Page 91 of Midnight Ride

I jumped in the pickup and tried to keep up to the screaming ambulance as we sped straight south from Sicamous. Not a clue where we were going, but I was grateful when I saw the hospital sign.

Leaving the truck sitting in the parking area, I ran inside and stopped at the first nurses’ station I came to.

“An ambulance just brought Eldon Fontana in. Can you tell me where he is?”

“He went straight to surgery, ma’am. Go to the surgical waiting room and take a seat there. The doctor will look for you there when he’s finished in the operating room.”

“Thank you.”

I found the waiting room she was talking about after I asked twice. Nothing to do but curl up in a chair and wait.

Golden. British Columbia.

After a couple of hours of switch-back mountain roads, we stopped for lunch. Virge’s face was pasty white, and he looked ready to heave but he never complained.

We went into the diner and Annie ordered soup for us. She said it would make us feel better after all the twisting and turning we’d done all morning.

She was a good mom and always knew the right thing to do. I ate my soup with a few crackers and after we rested for a few minutes in the restaurant, I started to feel a lot better.

Dad wasn’t saying much, and he had no color in his face. It was easy to see how the stress of the trip was getting to him.

Malakwa. British Columbia.

Virgil drove the truck after lunch and the highway became a little gentler as we drove down to a lower elevation.

Lucy and Annie dozed off in the back seat leaning on Dad. I watched the road and the GPS for Virge.

Virge had to stop for gas and while he filled up, I asked the girl at the front counter how far it was to Sicamous.

“Not far. Stay on this highway and it’s only about fifty more miles.”

I let out a long breath. It was another hour at least before we’d get there.

Sicamous. British Columbia.

The map lady got us as far as the town of Sicamous, but she didn’t know the directions to our final destination. We had no idea where the trucker lived.

“Try the post office,” said Annie.

I drove down the street to the post office and it was too late in the day. They were closed.

“How about a gas station? They might know where the guy with a semi lives if he fills up at their station.”

“Good idea, son,” said Travis. “Try it.”

Pulling into the gas station on the corner, I ran inside the convenience store and asked at the front counter. “Do youhappen to know where Eldon Fontana lives? He drives a black semi.”

“Yep. Eldon lives about halfway up Cedar Mountain.”

“Would you mind telling me how to get to his place?” I asked.

“Sure. No problem. You his kin?”

“Just a friend.”

The guy gave me great directions and I tried to remember everything he told me.

“Did you find out?” asked Virge.

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