Andrew the Hero
This happened while we were in Alabama visiting. It just took me some time to write it out. It's not perfect, but eh. Enjoy. Or something.
Johanna looked out the window that morning. She had been in Alabama for only a few days and was already sick of the ever-present rain. The sky was cloudy, and she could barely see the tiny drops of rain hitting the driveway. She had grown so accustomed to the constant sunny days in their new home in Laredo that she had forgotten how bothersome rain could be.
“I don’t know how much longer I can stay indoors. I must get out today,” she thought to herself.
She changed out of her pajamas and into her workout clothes-an old Alabama shirt and gym shorts. As she was lacing up her shoes, she called to her husband across the hall.
“I’m gonna go run today, okay?”
“Okay, I’ll get the kids bathed.”
“You’re the greatest,” she said as she kissed his forehead and walked towards the front door. On the way she passed her step-mom, Cheryl, who was washing dishes at the sink.
“It’s raining out there. You can use our treadmill, ya know.”
“I always feel dizzy when I get off the treadmill. I’ll be okay out there. It’s not raining too bad.”
Johanna could tell her step-mom was concerned, but she shrugged it off and stepped out the door. She breathed in the crisp, cool autumn air.
“Ahh, now, THIS is what I’m talking about, Laredo! Can’t beat that Alabama air!”
She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She had just gotten a new touchscreen smart phone a few weeks before her trip. With a few touches on the screen to set up her running timer and some music, she was ready to venture into the drizzle.
In her brief stay at her father’s house, she had mapped out a running trail. His house was set on a steep hill with one of the longest driveways Johanna had ever seen. The house was completely surrounded by woods which covered the entire hillside. She had chosen a dirt road that wove along the bottom of the hill and next to a large field where a few cows grazed. Across the field she could see more trees, and even though it wasn’t visible, she knew that Blue Water Creek was weaving its way through them. At the bottom of her father’s driveway sat a quaint house where she had grown up for part of her life and a massive red barn that her father had recently built to house whatever large farm equipment he purchased and bales of hay that were waiting to be sold.
“I wonder why red is such a popular color for barns,” she mused as she slowly jogged past.
Johanna made her way around the first curve and chanced a glance up away from the ground where she normally looked, so she wouldn’t trip. It was known to happen from time to time. A few yards ahead, she noticed a pick-up truck parked at the base of a steep incline on the road. There was a gate there that led into the cow pasture. Johanna wondered for a minute why someone would park their truck there, then she remembered that it was deer hunting season. She had seen so many trucks parked in random places next to woods on her trip. She assumed the hunter had parked his car there and left it there. No worries.
As she got closer to the truck, the rain turned from a slight drizzled to a steady rain. She glanced up again to see how far she had gotten and glanced at the truck. She realized someone was in the truck, with the window open, just sitting there.
Johanna was starting to feel a little uneasy. She had seen some scary movies, and men sitting alone in trucks in the rain were never a good sign. She tried to keep her cool, but she’d always had an over-active imagination. As she jogged closer and closer to the truck, she kept her eyes to the ground. Just as she was passing the truck, she glanced up and made eye contact with the man.
The moment almost seemed to go in slow motion as moments like that do in movies. They made eye contact. He nodded slowly at her. She nodded back, pulled her hand up in a slight wave, and quickly averted her eyes. All was normal except for what was going on in Johanna’s head.
“He’s going to chase after me. I’m not going to look back because what if he gets out of his car and runs after me. And I’m going up this cursed hill! Why is it so steep?! I’m tired, and he’s rested. He’ll be able to catch me in no time. I’m not going to look back. I’m not going to look back. I’ll call Andrew to come pick me up when I’m done.”
She didn’t. The rain started coming down in droves. Lightning flashed and thunder roared.
“You’ve got to be freakin’ kidding me!”
She wailed as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She ran her finger across the screen, but it didn’t respond. She tried several more times with the same result.
“Why is this not working?!” she said aloud all the while thinking about that creepy man at the bottom of the hill, and how he could come get her any minute. She looked around and saw an old abandoned shed. She ran under it and tried her phone again-still no response. Johanna decided that she would have to take the battery out to reset the phone.
The few minutes it took to reboot the phone seemed to last an eternity as she thought of the lightning and thunder, but mostly about the lone man sitting in his truck in the storm. It finally rebooted, and she dialed Andrew’s number.
“Hi, you’ve reached Andrew’s cell phone. I can’t…”
She hung up the phone in disgust. Andrew’s phone didn’t have service at her Dad’s house. He had been complaining about it since they’d been there, and she had rubbed her perfect T-Mobile service in his face. Now, she was complaining right along with him.
“Curse you, AT&T!!”
She thought about whom she could call, instead, and as she lifted her head to look out on the rain again to see if it had let up, she saw the most beautiful sight she had ever witnessed.
A gold 2000 Honda Odyssey was pulling up the hill and heading her direction, and sitting in the driver’s seat was her husband. The smile that erupted took over her entire face. She had never been so grateful to see that van in her life. She ran up to it as Andrew slowed down, so she could jump in.
“I was just trying to call you! I can’t believe you just came!”
“Yeah, I heard the rain coming down hard, and I figured I better save you.”
“You’re my hero! No! You’re my knight! My knight in a shining mini-van!”
“Um, that’s a little much, don’t ya think?”
But Johanna didn’t think it was too much at all. She had always known he was the perfect husband, but she didn’t know he was the perfect Super Hero, as well.
Johanna looked out the window that morning. She had been in Alabama for only a few days and was already sick of the ever-present rain. The sky was cloudy, and she could barely see the tiny drops of rain hitting the driveway. She had grown so accustomed to the constant sunny days in their new home in Laredo that she had forgotten how bothersome rain could be.
“I don’t know how much longer I can stay indoors. I must get out today,” she thought to herself.
She changed out of her pajamas and into her workout clothes-an old Alabama shirt and gym shorts. As she was lacing up her shoes, she called to her husband across the hall.
“I’m gonna go run today, okay?”
“Okay, I’ll get the kids bathed.”
“You’re the greatest,” she said as she kissed his forehead and walked towards the front door. On the way she passed her step-mom, Cheryl, who was washing dishes at the sink.
“It’s raining out there. You can use our treadmill, ya know.”
“I always feel dizzy when I get off the treadmill. I’ll be okay out there. It’s not raining too bad.”
Johanna could tell her step-mom was concerned, but she shrugged it off and stepped out the door. She breathed in the crisp, cool autumn air.
“Ahh, now, THIS is what I’m talking about, Laredo! Can’t beat that Alabama air!”
She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She had just gotten a new touchscreen smart phone a few weeks before her trip. With a few touches on the screen to set up her running timer and some music, she was ready to venture into the drizzle.
In her brief stay at her father’s house, she had mapped out a running trail. His house was set on a steep hill with one of the longest driveways Johanna had ever seen. The house was completely surrounded by woods which covered the entire hillside. She had chosen a dirt road that wove along the bottom of the hill and next to a large field where a few cows grazed. Across the field she could see more trees, and even though it wasn’t visible, she knew that Blue Water Creek was weaving its way through them. At the bottom of her father’s driveway sat a quaint house where she had grown up for part of her life and a massive red barn that her father had recently built to house whatever large farm equipment he purchased and bales of hay that were waiting to be sold.
“I wonder why red is such a popular color for barns,” she mused as she slowly jogged past.
Johanna made her way around the first curve and chanced a glance up away from the ground where she normally looked, so she wouldn’t trip. It was known to happen from time to time. A few yards ahead, she noticed a pick-up truck parked at the base of a steep incline on the road. There was a gate there that led into the cow pasture. Johanna wondered for a minute why someone would park their truck there, then she remembered that it was deer hunting season. She had seen so many trucks parked in random places next to woods on her trip. She assumed the hunter had parked his car there and left it there. No worries.
As she got closer to the truck, the rain turned from a slight drizzled to a steady rain. She glanced up again to see how far she had gotten and glanced at the truck. She realized someone was in the truck, with the window open, just sitting there.
Johanna was starting to feel a little uneasy. She had seen some scary movies, and men sitting alone in trucks in the rain were never a good sign. She tried to keep her cool, but she’d always had an over-active imagination. As she jogged closer and closer to the truck, she kept her eyes to the ground. Just as she was passing the truck, she glanced up and made eye contact with the man.
The moment almost seemed to go in slow motion as moments like that do in movies. They made eye contact. He nodded slowly at her. She nodded back, pulled her hand up in a slight wave, and quickly averted her eyes. All was normal except for what was going on in Johanna’s head.
“He’s going to chase after me. I’m not going to look back because what if he gets out of his car and runs after me. And I’m going up this cursed hill! Why is it so steep?! I’m tired, and he’s rested. He’ll be able to catch me in no time. I’m not going to look back. I’m not going to look back. I’ll call Andrew to come pick me up when I’m done.”
She didn’t. The rain started coming down in droves. Lightning flashed and thunder roared.
“You’ve got to be freakin’ kidding me!”
She wailed as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She ran her finger across the screen, but it didn’t respond. She tried several more times with the same result.
“Why is this not working?!” she said aloud all the while thinking about that creepy man at the bottom of the hill, and how he could come get her any minute. She looked around and saw an old abandoned shed. She ran under it and tried her phone again-still no response. Johanna decided that she would have to take the battery out to reset the phone.
The few minutes it took to reboot the phone seemed to last an eternity as she thought of the lightning and thunder, but mostly about the lone man sitting in his truck in the storm. It finally rebooted, and she dialed Andrew’s number.
“Hi, you’ve reached Andrew’s cell phone. I can’t…”
She hung up the phone in disgust. Andrew’s phone didn’t have service at her Dad’s house. He had been complaining about it since they’d been there, and she had rubbed her perfect T-Mobile service in his face. Now, she was complaining right along with him.
“Curse you, AT&T!!”
She thought about whom she could call, instead, and as she lifted her head to look out on the rain again to see if it had let up, she saw the most beautiful sight she had ever witnessed.
A gold 2000 Honda Odyssey was pulling up the hill and heading her direction, and sitting in the driver’s seat was her husband. The smile that erupted took over her entire face. She had never been so grateful to see that van in her life. She ran up to it as Andrew slowed down, so she could jump in.
“I was just trying to call you! I can’t believe you just came!”
“Yeah, I heard the rain coming down hard, and I figured I better save you.”
“You’re my hero! No! You’re my knight! My knight in a shining mini-van!”
“Um, that’s a little much, don’t ya think?”
But Johanna didn’t think it was too much at all. She had always known he was the perfect husband, but she didn’t know he was the perfect Super Hero, as well.