complacent. We don’t have the time or resources now to do anything other than fight this disease. Every nation on earth has to be involved, whether you think of them as friends or enemies. If we’re going to save civilization, we have to fight together and not against each other.”
Tildy let her talk. Just let her unburden herself so she could say that she had done what she could. People saw the world through their own narrow lenses, whereas Tildy had to see it whole. Another pandemic, perhaps even worse than this one, was appalling to consider, but there were bigger things—war—on the table.
After the meeting, Tildy went back to the Oval Office for a private talk with the president. As soon as she walked into the office, she noticed that he too had done some redecorating: a Bible on the desk, family photos on the credenza, a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and a bust of Churchill.
“Wartime leaders,” the president explained. “I never wanted to be one of them. But I find that they are in my mind constantly now.”
45
Driving Lesson
Jill’s car was in the garage, a 2009 Toyota Camry with less than half a tank of gas. Thieves had not yet siphoned it dry. Helen didn’t know how far she could go on that, but she figured she could get close to Aunt Maggie’s. She had the $34.27. Teddy still had his gun.
Knowing that they would never return to their house, the children packed two suitcases each, filled with clothes and toys and schoolbooks. Helen also took Jill’s jewel case and a watch of Henry’s that she would give Teddy one day. She hid the items in the well where the spare tire was stored. There was so much they left behind, but in the rush to leave it was impossible to think clearly.
“Maybe we should bring our bikes,” Teddy said.
“I don’t think we have room.”
Helen climbed into the driver’s seat. She had only ever done that once, when she sat in Henry’s lap and pretended to drive. She was five years old then and the pedals were far away. Now they were too close for her long legs. Helen realized that she didn’t even know how to move the seat. She pushed a likely button on the door, but a window lowered. Teddy found the owner’s manual in the glove compartment and figured out where the seat controls were.
“You gotta adjust the mirrors,” Teddy advised her.
“I know that. Put on your seatbelt.”
But finding the controls for the side-view mirrors was too frustrating, so she just turned the rear-view mirror to the point that she could see the long driveway stretching out behind her for miles.
There were only two things she had to do: learn to drive, and find their way to Aunt Maggie’s.
“You do the navigation,” she told Teddy.
“That’s easy,” he said. “I-75 north.”
“Which way is that?”
“Just head toward downtown and we’ll see it.”
Helen turned the key in the ignition, but nothing happened. She looked more closely and saw where it said START. She turned the key farther and held it until it made a horrible screaming noise. As soon as she took her hands off the key the noise stopped, but her confidence was shaken. She took a deep breath and tried to put the car into reverse, but the shift lever simply wouldn’t move no matter how hard she pulled it. Meanwhile, the car was running, wasting gas.
She turned the car off while Teddy read the manual. Maybe the Toyota was broken. Mrs. Hernández had her little Ford in the garage as well, but that would require going back to her room and finding her keys, and Helen would never go back there. Her whole plan depended on escaping the house and getting to Aunt Maggie’s, and now she couldn’t even put the car in gear to get out of the garage. Her face burned with frustration.
“You’re supposed to push the brake at the same time,” Teddy announced.
“Well, that’s stupid.”
She turned the car back on and pushed the brake. She also pushed the accelerator just a little. When she put the car into gear it leapt out of the garage like a wild animal. Helen pressed the brake harder, but she also pressed the accelerator.
“Brake! Brake!” Teddy shouted.
“I am braking!”
She finally took her foot off the gas, but by then she had crashed into the brick wall of the raised flowerbed along the driveway.
Helen’s hands were trembling when she got out to assess the damage. There