When Watched by Leopoldine Core Page A

car.
    â€œIt’s not so bad,” he said. “I have another hour in me at least.”
    But when Henry got back on the road, they quickly had the sensation of gliding over water.
    â€œHenry,” Susan said in a clipped tone. “We have to stop.” Snow was falling heavier by the second.
    â€œI know.”
    â€œTake this exit.”
    â€œI
know
,” he said, turning off the road. The car swerved slightly and he braced the wheel, struggling to complete the turn.
    â€œHenry!”
    â€œShut up for a second.”
    â€œYou’re going too fast!”
    A bright Holiday Inn sign appeared at the roadside, behind it a beige castle nestled in darkness.
    â€œThank God,” Susan said but the tawny offering whipped by. “For Christ’s sake! Why didn’t you
stop
?”
    â€œIt looked expensive,” Henry said quickly, though in fact hewas afraid to make the turn. “There’s another one coming up I think.”
    Now they were driving down a thin road flanked by the tall darkness of trees, giant snowflakes falling in droves.
    â€œHenry!” Susan cried, pleaded, her eyes shifting wildly from him to the road.
    He relaxed his hands on the wheel, oddly mesmerized by the snow. Ding ding ding went the bells in his mind. He smiled absurdly.
    Susan sat quietly, her eyes bugged. She guessed she was about to die.
    A moment later the car seemed to be flying. It swerved off the road—Susan screamed—and it thudded to a stop in a shallow ditch. Instantly their hands flew to each other.
    â€œAre you alright?” Henry said.
    Susan burst into tears. They unbuckled their seat belts and hugged.
    â€œAre you hurt?” he said.
    â€œNo,” she gagged and brought her hands up to her face, making a bowl to shudder into.
    Henry patted her with one hand and felt around for his phone with the other. Susan took her hands from her face and sat hiccuping for a while. Then she switched on the car light and stared at her husband.
    Nervously, with shame, he stared back. Henry could see the fear fading in her eyes and the accusation rising. “What is
wrong
with you?” she said.
    â€œAlright, save it. Let’s just get out of this goddamn hole.”
    Â â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢Â 
    A few hours later they were in bed at the Holiday Inn, fully clothed, bickering, with rolled towels under their necks. They had beenpulled out of the ditch by a huge, ham-colored man in a tow truck who demanded two hundred dollars in cash, which of course they didn’t have on hand. So he drove them right to an ATM.
    â€œIt was like being
robbed
,” Susan fumed.
    â€œYou’re shouting,” Henry said.
    â€œYou should’ve refused.”
    â€œWe had no choice. That guy was clearly in cahoots with the cops. This is what they
do
.”
    â€œMy
neck
,” Susan moaned.
    â€œYou have whiplash. You’re going to be fine.”
    â€œWe should go to the hospital.”
    â€œSo we can sit there for hours until some moron says we have
whiplash
? I won’t do it.”
    â€œWhat if we hit our heads?”
    â€œWe didn’t hit our heads,” Henry said and sat up. “I’m turning off the light.”
    â€œSometimes people hit their heads and they don’t remember,” Susan said, her eyes pleading.
    â€œWe didn’t hit our goddamn heads. The windshield would’ve broken.” He sighed. “I’m turning off the light.”
    â€œLeave one on,” Susan said. “Please. This place gives me the creeps.”
    Henry said nothing. But he had to agree that the room was awful and somewhat like a cage, with its low ceiling and unopenable windows looking out onto the parking lot. Giant flakes of snow were still rushing through the air, quietly accumulating on the three cars in the lot. It looked so soft, Henry thought. The thing that almost killed them. He closed the slatted metallic shades and undressed, then walked back