Bart on the Bend

January 4, 2008

It was around 9pm-ish, Christmas Eve 2008, 12 days since the accident. Bart went to go feed my cats on the Bend, and spent some time with them as well, before heading home for the night, like the usual new routine. He then gave me a call about an hour later saying he was on his way. That's what I heard.

An hour went by. Bart wasn‘t home. We live only seven blocks away from each other, a 3-minute drive. I called his cell, he didn’t answer. I left vmail, I texted him too, but received no reply.

I started wondering what had happened to Bart. The worse thoughts and worries started swimming around me. I'm lying helpless on my back, staring at the ceiling from above and thinking that something bad had happened to Bart. The tear flow began. The weeping sound was loud and getting louder. Repeatedly, I could not turn it off.

A few days before, there was a recent robbery across the street from my Burgundy Bend house, Tim & Nathaniel, Matt, & Susie's old house. The new girl tenant was sitting on her front porch, doing some reading, enjoying her late afternoon in the spirited neighborhood. A gun then slid in front of her & tiptoed to her head and demanded her purse. Fortunately, the Christmas robber did not kill her. However, the girl was really traumatized. Bart hasn't seen her on her porch since the event. She would often smoke her cigarette s there.

So I'm lying on my back, hysterically crying, and thinking, that's the reason why Bart isn't here yet. He got held up by a Christmas robber and his gun. And this time, the Christmas robber shot his victim. And Bart is now laying down on the street, bleeding to death by the rupture of two bullet holes in the chest area, in front of his van, in front of my shotgun, on the Bend. This time the robber said, "what the hell, it's Christmas."

My crying continued out of control. And now Bart’s dead as a door nail or almost dead, blood seeping out of the two bullet holes. And no one is near him to see if he even has a fighting chance. And I’m helpless; I've lost Bart for good, just my luck. I'm caged-in & locked-up in this house, and I can't walk, much less crawl to solve the mystery.

My thoughts continued out of control as well. Maybe Bart is still alive in his pool of blood. And he's trying to drag himself to the nearest help. And his voice can't be heard by his weakening holler and the blood is vomiting out of his body faster than he's trailing it to safety.

More minutes ticked by and my thoughts encouraged the recent thoughts & welcomed more alarmed thoughts. Something had happened to Bart. Bart would have contacted me otherwise. He means what he says. He says what he means. So when Bart says he's on his way home, then he's on his way home.

I'm crying, still crying. Oh, I know, I can call my nei ghbor Joe. He can check out the bloody site. Joe was home, he answered his phone. At first, my panicky sobs kept him from understanding me. I was talking in tongues on a tangent. "Slow down, slow down, take a deep breath," he said. After hearing the fast scoop, Joe said he would check it out and call me back shortly.

I’m waiting and waiting, and crying and crying, and thinking and thinking, and praying and praying to someone who would listen to my frantic feelings. “Please don’t let anything happen to him, please.” over and over I said. “God please let Bart be alive and okay, please.” I plead with Him as well, “I’ll do anything, I’ll go back to work!" I spoke loudly for anyone to hear, for Him to hear.

The short time I've had off from the agonizing pain of the pelvic and wrist bone fractures have been quite adventurous and very enjoyable.

A second later, Bart calls. Nothing had happened to him, he was okay! What a relief and a load off the shoulders. Bart forgot his phone in my shotgun house on the bend. He had made a quick stop to pick up a few groceries at the nearby Mardi Gras Zone and then realized he didn't have his phone with him. So he retraced his steps and ran into Joe.

Bart’s voice calmed me down. I forgot he had told me earlier he was making a stop to the Zone first before coming home.

And damn, because of my freak-out & memory loss, I=2 0have to keep my promise to someone and go back to work when I can walk again!

Workless for a short while, :(

deb