Introduction


Winters in New England were known for their days long blizzards and freezing cold temperatures. This day late in January in 1970 was turning out to be one of them, a very bad one at that. The weather forecast called for possible snow flurries. To New Englanders that was a good forecast and many thought nothing of venturing out to do their errands and the schools were kept open.
About two in the afternoon the weather changed in an instant for the worse, into a full blizzard. The wind was howling as it blew hard enough to knock small trees down. Snow was coming down fast, temperatures had dropped rapidly. The storm came out of nowhere and no one was prepared for it.
The school department debated on letting the children out forty-five minutes early, but decided not to as most of the children would be standing out in the storm waiting for their parents to get home.
Dave and Liz Mason were caught in the blizzard about a half-hour drive from home. Dave was driving slow and cautiously, worrying at the same time if they would get home before their little girl, Carly. Liz, his wife, sat beside him, belted in and holding on to the dashboard. The roads were slippery, and the wind was blowing the snow so bad that you couldn’t see a foot in front of you.
"Dave, maybe we should have taken the back roads instead of the highway. At least there might not have been so many other cars and you could’ve gone as slow as you needed to. I hope we make it home for Carly, we haven’t missed a day yet since she started kindergarten. She will be so upset if we’re late." Liz said, her eyes squinting in an effort to see in front of them.
"I know, honey. I’m worried too. But, Carly knows to go next door to Emma’s, should we not be home in time. We’ve told her over and over again. Emma will take good care of her until we get there, however late it is. She loves our baby like her own grandchild." Dave tried to sound reassuring to his wife, but he was getting nervous driving. He prayed to God that they would get home safely to their little girl. They loved her so very much. Dave thought how lucky he was to have such a wonderful family. Being an orphan, he never had the opportunity to have unconditional love until he met Liz the year after he graduated from high school.
There she was long legged and lean with her carhop shorts on, rolling around on roller skates waiting on cars. Her light brown hair tied up in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes. She came to his red and white ‘57 Chevy. With a big smile that went all the way up to her eyes she said. "Welcome to Harry’s Car Hop, and what may I get you today?" Those eyes! They were big and blue as the ocean and when they met his, it was magic.
Dave didn’t quite know what he was feeling, but he knew he had to get to know this girl. He went back to the carhop every day for a week and a half, whenever she was working. He found out her name was Elizabeth Marie Conner. She had told him to call her Liz. He rolled that name on his tongue and like the way it felt. He liked the way it sounded when he spoke it. He liked every thing about her. When she had told him that Martha’s Vineyard about a year ago killed her parents in a fishing accident out, he told her of his being orphaned at an early age.
Liz started to take her breaks when it was time for him to come to the carhop for lunch. Eventually Dave asked for her phone number. They talked on the phone every night for hours on end.
Liz lived with her two older sisters, Lucille and Phyllis in the house she had grown up in. All three sisters worked to keep the house together. Phyllis and Lucy, as family called her, teased poor Liz constantly about how Dave would call and talk for hours, but had yet to ask her out.
He finally did ask Liz out about a week later and has never left her side since. They were married six months later. Dave continued to work at the Travel Agency and Liz at the carhop.
The Newlyweds rented a little apartment in town until Phyllis announced that she was getting married. Not wanting to stay in the house alone, Lucy decided it was time for her to move on. Lucy was the adventurous type, never afraid to try new things, she always wanted to go off on her own and discover new and beautiful things. She had saved up some money and wanted to climb some mountains and run the White Water Rapids. "Time for some excitement in my life!" Lucy would often say. Liz and Dave moved into Liz’s child hood home. Dave never had one of his own, so to share Liz’s meant a lot to him. Two months after they moved in, they got a new neighbor. Emma Wood was a widow in her late forties. She was a plump woman, so happy and full of love and love for life it’s self. She never had any children of her own, so the three of them decided they would be a family. The children she never had the mother Dave never had and the mother Liz missed terribly. It was hard being a new wife without a mother to talk to. Her sisters couldn’t give her much advice in the marriage or motherhood departments because she was the first of them to be married.
"I love you, Liz." Dave said to her, she replied with an "I love you, too." He felt he had to say that just then. Why? He didn’t know. They told each other they loved each another a dozen times a day. Maybe he was more scared driving in the storm than he’d thought. Should anything actually happen to them in this blizzard, Carly and Emma would be well taken care of. Emma had the envelope, which contained all she needed to know. Dave had given it to her three years ago. He and Liz had written it together. But later that night he had rewritten it before he gave it to Emma.
Liz had never found out about the changes and didn’t even know how well off they really were. She never suspected anything of the trips he would take for the Travel Agency because she, and sometimes Carly got to go with him. She knew his days were busy with business for the Agency. She and Carly toured the places and bought souvenirs while he worked. Dave thought how Liz might react if he ever told her just which Agency he was really working for. She would probably leave him. But then she did love him with all her heart and soul, so maybe she would understand and stay. If he could just get up the nerve some day to tell her the truth and suffer the consequences, but not yet. He wanted to enjoy his wonderful family for a while longer.
"Dave! Look out!" Liz screamed. A scream of horror and fear that went right to Dave’s bones; he hit the brakes and turned the wheel away from the blurry maze of red lights.
Silence.
Dave regained consciousness some time later. Liz’s head was on his shoulder. She was bleeding badly from her forehead. He couldn’t see the wound but knew it would be fatal if she didn’t get help soon. He knew rescue crews would be a long time coming with the weather conditions the way they were. He felt a stab of pain as he reached for Liz to hold her close and keep her warm. He looked down. The steering wheel had cut him almost in half. He instantly got nauseous and passed out from the pain.
His last word was. "Carly."



Chapter One

Carly was a bright, happy slip of a girl with big blues eyes. With hair the color of wheat. On that day, late in January of 1970, she arrived home after school, finding no one there. The fear was building in Carly. Her parents were always home when she got there. They had never missed a day in the three years she had been in school. It was snowing and she knew the roads weren’t in good shape. Her bus even slid just a bit, scaring all the children into silence. She went next door to Emma Wood’s house because that is what her parents told her to do if they were ever late getting home for her. Emma was a kindly lady who took care of Carly since the day she was born. The woman was like a grandmother to the girl. Emma was an older widowed woman with a body shaped like a pair and sparkling brown eyes set in a chubby, but always smiling face.
Carly banged on the door with vigor. "Emma! Emma!" She shouted. The door opened and Emma saw the state of hysteria that Carly had worked herself into.
"Carly, what’s wrong, baby? Slow down and tell me." Emma said in a grandmotherly tone.
"My parents aren’t home! They never miss being here when I get home from school! And the roads are so very bad, our bus even slid!"
Emma reached out and folded the girl in her arms and whispered. "It’s all right, child. I’m sure they’re driving slowly because of the road conditions. Now, calm down and come inside and I’ll make us a cup of hot chocolate to warm ourselves while we wait for them."
Emma busied herself in the kitchen making the hot chocolate, humming a tune she used to hum for Carly when she was a baby. It always calmed her down.
She had moved here about nine years ago and met Liz and Dave Mason. Having no children of her own, neither of them having a mother, they all adopted each other and were like a family. Dave was orphaned at a young age and had no real family, Liz on the other hand did have family. Two sisters, one in Florida and another sister in West Virginia in the mountains. Both sisters lived quite a jump from New England and didn’t visit often. They did write and talk to each other on the phone now and again, keeping in touch. Both Liz’s parents died when she was in her teens so she had declared Emma as her surrogate mother. A short time later Liz was pregnant with Carly and needed a woman to confide in. Emma helped her through her pregnancy and was even in the room when Carly was born. Oh, that was a wonderful experience!
"I love that tune you are humming, Emma. I’ve heard it somewhere before." Carly mumbled with her face in her hands and her elbows on the table, her eyes focusing on something far away.
Emma chuckled. "You should, dear. I used to hum it to you as a baby when you were fussy. It always worked to calm you down and get you asleep. Now, let’s drink this hot chocolate before it gets cold. Carly, get your elbows off the table, now. You must remember your good manners at all times. How about some chocolate chip cookies? I just baked them this morning."
The pair sat at the kitchen table drinking hot chocolate, eating cookies and talking about the Christmas that had just gone by. Carly thought it was the best Christmas ever because she had gotten a purple Spider bike with a shiny silver seat and a shiny red sled for sledding in the snow. Of course, Santa had to get her mom and dad one to share so they could all go sledding together. Carly decided to tell Emma about the time she and her parents went sledding and her father fell off the sled and rolled down the hill. "He looked like the Abominable Snowman!" Carly giggled.
But Emma was only half listening. She was watching the clock, fearful for Dave and Liz. The weather had changed in a matter of minutes. The radio said that it was major blizzard condition and to stay off the roads. What if something did happen? What would become of little Carly? She shook her head and putting the thoughts out of her mind. Dave had given her an envelope long ago to keep just incase something should happen to them. She never opened it. She just couldn’t.
"Carly, honey, why don’t you go in the living room and put the television on channel 56 and watch some afternoon cartoons? You don’t have any homework on Fridays, do you?" Emma asked trying to make things seem normal and not show the fear she was beginning to feel.
Carly scooted off her chair and started for the living room, turning she asked, "Emma? Do you think mommy and daddy will be all right? I’m scared that something bad has happened to them."
"Oh, Baby." Emma cooed as she went to the child and bent down on her knees to hug Carly. "Don’t think that way, honey. These storms are bad and sometimes people have to pull off the road and grab whatever kind of shelter they can to weather out the storm until it’s safe to travel again. I’m sure your parents will call as soon as they can if they had to pull over. Or they’ll be home sometime soon. So, lets just act like there isn’t a storm outside and mommy and daddy went out for the night, how’s that sound?"
Carly tilted her head to one side, her index finger pressed to her little lips. After a minute or two she replied. "OK, but only if I can have milk and some more of those chocolate chip cookies before I go to bed tonight, that is if I am still here. And if my mom and dad come home you promise to send me home with some so I can have milk and cookies before I go to bed there?"
"Sure thing, Sweetheart. You go on in and watch the cartoons and I’ll clean up this mess and start us some kind of supper, all right?" Emma patted Carly on the top of her head after she nodded her reply. She took a deep breath and headed for the kitchen.
It was getting near to seven at night. Carly had fallen asleep on the couch while watching cartoons. Emma thought that was good for the child, make time pass so it didn’t seem like it was dragging by, like it was for her.
She was getting supper on the table when the announcement came over the radio. "We interrupt this broadcast to bring you an Emergency Bulletin." Emma took a deep breath the same time as the announcer and braced herself. She could tell by his voice that it was bad news.
"Approximately three o’clock this afternoon there was an accident on Route 24, south bound lane, just south of West Bridgewater and north of Bridgewater. We’re estimating the time of the incident, as we don’t really know what time it actually did happen. It involves more than thirty cars. It’s a bad pile up. It was just found a little over an hour ago. Rescue Units are near the accident, but because of the snow and the debris, are having a hard time getting to it."
"We have no information at this time as to who is involved, nor an injury list. Stay tuned to Country 98.9 and we’ll keep you informed as information comes in."
"Oh my Lord. God have mercy!" Emma said on a breath. Could Dave and Liz be in that accident? Could they be seriously hurt, freezing to death or even dead?
"Emma, are my mommy and daddy in that terrible accident? Where is that road? I know the names of the towns. Where did they go today?" Carly asked, while rubbing the sleep out her eyes.
Emma turned. What to do? What to say to this little slip of a child? The woman thought as she turned to see the Carly rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with a confused and sad look on her face, still puffy from sleep.
Emma knew Friday was Dave’s payday and they always made a day of picking up his check and going to the mall in Brockton to get Carly a surprise for doing well for another week in school. She also knew they took Route 24 south bound home. Now which exit they would take, she didn’t know. She just prayed it was the West Bridgewater exit before the accident. Maybe they fell just short of the accident and were walking, looking for shelter.
"Well, Carly. It looks to be a very long night. There are a lot of scattered power outages all over the city so that means most of the phones are locked up inside stores and it’s hard to find anything open. I bet your mom and dad are walking right now looking for a phone to call us with. They’ll be fine. In the mean time, why don’t we eat and get your bath out of the way so we can curl up and watch t.v. You can stay up a little bit later tonight because it’s Friday and there’s no school tomorrow and you took quite a long nap." Emma bargained with the child.
"Ok, I guess so. What’s for supper anyway?"
"Homemade pizza with hamburger and onions."
"Great! I’m starved, you get the pizza while I wash up and let’s eat it all!" Carly said excitedly as she ran to the bathroom.
Carly, enjoying her pizza, her face was covered with pizza sauce. "I hate snow. I used to like it and like playing in it. But today I don’t much like it and it’s scaring me. I don’t like winter or snow no more."
Emma looked at the child, face covered in sauce from ear to ear and agreed with her. How can such a beautiful thing, as snow be so deadly at the same time? Mother Nature is punishing us for something. For what, she had no idea.
"You finish up that piece and I’ll run the water for your bath so we can get it done and cuddle in front of the TV and keep each other company." Emma instructed the little girl. For a slip of a thing, she could out eat a full-grown man. Thank goodness Emma was just picking at her pizza. She couldn’t eat. She was too tensed up and scared, but she couldn’t let Carly see that. She just wanted to break down and cry, but she wouldn’t in front of the girl.
Emma got some blankets and pillows together and was arranging them about the living room floor when an update about the accident came across the television. "Rescue Units had finally got to the accident site and were helping all those that they could get to. There was no getting to the people in the center of the pile up for a long time; maybe days and they predicted there would be no survivors when they got to the bottom of the pile because of lack of medical attention and the freezing temperatures. So far there were five dead and four wounded seriously. More to come later."
Emma sank in a chair and stared at the screen. She knew for the last hour or so that Dave and Liz were gone. The announcer just confirmed her deepest fear. What should she tell Carly, or not tell her? Should she get on the phone and call the Trooper Station in nearby Middleboro to see if anyone fitting Dave and Liz’s description had been found?
"Emma! I’m ready to get out and dry off now, the bubbles are all gone!" Carly giggled from the bathroom.
She decided to put all options off until after Carly was asleep, then she would get on the phone to see what she could find out.
"I’m coming, baby." Emma replied while trying to get her composure back. "I’ve got the blankets and pillows together on the living room floor. Popcorn is popping as we speak. Hey, Carly? I thought maybe instead of watching TV that we could listen to some old records of mine with the candles lit and have a pajama party. What do you think?" She figured the accident will be all over the television and radio stations throughout the night, and she just wasn’t up to answering a whole lot of questions from Carly. Let the kid have a little peace before all hell broke out on her little head. It’s going to hit her hard and then some as it is. Emma was worried about Carly, her parents loved her more than most children, and she loved them back just as much. They were a very tight knit family. She didn’t know what would become of the girl. Heck, she didn’t even know how she would tell Carly that her parents were gone. "Emma Jean, stop jumping to conclusions, and wait for the truth, whatever it maybe." She chided herself. "Cross that bridge when you get to it." Her dad used to say.
"That sounds good, Emma. Do you have any Elvis? I like him. Hey! Do you have any Country music? Mommy and me sneak it on when Daddy isn’t home. He calls it ‘that yee haw stuff’."
"I sure do kiddo, let’s get that popcorn and put a Country album on." Emma guided Carly out of the bathroom to the popcorn and put a record on the player.
After more than an hour of giggles, tickles and Country music singing, Carly fell off to sleep. She was as content as a cat, curled up in the middle of the living room floor. Emma thought, "I’ll just carry her upstairs in a while. But for right now I’ll take comfort in her just being here safe and asleep dreaming little girl dreams. Time for some coffee, its going to be a very long night."




















Chapter Two

Emma busied herself making coffee, cleaning up Carly’s mess in the bathroom. She snapped the radio back on when she came back in the kitchen to drink her coffee. She listened to the updates, but no names or descriptions of vehicles were given out. She knew there would be a story on the news, so before she made another cup of coffee to watch it with, she would put Carly upstairs in the guestroom bed. Who was she kidding? It was in actuality Carly’s room, she was the only one that ever slept in it and Carly had all kinds of toys piled in there. Emma had just done the whole room over in Minnie Mouse; she papered the walls, bought a bedspread and the curtains to match the wallpaper. Now what kind of adult guest would have their dreams invaded by Minnie? Emma chuckled to herself.
It was time for the news. She snuggled up on the couch with her coffee and waited for news on the accident. Of course it was the first story to be aired.
"And now an update on the thirty two-car pile up on Route 24, southbound. More than three feet of snow has fallen in the last nine hours, here in the Brockton area with still more coming, a major blizzard. Making it near impossible for Rescue Units to do their jobs.
We have the National Guard working along side the Rescue Units and out all over the place from plowing to rescuing the elderly, the disabled and anyone else that needs assistance. We have been in a State Of Emergency since it was declared earlier this evening by the Governor. It’s slow going getting to the people and getting the ones that need medical help to hospitals. Many are still trapped in cars. There is no way to know how many bodies will come out of this wreckage. The cars are literally sitting on top of another. We’re not even sure if the count on the vehicles is accurate, but it sure looks like more than thirty-two cars, to me.
Let’s all pray for the snow to stop. No one knows how long it will take to reach the bottom of the pile. Rescue Units will keep working around the clock with the National Guard until the last victim is out. We have Rescue Units and National Guardsmen coming in from nearby states that are not affected by the storm, to take shifts and keep the rescue going nonstop throughout the night, until the rescue is completed.
Please do not call the Police or State Troopers Stations. They need the lines open for emergencies. The Officers and Troopers have set up a special unit which will keep track of the survivors and get in touch with their families as soon as possible. It’s better they call you with news when and if they have it, than people tying up the phone lines, blocking out emergency calls, asking for information the Officers and Troopers probably won’t have. They will, however, have a watts line set up sometime tomorrow.
Every thing is pretty much stagnant out here tonight. Forecasters say the snow won’t be over for at least twelve more hours. Stay in, stay warm and stay safe. Emergency lines are open for emergency assistance for those who need it.
If you are one of the many without electricity or heat, please go to your nearest shelter or call the shelter hotline at 599-9302, they will give you information on an open shelter near you and arrange for someone to come and get you. Stay off the roads. The conditions are horrible out here. The Governor has banned all unauthorized vehicles from the streets until further notice.
If you have a four by four or another kind of all terrain vehicles, please call 599-7788 to volunteer to drive people to shelters and hospitals. Transportation for nurses and doctors is also needed at the hospital.
As to those of you who had family driving southbound on Route 24, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your loved ones. May God bless you.
This is Bob Caplin, signing off from the car pile up on Rout 24 in West Bridgewater."
"And now for the rest of the news."
Emma reached over and shut the television off.
She sat there in the dark, numb, tears falling from her eyes. Her heart aching for Dave, Liz, Carly and herself, their wonderful little world was gone, at least half of it. The two children who were like her own, and one Sweet child’s mommy and daddy were gone. Just like that, in a snap of a finger. Just goes to show how quickly a life can end.
After a while of grieving Emma started to pick up the blankets and pillows, hugging the blankets as she folded them. Thinking how she had to be strong for both her and Carly. She was sure the phone call would come, but she just didn’t know when. She had dealt with death many times in her life, but this time was a whole different ball game. Even more so than her belated husband’s death. God rest his soul. She put half of the blankets and a pillow on the couch, deciding to sleep there next to the phone so it would not wake Carly. Emma knew that the night would drag on forever until the call came. She lit two candles and put them on the coffee table next to the phone. She got herself a glass of Brandy, turned the TV on low volume and crawled onto the couch, using the blankets and pillow more for security than warmth.
A little after three o’clock in the morning the phone rang, startling Emma out of a sound sleep. She snatched up the receiver. In a horse, shaking voice, she said, "Hello?"
"Yes ma’am, am I speaking with Mrs. Emma Wood?" The voice on the other end sounded very tired and masculine.
"Yes, this is Mrs. Wood"
"This is Trooper Dale Rosenburg. I am sorry to disturb you at this later hour, but you are listed as the nearest relative contact for David and Elizabeth Mason."
"Yes"
"I regret to inform you, ma’am, that they were both killed in the car pile up on Route 24. I knew Dave pretty well, and I am truly sorry that he and his wife were killed. Is their daughter, Carly Jean, with you, ma’am?"
"Thank you for taking the time out to call, Trooper. I guess I just knew it in my bones for hours now. Carly Jean is here and is upstairs sleeping peacefully."
"Call me Dale, please. Dave talked so much about you that I feel like I already know you. He loved you very much. Liz had two sisters, do you know how to get in touch with them?"
"Yes. But the one in West Virginia I may not be able to reach. The phone lines are down up in the mountains a lot. You can call me Emma."
"Good. Listen, I’ve been up for more than twenty fours hours now, let me get home and get some sleep and then I will stop by sometime in the early afternoon and fill you in with the details and help you any way that I can."
"Thank you, Dale. I am not really up to hearing the details just yet either. Early afternoon will be fine, and I will get in touch with Liz’s sisters. I look forward to seeing you."
"Great. I will see you then, and my condolences. Goodbye, Emma."
"Thank you, goodbye."
The phone call she waited for all night had finally come and lasted less than a minute. It probably would have come later if not for Dave’s friend finding out. Just like Dave, even trying to protect and help those he loved, even from the grave. That last thought sent a shiver up Emma’s spine. Emma thought how strange Faith and God worked. She sat back and wondered what to do first. Call Liz’s sisters at this time of the night? Read Dave and Liz’s letter? After all the time had come when she had to open and read it, hadn’t it? She was afraid to touch the thing for three years, thinking that something bad would happen if she did.
Emma had decided coffee was first on the list. She needed to wake up and think things through rationally. She moved through the house like she was in a trance. Emma made a pot of percolated coffee. She wasn’t in any hurry at the moment. But she was going to need a lot of coffee.
She walked over to her China Cabinet that housed her knickknacks and reached way in the back and pulled out an old pack of Marlboro. "Hey, I held out for 18 months, but I really need one right now, so I’m having one, damn it." She told herself. She got the lighter, which was behind the cigarettes, lit one up with determination. Only to choke herself. Coughing her head off, she chided herself that she would wake up Carly. "Carly!" Emma broke down in a heap of sobs and then some really hard crying.
With a sigh and a heavy heart Emma got up from the table. "I’d better stop crying before my eyes end up looking like apples and I won’t be able to see for days. I guess the coffee is done by now. Enough sobbing and down to business, you’ve got a lot to take care of, you’ve done this before. But not two at once and you didn’t have a baby upstairs you’d have to tell that her mommy and daddy are in Heaven." The tears started running down her face again. She had never felt a loss such at this one. She looked at the stubbed out the cigarette. " I will smoke you, yet. Mark my words, butt."
Emma went to her desk to get Liz’s sisters’ phone numbers. She saw the envelope Dave had given her and picked it up with shaking hands, she sat at the table with a fresh cup of coffee and the telephone. It was almost five in the morning. At least they had an almost good night’s rest. She dialed Phyllis in Florida first. On the other end of the phone, it rang near a half dozen times and Emma was chickening out and wanted to hang up the receiver. Just then someone with a light sleepy voice answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Phyllis? This is Emma Wood."
"Yes, it’s me. Emma? I saw you guys were having a heck of a storm up there. I was going to call this morning to see how ya’ll were fairing. And that car pile up, my God you guys got a bad one going there."
"That’s what I was calling about."
"The snow?" There was a pause for a minute while she came fully awake "The accident, oh my God! Elizabeth? Dave? Carly?"
"I don’t know how to say this. Dave and Liz died in the accident out on Route 24. Carly is here with me. They were coming home. It was almost time for Carly to be home from school. She came over here. I just found out a while ago. A Trooper, who turns out to be a friend of Dave’s called me. I doubt I would have known anything for a long time if it weren’t for this man. He is coming over early this afternoon to tell me the details and to help me with whatever has to be done." Emma could hear Phyllis sobbing on the other end. She was doing the same on her end of the line.
"At least Carly was in school and not with them. Have you called Lucy, yet? She was Liz’s ‘protector’ when we were little. No body could pick on Lizzy without Lucy beating the pulp out of them." Phyllis let out a sad chuckle.
"No, I haven’t yet. I knew at least that your phone lines would be up and running."
Phyllis chuckled again. "Yeah, leave it to Lucy to be living on top of some mountain with two youngin’s, a husband as good as gold and living off the land. That girl was always a hoot. It’s after five in the morning and I know she’s up milking the cow or the goat or whatever. If the phones are up, she’ll answer it."
"All right, I will try to call her then."
"You do that and I will get us on a plane as soon as I can. I’ll call you back in a while, if you can’t get a hold of Lucy, call me back. All right, Emma?"
"Fine. I’ll talk to you in a while then."
"Emma?"
"Yes?"
"Lizzy loved you like a mother, thank you for that. I’ll be in touch."
The line was disconnected. Emma had yet another, but a shorter crying spell and when it was over, she dialed Lucy’s number. At least it was ringing.
"Hello." A bright cheery voice said on the other end of the line.
Emma thought it was terrible that the voice wouldn’t be cheery for very long. "Lucy? This is Emma Wood."
"Hey, ya’ll are having one whipper snapper of a storm up there, sounds more likin’ it belongs up ‘ere in the mountains than up there in New England."
"Did you hear about the thirty car pile up?"
"Ooo, yeah. It was a badin, wan it?"
"That’s what I am calling about. Either way this is not going to be easy, so I will just blurt it out. Dave and Liz were in the accident and died sometime before the rescue crews could get there."
"Carly?"
"She’s here with me. A Trooper that Dave knew called me earlier. He’s stopping over early this afternoon to fill me in on the details. Phyllis is trying to get plane reservations for you both. Can you get to the airport, is it even open?"
"Yeah, the airport is open, but it’s not bad down the mountain. It’s really rough up here, though. I’m sure Judd can get me down the mountain in the ol’ four by four. I guess I’ll see you soon then, and thanks for callin’, Emma."
"See you soon too."








Chapter Three

And that was the end of the infamous phone calls she had dreaded making all night. It wasn’t so bad. I guess it’s time for the envelope now, she thought.
"Where is that pack of cigarettes, I need one." She lit the cigarette and held the envelope in her shaking hands. Just staring at the envelope while she took long, slow drags off her cigarette. It wouldn’t have been so hard if it weren’t for the fact that it was a small manila envelope, she could handle a regular letter sized one with just a goodbye letter inside. She had no idea what was inside it and that scared her even more. "Get it over with, girl!" She ordered herself as she opened the envelope. There was a letter written in Liz’s hand and other in Dave’s and some other smaller envelopes. She opened the letter from Liz first.
August 14, 1967
Dearest Emma,

At least that’s what I have always
been told.
You’ve always been there for my family and me. I want to thank you for that and to tell you that I’ve loved you very, very much.
Emma, would you take care of my baby? Keep her safe and warm and help her to grow up to be someone some day.
I love you. You would have made some lucky kid a great mom. Take my baby and raise her as your own.
Love,
Liz
***

"I love you too, honey. I promise to take good care of Carly for as long as I can, I’m getting on in years. God willing, I’ll be here a while longer." Emma sobbed. "I miss you both already. Carly and I will be lost for a little while, but we’ll adjust eventually."
***
August 14, 1960

Dear Emma,
As you must know by now, Liz and I have passed on. Hopefully Carly is alive and well with you instead of with us.
You’ve been the mother I never had. And I love you even more for that. Even more than you could imagine. Thank you for being there for my family and me and being the wonderful, loving person you are.
If Carly is still alive, Liz and I want you to keep her and raise her into a responsible adult and see to it she gets the education she wishes for.
Everything has been set up already. In the remaining envelope you will find two bank books, keys to our safe at the house and another key to a safety deposit box in a bank in Boston.
Jim Bromlee at the Creedence and Creedence Law Firm on the corner of Main and Central Streets in Brockton has our Will and any instructions you made need.
Yes, there is a bankbook with your name on it. It’s my gift to you for being who you are to me. Take it and enjoy yourself, have a little fun and pamper yourself for a while.
You are the Executor of the Estate and Carly’s Guardian. You will have complete control over liquidating our material assets after anything either of Liz’s sisters want or you think Carly should have, or what you would like to keep for yourself. All that money is to go toward Carly’s Trust Fund with 40% of that going to you for your troubles.
Liz and I want you to have the Grandfather clock in the living room. You always loved to listen to it chime. Now when it chimes, it will be Liz and I saying we love you.
As far as our Funerals and arrangements, they have all been taken care of. Jim will give you the details. Get in touch with him as soon as you are up to it.
There are three more letters in the envelope, one for each of Liz’s sisters and one for Carly. If she is not old enough to understand, save it for her until she is. Use your discretion.
You will probably be shocked at the amounts of the savings accounts and the Trust Fund for Carly.
May the Lord forgive me for loving my country and protecting it.
I know Liz will make it through the Pearly Gates, as for me, I don’t know. But I know we’ll be watching over you and Carly and hope to see you at those gates someday, in due time.
God Bless You,
Love, your son,
Dave
***
"Dave, you were a good man, husband and father. You always did what was right, and I believe you will make it through those Pearly Gates with no problem. I love you like my own son." The woman said with a crackling voice and the tears once again running down her plump cheeks.
She pulled out the envelope that said ‘Bank Accounts’. She was just about to open it when the phone rang. Emma blew her nose and wiped the tears off her face before she answered it. With all the tissues on the table, she thought she might be able to start a tissue recycling business.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Emma. It’s Phyllis. I got Lucy and me plane reservations. She has to leave a bit earlier than I do, but we both will land at Logan Airport around seven tonight. Don’t worry about picking us up. I have ordered a rental car."
"Sounds good. How are you holding out?"
"Honestly, it hasn’t hit me yet. Have you said anything to Carly, yet?"
"No, she’s still asleep, thank the Lord. I am dreading it. I think it will be the hardest part of all of this. I was going to wait until you and Lucy got here and we could all tell her together. But I have that Trooper coming this afternoon and I don’t want her to over hear what he says. She knows about the accident and she knows the towns that it was between and if she hasn’t realized it, she knows Dave and Liz always came home that way when they went shopping of Fridays."
"You sure are in a bind, Emma. I’m sorry all of this fell on your shoulders. Carly is a bright little girl. You’re right about that.
Lucy and I will be there between eight and nine tonight. Do you have the keys to Liz and Dave’s house? I am thinking Lucy and I will stay there for a while and help out with what needs to be done."
"Yes, I have the keys. I am going to have to call a neighbor boy to come and shovel us both out. It’s still snowing, but it is supposed to stop this afternoon. I hope your flights can get in."
"I hope so, too. I guess I’ll see you sometime tonight. Have you slept any, Emma?"
"I got maybe an hour or so sleep. I just keep filling up the peculator and drinking coffee. Maybe Carly will lay down with me later this afternoon and take a nap."
"Good luck in telling Carly. No offence, but I’m glad you’re telling her and not me. I don’t think I could handle it."
"Gee, thanks. I really don’t know if I can handle it either. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, I guess."
"See you soon, bye"
"Bye"
Emma hung up the receiver and wondered just how she would explain this all to Carly. It was going to be rough no matter how she did it. She was exhausted. She had puffy eyes with bags under them. Emma would do anything for some sleep, but she knew as soon as she lay her head down that she would be wide-awake. She decided a quick shower and a change of clothes would do her a world of good. She’d better get to it before Carly woke up.
The warm shower felt good, too good. After washing, Emma let the warm water run on her aching muscles while she thought how to break the news to Carly. She couldn’t think, she decided she would tell her that they went to Heaven with God and go with the flow. She’d been in the shower thinking so long that the hot water ran out.
Emma dried off and got dressed in warm, clean clothes and wrapped her wet hair in a towel. When she opened the bathroom door, Carly was sitting on the floor in the corner of the kitchen. She looked like a little rag muffin, her hair was sticking out all over, wrapped in a big furry pink bathrobe with Minnie Mouse slippers peaking out beneath the bottom hem, her knees up against her chest with her hands and chin resting on them. Carly had the look of a child that had lost a best friend. She lost more than a best friend. She looked up at Emma when the bathroom door opened, and then laid her forehead on her knees. In a barely audible low voice she slowly said. "They were in that accident and now they’re dead. They’ve gone to Heaven with God and I will never see them again."
Emma ran to the child then sat next to her on the floor and hugged her close. "Yes, I am afraid so, baby. I found out in the middle of the night. I was going to tell you when you woke up. I’m sorry, Carly." They sat huddled up like that and cried together for the longest time, Emma rocking the child back and forth in her arms. Suddenly Carly jumped up, knocking Emma against the wall. "I hate snow! I hate winter! Snow means dead, and so does winter! I am never going out in the snow or the winter again! I am never going to play in that horrible ugly snow ever again!" With that she did a sprint for the stairs.
"Carly, baby!" Emma called to the girl.
"Leave me alone! I am never going to leave my Minnie Mouse room ever again, do you hear me?" With that she turned and ran up the stairs to the room and locked the door.
"Oh dear Lord." Emma said on a sigh. "The poor baby, I hope she is going to be all right. I guess I should just let her be for a while and then try to talk to her."
She climbed the stairs and tip toed to the bedroom door. She could hear Carly saying she wanted her mommy and daddy and cursing the snow and winter over and over again. It stabbed Emma right in the heart. She went downstairs and grabbed her hat, coat, mittens and the keys to the house next door.
It wasn’t easy walking for her, but she made it to the house and opened the door. It felt as though all the love and warmth had been sucked out of it and it was just a building, a cold unwelcomely one. It made a shiver go down Emma’s spine, she held back the tears and headed for Carly’s room, turning up the heat as she went. There on the bed was Ralph. Carly’s stuffed rabbit who was her best buddy since day one, and if she ever needed him, she needed him now. Emma looked around the room, a room fit for a Princess. A white canopy bed, all pink and white ruffles. Little Ballerinas on the pink wall, a white desk with a hutch to hold all her stuffed animals, a TV and all the toys in the world. She noticed a picture of Dave and Liz, picked it up and put it in her pocket.
She stripped the bed, and then Dave and Liz’s and through them in the washer and turned it on. She checked the house to find nothing out of place. The grandfather clocked chimed, she smiled then turned to leave. Locking the door and leaving a whole lot of loving memories behind her