When Eternity Ended

I am awake and my thoughts are racing. I can't sleep and C is snoring very loudly because he is sick. It sounds like he is slaughtering a pig in there. So I grabbed some pillows and a blanket and decided to pass out on the office/nursery floor, but for some reason it isn't as comforting as usual. I keep thinking about the car truck accident. My mind is processing all the information I saw in high-speed play. I hear the babies make teeny noises and it makes me jump. I just want to go to sleep and back to my peaceful dreams, but instead I am here typing this up in notepad so I can post it later.

At five thirty pm I got a call from my father in law, Larry. He said, "Alice ####### the truck. Do you have a vehicle? COME GET ME QUICK!" I think he said totaled or wrecked the truck, but at the time I didn't understand what he said, but I understood the urgency in his voice. I grabbed Brandy and stuffed her in the car seat, told Austin to watch Bruce, and hurried over to my in law's house barely a mile away. I didn't bother to wake C who was in a NyQuil induced coma. Larry was at the end of his street by the time I got there, which was in minutes; he really hauled ass. He got in, I turned around and asked what happened. He said Alice wrecked the truck down at the corner. And sure enough, down at the corner of cedar and county line were fire truck lights, vehicles pulled over, and two smashed pickups.

My father in law has a commanding voice. He has a voice that people are used to obeying. When he gives commands or orders, people do what he says. "Slow down, put on your flashers, and pull over behind that vehicle." I instantly obeyed, without thought or contemplation. He got out and ran across the streets and I sat in my van taking it all in. Absorbing what I was seeing. I knew Alice was alright because he told me she was, but I still just sat there for an eternity.

When eternity ended, and life started anew, I got out of the van, checked on Brandy, and then entered the scene myself. I was surprised at the damage done to the Ford F450. They are not indestructible. I say this because it has a reputation. Just the night before, C and Alice hit a truck that pulled out into their path from a stop sign. They tore off the front end of that truck with hardly any damage to themselves. The other driver was fine, and they were off in an hour. This time, it was Alice who pulled out into on coming traffic.



My couch sits on four legs. The front left leg busted, and now the corner sits low to the floor, giving the couch a twisted look. Now imagine the front passenger side smashed into the ground, and the truck looking quite similarly twisted. The tire was folded under, and it was sitting on the grass of the corner ditch. The other truck was parked up over the street sign, and the driver's side front was totally smashed in. But it was the damage to the ford that got my attention. It was wrecked, and squished in many places. Both air bags were popped and the center console was at a funky angle. It has bench seats, but the back of the middle section folds down, and opens into a storage compartment. It is this that gave Alice a broken rib. The air bag gave her a Bruce on her chin, the seat belts left marks of their own, and the gash on her shin would need stitches. But we don't know all these things right now.

She was sitting on the ground with her legs stretched in front of her; a young man stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. He spoke soothingly, telling us she would need stitches and would have to go to the hospital. She freaked out a little, and Larry told her it could be stitched up in the field like with cows, and this actually settled her down. I heard from a lady that Alice had been "blacking out", but I think she meant passing out. Shortly the ambulance arrived and I went to get Chantz. He and his dad took care of all the legal stuff, and I stood there looking stupid, not taking photos* while it was still light out. They finished loading up the other driver who is also fine, and then Alice. She got to lay still and get put on a stretcher, neck brace and all. I was creeped but detached; an observer. The lady told me she arrived second and the first lady who called it in kept getting transferred. The lady called her son, an EMT, who got people out there. We live out of town, but there is a fire department not that far from us, which is how it was able to get there so quickly. I guess it was hours by the time a "real" cop got there. There was a constable there already, but I don't know much about Texas police stuff. I was home by then, because C had to get paper work on the outfit and he took me and Brandy home.

I made dinner and did some laundry that I forgot about and made some pumpkin spice pudding with cool whip in it (a mousse) for Christmas dinner. Alice had left my house not long before the accident. She had picked up her list of stuff to get for our big meal we are planning. She didn't male it to the store. Everyone got home about five and a half hours after the accident, and apparently it is still bothering me. I am up with brandy now, and am not even wearing my glasses. My eyes are tearing up from overuse.

And all I could keep thinking was, "now maybe she will finally get glasses." I didn't say it. I didn't say it once to anybody until now.

*C took this picture and emailed it to me.