Love Is Like a Flatbed Truck

By Tanya Orr

Sometimes life is like a head-on collision; it can hit you when you least expect it. Then after you crash, you're left lying in the street all broken and shattered with pieces of your heart and soul thrown here and there. Then just when you think that absolutely nothing can save you, love shows up like a flatbed truck. It lowers itself down to where you are; it lifts you up and then carefully carries you away to a safe place where you can be put back together again. There is an old saying which says, "In life, strangers are just friends we haven't met yet." In the case of two strangers Penelope Pride and Judith Presley, that saying proved to be true. Because on the most horrific day of both their lives, love rolled in like a flatbed truck, and without permission, it began weaving together its collective threads intertwining their two lives together forever by the hand of grace, the finger of mercy, and the heart of love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645692287

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Love Is Like a Flatbed Truck

Tanya L. Orr

Copyright © 2019 by Tanya L. Orr

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

1

I love the rain, don’t you? whispered Penelope as she folded her body into the warm embrace of her husband’s arms. Kiss me again. I love kissing your lips and feeling the warm touch of your hand against my skin. Penelope grabbed and squeezed her bedcovers as she passionately expressed the love she felt in her heart for Grant. But sadly, those expressions were fruitless because it was only a dream of what was but could never be again. As she rolled over in bed, she heard a faint but definite reminder of the world she was now forced to live in alone begin to stir.

Slowly, Casey stretched and yawned and stretched again before leaping to her feet and shaking off the night. With her perfectly groomed golden hair, she rushed upstairs and pushed open the bedroom door and quietly walked over to Grant’s side of the bed. She was just about to let out a soft yet nerve racking whimper when she remembered that he was no longer sleeping there. Casey paused for a few seconds and stared at the empty pillow before walking over to the other side. As she stared at the wrinkled bedcovers and the skinny elbow peeking out from underneath, she began her morning plea for Penelope to rise and shine.

Penelope raised her head just a tad. Good girl, Casey, good girl, now go away and come back in an hour.

Casey whimpered softly and waited but soon realized that more drastic measures had to be taken because she was no longer dealing with her former companion, Grant, who never hesitated to accommodate her. So she began speaking the language she knew would get her some immediate attention. She started barking like crazy, Are you nuts? I’ve been looking forward to this all night. There’s no way I’m coming back in an hour, now get up princess, demanded Casey, who was so excited and ready to go. She looked forward to taking her morning walk. Secretly, it pleased her that Penelope wasn’t as heavy as Grant, so dragging her along was a lot more fun for Casey. However, the lack of response she was getting was beginning to annoy her. You would think that after spending the last couple of years together that she would have become acquainted with the routine, thought Casey. But be that as it may, she was not about to come back in an hour, Oh no, sire. So with a determined mind along with the irritation of a full bladder, she stood up on her hind legs and began her campaign of separating Penelope from her bed. She began to whimper while intentionally scratching that skinny elbow with her paw.

In response to Casey’s relentless pleading and scratching, Penelope peeked out from under her covers and offered her surrender in the form of a sleepy smile, which to Casey, implied victory. Okay, okay, I’m awake. As she slowly sat up and carefully hung her legs over the side of the bed, Penelope looked back in disappointment at the empty pillow where her husband Grant once laid his head and released a heavy sigh and then slowly walked into the bathroom. Even though she removed the rack where he used to hang his towel because of the tears it brought to her eyes each time she looked at it, still, she couldn’t help but look. And each time she did, she would whisper, Grant. As she washed her face with the warm wet towel, Penelope caught sight of her eyes and saw that they still looked sad and lonely. As she wiped away another restless, sad, and disappointing night, she thought about her dream and smiled. They both enjoyed the rain; it always gave them an excuse to stay in bed huddled together a little longer before getting up and meeting the demands of that day. But then, as the water ran into the sink, she also remembered the thoughts she had just before climbing into bed; thoughts about how much she missed her husband, his smell and his touch and how angry she still was over his murder. She pondered those thoughts all night which explained why she felt so tired. As she began thinking on them yet again, she was quickly reminded of why she was up before seven a.m. Through the mirror, she saw Casey turning around in the middle of the floor looking for a spot to squat. That was clearly an indication to Penelope that time was of the essence. So as fast as she could, she brushed her teeth, and within minutes of plowing through her closet like a small wind, she was dressed and ready to go. By this time, Casey was already waiting downstairs with her leash in her mouth ready to go on her usual walk to the park which was at the same time every day. Grant, this is all your fault, seven a.m. really, why couldn’t you have trained her to pee at nine? complained Penelope as she made her way downstairs.

It was a beautiful morning with lots of sunshine pouring down from the sky. It was tempered with a light crisp early morning breeze. Casey led the way of course, heading toward her favorite spot. She enjoyed lying underneath the huge gum tree that stood in the center of Sandal Creek Park. At first, Penelope struggled to keep up with Casey, but she soon adjusted her stride because Casey wasn’t about to slow down. Upon their approach, it was clear that they were not the first to arrive at the park and certainly not the first to arrive at the gum tree. Oh my goodness, Casey, it would seem as though your spot has been overtaken by others from across the way. Perhaps we should try another spot, after all; this is a really big park with lots of trees.

Casey glanced up at Penelope with thoughts of, oh please, give up my spot, don’t be absurd. All of a sudden, as if the words that fell from Penelope’s lips pierced Casey’s ears like a bee sting. She pointed her head and her tail and charged toward the gum tree like a thunder bolt pulling Penelope with her. Before she could even think or react, Penelope found herself being dragged into the midst of a group of dogs that had no idea that they were about to encounter the wrath of Casey Pride.

Casey, Casey! Slow down, screamed Penelope. But Casey continued her charge giving no thought to Penelope’s pleas for her to stop. Soon, the gum tree was cleared of all unwanted visitors. Casey had done what she set out to do, and that was to recapture and protect her territory under the gum tree. And just like little soldiers following an order from their commanding officer, the other dogs quickly pulled their owners away, giving Casey what she so vigorously demanded. Once Casey was sure that the territory was secure, she strolled over to the nearby fence and relieved her bladder. Once that mission was complete, she gently lay down underneath the tree with Penelope beside her. You know something, girl. I wish I had just a little bit of your tenacity, especially when it came to knowing what I wanted and not being afraid of going after it. Huh, you make it look so easy.

Casey looked up at her and gave a tempered huff inwardly implying, It is easy. Your problem is that you’re too darn nice.

You know something, girl. Grant had that kind of tenacity.

Casey huffed, Yes, I know.

He wasn’t afraid of anything.

She huffed again, Yes, I know.

Penelope smiled sadly. He would have loved today. Especially, the way you removed the other dogs from under the tree. He loved the walks the two of you used to take every day.

Casey glanced into Penelope’s face while she was talking about Grant. She huffed softly, Yeah, I miss him too.

Penelope looked at her furry friend. You know something, girl. Grant used to tell me that he believed that you could understand everything we said. For a long time, I thought he was just being silly. But now, the way you sometimes stare at me or seem to know just the right thing to do when I’m feeling real funky or sad, I’m starting to believe that he was right. They both sat for a while in complete silence each one thinking about Grant. Casey yawned and then looked away, and Penelope well, she too looked away as her mind drifted back to the morning when she received the news that changed her life forever.

That day started out like most days with Grant leaving early for work in order to beat the traffic. Usually, he would have awakened Penelope and given her a sweet kiss goodbye, but this particular morning, he had a huge presentation to give before his company’s board of directors. The meeting was set for early morning because two of the directors were only in town for the day, so he needed to get an early start. He was proposing that they purchase and rebuild or perhaps renovate a 250,000-acre camp ground that came with its own natural lake. The idea was to fix it up and then build cabins along the shore with all kinds of water activities and of course hiking trails. Also, a huge dining facility equipped with all of the amenities of a five-star hotel and many more appealing activities that would attract families who enjoyed the outdoors. Since he and Penelope were expecting their first child, Grant’s mind was totally into family life and family enjoyment. Besides, it was no secret that the company needed a tax shelter in order to avoid the constant probing of the IRS. Knowing that, Grant thought that investing in a venture that was geared toward family enjoyment would be a perfect project. But they never got the chance to meet with him or hear his proposal. While driving into the city, Grant was hit head on by another driver who neglected to stop at the stop sign. Fortunately, there was a bystander waiting for the bus who witnessed the entire thing and called the police. According to the witness, Grant didn’t stand a chance. The other car was speeding and never even slowed down. By the time the ambulance arrived, Grant was pronounced dead at the scene. It was determined by the police that the other driver had been under the influence of alcohol because they smelled it on her breath as the paramedics placed her unconscious body into the back of the ambulance. That would explain why she plowed right through the stop sign and into him. While investigating the scene, they found Grant’s wallet lying in the grass next to the curb. After the flatbed truck drove away with the twisted metal from both cars on its back, the two officers both with heavy hearts knew what they had to do next. Unfortunately, these kinds of house calls were all too common, and they hated doing it every single time.

When Penelope answered the front door, she was shocked to see two police officers standing there. She was expecting to see Grant with his hands full of all kinds of goodies that she had asked him the night before to bring home after his meeting. They were going to celebrate his success by overdosing on munchies and looking through their book of baby names. But instead of Grant standing at the door wearing that goofy grin he always flashed just to make her smile, she was greeted by two police officers standing in front of her looking very solemn and a bit nervous. The moment they asked if she was Mrs. Pride, Penelope knew that something was terribly wrong.

But before she could catch her breath after answering yes, the female officer lowered the boom. We regret to inform you that your husband Grant was involved in a fatal head-on collision earlier this morning. I’m sorry to say that he was pronounced dead at the scene. In those few seconds which was the time it took for those horrible words to leave the officer’s lips and make their way to Penelope’s ears, her heart froze in her chest; suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. Within another half a second, those same words made their way to her brain, and it was then that she was able to scream. She grabbed her very pregnant stomach and began to faint. The male officer reached out and caught her before she hit the floor. He carefully laid her down on her back. Immediately, the other officer called for an ambulance to be sent to the residence. Standing at her side was Casey trying to wake her up the only way she knew how by saturating her face with moist kisses and scratching her skinny elbow. The officer tried repeatedly to push Casey away, but she refused to be separated from Penelope. She could sense that something was wrong, and she wasn’t going to be pushed aside. So after each failed attempt to push her away, the officer was forced to shut her up in the den so that the paramedics could tend to Penelope.

Within minutes upon arriving, they put her in the back of the Ems truck and carried her away. Casey barked and barked, demanding to be let out, but it was to no avail. Soon, everything became quiet inside the house; not a sound could be heard. Casey quickly leaped onto the love seat in front of the window next to the tall wooden stand where Grant kept his model trains, cars, and trucks and stared out into the front yard. She was just in time to see the ambulance driving away with its flashing lights and loud siren whisking Penelope off to the hospital. After a while, Casey settled down and began to wonder when Penelope was coming home. As the morning faded away, Casey scratched at the door and barked for someone to let her out, but of course, that wasn’t going to happen. She was scared; she had never been locked up like that before. However, she wasn’t the only one being faced with a scary situation. Just a few blocks away, Penelope was waking up in the hospital going into premature labor.

She was only six months into her pregnancy, and instead of being home with Grant like she was supposed to be, she was lying in a hospital bed preparing to give birth before it was time. Earlier on in her pregnancy, her doctor considered her to be high risk because of her blood pressure, so he placed her on bed rest. Although that was a difficult time for her, Penelope always knew that she had Grant and Casey to help see her through it. But it was worth the sacrifice; because when it was all over, they would have a beautiful baby to show for it. But now, she was all alone without Grant or Casey, and without a miracle, she was certain to lose their child. Penelope tried to relax and calm down for the baby’s sake, but the more she replayed the officer’s words over and over in her head, the more her blood pressure spiked until finally, the only option left to the doctor’s was to induce labor. Penelope began to cry without restraint. She could not believe that this was happening to her. Just yesterday things were perfect, but today, she awoke in a nightmare. In her hysteria, she kept calling for Grant; all she wanted to do was to wake up and hear him tell her that it was just a horrible dream and nothing more.

Before inducing her labor, the doctors had to give her something to calm her down because she would not allow anyone to touch her. It wasn’t something that the doctor’s wanted to do, but it had now become a race to save Penelope’s life. With her blood pressure being so elevated, the chance of her having a stroke was very real. The hope was that once the baby was delivered, it might survive, but if Penelope had a stroke, it could kill them both. Unfortunately, though, everyone’s hopes were dashed when the baby was delivered still born. Due to the overwhelming stress that Penelope was under, the baby suffered a stroke inside of her wound. Suddenly, all that could be heard from inside the delivery room were nurses whispering between themselves saying, That poor woman. First, she loses her husband in a car crash to a drunk driver, and now she has lost her baby all in the same day, that poor woman. The officers waited at the hospital to see what Penelope’s condition was. They were hoping that something good would come out of the terrible tragedy. But when they received the news that she had lost the baby and that she would be there for a few days being treated for her high pressure, they were both so very sorry for her. Suddenly, Casey came to the officer’s mind, the one who placed her in the den. So after talking it over, they agreed that someone needed to see after her. So before they returned to the station, they went back to the neighborhood and asked the next door neighbors if they would look after her until Penelope returned home. As fate would have it, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were more than happy to see after Casey because they were the couple who always saw after her whenever Grant and Penelope went out of town. Naturally, they were shocked and horrified to hear what had happened. As soon as they tended to Casey and got her situated, they headed over to the hospital to be with Penelope.

Upon their arrival, they were told that only family could be in the room with her. However, once Lois explained that both of Penelope’s parents were deceased, they were allowed to go in. As they slowly pushed open the door, only one sound could be heard, and that was the sound of Penelope crying profusely. She was in so much agony