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I watched all the activity as the EMTs checked me out to ensure that I had no injuries. When they were satisfied that I didn’t have any, they released me.
“What happened?” I asked a couple who lived across the walk from my unit.
“Apparently, the lady in 232 fell asleep with the stove on.”
“Oh my goodness. Is she okay? What about her babies?” I asked.
I recalled that she had a set of twins that were six years old.
“The little girl was unconscious when they brought her out, but the little boy was alert,” the man stated.
“I’m not so sure about the mother, though. She sustained some injuries from what I overheard one of the EMTs stating, but her mental state appeared even worse,” his wife stated.
“Oh my goodness. I can’t—”
Before I could say another word, an explosion went up in the building beside mine. And like dominos, the fire leaped from one building to the next. With my chest tight, my jaw agape, and my breath lodged in my lungs, I watched in horror as the flames ate up my unit.
“Oh, honey. That was your home. I’m so sorry,” the woman stated.
Even as she wrapped her arms around me in a comforting gesture, I could find no words. I was empty inside as I watched everything that I owned in the world go up in flames.
Everything that I had left of Elijah had just been destroyed. There was nothing that I had to hold onto him any longer except for the memories.
My heart shattered in my chest as I broke down sobbing in my neighbor’s arms.
“You can’t stay here like that.”
“I’ll be fine, Genni.”
“You can stay with me and Alex when we return. You know that we don’t mind.”
I hadn’t called anyone and told them what happened. After assuring the Red Cross that I would be okay and that their focus needed to be on those who were in more need than I was, I drove across town to my office.
I was thankful that it was early enough in the morning that I didn’t have to encounter anyone. I wasn’t quite sure how I would explain my disheveled appearance and showing up at the office in nothing more than a nightgown and some slippers.
Thankfully, I had my purse and credit cards. I knew that I could shop online, but the things that I would immediately need wouldn’t arrive in time. I had settled down to wait for Imani to arrive at the office. I would ask her to run an errand to pick up the major items that I needed to start my day. Then I would eventually wander out on my own to purchase more items.
Although I hadn’t called my family to worry them in the wee hours of the morning, I had forgotten that my sister was an early riser. She always checked the news, even when she was away from home. Although she and her husband were on a two-week vacation in Tahiti, she still checked the news back home, and she had seen the fire on the news and instantly called me.
I couldn’t ignore her phone calls. Whereas my parents would be worried, and my father would rush to wherever I was to save the day, Genni would worry, but she would also respect my privacy. Thankfully, our parents had just left two days earlier on a ten-day cruise and couldn’t be reached.
“No, Genni. You two have that two-bedroom condo, and he uses that as his office.”
“And he’s offered to let you stay in there. He can work from the living room, dining room, or his actual office.”
“I appreciate your generosity, but I won’t put Alex out like that. Your husband always drops everything for everyone, and I’m not allowing him to do that again.”
“It’s not about allowing him to, Gigi. You’re family.”
“I appreciate that, but I’ll be fine here in my office for now.”
“How? You have no place to sleep.”
“My couch works just fine,” I muttered, tapping my ink pen against the edge of the desk.
My eyes were gritty and bleary from the lack of sleep I had gotten.
“That’s no way to live, sweetie.”