Late night interruption When the fire alarm went off in the apartment building last night I was dreaming about boats. As we got out of bed and pulled on warm clothes, I wondered if I should take anything out with me. I opened the cupboard where we keep photos and stared at them for a second but the task of gathering them all proved too great when accompanied with the imperative ringing in the hall. So, then it was jamming sockless feet into shoes and heading to the stairway. I didn't check to see if the door was hot before going out into the hall, but I remembered to check the stairwell door. We joined a family headed to the exit, the kids in pyjamas and winter boots in line between mom and dad. There were people waiting in the space between the doors when we got to the bottom of the stairs but we went outside and then crossed the street, just to be extra safe. A girl and her cat Tarzan sat next to us and fretted out loud because he was shivering. She asked her mom for a coat to wrap him in, but her mom was busy chatting with someone and either didn't hear or ignored the request. The fire trucks came, three in a row, cutting off our view of the entrance and the waiting people. Presumably the fire men went in to the building and returned with the all clear message. The number of legs seen beneath the fire truck began to decrease and we crossed the street. Up the stairs again, this time to avoid the crowd waiting for the elevator. As we unlocked the door, we speculated on whether one should lock the door against invasion from the neighbours or keep it unlocked to allow the fire fighters easy access. Too keyed up to go back to sleep I sat down at the kitchen table and went over banquet hall rental information that had come in the mail that day; $350 ceremony charge, $500 reception charge. Finally, sleep came again and I dreamed of nothing. |