Transition

David handled the thick, black marker as though he were deactivating a time bomb. He wanted to make sure that each letter and number was exact. He carefully tried not to smudge, as he traced the letters and numbers onto the white piece of cardboard. Recreating a license plate wasn't easy, but he had no choice, since his was smashed beyond recognition.



Nancy placed the tea kettle on the old, gas stove. The end of February was approaching, and she was anticipating the arrival of the baby. David had left early. This would be his last day at Melpar, and he would begin his new job at the Post Office on Monday. They were both thrilled because the job meant security for the family and less danger than working at Melpar building rockets. David's anxiousness over finances was beginning to fade. However, they still needed to pay the March rent, and he wouldn't be receiving his first paycheck from the Post Office for two or more weeks.

The landlord reminded them of a scary, old fencepost, inanimate and erected to keep people out. Although David was close to six-feet-tall, she towered in stature over the both of them. They had paid late before, and she was still already angry over the time they fumigated the cockroaches. Apparently, they had vacated the downstairs apartment, but then traveled to cleaner air–up in her dwelling. She threatened to throw them out if they did it again. "And furthermore, if I get one more late rent payment, I will make sure that you are EEE VICK TED," she emphasized each syllable, as spit flew out of her tightly parsed lips. "Do you understand me?"

"What a hag!" David said after they had left the confrontation. "We need a miracle if we are going to pay this rent on time." He walked to the TV, flipped it on and tuned in to The Red Skelton Show. Nancy tried to feel the same worry as he, but she couldn't. She just knew that things were going to be okay.

It was sometime around noon when the phone rang. "Nancy? It's me. I just wanted to let you know that I was in a car accident on the way to work this morning." "Are you okay? What happened?" He started to chuckle as he replied. "Yeah, yeah. I am, but you are NOT going to believe this Nan. It's a miracle!" "What? David, what are you talking about. You just said that you were in an accid..." "Yes, I know." He interrupted, "I was sitting at a light and someone just rammed the rear end. Nan, the whole back end is smashed in!" He exclaimed with glee. "David, I think that you are really losing your mind." He acted like he didn't even hear her. "Nancy, you haven't heard the best part!" "Oh, do tell," she said sarcastically, but she was becoming extremely curious at her husband's odd behavior. "Well, I called the insurance and told them the circumstances, so they sent a guy to Melpar to check out the car. Nan..." He paused. Nancy's heart was pounding loudly now as she waited. "They gave me a check for a hundred and fifty bucks, right there on the spot. Do you realize what this means?" Nancy's eyes grew moist and she started to smile and then finished his sentence. "We can pay the rent." He repeated her words in a reassuring tone. "We can pay the rent." Then added, "and for a hundred and fifty bucks, we buy groceries too." "What about the car?" Nancy queried. "The car is still safe to drive, although the license plate was destroyed, but we can get the back end fixed after I get my first paycheck."

David hung up the phone and continued to work on his license plate. He wanted the work day to be over, so he could drive home and pay the rent a day early. "I can't wait to see the look on that old hags face when I hand her the check." He laughed at himself as he took one final look at the cardboard masterpiece. "Pretty damn good Dinning," he said with pride. "This oughta hold us over until we can drive up to Pennsylvania in a few weeks. Things are definitely looking up." Little did he know, they would be traveling to Pennsylvania sooner than a few weeks–a lot sooner.