A Beautiful Morning in Suburbia

(998 words)

The morning was sunny, but chilly. Bird singing in the trees, children playing in the yards. With a smile looking forward to her day off, Laura pushed the covers off, stretched and got out of bed. A breeze flowing through the open window had her sliding on her fuzzy bunny slippers and wrapping her long pink robe around her Grumpy Bear nightshirt. It had been warm when she had gone to bed, but mornings were still slightly cold.

Padding down the short hallway of her two bedroom duplex towards the kitchen, she was surprised not to hear anything on the other side of the wall. The family there had young children who were usually up early. As she entered the kitchen, she glanced at the clock and was shocked to see it was already 9 am. No wonder all was quiet, they were at work or school.

Her mind meandered over the possibilities for the day as she prepared a cup of hot tea. She could go out shopping, buy some new shoes. However, the thought of being on her feet had her wincing in pain. Work had been busy lately, running errands to and fro like a good little secretary. No, she decided, staying in sounded much more relaxing. A plethora of books lined her shelves in the living room, which was where she went next with her cup of tea.

She ran her finger across the spines. Picking a particularly steaming romance with the title of Desire for You, she set her tea on the small table next to her lounging chair and plopped down, wiggling until she got comfortable. Ah, she thought, the day was going to be great.

A loud crackle of noise coming through the kitchen window had her sitting upright. What was that? She gripped the arms of her chair as a booming voice tore through the peaceful morning.

“Attention! This is the city police. We are looking for a white male dressed in all black who was last seen on your street breaking into a house. If you should see this man, call 911 immediately.”

The blood drained from her face as she rose on legs that fought her every movement. Stumbling to the kitchen window, she peered out between the folds of the curtain to see a cop car slowly drive by. The driver gripped the square handset of his radio, which broadcast his voice outside the car, as he scanned her side of the street.

Dear God! She thought a quick prayer as she locked the kitchen door to the garage and ran to the living room and the front door. Checking that all the locks were indeed locked, she then moved to close all the windows. Within a minute, she had somehow managed to close all five windows. Looking frantically around, she decided that the best place to hide was the bathroom, which had the smallest window and the door could lock.

Scurrying there, she slammed the door shut, twisted the lock and collapsed on the toilet seat. She wrapped her arms around her and rocked slowly as she listened to the faint voice of the policeman driving up and down her short street.

It seemed like an eternity that she sat there, listening for signs that it was over. She kept hoping and praying as she rocked back and forth. Every little noise outside had her jumping. Unfortunately, the wind had picked up so the branches of trees scraped against windows and unlocked gates thumped erratically.

Why was this happening to her? She didn’t live in that bad of a neighborhood. Did she?

Thwap. Thwap. Thwap. The sounds of a helicopter overhead derailed her train of thought. Hope filled her. A helicopter surely would find the perpetrator and save the day.

Straining her ears, she could hear the cop calling out something different as the helicopter hovered over the duplex next to her.

“Come out with your hands up! We know you are in there!”

Thump. Thump. Thump. Her heart beat wildly as she waited for it to be over. Please give up! She prayed the man would not be foolish and hold out. Hold out. What if he had hostages! An elderly woman lived in the duplex next to hers, and she was usually home every day.

Pale and trembling, she got to her feet. Unlocking the door, she stepped out and walked down into her computer room. The window there was one of three windows that faced the old lady’s side. Lacking the courage to go into the living room or kitchen, she peered out under the bottom of the curtains. At first she didn’t see anything, but then she saw movement as two cops crept along the ground, below the line of the windows. That’s when she realized little Boopsie was not in her yard. The old lady must have taken him for a walk.

The voice over the loudspeaker blared again. “Come out now and you will not be harmed.” The two cops crouched on either side of the front door, waiting with guns in their hands.

Guns! She fled back to the safety of the bathroom. Locking the door again, this time she climbed into the bathtub and hunkered down. If gun shots were going to fly, maybe the porcelain would stop them.

Just as she rested her head on her arms, she heard the crashing of the door and the firing of guns. Shots so rapid, she couldn’t count them. Then they stopped and all she could hear was the helicopter overhead. After a moment, she heard movement and voices outside. A siren blared in the distance.

She trembled uncontrollably until she heard the loudspeaker once again.

“We have caught the suspect. He is in custody and no one was hurt. Please stay inside until we give the all-clear.”

Stay inside indeed. Next time she had a day off, she’d set her alarm and go out at the crack of dawn!