I hurried back with the food because lunch break is short and I wanted to get over there before they pulled either of the cars away. It was such a nice day so I had rolled down the windows. The breezes were cool and the sunshine was warm. I drove to the far reaches of mall parking lot setting at the top of the ridge where there were many curious spectators. They came and went, replaced each other, but there were always many, leaning against the fence and talking in concerned and curious voices.
It was so nice. It would be like a picnic. I had the sandwich and fries cradled in my left arm, and when I reached a good spot, I set the tea down on a bare patch of dirt so it would not spill. I curled my loose hand’s fingers into the chain-link fence and looked down the slope to the road that went past us ten feet below. The ambulance had left to the hospital across the river, but the jeep was still there, sitting in the right southbound. It was the lane nearest to us. A tow truck sat close in front of it, and the fire truck was several feet behind it. Three teenage girls were there when I passed, but they too had left. Faint skid marks crossed over the concrete median from an angle. I did not see the minivan. Policemen, road workers, and towing men were standing here and there. They had set up a roadblock. My eyes traced the cars far up the road. In such a hurry to get over the river. The traffic was lined up for well over a mile.
The jeep was a sight to behold. The front and the short area behind it looked like an aluminum can that had been stomped on but decided to bend in the middle instead of crush flat. The rest had been distorted just enough to ruin the whole vehicle. The windshield had shattered. The both doors had popped open from compression. Nuts and bolts, pieces of glass, gravel, littered the empty space behind it. There were no skid marks. It was white.
And it was such a nice day. It was spring, but only for a few weeks yet, and the frayed grass on the slope was still yellow, and the trees everywhere were slowly being spotted with green. A road worker’s hand fluttered sand from a tilted bucket below. A wave of sand cascaded down; a thousand light grains scattered and bounced on a wide, darkened patch behind the jeep. They covered it. I ate some more of my sandwich. I picked up the tea. It was sweet and I liked it. I crouched to set it back on the ground. My fries were also good, but I wished I had brought ketchup. The sun was warm and felt nice. A strong breeze came in low across the city and stirred the loose grains of sand in its direction. It rippled up through the yellow grass and I could smell motor oil.
But where was the other car? I hoped it had not been towed yet because I did not get a good look when I passed before. I searched. It was resting on the back of a flatbed truck further down the road. I picked up my tea and walked further down to get a closer look. Some people were standing in the middle of the length between the two cars and could see both of them from where they stood. When I got to a nice spot, I found another bare patch of dirt and set the tea on it before I leaned up against the chain-link fence and let the other car take my attention.
The front end of the minivan had been smashed down so it covered over and bit into the tires. The tires were twisted left. The very tip had been crushed into a flat snub. The hood had been thrown up from the collision but was jammed halfway open. The compacted, swirling mass of gray pipes, dull tubes, and dark plastics exposed to the breeze stood in still contrast with the newly faceted exterior, which glistened from all angles in the bright sunshine. The windows were rolled down.
Some people were standing next to the truck. A towing man climbed inside the red minivan, poked around, and climbed out. He climbed in the truck, and drove away in the direction of the river; sticks laid on the ground. Some children and a woman were standing on the concrete median and a car came down the northbound and diverged from the slow procession to pick them up. Its windows were rolled down. The children were all shook up. When the door closed, the car merged into the procession and rolled away. It was such a nice day. I left then so I could make the best of what time I had left before I crossed back over the river and returned to work.
