That morning, my air mattress sprung a leak. I woke up with my side of the bed a lot lower than my husband's. He had already left for work. I was furious about the mattress. I stormed around the house, getting ready for work, not looking forward to the whole process of getting the mattress replaced.

Then I heard a car in the driveway and realized that my husband had just come back home. That was weird, but good; I could now vent to him about the mattress. I went out front, and sputtered to him, as he was getting out of the car, "How come you came back home? You won't believe it. The bed is leaking."

He looked at me, and said, "You need to turn on the TV."

I said, "I'm serious. The mattress is leaking. Can you believe that? I have to call the air bed people now!"

He said, very quietly, "Go turn on the TV." So I did.

The mattress was dealt with on another day.

Tracy Douglas
Park Boulevard
Palo Alto

Return to Sept. 11 remembered

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.