October 29: Fear at Home

I sit in my living room and listen outside to car doors slamming, truck doors (they sound different). Engines start, stop. Men’s voices. Afraid to look out for fear they will see my shadow. The alderwoman writes back. I wasn’t the only neighbor to contact her. A cease and desist letter was sent. The man who was shot, it turns out, shot first. He is in an induced coma. Worse than we thought. He was arrested as was the other man--who is already out on bond. Which voices do I hear? Which voices do I fear? The grandmother next door yells. The young woman, tonight dressed in slippers and a robe that does not cover her thong, yells back. Do I call 911? Do I wait?