All the children went back home and so hubby and I was the only ones at the lake house on our last night. As we were watching the movie, "Thelma and Louise", I accidently pushed a button on the controller and the movie went off. Ron was not thrilled that I couldn't get the TV to work and it was right at a good point too! Funny how just a little thing can get so blown up. Soon we were not happy with each other even after we did get the TV working again, and we went to bed without the usual kisses and "I love you." A good night's sleep would help us. We had grown to enjoy the early mornings on the deck, reading and looking out over the water and that time together would mend any little spat.
I was awaken out of a very deep sleep with a piercing beep; just one beep. A few minutes later, two beeps…then we were both awake wondering what was beeping. Maybe the dishwasher had ended the cycle and it was letting us know. Maybe one of the batteries in the smoke alarms was weak. Maybe… we didn't have time to even think about it what it could have been because the piercing beep turned into a prolonged shrill. We couldn't smell anything and we went downstairs and out the front door to see if the other units were on fire. Nothing. We went from room to room investigating, looking for smoke. Nothing! The noise was almost unbearable and now it wasn't just one alarm going off, every alarm in the house was blaring!
It was 2:22 am and we didn't want to call the fire department if nothing was smoking or burning. What would they think? We ran through the house touching the walls and ceilings to see if anything was even warm. Ron had to get the bar stool to stand on so he could reach the fire alarm in the entry to reset it, then he went to the fire alarm in the Master bedroom and reset it. I have never heard anything that instantly gave me a headache. After 15 minutes the penetrating noise stopped abruptly. We looked at each other and wondered what had just happened.
Our minds were really wandering in some strange ways, although we didn't talk about it. We tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't stop thinking of the "what ifs" and I know hubby was still awake because he was tossing and turning. My heart was pounding and I was so glad that the grandchildren weren't with us because the shrill alone would have scared them and then they would have been crying. It was so weird! One good thing though…I made up real fast with hubby and was so glad he put his arm around me.
Sleep did not come easy but eventually I could hear the familiar snore of my husband and since he was alright then I was alright. So I fell asleep…for awhile. Once again at 4:20 am, the alarm went off, but this time it was for only a couple of minutes. What in the world was going on?
We decided we would get up and leave early for home. Going over the events and trying to figure out what had happened and what we would have done if it had been a real fire or a burglary. We were in a new townhouse in a new subdivision one mile from the main road. In fact, the other three townhouses were empty and so we were all alone. I had no phone numbers I could call for help other than the fire dept. and 911. I know we sound foolish but hey what would you do?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment