Minutes passed before either Jessie or David moved.
Slowly easing apart, they listened for confirmation that the funnel had dissipated. Not even thunder or lightning dared to pierce the silence, and even the rain fell lightly.
Jessie listened to David’s mumbled prayer: “Please, Lord, I know You and I aren’t on great terms these days, but please don’t let anything happen to my baby before we get home. I can’t lose her, too.”
Unaware Jessie had overheard his plea, David sighed with relief and then matter-of-factly announced, “I think it’s over.”
“But is it safe to move?” Jessie challenged.
Unwilling to take any unnecessary chances, they waited a few more minutes before edging down the embankment. They saw broken tree limbs scattered across both lanes when they reached the highway shoulder, as well as slack power lines clinging to leaning creosote poles.
“That was some storm,” David said, as Isabel held on tightly to his neck.
“Thank God we’re okay. And while I’m sorry you and your daughter were caught in the storm, I’m glad I didn’t have to tough this one out alone.”
“I didn’t do much, but I’m glad we made a difference.”
Uncertain as to whether it was safe to drive, Jessie looked to the sky for answers. The growing brightness seemed to give a go-ahead signal. Still, she feared leaving the overpass, leery of what she might encounter down the road.
As if he’d read her thoughts, David asked, “Would you like me to follow you back into town?”
Jessie pressed her hand against her chest with relief. “Normally, I’m not this skittish, but this storm’s really unnerved me. It’d mean a lot to know I’ve got company on the highway.”
“Then, it’s settled,” David said, though he continued to study the sky.
Like her, he seemed unwilling to end this brief encounter.
But Isabel had other ideas. “Mama, mama…” she said, with one finger wedged in the corner of her lip.
Jessie instantly felt the blush on her face. What had she been thinking? David obviously had a wife to go home to.
“We should go,” she said. “I’m sure your wife is eager to know you’re safe. You’re welcome to borrow my cell phone to call her….” Her words trailed off to a hoarse whisper, as anguish streaked across David’s face. “I’m sorry. I’ve made assumptions that are none of my business.”
She languished in the uncomfortable silence before he found his voice. “Please…you couldn’t know. My wife died a few weeks after Isabel’s birth.”
Jessie gazed at the little girl, her heart breaking over such a tragic loss.
David took another look at the sky and said, “I think we’d better go.”
“Thanks again,” Jessie said, extending her hand. When David’s fingers closed around hers, she felt his warmth and kindness and wished they didn’t have to part.
“I’m just glad we’re okay.” As he walked toward his car, he called out, “Listen, if you’re ever at the Hot & Fresh Deli, stop in. A sandwich and a cup of coffee are on the house. I’m the owner.”
“It’s a deal,” Jessie said, turning toward her own car.
But before she could even open the door, the punishing rain and gusting wind started again. Anxious, she glanced back toward David—and that’s when she saw the menacing funnel in the distance.
Without hesitation, she raced back to the overpass, meeting David and Isabel. Together they scurried up the embankment until they touched the underside of the crossing highway.
“Hold on to the ledge,” David shouted above the wind, and Jessie quickly followed his lead, gripping the rough concrete. With Isabel sandwiched between them, she prayed with all her heart that the tornado would leap over them, or lose its power as the last one had.
But it wasn’t to be. Sounding like a jet, the twister charged toward them. The wind became so fierce that Jessie didn’t know if she could hold on, let alone breathe, as loose gravel and dirt swirled around her.
She lost all concept of time, feeling as if the unmerciful gusts would last forever. Only when lightning flashed could she see David and Isabel.
Oh, Lord, she prayed, don’t desert us now.
With her arms tiring, Jessie didn’t know how much longer she could hang on. But it was for Isabel that she found her strength, because pressed against David’s side she helped form a barrier that sheltered the toddler.
Though it seemed impossible, the winds grew stronger, and Jessie felt as if the three of them were trapped in a vacuum. The temperature continued to drop, and she shook as much from the damp air as she did from fear. With her arm muscles stretched until they hurt and her palms rubbed raw from holding on to the concrete ledge, she just didn’t know if she could last another second.
Then lightning cracked, and in the bright flash she met David’s gaze for just an instant, finding strength in his courage and determination. She wouldn’t let him down.
Suddenly, something shifted. She heard him scream. His body moved. He no longer touched her. The lightning flashed again, and the terror on his face shocked her. He’d purposely positioned himself so as to absorb the brunt of the wind, and now the wind was winning the battle.
“Isabel!” he screamed.
Though she couldn’t see clearly in the dusty darkness, she knew he was slipping away. When the lightning flashed again, Jessie saw David lose his grip, letting go first of the ledge and then of Isabel.
With all her might, Jessie fought against the wind, stretching out one arm, grabbing hold of Isabel first by her shirt and then, miraculously, crushing the girl against her chest.
As the lightning cracked again, she looked up and realized David was gone.
“David!” she screamed. “Da—vid!”
Desperate to protect Isabel, Jessie hunched over the child and prayed for God’s mercy as the gusts continued their assault.
Finally, Isabel began to wiggle and squirm, and Jessie realized the winds had calmed and that the roar was fading. She and Isabel had survived. Chills traveled throughout her body as she thanked God for hearing her desperate prayers.
“We’re okay,” she murmured in the child’s ear, then offered sweet kisses of comfort across the top of the toddler’s head. “We’re okay,” she said again for herself.
Too frightened to venture out, she remained huddled beneath the overpass. She knew she’d just lived through a miracle. Without a doubt, God had called her to this exact place to catch Isabel. And as Isabel cried in her arms, Jessie didn’t know if she’d ever be able to let go of the child.
Then she heard a truck on the highway overhead and the loud muffler jolted her back to reality. She had to find David. They needed help. When she tried to stand, her cramped legs rebelled.
“Help,” she called out. “Help us.”
Clutching Isabel, she fought through high weeds and wet grass to reach the crossing highway above. At first, neither her car nor David’s were anywhere in sight. Power lines sparked, and somewhere close by she heard the insistent mooing of a frightened cow.
At the top, frustrated that the pickup truck was long gone, she turned slowly, looking in all directions. First, she spotted their cars. Hers, though right-side up, was riding piggyback on David’s. But that didn’t matter. She had to find David.
“David,”