Brisban: Oh, well don’t let me interrupt.
Me: It’s just me. I needed to get out of the house for a bit.
Brisban: Come over.
Me: Now?
Brisban: Yes, now. Get it to go. I’ve thought about you all day. Come over, please.
How do I argue with that?
Me: Okay.
Brisban: Great, see you soon.
“Jake, I’m sorry but can I get this to go. Something’s come up.”
He comes around from behind the counter. “Sure, you want your drink to go, too?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”
He takes my plate and drink and disappears into the back.
I leave a twenty dollar bill on the table for Jake and he comes out with my to-go bags.
“Thanks, Jake.”
“Don’t wait so long before you come back in to see me.” I wave and tell him I’ll definitely stop by more often.
The smell of the food fills my car and my stomach rumbles. I reach over and try to untie the sack and figure I’ll just eat it on my way to Brisban’s house. After a little finesse, I get the sack open but I can’t seem to get the container to flip open. I take my eyes off of the road momentarily to open the box and the blaring sound of a horn honking brings my eyes forward. I came up on the intersection and the light is red. I’m going straight through it. Before I can react, I hear a loud bang and see my drink flying through the air, soda splashing onto everything. My head jerks forward then backward and something hits me in the face, nearly knocking the wind out of me. Soon I realize it’s my airbag. I finally feel the car stop. My foot is practically one with the brake pedal now. My heart’s racing a million miles a minute. The first thing that comes to my mind is to get out of the car in case anything is on fire. I’m in flight mode. I look down at myself to make sure there’s no blood coming from anywhere but I seem to be fine. I try to push open the door but it won’t budge. I climb over to the passenger door and try to open it; as soon as I’m out of the car I remember to grab my purse. When I reach in to get it I hear someone yelling at me from behind. I spin around and see a man yelling at me.
“Are you crazy, lady? You ran that red light. We could’ve been killed. Are you okay?”
“I’m so sorry, sir. I know and I’m sorry. I looked away for just a minute. I think I’m okay. Are you okay? Is anyone else involved?”
I hear sirens and can see a scratch on the man’s forehead, a small trickle of blood coming down from it. My head is pounding and I feel nauseous.
“It’s just the two of us, thank God. It sounds like help is on the way.”
I walk over to the roadside and sit down because my legs won’t stop shaking. Rummaging through my purse I find my cell and call Brisban.
“Hello”
Before I even get a word out I start crying.
“Candace? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“I ran a red light…car hit me.”
My words are short and clipped in between sobs.
“Where are you right now? I’m on my way.”
“Wallace Avenue and Vine Street intersection.”
I sniffle and wipe my nose with my arm and I see blood. My nose must be bleeding.
“Okay.”
“You’re going to be fine. I’m not far from there.”
He hangs up and I try to find some napkins in my purse. I only have a couple tissues so I blot my nose carefully. If all I get from this is a bloody nose then I consider myself very lucky. Two cop cars pull up, along with an ambulance and fire truck.
Medics rush over to me and start asking me all of the typical questions. I try and explain that I think I’m okay but they recommend I go and get checked out at the local hospital just to be on the safe side. When I stand up they guide me to the ambulance and I see Brisban’s car pull up. His door flies open and he runs for me.
“Are you okay?” He looks at the medics. “Is she hurt?” His eyes are distraught as he scans me up and down.
“I’m okay. They just want me to go get checked out to be on the safe side.”
He exhales. “Thank God you’re not badly hurt. I’ll follow behind the ambulance and meet you at the hospital. Is there anyone you need to call? Janette?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t want to worry her and I know she’s working right now.”
“Alright.” He leans over and kisses me on the forehead. “See you as soon as we get there.”
I give him a little smile, even though my head is pounding like crazy. I reach up and massage my temples. The medics help me up onto the gurney and they hoist me up into the ambulance.
“Are you in pain anywhere?”
“Just my head and lower back.” I tell them, still rubbing my head.