Tsunami
When the earthquake hit Sri Lanka, I was having Christmas dinner with my family. While the news reports about the tsunamis striking 11 countries started rolling, I was asleep at my sister’s house. I first heard of the disaster when Kris called me down from her attic workroom on Monday afternoon. By the time I had descended the stairs the news update had ended, and someone had changed the channel.
“Isn’t William in Phuket?” Kris asked. I thought a minute.
“He didn’t say where he was headed, but he usually goes to Phuket when he’s in Thailand.”
We speculated on how we might find his itinerary, and I went back upstairs, hoping that he had gone to Bangkok instead.
The next morning, a friend called to ask if I’d heard from William yet. This friend believed that he had, in fact, gone to Phuket. Later in the day, I phoned William’s parents,
“Hi Paul and Maureen, this is William’s friend, Patti. I was just wondering if you’ve heard from him yet.” Suddenly, the gravity of the situation struck me, and I began to bluster, “I’m sure he’s just fine, but I was wondering if he’ll be coming home early…”
I ended the message by leaving my phone number and absurdly wishing them a happy new year.
We ate lunch, ran an errand, and then headed back down to Seattle, where we had dinner plans with two of Kris’ brothers. During the drive we began phoning friends to arrange times when we might visit with them.
“…How ‘bout coffee in the morning? We’re going to the aquarium with Jason and Presley tomorrow…William will be home on Friday, and we were going to spend some time on New Year’s Eve with him. How’s your schedule on Thursday?”
“…We have to give William’s car back on Friday, so whoever hangs out with us on Saturday has to be our chauffer…”
As we were passing through Everett, I suggested we check on William’s house. He’d left us the keys, but we hadn’t yet taken advantage of his offer to stay there.
“We should check the mail and stuff.”
There wasn’t any mail- he must have notified the Post Office to hold it. There wasn’t any note for us, either. Or any itinerary lying on the coffee table. Without William, the house seemed lonely, and much too quiet. We paced around the cold house, picking up pictures of William- with his daughter, with his sister, with a friend. I put a note on the refrigerator, and Kris and I sat down on the couch and looked at one another.
“You want to go over to Jason’s house?”
When we arrived at Jason’s, a news story was playing footage of the tsunami- the first we’d seen. We were stunned by the images of the destruction, and the death toll. We’d had no idea of the magnitude of this disaster.
Now, as I dress for dinner, I think back on that fumbled message to William’s parents with regret. I hope he really is in Bangkok, sipping a whiskey sour and watching the whole thing on television.
UPDATE: William was not on Phuket, and is home safe.
