CHAPTER 47 - Molly

CHAPTER 47MollyI’M ON INTERSTATE 84, HEADING SOUTHWEST. THE TRAFFIC IS FAIRLY light and the road clear. Snow in small banks lines the sides, and I glance up at the sky, hoping for a clear day. I didn’t think to check the weather before I left, but that’s what all-wheel drive is for, right? Most of my driving will be highway anyway, so I should be fine.It’s only a three-hour trip, and Sadie and I make good time. It’s not quite eleven a.m., and we’re already here. I guess I was more anxious to get going than I thought. Once I’d made up my mind, nothing was going to stop me, not snow, not my family or friends. I’m in a desperate search to save myself. I can no longer hide or depend on someone else to do it for me.Sadie and I sit in the parking lot of the hotel I’d booked online last night, and I call the front desk to see if we can do an early check-in. The woman tells me to come on in. They’ve got a room available. I adjust Sadie’s service-dog vest and take her for a walk first.Inside the lobby, I pick up our card keys and head upstairs. The room is chain-hotel nice, knobby carpet, white puffy duvet on the king-size bed, faux granite in the bath with a glass-enclosed walk-in shower. Perfect for a place to disappear, leave my life behind for a few days. And a perfect place to gather my strength and take a stand.I turn on the large flat-screen and switch to a news station. I take a deep, slow breath as I listen to the latest political wrangling, but anything is preferable to my story.I search my tote bag and pull out a bag of Oreos and a bottle of water. Sadie stretches out on the floor and promptly goes to sleep. I pile up the pillows and get settled on the bed, switch channels, and find an old movie. The Creature from the Black Lagoon, black-and-white and suitably dramatic. No thinking, no worrying, just me and an old classic with pseudo-scary music and no connection to reality. I want to relax awhile, clear my head before getting down to the reason for my trip.