her head and upper body as he heard sirens in the