Pull Over!

Annette and Charlie and the children had enjoyed the warm day and the cookout at Grandma's, but it was getting dark now and time to go home. They would take the long way, Annette thought, which would give everyone a chance to cool down.

"We hadn't much more than got past the village of Cavendish when the most frightening feeling came over me,"� Annette recalls. "I remember saying 'Oh my God, Charlie, pull over'!" And stop."

"Huh?'� Charlie looked over at her. "Why?"�

"Just do it!"Annette yelled at him. "Pull the car over and STOP." By then Annette had had started to cry."STOP.Charlie. PLEASE...or we're going to die!"� she begged.

Charlie pulled into the parking lot of a store across the street, and stopped, slamming on the brakes and nearly throwing everyone onto the floor."�What is your problem?" He yelled back at Annette.

Charlie had little or no patience for anything that involved religion or prayer. There was no way Annette could explain to him the intensity, the dark fear which seemed to come out of nowhere, with no reason for it all. Instead, she ran to the edge of the road and tried to flag down an oncoming car. "It had two elderly people in it, but it didn't stop," Annette recalls. No matter how much she screamed, yelled or waved,the car continued past her,

By now the children were awake and obviously frightened. "Why is Mommy crying?"� their oldest daughter pleaded. "What's the matter?"�

"Your mother and I are just having an argument."� Charlie hated to fight in front of the kids, even though he was still furious. He took a couple of deep breaths, started the car and pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the highway. Annette was still shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm.

"Everybody just quiet down,"� Charlie sighed, taking his own advice. "Nothing is the matter.'�

The family continued down Route 131. This whole scene had taken probably five minutes. Another five minutes passed, and by now the atmosphere inside the car was calming. Whatever Mom was afraid of....

Suddenly Charlie hit the brakes and came to a screeching stop. Directly in front of them was a three car pile up, a deadly accident that involved the elderly couple Annette had tried to flag down. Stunned, Charlie surveyed the scene. A truck driver was already there and had seen the whole thing happen. He had radioed for help over his CB radio. Two cars filled with young teenagers and teenage drivers had tried to pass the truck on a blind curve and driven head on into the car with the elderly couple in it. They died and there were multiple injuries among the other passengers.

"How?"� Charlie kept asking Annette. "How did you know?" If it hadn't been his wife... �

She shook her head. "I don't know. I think an angel told me, or maybe Jesus. I really don't know." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I think we had a guardian angel in the car with us."

"That is crazy", he said, "but if you believe it..." He shook his head in disbelief, "I'm not going to argue with you." The children sat perfectly silent and perfectly still, not a single peep was heard from the back seat. It was the beginning of Charlie's new life.

Joan Anderson Copyrighted by Joan Wester Anderson, used with permission. Originally appeared on the Where Angels Walk website.