She reached down and felt the cool steal object on the seat next to her. Suddenly, she felt a calmness that she had not known in many months. There was an alertness which seemed to fill her body, the alertness of an animal which hears an unfamiliar noise, and prepares to run or to fight. Such alertness sharpens the vision and now she could clearly see the exit.

The years rolled through her head with their hundreds of excuses and justifications. She had clawed her way out of the dingy, backwoods shack by finding an acceptable provider. She had been a good student. Could she have made it on her own? Her experiences had not given her the confidence to try. Her greatest talent was her looks, she had thought. Choosing a rich man to marry was the only smart thing that she had ever done, her father had said. That bastard!!

But looking at the years of unhappiness, she wondered if the climb were out of the mire or into it. She thought of the children, all grown now, who had not shown the love and kindness that she had once thought that all rich children would show. From her place in the shack, it had seemed that rich people were always content. They seemed to live ideal lives with parties and toys and space to breathe. She wondered what the children would think. She now was at a decision point; the exit was near. She pulled off onto the shoulder and slid her hand across the seat to find the cool object which gave her confidence. She pulled the car back onto the road and...........