Luca's Dilemma Read Free

muddy earth with the palms of her hands. Using the last of her strength, she slowly got back on her feet, pushing all asinine ideas of cosmic punishment away. She futilely attempted to wipe off the grass and mud covering the front of her body while simultaneously seeking out what had caused her flight. There, on the edge of her porch, sat two shiny jugs of fresh maple syrup. Apparently, Janie had been by. Normally, Sheila would have been appreciative of her neighbor’s gift, even though she didn’t do sweets, but having damn near broken her neck over such thoughtfulness served to only heighten her ire.
    No longer concerned about getting soiled or losing shoes, she stomped toward her car, sending mud and random cuss words flying liberally in her wake. Her bold stride almost landed her on her ass a few times, but she was far too gone in her anger to care. Furiously, she grasped the handle on the driver's side door, only to have it slip from her gooey fingers. She tried again, this time maintaining her stronghold on the handle and practically ripping the door off its hinges.
    With a twist of her wrist, she roughly switched the ignition to the off position. Sprinkles of brown liquid landed on various parts of her pristine white leather interior and dashboard, causing her breath to catch in her throat. In horror, Sheila stared at the little raised bumps as the mud instantly began to dry in place.
    Can it get any worse? she thought, as the drying dots she willed away began to blur. “No crying,” she chastised herself, forcing the tears away before they could gain momentum. She had managed to stay strong for six months, and she wasn’t about to give that up now.
    Stepping back from the vehicle, she took a deep breath, calming her inner rage and forcing the urge to break down to subside before shutting the car door gently and carefully trudging back to her porch. Even though she slowed her roll, the trek back seemed more arduous. Her L.L. Bean rubber mocs were literally sucked into the liquefied soil, each step threatening to knock her off balance.
    By the time she reached the porch again, she was covered from head to toe in the brown goo. She bent over, grasping the sides of her pants as she performed a quick assessment of the damages and then stopped short. Her gaze slowly lifted as the realization she hadn't locked the car door set in.
    “Ah, forget it! If anyone wants the damn thing, they can have it!”
    Turning from the vehicle, she removed her mocs, deciding it best to leave them on the porch before carefully stepping inside her home. Once the door closed behind her, she began to undress. All movement ceased as two things occurred to her. No one was around for miles, leading her to wonder who would be able to find her car, let alone steal the damn thing. And, the car had a remote locking system, which allowed her to easily lock it from a good distance. Feeling the need to do so, she moved to the living room window and pushed the car's remote button. She couldn't help but shake her head in shame at her foolishness.
    “Hot heads never prevail,” she muttered under her breath, repeating her momma’s words of wisdom.
    A small prayer escaped her lips as she thanked God for hardwood floors while managing to move deeper into her home. Soiled clothing hit the floor with each step as the fogginess continued to further encompass her brain. She was too far gone to worry about cleanup. The extra effort to get in the house had drained her. She was beyond tired and needed desperately to hit the hay before her current disposition prompted her to commit any more ridiculous acts.
    However, her lowered cognitive abilities didn’t prevent the bullshit of the night before from penetrating her fog–filled brain. It had been the last shift of her workweek at the sleep lab, and nothing else would have caused it to end more dramatically than spending it with “the twins”, as she had affectionately come to call them. As usual, it