Chapter 2 - The Ambulance
The paramedics entered through the front door while Sylvia kept insisting there had been a misunderstanding.
“There was no need for all this.”
She followed them into the kitchen.
“My daughter-in-law is emotional.”
One paramedic knelt beside me.
“Ma’am, don’t move.”
David attempted to step closer.
The paramedic blocked him.
“We need space.”
David looked offended.
“This is my wife.”
The second paramedic glanced at the shattered phone near the wall.
Then at the granite counter.
Then at me.
“What happened?”
David answered before I could.
“She lost her balance.”
“No.”
The word came from behind him.
Everyone turned.
It was Mark Ellis, one of David’s colleagues.
He still held his dinner napkin in one hand.
“I saw Mrs. Mercer go into the kitchen.”
He looked at Sylvia.
“I saw Mrs. Mercer follow her.”
Sylvia’s face hardened.
“You saw nothing.”
Mark swallowed.
“I heard the impact.”
Another guest stepped forward.
“So did I.”
David stared at them.
Something inside the room shifted.
People who had spent years laughing at his jokes and praising his courtroom confidence were suddenly unwilling to become part of his story.
The paramedics lifted me onto a stretcher.
David reached for my wrist.
“I’m coming with her.”
I pulled away.
“No.”
He froze.
It was the first time I had ever denied him in front of other people.
The sheriff’s deputy who had arrived with EMS stepped between us.
“Sir, I need you to remain here.”
David gave a bitter laugh.
“You know who I am?”
The deputy studied him.
“Yes.”
David straightened.
“Then you know I’m an attorney.”
“That doesn’t change anything.”
David’s eyes flicked toward Sylvia.
For once, his mother had no instructions.
As the stretcher moved through the dining room, I saw the Christmas table Sylvia had spent two days arranging.
The candles were still burning.
The turkey was cooling.
The wineglasses were half full.
Every guest stared at me.
Some with shame.
Some with fear.
Some already understanding that they might soon be witnesses.
Outside, freezing air hit my face.
My father was still on the paramedic’s speakerphone.
“I’m coming, Anna.”
“Dad.”
“I’m here.”
The ambulance doors closed.
And as the house disappeared behind me, I realized something I should have understood years earlier.
May you like
I was not leaving my husband’s home.
I was escaping it.
