No Alarms

 No Alarms
I was needed to drive with a friend to have testing done yesterday. She would have to endure anesthesia for the test. I would be needed to be with her to listen to the directions for her post-operative care at home, but more importantly I would be needed to drive her home. She wouldn’t be permitted to operate a vehicle for twenty-four hours. She would need to be under the care of a relative for twenty-four hours.
I was to be at her house before six AM. She needed to be at the hospital by seven AM. I set my alarm for four-thirty. I was sure to wake up in plenty of time to grab a shower and eat a bite of breakfast before I got into my car and drive to her house. For some reason the alarm didn’t go off and I woke at five-thirty two AM. I was in a panic, because. It would take fifteen minutes to drive from my home to her house. I hurried outside to my car, pulled off the windshield cover and…there was a layer of ice. I jumped inside and peering through a clear spot I began the journey. For some reason the morning darkness seemed to absorb my illumination from headlight. Although I knew the road to her home, in the darkness it seemed unfamiliar. I arrived at her home at five fifty eight with two minutes to spare and we were off.
Along the way, we saw red flashing lights and slowed. There was an auto accident at a crossroad. Emergency vehicles had just arrived. The fire department was allowing traffic to drive by in a single lane. It slowed traffic, but we were able to continue.
It made us feel thankful. If we had started ten or fifteen minutes earlier, we could have easily been involved in that accident. We continued to drive, arriving at the hospital arriving at six fifty eight. We made it with two minutes to spare. I had a book that I planned to read while I waited, but in my haste, I forgot it in my car. As I waited, I went to the hospital’s cafeteria for the breakfast that I didn’t have time to eat. I felt better with some food in my stomach and now I could relax as I waited for her procedure to be finished and recovered from her anesthesia. I reviewed some articles on my cell phone as I waited. Once the procedure was over, we made the drive back home without incident.