Without saying hello my friend Tina said "I'm so glad you finally have cell phone service. I got to your apartment a little early. Are you here yet?"
"No," I said. "I'm about 20 minutes away in Concord."
"Okay," she said softly into the phone. I'm having trouble getting to your apartment. There are fire trucks blocking the main entrance to your complex. I'll call you back when I figure out what's going on."
I continued on my way back home not really thinking much of the phone call. I lived in a large complex of apartment buildings and fire alarms went off all the time. Opening the oven door would often trigger the alarm in my apartment. Especially when I attempted to make naan on a pizza stone.
My phone rang again.
"Are you still driving?"
"Um, yes," I said.
"Can you pull over?"
My heart sank. "Yes?"
"The fire trucks are in front of your building. There are flames shooting out of the roof."
I accelerated toward home.
