She had already been standing next to her bedroom door and she didn’t want her mom to know what she had overheard, so she just slipped in her room, silently closed it and crawled in bed still fully clothed.
No writing tonight, Jordan thought, as she began to realize the degree of her emotional and physical exhaustion from the day.
Are Mom and Dad gonna be ok? Is Dad really having some kind of affair with Melissa? Are they gonna get divorced? What’s gonna happen in our country? Who would do this to us – who would attack us?
She began to think about all the kids who’s moms and dads weren’t coming home that night because they went to work in the towers that morning. She thought about what it would be like to come home and not have her Mom or Dad.
She felt afraid. She felt sad. But most of all, she felt alone, more alone than she had felt in years.
I’m not ready for this; I’m not ready to take care of myself.
She quietly started to weep.
Jen was crying. Startled from her sleep when the door slammed, she became wide-awake, wide eyed, and agitated immediately. The toddler had climbed out of her crib in the south end of the house and come running to Sally’s room looking for consolation with mixed results. Mom felt almost as anxious as the baby. Crawling into bed Jen snuggled up with her mom who was trying to wipe her red puffy eyes and cheeks.
“Good morning sweetie. Did you sleep good?”
“Maaaw….aaaaaaah…mmmmm….”, in whimpers was about all she got out.
“I know baby, I’m upset too.”
Moments later the five-year-old Mindi ambled around the corner of Sally’s bedroom door as well. The two youngest girls shared the room at the end of the hall and although Mindi hadn’t been startled by the early morning marital conversation, her sister’s crying did the job. “Mom, I’m hungry!” she moaned as she crawled up into bed.
“Ok honey just give me a few minutes.”
“But moooom! I’m Huuungry!”
The baby continued whining and squawking as well.
“Listen Mindi, you need to wait.”