Remembering Anne

 

    Yesterday was 27 September. I was at work and busy, but in my few moments of downtime I had the feeling that something big had happened on this date. It was one of those events that changed all the days after it.

   What was it? It wasn't an anniversary. It wasn't a birthday. It had nothing to do with a job change. The thought teased the back of my mind. What could it be?

   Later that afternoon it hit me. September 27 was the day that Anne was killed in a car wreck. 

   Anne was the wife of Scott, who was my boss. He and I had started working together in Wisconsin. Since he and his family and I were all transplants to the town we lived in, he suggested I might want to get to know his wife. She was also a pharmacist who had taken time away from her career while their two children were small. Now that they were school age, she was working part time.

   I was planning on becoming acquainted with Anne anyway. I felt it was a good idea for her to get to know me since Scott and I would be working together.

   I really liked Anne. We had a few things in common and it was fun to spend time with her. We didn't get to see each other often, but when we did we enjoyed each other's company. We discovered we both enjoyed going for tea. When she would come to my house for tea, I always served it to her in a cup and saucer that had shamrocks on it. Her heritage was Irish, so I thought it was appropriate.

   On September 27, 2006 I was working at my computer when I got a call from Scott. I could tell something was seriously wrong immediately. He told me that two policeman were waiting for him when he got home from work. A dump truck had failed to obey a yield sign and T boned Anne's car. She was killed instantly. He asked me to call the district manager and let him know. I told him I would take care of things at the store. 

   I hung up the phone and told the tech who was working with me what had happened. I was numb. My friend Anne was gone. Her husband was a widower and her children were motherless. I called the district manager, who promised to help us.

   The next few days were a blur for me. I took over management of the pharmacy temporarily. Scott and I had worked together a long time. He was a big believer in cross training me to his job. I had a good working relationship with the district manager and knew that we could keep things running. We had no idea when or even if Scott would be back.

   A week after the accident, a memorial service was held in a local Methodist church. I knew that Anne attended worship services when she was not working on Sunday, but Scott was an atheist. I was glad that he decided to have this memorial. Although I had not said anything to anyone, I needed to grieve. The district manager and his wife were at the service. I was touched by that. He'd never met Anne and did not know her. Her had also made sure that my pharmacy was covered so my staff and I could attend the memorial and support our boss.

   There were chocolates on the table at the lunch after the service. Scott told me he had to have chocolate. Anne loved chocolate as I knew well. I ate a few. This was one of the rare times that chocolate didn't make me feel better.

   Several weeks later, Scott came back to work. He was going to move back to Iowa after the school year was over. He wanted to be near his family and Anne's so he could have help raising their children. 

   I did not want to take over his job when he left. I was given a choice of two stores to work in. I chose West St. Paul. A few weeks after Scott left, I started working in my new store.

   Scott and I stayed in touch a bit after he left. I think I called him on the first anniversary of the accident, just to see how he was. Eventually we went our sperate ways. I'm sure he wanted to start over in Iowa. He built a new house with the settlement money from his suit against the dump truck driver. I was a reminder to him of what he had lost.

   Years passed. I heard he got married and was doing well. I moved on as well. 

   That one day changed my life. If Anne had lived, Scott and I would have stayed at the pharmacy and worked together. Who knows what might have happened or not happened.

   There was one big lesson I learned from this experience. Life is fragile. True friendships are precious. I knew this, but maybe I was starting to take things for granted. Always cherish what you have because you don't know when you won't have it. 

AES 1961-2006

Thank you for the memories.....