Alex Jones was not prepared for the phone call at midnight. She had been in bed for an hour, comfortably sleeping, and dreaming of the coming winter vacation only two months away. She patted around on her nightstand in search of the device emanating the intrusive noise and habitually hit the power button as her head collapsed into the pillow.
"Hello. Who is this," she asked into the darkness.
"Mom. Mom. It's me. It's Annabel. I'm coming home. I did something Mom. Please. Meet me downstairs," the sobbing voice on the other line replied.
Alex didn't need any more information. She knew the voice, the sob, the sound of the crying. As a mother, these sounds are as unique and individual as a fingerprint, and they startled her. Annabel was not the type to cry; much less sob and the fact that she had not explained it over the phone left Alex with a terrible knot in her stomach. She launched from the bed, throwing on a bathrobe, darting down to the front door. One hand clutched the terry cloth robe shut, hiding her nude body. Alex and her husband had made love earlier in the evening and she had not bothered dressing afterwards. Within moments her panicked eyes caught sight of the headlights of the Ford Explorer that Annabel drove.
The moment the SUV turned into the driveway, Alex was out the door and running to the driver's side. Annabel burst from the car and met her mother beside the front wheel well. For a few moments she huddled there, her sobs gradually fading until she spoke up.
"I hit someone Mom. I wasn't paying attention, and I was looking down for my iPod, and then I heard a sound and then a bump. I stopped the car, but it was too late. I killed her, I killed her, Mom." Once again the sobbing filled the air and Annabel's head collapsed back into her mother's shoulder.
Alex was stunned. She did not know what to say. She could smell the strong odor of alcohol on her daughter's clothes and her stomach twisted painfully within her. While Annabel sobbed, Alex's eyes raced over the body of the vehicle. It was not until she looked down beside where they stood that she noticed the signs of the accident. The plastic body piece beneath the bumper was hanging loose and dark liquid spots covered the lighter paint. Alex did not ask what they were. The instinctual response of a mother came to life.
"Go inside. I will make sure we get this taken care of. Nothing will happen to you. Put your clothes in the wash room and get to bed. We will talk about this in the morning. Go. Sleep."
Once Annabel was through the door, Alex turned back towards the vehicle. Her mind raced through all the crime shows she had seen in her mid-evening TV watching. She ran back inside quickly pouring a cap of bleach into a bucket and added water. Then back out the front door, robe flapping behind her. She scrubbed for an hour at the bumper, the tire, the undercarriage, the step, the rim. After she was sure she had covered the whole side of the vehicle she pulled it far up alongside the garage, ensuring that the car was not immediately visible from the road and that it would not impede her husband's departure for work.
Mentally exhausted she returned to the controlled warmth of her suburban home. She abandoned the robe in the hamper, and padded naked up the stairs. She grabbed a towel from the bathroom and peaked into her daughter's room. As Alex expected, Annabel was still up, curled against the far corner of her bed. She stared blankly out into the dark grey night sky. She slipped in to her side and pulled her nineteen year old daughter closer. Over and over again for the next two hours she would whisper that everything would be okay. She did not stop even when her daughter's breathing slowed and her body relaxed in her arms. The phrase was meant to reassure her as much as it was for her Annabel.
She would wake up there the next morning; her daughter still slumped into the recess beneath her arm. Her towel had fallen to her lap and her skin was covered in gooseflesh. Alex quietly refastened the towel and shook her daughter awake. In the quiet of the morning, the two women would discuss exactly what had happened and what they could do. Alex then readied for work and went about her routine as normal. Her husband was waking up just as she was heading out the door. She gave him a quick kiss goodbye and rushed to work.
The hours would drag by slowly for Alex. She had a hard time concentrating on the lessons she was supposed to be teaching. Her students sensed the absence of their teacher's usually alert attention, and took full advantage. By three o'clock, she was ready to bolt for her car. She hastily drove to the nearby gym where she worked off the long stress of the day and the prior night. Her workout was more intense then normal and by the time she was finished, she was barely able to walk. Alex would break down crying under the hot flow of the shower. She managed to contain the heaving of her shoulders and chest as she fought to regain the composure upon which she depended. After fifteen minutes, she dried, dressed, and returned to the car. The ride home was short. In her distracted state she had a tendency to speed and it shaved five minutes off the drive.