Tom slept in until 10:30 the next morning. Although he had been asleep for nearly eleven hours, he still felt weak and somewhat out of it. He could hear the kids playing downstairs as he lay in bed, mulling over what had happened the day before.
He was in utter awe of the fact that he had actually passed out in his Jeep while parked in the supermarket parking lot. How in the hell could he have missed smelling raw gasoline fumes for chrissakes? Granted, his nose was on the fritz with sinus issues, but to miss smelling raw gasoline? It was hard to fathom.
But evidently, he had done just that. And he had been told that inhaling the potentially lethal cocktail of gas fumes and carbon monoxide (Jesus, were the gas line and exhaust system both leaking?) would have killed him if it hadn’t been for someone coming to his rescue. Tom now wondered who had discovered him and made a mental note to ask Peg so he could properly thank him or her for saving his life.
He also wondered why the fumes had overtaken him so quickly-almost immediately after he’d gotten back into his Jeep, evidently. That didn’t make any sense at all. The doctor hadn’t elaborated on this phenomenon and had probably been wondering the same thing himself. It seemed as though he would have had to be inside the Jeep several minutes before the fumes would have enough time to knock him out like that. He made another note to ask Peg if she had an explanation.
He thought back to his grocery run and recalled that he had been thinking about Tracy Adams and the rape incident the entire time, just as he had been for weeks now. In fact, he had been so engrossed in the matter that he was still racking his brains over it when he’d left the supermarket and got back into the Jeep That was it! He had decided to sit there in the Jeep and deliberate until he came to a decision once and for all on what to do!
And in the process, he had breathed in enough noxious fumes to render him totally unconscious for six hours…
Scary stuff, he thought.
And now, as he lay there, Tom realized that he wasn’t any further along on that matter than he’d been before.
But he had a very good idea of what his decision was going to be: let the whole thing slide and don’t rock the boat. He would be a complete fool to get involved and jeopardize his marriage and his career.
Case closed.
Tom stretched, yawned and got out of bed. After splashing cold water in his face, he went downstairs and made a beeline for the coffee maker.
“Morning, sweetie,” he said when he entered the kitchen. Kelli was sitting at the kitchen table eating cookies and milk.
“Hi, Daddy,” Kelli said. “You slept really late!”
“Yeah, I was pretty tired, I guess. How are you doing?”
“Good. I wish I never had to go back to school, though!”
“Why do you say that?” Tom said, pouring himself a mug of steaming hot black coffee.
“It’s so nice to be able to play all the time-I wish we had Christmas vacation all year!”
“But wouldn’t you miss your friends and your teachers?” he asked his daughter.
“Well, my friends, maybe. But not my teachers!”
“Not even Mrs. Edwards?”
“Well, maybe I’d miss her, but none of the others.”
“What about your old first grade teacher, Mrs. Burke?”
Kelli gave him a pained look. “Oh, Daddy! Is this gonna be one of your teacher lectures, again?”
Tom chuckled. “Nah, I’m just trying to give you a hard time. Where are your mom and brother?”
“In the family room. Tyler’s watching cartoons and Mom’s cleaning, I think.”
“Put your dishes away when you’re finished there, okay?”
“I will, Daddy.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Tom carried his coffee into the family room. Peg was dusting the furniture and Tyler was lying on the floor, his eyes glued to the tube.
“Morning, troops,” he greeted.
“Hi honey. Are you feeling any better now? I hope I didn’t wake you when I got up.”
“I don’t think a nuclear blast could’ve woken me. I feel pretty good-just a little tired and groggy.”
Tyler got up, ran over to his father and gave him a big hug. “I’m glad you didn’t die, daddy!”
Tom held him tight. “Thanks, son, so am I.”
“Did you dream any while you were asleep in the Jeep?”
Tom said, “Hmm. That’s a very good question. If I did, I don’t remember anything.”
“The doctor said breathing gasoline fumes can cause hallucinations,” Peg said.
Tom let go of his son and went over to give Peg a peck on the lips. “Is that so? I don’t remember doing any of that, either.”
Peg threw her arms around him. “Tom, I’ve never been so scared my whole life! Every time I think of how close you came to dying, I realize how much I truly love you-and how I could never make it without you.”
Tom hugged her tight. “I’m sure it was pretty frightening for you. But I’m fine, no permanent damage, and I’m afraid you’re stuck forever with my naturally deranged mind.”
She laughed. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Tom went over and sat down on the sofa. “Who found me, anyway?”
“One of the employees-a young man named Justin Spencer. He was collecting shopping carts out in the lot when he noticed you slumped over the steering wheel.”
“I’d like to thank him for saving me. Is he a local boy?”
“Yes, a Thomas Worthington High student. His family lives just a few blocks from us, over on Selby.”
“I’ll call him later today. I’d like to give him something for what he did, too. You know, a reward or something.”
“I think that would be a nice gesture, honey.”
“Man, what a weird thing to happen! I still can’t believe I couldn’t smell those fumes.”
“Like I’ve been telling you, you need to get those sinuses looked at.”
“I know, I know. I’ll make an appointment-I promise. Did the doctor happen to explain why I passed out so quickly?”
“Actually, he never mentioned anything about that. He must have assumed that the fumes were strong enough by the time you got back into the Jeep that a few breaths was all it took to knock you out.”
“Hmm, that must have been the case then.”
“And how many times have I told me not to keep the car running while it’s parked, Tom? That was really a stupid thing to do!”
Tom shook his head from side to side. “I know. It was just so damned cold and I knew I wasn’t going to be very long in the store. I guess I really screwed up there.”
“You sure did-you’re lucky you didn’t kill yourself.”
“Honey, I admitted I screwed up, okay? I screwed up over my sinuses and I screwed up with keeping the car running in the parking lot. Now, can you just let it drop so we can move on with our lives and not badger me anymore about it?”
Tom realized that he’d raised his voice and could see that Peg was pissed off now. She glared at him, glanced down at Tyler lying on the floor staring at the two of them then turned her back to Tom. She resumed her dusting without a word.
“Sorry,” he said.
“No you’re not,” she replied.
Screw this! he thought. He decided to change the subject. “I wonder when the Jeep will be ready.”
“Not today, it’s Sunday,” Peg replied with enough edge to remind him he was skating on thin ice. “Why do you ask?”
“I need to go down to the school and catch up on some work. Mind if I take your car?”
“Of course not. When do you think you’ll be home?”
“Maybe a couple of hours or so.”
“Eat some breakfast, first.”
“I will.”
With that, Tom stood up and returned to the kitchen. Kelli was putting her dishes in the sink when he entered.
“Good girl,” he said.
“I know,” she replied before heading out.
Tom fixed himself a bowl of cereal, some toast and warmed up his coffee. When he was finished, he took a shower, shaved and got dressed. He kissed Peg goodbye on his way out the door.
During his shower, Tom had come to the conclusion that he simply couldn’t take any more of this any longer. He backed Peg’s Accord out of the driveway, booted up his cell phone and punched in Frank Warren’s number resolutely.