Accidentally

I had an accident this morning. Not much. Just a fender bender really. No one was hurt, which was a very good thing since I had a three year old in the backseat, strapped in, of course. It happened mid-turn...left. Another car decided at that moment to pass me. Soft crunch. Tinkle of glass. The other car curled sideways down the highway like a well placed rock.
My sweetie was saying, "There's Granma's house. There's where she lives." Then it happened.
Those thoughts you know. Oh God. Not an accident. Yes. Can't avoid it. Impact. Never mind screaming, it's all over. Replay. Replay. REPLAY.
Breath rising in -15C. Other driver claiming responsibility. Get the cars off the road. Get the child to safety.
Crunch of tires. Warmth in the senior's building. Telephone calls. Shaking. Wanting to cry. Not now. Kind words. Waiting.
In the back of the cruiser. Packed in. Never have my legs felt so long. A GOOD THING. My legs press into the front seat. How do tall people manage? My feet get trapped. I eye the bars on the sides. Locked in. We talk. Long pauses. Writing. Can't these guys have laptops connected right to the station? Pencil scratches slowly. Time passes. I think of sleeping.
Released. I can't extricate myself from the cruiser. My feet are stuck under the front seat...size 6 1/2. Really. I sort of fall out bum first, my legs and feet slithering after me. No charges. Hah. Not even for silliness. GOOD THING. Later I am 25% to blame as far as the insurance company is concerned. But no court. Thank God. No anxiety of waiting. No trying to remember in a year and a half what happened on an icy highway in November, 2004. No revising my memory to suit the circumstances.
But most of all. Our precious little one is unscathed. Not a whimper. Not a cry. Didn't even know what hit her. Entertained the seniors and her great-grandma like the little trouper she is. It could have been otherwise. Thank you God. Thank you. A sobering reality. A heartfelt Thanksgiving.