patterned tennis shoe from the tissue in the box and stared at it. "Did you talk to your family?"
Lila reiterated what she'd told Ari about the situation extending nationwide. "What about you? Did you reach your girlfriend?"
Deb's expression was as grim as Hector's. "No, but sometimes she turns her cell off when she's at work."
"God, this is a nightmare." Lila moved down to the six and half section and grabbed a pair of tennis shoes at random. "I keep thinking I'll wake up, that it couldn't possibly be real."
"Or we're being punked on a grand scale," Deb said dryly.
Mrs. Scheider came around the corner of the shelving unit wearing a pair of pristine white nurse shoes with her tan pant suit and pearls.
"Were you able to reach anyone, Mrs. Scheider?" Lila asked.
"My daughter in Connecticut. She and the children are all right. They've got some kind of shelter set up in the town hall, where everyone is gathering. Soldiers evacuated the houses and are on guard at the shelter. But Christine's husband is in the city and she can't reach him. The connection was terrible and part way through our conversation her phone went dead." Mrs. Scheider's mouth was tight, but her calm voice betrayed none of her worry. Cool under pressure. Lila admired that.
Deb sat on the floor to pull on the pair of shoes she'd selected. "My girlfriend, Julie works in a research and development lab. It's not far from here. I was going to meet her for lunch today." Her voice grew thick and she swallowed hard.
Lila knelt beside her and patted her back. "She's probably all right. Try not to worry." Her words were as useless as condolences to the bereaved, but she had to say something.
"I've got to get to her. I don't care what any of you say. I'm going." Deb tied her shoes with emphatic tugs of the laces.
"Putting yourself at risk won't help your friend," Mrs. Scheider said. "We must work from logic not emotion if we're going to get through this."
Lila frowned at her. Wise counsel wasn't what Deb needed at the moment. She settled onto the floor beside Deb to try on her own pair of shoes and changed the subject. "How long have you and Julie been together?"
"Five years. We had a commitment ceremony last fall. We're thinking about adopting."
"That's nice." Lila searched for something else to say. Small talk was beyond her at the moment, but she knew Deb needed the distraction. "A baby or an older child?"
Deb propped her arms on her knees and looked at Lila, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "Maybe a little girl about five or six. There are so many older children who need homes, but they come with a lot of baggage. I don't know if I'm ready to deal with that."
"Do you work?" Lila continued to ask questions, trying to ease Deb's tension and maybe her own.
"I have a small, home-based business so I could continue to work but be with the kid when she gets home from school."
Static blasted from a radio at the front checkout counter. Lila and Deb scrambled to their feet and went to join the others. Ari had found an old boombox and put in fresh batteries. He turned the dial slowly but nothing except crackling fuzz came through the speakers.
"The main power grid must've been destroyed by something." Joe rested his folded arms on the counter and cocked his head toward the radio.
The rest of them clustered shoulder to shoulder, concentrating on the slender thread that would connect them to the world outside. At last a broken transmission came from the speaker, a man's voice in short bursts interspersed with snow.
"Go back, go back! You got it." Hector waved his hand.
Ari fiddled with the tuner and the antenna sticking up from the boombox until the voice came in clearer, then he turned up the volume. The smooth delivery of a professional reporter was replaced by the shock of a terrified man.
"Reports coming out of Washington are conflicting. No official explanation for the phenomenon has been given. Indications are that events occurring throughout the
Lila reiterated what she'd told Ari about the situation extending nationwide. "What about you? Did you reach your girlfriend?"
Deb's expression was as grim as Hector's. "No, but sometimes she turns her cell off when she's at work."
"God, this is a nightmare." Lila moved down to the six and half section and grabbed a pair of tennis shoes at random. "I keep thinking I'll wake up, that it couldn't possibly be real."
"Or we're being punked on a grand scale," Deb said dryly.
Mrs. Scheider came around the corner of the shelving unit wearing a pair of pristine white nurse shoes with her tan pant suit and pearls.
"Were you able to reach anyone, Mrs. Scheider?" Lila asked.
"My daughter in Connecticut. She and the children are all right. They've got some kind of shelter set up in the town hall, where everyone is gathering. Soldiers evacuated the houses and are on guard at the shelter. But Christine's husband is in the city and she can't reach him. The connection was terrible and part way through our conversation her phone went dead." Mrs. Scheider's mouth was tight, but her calm voice betrayed none of her worry. Cool under pressure. Lila admired that.
Deb sat on the floor to pull on the pair of shoes she'd selected. "My girlfriend, Julie works in a research and development lab. It's not far from here. I was going to meet her for lunch today." Her voice grew thick and she swallowed hard.
Lila knelt beside her and patted her back. "She's probably all right. Try not to worry." Her words were as useless as condolences to the bereaved, but she had to say something.
"I've got to get to her. I don't care what any of you say. I'm going." Deb tied her shoes with emphatic tugs of the laces.
"Putting yourself at risk won't help your friend," Mrs. Scheider said. "We must work from logic not emotion if we're going to get through this."
Lila frowned at her. Wise counsel wasn't what Deb needed at the moment. She settled onto the floor beside Deb to try on her own pair of shoes and changed the subject. "How long have you and Julie been together?"
"Five years. We had a commitment ceremony last fall. We're thinking about adopting."
"That's nice." Lila searched for something else to say. Small talk was beyond her at the moment, but she knew Deb needed the distraction. "A baby or an older child?"
Deb propped her arms on her knees and looked at Lila, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "Maybe a little girl about five or six. There are so many older children who need homes, but they come with a lot of baggage. I don't know if I'm ready to deal with that."
"Do you work?" Lila continued to ask questions, trying to ease Deb's tension and maybe her own.
"I have a small, home-based business so I could continue to work but be with the kid when she gets home from school."
Static blasted from a radio at the front checkout counter. Lila and Deb scrambled to their feet and went to join the others. Ari had found an old boombox and put in fresh batteries. He turned the dial slowly but nothing except crackling fuzz came through the speakers.
"The main power grid must've been destroyed by something." Joe rested his folded arms on the counter and cocked his head toward the radio.
The rest of them clustered shoulder to shoulder, concentrating on the slender thread that would connect them to the world outside. At last a broken transmission came from the speaker, a man's voice in short bursts interspersed with snow.
"Go back, go back! You got it." Hector waved his hand.
Ari fiddled with the tuner and the antenna sticking up from the boombox until the voice came in clearer, then he turned up the volume. The smooth delivery of a professional reporter was replaced by the shock of a terrified man.
"Reports coming out of Washington are conflicting. No official explanation for the phenomenon has been given. Indications are that events occurring throughout the
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