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The Payback

By Chuck Semenuk

 Randy watched in awe as Fire-Rescue arrived and the well trained team began the task of attending to the occupants of a badly wrecked automobile.  The vehicle reminded him of a ball of wrinkled foil, crushed and thrown away.  Randy was startled as he recognized the woman being carefully removed from the carnage.  It was his wife Shirley.

“What was she doing in that car?” he wondered.

While paramedics moved her to a waiting ambulance, the noise from the cutting equipment brought his attention back to the driver.  After much cutting and bending, rescuers were finally able to remove the man from the wreck.  Randy’s jaw dropped as he watched the medics trying to stabilize the man.

“That looks like me!  That’s me!  How can that be?”

Suddenly, visions of the preceding events began the play in front of his eyes.  He was driving down the dark road.  It was raining.  In the darkness it was nearly impossible to see the lane markings and the edges of the road against the shiny black asphalt.  Randy hated driving at night, especially in the rain.

Shirley’s mouth was running non-stop as usual.  Nag, nag, nag.  “Why did I ever marry her?” he thought.

“Slow down.  You’re driving too fast.  I told you not to drink at the party.  You know you shouldn’t drink.  You sure liked it when that young redhead was rubbing her boobs all over you.”

On and on she went.  Finally summing up enough courage, he turned and told her to shut up.

“Lookout you fool!  You’re on the wrong side of the road!”