I was having brunch with Sondra when it happened. I wasn’t supposed to be there. I was on my way to the gym when she literally ran into me, turning around the corner on Broad Street.
I hadn’t seen her in weeks – or was it months? – but definitely not since the news broke that her husband had left her for the new legal aid in our office. That juicy affair had died a tragic death already and Josh, these days, looked as if he’d died with it. Dare I say that wasn’t so much out of heartache than it was of the risk he’d put the firm in? Why yes, I do. We’d been lucky she hadn’t sued, that conniving little bitch, but I’d become partner because of his fling, so there’s that.
The encounter with Sondra was a bit uncomfortable. I probably should have reached out to her at some point, to see how she was doing dealing with a cheating husband at the time their youngest had left for college. And even though I knew she’d hired a shark divorce lawyer who now brutally attacked her ex's money and dignity, it was guilt proposing to have a bite together at the bistro on the same corner where we collided.
Sondra wasn’t doing so well, digesting the mimosas at a speedier pace than she had her pending divorce. I was eying the door to the kitchen with regular glances, already regretting we’d ordered an appetizer.
And then a few things happened simultaneously as Sondra went on with her rant of what a douchebag she’d been married to.
While the waitress was walking over to our table with our food, I noticed a couple on the pavement holding hands, caught in what looked as that mix of joy and promising love. As a plate was being put on the table, their expressions changed from careless Sunday chatter to instant horror, when the earth swallowed the women’s legs.
I jumped up and yelled, “Holy hell! A woman just fell into a manhole!”
In the commotion of people running in and out, arriving police and ambulances, I excused myself from the table and walked outside, where the victim was seated on a bench, her head turning in confusion from paramedic to cop to her boyfriend as they suggested taking her to a hospital.
I handed her my card. “I witnessed what happened. I’m a lawyer – if you need anything, give me a call.”
Sometimes, you’re just in the right place, at the right time.