Comedy or Tragedy-Part 1

It was almost a comedy of errors, except the laughter was absent.

Yesterday the time had come for me to attack the accumulated dirt and dust that has settled so comfortably in my home recently. Michael had a 3-4 hour meeting. With him out of the house, I could run the vacuum to my heart's content without stopping because he needed to take a phone call. I got busy.

Seeing my ambition, my mother-in-law declared she would drive herself to her afternoon appointment. She hasn't driven in 6 weeks. I could tell by the look in her eyes, she was not to reckoned with. She insisted on driving back to her apartment first. I had to let her go. I watched out the window as she drove away. No time to fret; fast and furiously I forged ahead, facing the dirt demons.

My uninterrupted 3 hours of work was nearly complete. As if on cue, Michael walked in the door. We briefly discussed how comfortable we were with his mom driving. Tiny snowflakes had just begun to fly, but the roads were still dry. It was decided that we would trust her judgment, believing she would call if necessary.

The phone rang. She was just leaving the apartment when she realized it was snowing. She thought she could make it to the appointment. I offered to come get her, but she wanted to try. She assured me she would phone from the office if the roads looked bad when it was time to drive home. I figured I should go ahead and get dinner started in case I needed to pick her up later. The phone rings again.

I can't quite make out what Michael is saying, but before he hangs up he says, "I'll be there in a minute." Making his way through the kitchen he tells me Hilary's been in an accident. "What? Is she okay? Was she driving home? Where was she?" I have lots of questions, as I thought Hilary was staying after school for the basketball game. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No. You stay here in case my mom needs you to pick her up." Out the door he went. I dialed Hilary's cell phone. As it was ringing, Michael walked back in the door. He'd grabbed the wrong car keys. No answer. "Did she call the police this time?" I asked, assuming that was why Hilary wasn't taking my call. "Yes." He muttered something else that sounded like this being her 3rd accident and what will this do to our insurance. I'm guessing this is what he said, as I couldn't really make it out. But I'm praying even before he shuts the door.