Just the Facts, Ma'am

Two of Naperville's finest just left my home. I ran some errands after taking Maddie to school and when I came home I noticed that the front door, was ajar. I rarely use the front door, as I always enter the house through the garage.

I froze, wondered what to do. Many years ago I came home in the wee hours and found a dark figure sitting in an easy chair amid the shadows of my living room. I'd already locked the door behind me, so instead of blasting out the door, I faced him and asked, "Who are you?" Yes, I know - how asinine was that? Let me just defend myself by saying that you always think you know what you would do in that situation, but I didn't listen to reason - for some reason, I couldn't hear it. In that moment, I knew that my life was over. I figured it would be rape, then murder - a really crappy double whammy. And in that moment I also managed to feel not only terrified, but terrifically sad. Still, I didn't turn and run, instead standing and asking, "Who are you?" Why, I couldn't tell you.

He said not to be scared, it was just him, Brian. I'd recently gone out with him twice, and he lived two hours away, in Ohio. He'd driven that night all the way from his home to my apartment in Ferndale, climbed in through my bedroom window, then sat in my living room and waited for me to get home. When I realized who it was, I sat down and told him that he had scared me to death and to never, ever, do that again. He explained, shakily, that he was going through a rough time and needed someone to talk to. I was in no mood to talk. He left and I never heard from him again.

So, when I came home this morning, I thought of Brian and the whole business of terror and not doing the smart thing. Instead of going through the house, I went out to my car and called the police. They came and searched the house - basement, closets, showers, under the beds. (And this is the best reason to keep the floor underneath your bed vacuumed.)

I think that Madeleine may have opened the door for some reason and forgotten to close it. Thank goodness that's all it was.