I need to use a restroom. I find a nursing home nearby. They let me use the bathroom. I shake the dust from my clothes, rinse my hair, and eyes and face. I take my shirt off and try to shake the dust off. They ask to copy ID before I leave. Anyone could be a terrorist, right?
I stand in line for the bus to Newark. I figure I’ll go to Morgan’s. I check messages. One from Nora, her message says I should leave the office since it appears the attack was intentional, one from Mary, one from Manny, my 11:00 appointment. I’ll miss that one. One from Greg. Says he called me earlier and I picked up, but we were disconnected.
I finally notice what a beautiful day it is. Rick calls. I tell him I’m safe and in Jersey City. He says Fred is safe. Neither of us know if John or Meg are safe. The bus takes at least 30 minutes to arrive. The ride to Penn Station is another hour. Traffic is slower than walking, literally. Three men standing in the aisle are talking about the day. One of them says his boss said they owed it to the company to get to New Jersey and keep working.
We get to Penn station and stand in a semi-mob while two EMT techs ask if we want to see a doctor. No, I want to go home. He gives to me a yellow triangular piece of paper. I think an ambulance is printed on it.
I go in the station. Wait in line to get info on how to get to Morgan’s in Montclair. I hear the people in front of me say there is a quarantine because there were chemical and/or biological weapons on the plane. I was wrong, it can get worse.
But I’m thinking, if I were a terrorist that’s what I would do. Plus I’d blow up Grand Central tomorrow and the GWB on Thursday and the Verranzano on Friday and Madison Square Garden on Saturday and then start on the rest of the country.
Subway to bus, bus to Montclair. Morgan picks me up. Later that evening John calls to say he is safe, as is Meg. I ask how he escaped. I tell him my story. I must have told the story 10 times. Even to a guy on the subway and a guy on the bus to Montclair. He noticed my shoes were covered with soot and asked if I was “down there.”
Next day I hire a car to bring me home. Nora comes out to greet me. She’s never looked better. Kenneth comes home. We go out to lunch. Come home and I go upstairs to rest. Instead I cried.