\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Diane asked. We awoke to two pulsing, piercing sounds. At first I thought, construction equipment. Then it dawned.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the fire alarm.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Naked, I stumbled to our bedroom door, not yet conscious enough to dread what might be on the other side. I opened it to see the hallway filled with smoke. Matt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bedroom, normally sealed like a bank vault behind a closed door, was nothing but smoke. I felt like a threatened reptile. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fire, Get Out,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I screamed.<\/p>\n
From downstairs, Matt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voice, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dad, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got it covered.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Immediately, my lizard brain switched from call 911, grab the G5 and run, to, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all gonna be okay. Matt is safe and alive, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in control, as he had been when he dodged the panel truck in his BMW. That single answer, in spite of what appeared to be our house burning down, soothed me.<\/p>\n
Diane followed me out of the bedroom, ran downstairs and outside to see Drew, transfixed by the mattress bonfire. I felt my way into Matt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bedroom and climbed up his ladder to the loft. The carpet glowed like pine needles caught just outside a campfire ring, and his down comforter, in flames, beckoned for marshmallows. I grabbed the burning blanket and as Matt entered the room, I threw it down at him and screamed, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I thought you had it covered!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n
Matt flew down the stairs with the feathers on fire, and out the front door. Later that morning, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll follow those feathers thinking a coyote must have caught a goose and dragged it to our backyard. Later that night, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have dinner with Matt and Joe and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll ask Matt, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What did you mean by \u00c3\u00abI have it covered?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 To me, that meant everything\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t call the fire department, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got it under control. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No, dad. I think I meant that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re down here with the mattress, and the house is on fire.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Addendum: <\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve fantasized about saving lives all of my life. I never have. In fact, I may have helped some along to the other side. Matthew, who appears all too grounded in reality, may have saved Drew\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, his, and ours in that order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Diane asked. We awoke to two pulsing, piercing sounds. At first I thought, construction equipment. Then it dawned. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the fire alarm.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Naked, I stumbled to our bedroom door, not yet conscious enough to dread what might be … Continue reading