09-11-2001

A woman wakes up at 2:03am

Rolls over to wake her husband

"You need to get up,

We need to get you to the airport"

Grudgingly, the man slowly sits up

 

They get ready in silence

Sleepily, they drink their coffee

He takes it black

She takes hers with two sugars

He takes her hand and smiles

 

"I'm going to miss you."

She tells him with tears in her eyes

"I'm going to miss you too, but I'll be home soon."

He assures his wife and smiles again

They smile and continue to sip on their coffee

 

Awhile later, ready to go

They get in the car and head to the airport

The song they danced to at their wedding comes on

"Can you believe it's been two years already?"

She said as she took her husband's free hand

 

"I know, time just flew by. But that happens when you're happy."

He smiled and squeezed her hand

What she thought he didn't know was that she was pregnant

She was going to tell him when he got back over a candlelit dinner

She wanted it to be a night he'd never forget

 

As they stood facing each other

About to say their good-byes

He took her in his arms and said

"I love you with all of my heart."

She cried and held him tight

 

"And I love you with all of my soul."

She replied, it was their "thing" they said to one another

Ever since they'd been dating in high school

He let her go, grabbed his carry-on, & turned for the gate

She waved as he turned to look at her one last time

 

Though neither of them knew it would be the last time

She left the airport feeling a little sad

But feeling certain she'd see him again in just a few days

And thinking of the special night she had planned

She smiled

 

On the plane, he got situated

Put his bag in the overhead compartment and prepared to sit

He thought about his wife

She's pregnant, he smiled to himself

He'd thought about telling her he knew

 

But he knew her

She had something planned

He'd let her "surprise" him

He knew what it meant to her

A baby, wow...I'm going to be a father! He thought

 

If it's a boy, I promise to play catch with him

Help him with his math like my dad did

Take him to ball games

Wrestle in the living room

We will drive his mother nuts, he laughed

 

If it's a girl, I promise to beat up any boy that hurts a hair on her head

I will watch any recital she's in and try not to cry

Maybe she'll want to go to ball games too?

I'll let her beat me when we play Candy Land

She will have me wrapped around her little finger

 

Either way, I will protect my baby

Raise him or her to be strong, independent, & driven

He or she will have all the love in the world

They will have the best mother ever

He thought of his wife singing to their baby and almost broke down

 

He looked out the window

I can't wait to be back home, he thought

And then laughed because he hadn't even left yet

Soon

I'll be home soon

 

Later, on the plane

There was a commotion

He'd been listening to music and hadn't noticed at first

Suddenly there was a panic throughout the entire plane

Their flight was being hi-jacked

 

He tried to stay calm

Tried to pray

Asking God for a miracle

Hoping they'd all be okay

Hoping he'd make it home to his wife and child

 

As the plane was within inches of the building

He realized they were all going to die

He quietly said he loved his wife & his child

Prayed that his wife would be able to go on, that she'd be okay

Fear left him and fire was the last thing he saw

 

The wife had gone to the store after she left her husband

Ran other errands

And came home to take a nap

Later, she randomly turned on the t.v.

That's when she saw it

 

Buildings crumbling to the ground

Fire and chaos everywhere

At first she didn't know what was going on

But as she listened, her heart sank

Her husband had been on the plane that struck the second tower

 

She dropped the remote

And fell to her knees

One hand over her mouth

And another on her stomach

She cried for hours

 

Thoughts raced through her mind

Why?

Why did they do this?

Why did God let this happen?

Why was my husband taken from me, from our baby?

 

Angry

Broken

She couldn't make sense of the senseless violence

She knew others lost their lives

For that she felt sick to her core

 

Others lost their husbands and wives too

Sons, daughters

Friends, co-workers

She took their honeymoon picture from the side table

Tears fell on their smiles

 

Why?

She kept saying it over and over

Our baby will never know their father

He'll never get to hold you, she said looking down

He'll never get to see your face....

 

She'd had so many dreams of their future

And they all just died that day

Along with her husband

Her best friend

How could this have happened?

 

She kept the t.v. on all day

But after awhile, she had tuned it out

Calls were coming in

Her mother knew he'd been on that plane

So did her brother, his family....

 

At first she ignored the calls

But then she took one from his sister

They cried on the phone together

Later she told her the news

About their baby

 

Everyone swore they'd be there to help her

That she wouldn't be alone

She knew that she'd have a lot of support

It meant the world to her

But the one she really wanted was gone

 

I have to go on, for our baby

I know he'd want me to

But I just don't know how

Again she thought of the others who lost loved ones

Wondered if maybe there would be support groups

 

She'd have to find a way to get through this

Life would still go on for those left behind

The pieces of broken lives and families would have to find a way to heal

But there was one thing she knew for certain

She would never forget this day

 

I'll never forget.....