Chapter 1 - Angels Unaware
"Momma, I see a angel!"
Three-year-old Lori Sandwell squished her nose against the window of the maroon Chrysler mini-van, as her mother strained to navigate through the fog on the winding mountain road.
"That's nice, baby," said Annie Sandwell,"What does it look like?"
"Um...like daddy."
Annie slammed on the brakes and looked in the direction of her daughter's gaze. Just shadowy trees hiding in the evening mist. That's all it was. That's all she saw. Of course...just trees.
"I think those are just big pines you're seeing, honey."
"Uh-uh! It was daddy. He even gave me the "I love you" sign, just like before he went away."
Annie swallowed hard and put her hand over her heart to stop it from crashing through her chest. She rested her head against the steering wheel and closed her eyes. Had it really been a year since her Jared died? A year of lonliness and anger. A year of denial and soul-searching and "whys". Why did he get hurt? Why did he lose his job? Why did he shut her out? Why in his pain had he turned to drugs instead of her? Why? Why? Why?
"Dammit, Jared! I will never forgive you for leaving me...for leaving us," Annie whispered.
"What, mommy?"
"Nothing, baby. Everything is fine, but we've got to get going before it gets too dark to see anything."
Lori and Annie Sandwell were headed to Lutsen ski resort in northern Minnesota for a long weekend with friends. It was the first vacation the two had ventured on since the knock on the door last February that changed both their lives. The police officers were understanding enough. But how does anyone deliver news like that well? How do you tell a young wife and mother that her husband was, well, a dead junkie?
"Are you crying, mommy?" Lori asked.
"No, honey. Mommy's eyes are just a little tired. Close your eyes now and take a little nap. When you wake up, we'll be there," said Annie.
The lights were still on in the living room of the cabin as the Town and Country rattled into the gravel parking spot alongside the log building. Annie slid out of the driver's seat and popped open the trunk to unload the groceries and luggage she'd brought for the adventure.
Saul Sampson tiptoed down the front stairs of the chalet to relieve Annie of some of her burdens as his wife Jean leaned in the back door and cradled the sleeping Lori in her arms.
"How was the trip?" whispered Saul.
"A little hairy with the fog and all, but we made it," Annie chirped.
"Momma, I see a angel!"
Three-year-old Lori Sandwell squished her nose against the window of the maroon Chrysler mini-van, as her mother strained to navigate through the fog on the winding mountain road.
"That's nice, baby," said Annie Sandwell,"What does it look like?"
"Um...like daddy."
Annie slammed on the brakes and looked in the direction of her daughter's gaze. Just shadowy trees hiding in the evening mist. That's all it was. That's all she saw. Of course...just trees.
"I think those are just big pines you're seeing, honey."
"Uh-uh! It was daddy. He even gave me the "I love you" sign, just like before he went away."
Annie swallowed hard and put her hand over her heart to stop it from crashing through her chest. She rested her head against the steering wheel and closed her eyes. Had it really been a year since her Jared died? A year of lonliness and anger. A year of denial and soul-searching and "whys". Why did he get hurt? Why did he lose his job? Why did he shut her out? Why in his pain had he turned to drugs instead of her? Why? Why? Why?
"Dammit, Jared! I will never forgive you for leaving me...for leaving us," Annie whispered.
"What, mommy?"
"Nothing, baby. Everything is fine, but we've got to get going before it gets too dark to see anything."
Lori and Annie Sandwell were headed to Lutsen ski resort in northern Minnesota for a long weekend with friends. It was the first vacation the two had ventured on since the knock on the door last February that changed both their lives. The police officers were understanding enough. But how does anyone deliver news like that well? How do you tell a young wife and mother that her husband was, well, a dead junkie?
"Are you crying, mommy?" Lori asked.
"No, honey. Mommy's eyes are just a little tired. Close your eyes now and take a little nap. When you wake up, we'll be there," said Annie.
The lights were still on in the living room of the cabin as the Town and Country rattled into the gravel parking spot alongside the log building. Annie slid out of the driver's seat and popped open the trunk to unload the groceries and luggage she'd brought for the adventure.
Saul Sampson tiptoed down the front stairs of the chalet to relieve Annie of some of her burdens as his wife Jean leaned in the back door and cradled the sleeping Lori in her arms.
"How was the trip?" whispered Saul.
"A little hairy with the fog and all, but we made it," Annie chirped.
