They were just leaving their 5th wedding together. At the other weddings, they had merely been guests but at this one, she had been a bridesmaid and he had been a groomsman. They were both quite close to the newly married couple and stood glowing as they watched their friends drive away from the church dragging their "just married" cans behind the limo.
At the reception they faced lots of joking, "You two are next!" and "When are you two finally going to tie the knot!?!?" They enjoyed the teasing, the food, being with family and friends. And because they both loved to dance so much, they spent as much time on the dance floor as they could.
After the "last dance" was announced they made their way back to their table and started saying goodbye to everyone and tolerated a few more jokes. Finally, after all the goodbyes and at the end of a long and exhausting day, they were ready to make their escape.
Before the wedding, they had decided to stay at her house as it was closer. As they were driving out of the parking lot, there was way too much debate over which route to take. Too tired to argue, he relented and took the back road as she wanted.
The car was stuck. It had been stuck for hours, and the rain was coming down in sheets as it had been since not long after leaving the reception. The tension in the car was suffocating. While they'd had many a good
time, they'd also had many fights and they both sensed this would be another. He had been driving; she had chosen the route. Why didn't he see the washed-out road? Why did she insist on this back road versus the highway like he wanted? The tension grew.
"This is your fault!" the man said. "If you hadn't demanded this 'shortcut', we wouldn't be stuck here."
"Oh no you don't!" the woman yelled. "This is NOT my fault! I thought this would be a pretty drive and the road was clear when we started home, how was I supposed to know it was going to rain like this?"
"Are we just going to sit here and die?" she demanded. Not being able to take it anymore, she shoved open the door and climbed out, immediately sinking up past her ankles in the mud, her hair and clothes instantly soaked in the rain. She brushed her hair from her face and stared at the stuck vehicle. He continued to sit in the car watching her and the rain. Finally, he sighed, got out of the car, and joined her. He looked at the car and shook his head.
The woman sighed. She looked at him and said, "We're stuck."
Her ability to state the obvious in times of high stress had always infuriated him and she knew it. It was one of her ways of blaming him.
The woman shivered. "I'm cold," she said. The man put his arm around her. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll figure something out."
Returning to the shelter of the car they tried calling for help, but no tow trucks were available for hours and none of their friends answered their calls. They were all alone.
Needing a plan, he decided to take another look at the situation and climbed out of the car, and she joined him. They stood in the rain for a few minutes, looking at the car and the deep mud that was holding them captive.
They decided to try filling in the ruts. The man found some small tree limbs lying nearby and they both began moving the mud about. Once they thought they had the holes flattened out enough for the car to escape they threw debris in so the tires would have something to grab onto. She wanted to try driving because she was certain she could do it better. The tires began to spin, and, as the mud flew everywhere, the man found himself covered from head to toe. It was too wet and slippery and the tires began to dig themselves in deeper. He yelled at her to "rock it back and forth" but she didn't understand what he meant so they agreed to trade places and try again.
After some more digging and filling the holes in with more debris, it was his turn to try, and rocking the car back and forth did seem to work a bit but, before they could escape, the tires lost their grip and began to spin and she, like him, found herself caked in mud.
Nothing worked.
They climbed back in the car. At least they'd be out of the rain. Noticing the car was getting low on gas he decided to turn it off. They sat quietly as the minutes ticked away. Eventually, they started to argue. At first, it was just unnecessary bickering but with each exchange, it escalated. They blamed each other for getting stuck. They hurled insults at one another. They dug up hurtful things from their past and added new hurtful things on top of those.
They were both frustrated and scared, so, as they'd done many times before, they took it out on each other.
Finally, they grew tired of arguing and just sat in silence, staring out the windshield at the rain. They were both exhausted, hungry, and sitting in their wet, mud-caked clothes had made them even more miserable.
They both just wanted to go home but they weren't going anywhere, the car was hopelessly stuck.
Two hours had passed since they got back in the car.
"Well, it's clearing now," the man said. "I'll try rocking it and you try pushing."
"I'm not going to push," the woman said. "I'm tired. And I'm cold."
"Well, you don t know how to rock the car so it will do no good for me to push!" the man said.
"So we're just going to sit here and freeze to death?" the woman asked.
The man and woman sat there a while longer and continued to stare out the windows. Lost in their own thoughts, both were thinking about their lives, and how they had ended up in this situation.
He reflected back on how they met. Remembering how his day started normally; breakfast, the gym, followed by what was supposed to be a quick drive to work.
How things go south! First, there was bad traffic, then the unexpected thunderstorm, and then his car stalled. Thankfully he was going very fast and was able to coast into a parking spot. He sat in his car for a moment to collect himself and come up with a new plan of action.
Grabbing his briefcase and umbrella he exited his car and walked to the bus stop at the end of the block. As he stepped in line, he felt his large black umbrella graze something which caused him to turn his gaze away from the puddles he had been studiously avoiding and that's when he noticed the woman in front of him holding the yellow umbrella.
A few moments later the bus pulled up and as the woman in front of him boarded the bus he noticed the flat, open sandals she was wearing were soaked and her feet were wet and muddy. He felt bad for her and thought "I guess my day isn't the only one off to a bad start."
He was the last passenger to board and, as luck would have it, there were no available seats and he found himself juggling his half-closed umbrella, his briefcase, and grabbing for a pole as the bus lurched forward. Slightly off balance he bumped into the woman who let out a little "oof!" As he turned to apologize, he noticed how calm and collected she looked.
She asked "First time on a bus?" and before answering he noticed the twinkle in her eye and it made him laugh. He told her his morning was off to a bad start and then thanked her for adding some joy. As they exchanged small talk, they learned they were both traveling to the same bus stop downtown. As they got closer to their stop, she suggested they grab a cup of coffee at the little shop right on the corner. He knew he'd be late for his morning meeting but he wasn't going to throw away such a wonderful chance encounter so he gladly accepted.
They sat in the coffee shop for an hour chatting, they had both grown up locally but attended different schools on opposite sides of town. They'd both attended college but, oddly, rival colleges and joked about how things could get "complicated."
As they parted company, they were both happy with the encounter and looking forward to planning their next date.
From there, the relationship started slowly, rather mundanely. No rushing to the altar or other romantic tropes, just a slow and steady building of two people forming a couple. Over the two years they'd been together there had been multiple vacations, more of each other's family events than either could remember, and a few good fights but nothing compared to this fight over being stuck!
Her sudden movements jarred him back to the present. He looked at her and she barked "Do you really expect us to just sit here and freeze to death!?!?"
Sighing, the man thought about how he had always been a good person. He had never hurt anyone and he had always tried to do the right thing. But now he was stuck with a woman who hated him. He didn't know what he had done wrong, but he knew he didn't deserve this.
The woman thought about how she had always been a strong person. She had always been able to take care of herself, and she had never needed anybody's help. But now she was stuck on a muddy, washed-out road with a man who was making her life miserable. She didn't know how she had ended up here, but she knew she had to get out.
Another hour passed. They were both lost in their own thoughts. Finally, the woman spoke. "I'm going to get out of this car," she said. "I'm going to walk home."
The man looked at her in surprise. "You can't walk home," he said. "It's miles away."
"I don't care," the woman said. "I'm not staying here."
The man didn't say anything. He just watched as the woman got out of the car and started walking away. Not 30 feet from the car, she slipped and fell. He started to get out and help her but she turned and glared at him. It was one of those looks that could kill so he decided to just sit still.
The woman walked for hours. She was soaked to the bone, and her feet were killing her but she was determined so she kept walking. She knew that she had to get home on her own.
Finally, the woman reached her house. It was nearly 4 a.m. She was exhausted, but she was also relieved. She was finally home!
The woman went inside and closed the door. Not wanting to track up her house she stripped down and left her clothes in a pile by the front door. She took a long, hot shower, and then went to bed. She was physically and emotionally exhausted and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The next morning, the woman woke up and went outside. She looked around and saw that the storm had cleared and the sun was shining. The birds were singing, and the flowers were blooming. It was a beautiful, clear day.
The woman took a deep breath of fresh air. She was glad to be home. Suddenly she was wracked with guilt. She'd never even considered the man she'd been with for two years. She could have driven back for him last night but she didn't. She had no clue if he'd made it home alive or if he was still stuck. She decided to call him and check on him. There was no ringing, her call went straight to voicemail.
Her stomach growled, reminding her that she had not eaten. She decided that her hunger had to be dealt with before she went looking for the man.
It took her 30 minutes to get back to where the car had been stuck. Road crews were filling in the washed-out area. She rolled down her window and a worker walked over. She started to speak but he cut her off telling her "Ma'am, the road is closed for another few hours. You'll have to turn around." She asked about the car that had been stuck there and the worker informed her there was no car there when they arrived.
Thinking about the hour it would take to drive the long way around to his house, she sighed and proceeded to turn around in the road.
As she pulled up to the man's house she saw his car in the drive. It was covered in mud and had several bad dents. But at least he was home. She walked up to the door and, not knowing what time he got home, she hesitated before knocking. She stood there wondering if she'd wake him. Suddenly she heard his dog barking, followed by footsteps.
He opened the door and she noticed he was clean and shaven but looked more tired than she'd ever seen him.
He smiled at her before reaching down by the door, picking up two large shopping bags, and handing them to her. She asked, "What's this?" He said "This is your stuff. I think I got it all but if I find anything else I'll drop it off at your office."
She stared at him, not sure she understood. "Are you breaking up with me?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied. "I've come to realize that our entire relationship is just like last night. We can't agree on a path and whatever path we choose, we get stuck. When we try to get unstuck all we end up doing is spinning our tires and slinging mud all over each other. Just like my car is damaged from last night, we have damaged each other. We both deserve better."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing and started to speak, but before she could find the words, he said "Thanks for coming by." and gently closed the door.
Note: The assignment was to write a story using no physical descriptions or names so as to allow our minds to fill in those details based on our own experiences from our own cultural, racial, and religious backgrounds. What image did your mind create of the couple? Did certain people come to mind?