laid his head on the mattress, watching her intently with his big brown puppy-dog eyes. When he didn’t get a response, Fritz started whimpering.
“I know, I know,” she said, clutching Luke’s pillow tightly to her chest. “You need to go out, don’t you, pup?”
Woof! Woof!
The dog’s tail wagged at Meredith’s response.
Hearing the sound of sleet pelting the bedroom window, Meredith wished she could lie in bed a few minutes longer, hugging her husband’s pillow, but with Fritz needing to go outside, any more daydreaming was out of the question. Besides, she had an appointment with a midwife. It was time to get ready for what she hoped would be some really good news.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Alex Mitchell reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the gold pocket watch he’d taken from the Amish man he’d accosted in the Philadelphia bus station. It was just a few minutes past eight o’clock, he noted. He’d transferred to yet another bus thirty minutes ago, and as they headed out of the city, the bus, along with all the other traffic, was almost at a standstill. The bus he’d ridden on after leaving the station in Philly at 12:20 that morning had been a slow-go as the foggy mist had turned to black ice on the highway. Now the roads were so icy that no one could go anywhere without sliding all over the place. Motorists had no choice but to sit and wait for the salt trucks to come through in order to make travel somewhat safer.
Alex looked out the window and saw that all the other cars on the highway had pulled off to the side of the road, just as the bus had done. According to the bus schedule, they weren’t supposed to arrive in South Bend, Indiana, until 6:35 that evening, but with the weather being so bad, he figured it might be midnight or even later before they pulled into the station. Well, he didn’t care. He had food in his belly, a wallet full of money, and a ticket to freedom, courtesy of the Amish man, so he’d just sit back and try to relax until the bus took him to his destination. Even Alex’s nagging cough was a bit better now that he wore warm clothes and had the comfort of being on the bus.
Continuing to stare out at the nasty weather and listen to sleet hit the bus windows, Alex was glad to be in a place that was warm. Thinking back to the night before, Alex was surprised that his luck had held out and he hadn’t been caught—either by the drug dealers who’d been after him, or worse yet, the cops. He’d expected something to go wrong, because it usually did. But so far, nothing was out of the ordinary, and everything was going okay. The more distance Alex put between him and Philadelphia, the better he felt.
He looked down at the black felt hat in his lap and grinned. Luck had been with him once again, in that everything that had taken place at the bus station in Philly had happened late at night. Alex was sure that no one else had seen what had actually transpired between him and the young Amish man in the restroom. He felt pretty comfortable that the bus he’d boarded after the encounter had pulled out before anyone had discovered the unconscious man lying on the restroom floor where he’d left him. Of course, it wasn’t uncommon for the bathroom in Philadelphia’s bus depot to be void of activity so late at night. He ought to know—he’d slept in that depot a time or two when he’d been down on his luck. He’d never gotten used to the achiness that permeated his body each time he’d flaked out on an uncomfortable bench or awakened on a cold concrete floor. It was just one more thing that added to his unhappy life as a homeless drug addict.
I wonder if that guy had a dog like this one
, Alex pondered, rubbing his thumb over the etching on the front of the Amish fellow’s watch.
He stared at the picture of the bird dog engraved on the outer case of the pocket watch and clasped his fingers tightly around it.
That poor guy never knew what hit him.
Truth was, Alex
“I know, I know,” she said, clutching Luke’s pillow tightly to her chest. “You need to go out, don’t you, pup?”
Woof! Woof!
The dog’s tail wagged at Meredith’s response.
Hearing the sound of sleet pelting the bedroom window, Meredith wished she could lie in bed a few minutes longer, hugging her husband’s pillow, but with Fritz needing to go outside, any more daydreaming was out of the question. Besides, she had an appointment with a midwife. It was time to get ready for what she hoped would be some really good news.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Alex Mitchell reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the gold pocket watch he’d taken from the Amish man he’d accosted in the Philadelphia bus station. It was just a few minutes past eight o’clock, he noted. He’d transferred to yet another bus thirty minutes ago, and as they headed out of the city, the bus, along with all the other traffic, was almost at a standstill. The bus he’d ridden on after leaving the station in Philly at 12:20 that morning had been a slow-go as the foggy mist had turned to black ice on the highway. Now the roads were so icy that no one could go anywhere without sliding all over the place. Motorists had no choice but to sit and wait for the salt trucks to come through in order to make travel somewhat safer.
Alex looked out the window and saw that all the other cars on the highway had pulled off to the side of the road, just as the bus had done. According to the bus schedule, they weren’t supposed to arrive in South Bend, Indiana, until 6:35 that evening, but with the weather being so bad, he figured it might be midnight or even later before they pulled into the station. Well, he didn’t care. He had food in his belly, a wallet full of money, and a ticket to freedom, courtesy of the Amish man, so he’d just sit back and try to relax until the bus took him to his destination. Even Alex’s nagging cough was a bit better now that he wore warm clothes and had the comfort of being on the bus.
Continuing to stare out at the nasty weather and listen to sleet hit the bus windows, Alex was glad to be in a place that was warm. Thinking back to the night before, Alex was surprised that his luck had held out and he hadn’t been caught—either by the drug dealers who’d been after him, or worse yet, the cops. He’d expected something to go wrong, because it usually did. But so far, nothing was out of the ordinary, and everything was going okay. The more distance Alex put between him and Philadelphia, the better he felt.
He looked down at the black felt hat in his lap and grinned. Luck had been with him once again, in that everything that had taken place at the bus station in Philly had happened late at night. Alex was sure that no one else had seen what had actually transpired between him and the young Amish man in the restroom. He felt pretty comfortable that the bus he’d boarded after the encounter had pulled out before anyone had discovered the unconscious man lying on the restroom floor where he’d left him. Of course, it wasn’t uncommon for the bathroom in Philadelphia’s bus depot to be void of activity so late at night. He ought to know—he’d slept in that depot a time or two when he’d been down on his luck. He’d never gotten used to the achiness that permeated his body each time he’d flaked out on an uncomfortable bench or awakened on a cold concrete floor. It was just one more thing that added to his unhappy life as a homeless drug addict.
I wonder if that guy had a dog like this one
, Alex pondered, rubbing his thumb over the etching on the front of the Amish fellow’s watch.
He stared at the picture of the bird dog engraved on the outer case of the pocket watch and clasped his fingers tightly around it.
That poor guy never knew what hit him.
Truth was, Alex
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