Just In Case

WHEN THE SUN RISES

Amanda looked at the clock anxiously. The more the clock ticked, the more her heart beat faster. The ticking and the beating created a haunting rhythm. The clock struck four. Its long hand at twelve and its small hand at four. The doors opened, out came a bird cooing indicating the start of a new hour. It was now officially six hours since her husband had been missing.

He usually arrives home at 10 pm, but today he was unusually late. Amanda stared at the television. She reduced the volume once the anchor started to speak. Her one-year-old daughter was asleep and the slightest noise would wake her up. " The rescuers found two more people under the pile of rubble. What is that, Simon? The firefighters found, are alive." The camera panned to the rescued firefighters, one of them unconscious. Amanda's heart was in her mouth. She was conflicted. She hoped it was John, but at the same time she hoped it was not him. The camera zoomed into the person's face. It was not John.

Amanda let out a sigh of relief and prayed that they would find him. "The injured people have been taken to The Matter hospital. We will be back with more updates on the rescues." The TV switched to a commercial break. Amanda took the landline and dialed the hospital's number. Once they picked up, she asked if her husband was at the hospital. "Sorry madam but no one by that name has been admitted to this hospital." "Thank you." She hung up the phone.

She took a seat on the sofa in exhaustion. When they got together, she knew his job as a firefighter was dangerous. She had mentally prepared herself for nights like this but she still felt inadequate.

Sleep clouded her eyes but she fought it. She turned the TV off, prepared a cup of coffee for herself and sat on the arm chair waiting for a call. She willed herself to be calm as she waited for a call from the fire department. If her husband was injured while on duty, they would have the courtesy to call her. She planned her day to keep herself busy. She wiped the tables clean and dusted the shelves off their imaginary dust.

The time was now half past five, still no call. At 5.34 am, the door handled jingled. Her back rose straight from the relaxed posture. The hair at the back of her head rose. She grabbed the nearest thing to her, which was an empty mug. She found it entertaining that she did not have weapons around the house. She was now regretting rejecting John's idea to buy protective arms to stash around the house. The sound of the door handle jiggling continued. Amanda stood in a protective stance facing the door, the mug raised, ready to be thrown at the intruder.

The cases of home invasions and attacks are increasing every day. Amanda would not allow her home to be amongst the numbers. As soon as the door was opened, she hurled the mug at the intruder. The intruder dodged the attack. The mug hit the wall, breaking, its pieces scattered on the ground. It scraped off a little of the paint from the wall. " I did not expect an attack from my wife as soon as I entered the door." the figure said jokingly. Amanda stood rooted to the spot, her mouth opened in shock. "Amanda, baby are you okay?" John asked, worry in his voice. He came near her, touching her cheek with the palm of his hand.

Amanda recovered from the shock immediately. She jumped on John, her legs curled around his waist. She hugged the six-foot frame of the man tightly, tears of joy streaming down her face. John dropped his bag and returned the hug, holding her up to keep her from falling. Amanda stopped crying once she heard loud cries from the bedroom. The noise had woken up her daughter. She let go of John and climbed off him. "Can you go and put Olivia back to sleep while I clean up the mess?" she asked John. He nodded and went.

Amanda got the broom and dustpan to sweep the floor. She collected all the big noticeable pieces and threw them in the dustbin. She swept the floor till no speck of dust could be seen. After putting the broom and dustpan back and turning off the lights, she went to the bedroom. He found John already showered and changed in bed reading a book. She leaned on the door admiring how good he looked while reading. John noticed her and beckoned her to join him.

"How was today?" "A building collapsed while we were fighting the fire. It was terrifying. Luckily, I was already out of the building. I know you were worried."

Amanda cuddled with him, happy and grateful thoughts lulling her to sleep.

The next day, she woke up and baked cookies to take to the fire department. John had already left for an emergency after his run. She sauntered into the office greeting everyone she was familiar with. She left the baked goods with the secretary and headed out.

"Amanda", a familiar voice called her. She stopped and turned around. " Hey Tim " she greeted him once she caught up to her. "I saw you on TV yesterday, congratulations on the successful rescue. John told me that it was hard." "Yeah we were lucky." I am proud of my husband, saving lives everyday, even though I did not see him appear on TV" Tim looked at her confused, "John was not among the rescuers yesterday." Amanda paused to think. She remembered one thing: John did not have a smoky smell when he came home.