it had been raining that morning.
while he was waiting for her to join him for breakfast,
his truck’s windshield wipers eclipsed the raindrops almost as quickly as they fell.
a smile emerged on his face as he began to review the last couple hours in his head.
she was more of a night owl, but despite how early their morning had started,
she had been in such a great mood.
from the moment they knew their daughter needed them,
they were on the move,
with their invisible superhero capes flapping in the cool morning air.
she had made fun of him as he struggled to move the massive amounts
of ‘sequins and things’ gear from the trunk of her car,
so that he could free up the spare tire before triple A got there.
he laughed to himself at how cute her response was when he suggested a breakfast date:
‘i can’t go to breakfast. i don’t have any makeup on.’
it was one of those responses for him that he could just call before she even said it,
that just became obvious after almost thirty years as
husband and wife,
life partners,
soul mates.
it was such a “Julie” response.

a few minutes passed and still no sign of the black toyota venza.
‘she was supposed to be right behind me’, he thought.
triple A had put the spare tire on the car, and when they were ready, he pulled on to the highway first.
watching her expectantly in his rearview mirror, he wondered what was taking
her so long to pull off the shelf to follow him.
after he traveled a minute or so up the road, she was out of sight.



standing outside his truck in the mcdonald’s parking lot, now,
he picked up his cell phone to give her a call.

ring.

ring.

ring.

ring.

ring.

no answer.
he looked across the street,
as two fire trucks exit the garage of the fire station.
panic sets in.
‘oh my God, something must be wrong.’



after pulling up to the accident,
he felt like he couldn’t get out of his truck quick enough.
the venza was against the guardrail on I-95 North,
Jacksonville’s busiest highway,
and he was met by four police officers,
who, oddly enough, act as another guardrail …
… keeping him from seeing what they know
no husband ever wants to see.
‘she’s gone, mr. shepherd, she’s gone. we’re so sorry. she’s gone.’


photo credit | Miguel Emmanuelli Photography

outfit details | shirt: old navy | jeans: paige denim {c/o rosie true} | necklace: hrh collection