Patricia

The car sputtered on the road, calling out to be sold for scrap. Eric loved his car: a 1992 Toyota Corolla, dark tan inside and out. It was the first and only car he had every purchased in late 1991. There had been two marriages come and gone, and three children grown during that time. Technically the car probably could not be considered the same one during all that time. Everything had been replaced once or twice, and many things many more times.

He called her Patricia (never Pat or Patty). She had been to both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic a number of times. Once she made the drive in three days, when Eric was young and pushed himself to the limit. Lately she would only go to the grocery and doctor's appointments.