A Heavy Day In DC

I began my 'day' to this.

Herself was at work downtown and even though neither of us use the Red Line frequently you just never know.

Tragedy visits us here in Washington from time to time and this has not been the first time I've anxiously awaited a call.

I tried her cell and it dumped into voicemail . Nothing unusual there I told the scrabbling and as yet unformed fears that rose out of my mind like a miasma.

Then I tried her office. Same deal. No biggie. She might have stepped away for a minute. I leave a message asking her to call me back. You have nearly five and a half million people in the Washington Metropolitan area according to my rational mind. The trains were coming in to the city. Why would she be on one of them? Still though...

I can't help flashing on 9/11 and pulling up to the Springfield station to see her sitting on the kerb. Safe and sound. On that terrible day she had been at the Pentagon City station when the plane hit the Pentagon (one stop along the line). We held each other for a long time.

I'm snapped out of it by my phone and all of the fears and doubts are evaporated when I see it's her number.

"Hi..I got your message. I'm fine. What happened?"

"Hiya. Bad accident on the Red Line...I just wanted to...you know.."

"I know."

Afterwards I sat on the steps to our back yard with my tea and watched the fireflies in the twilight.



Update: Death toll is now 9 according to CNN