Spoke Too Soon

   Today started out mega-awesome, but started to turn sour when I left work. I had planned to stop by the e-vet to pick up Atom's remains. I allowed almost a month to pass, thinking I was past the raw emotion from grief. I was wrong. The recpetionist was so quiet and kind; she went in the back to retrieve my box, and lovingly placed it in my hands, saying, "I am sincerely sorry for your loss." It was so sweet, but I wasn't ready. I had to put my sunglasses on as I left the building, to conceal the steady stream of tears rolling down my cheeks once again.
    I composed myself in the car and headed home. On Shawnee Mission Parkway, ironically RIGHT in front of the Toyota collision department building, a guy in the pickup in front of me slammed on his brakes and came to an *extremely* abrupt stop. I followed suit, but my brakes didn't get me there fast enough, & I rear-ended him.
    We both got out of our cars, and he greeted me in an understated but very friendly way. I asked him how bad the damage was, bracing for his answer. "My truck is fine," he said. "I've got a hitch on it. Unfortunately your car didn't fare so well."

    Yep, I had a hitch embedded in my front bumper. Groan. We exchanged cars and he told me that he didn't intend to report the accident to the police or the insurance company. " I have no damage to report," he said. Fortunately, me damage was minor—a dimple on the bumper. Although I don't think there was any way I could have avoided this (other than not being there right then!), the rear-ended is always at fault, right?
    He told me he hoped I'd have a better weekend and we left. As I drove home, I thought about how lucky I was for his hitch: although it damaged my car worse than it may have otherwise, at least it protected his car from harm.

   I came home and noticed a slip of paper tucked under the lid of Atom's box. It was a copy of "The Rainbow Bridge." Hello, uncontrollable tears of sadness. I stood in my kitchen bawling again, with my three pets wondering what the hell was wrong with me.
    Well, looking at the bright side, my weekend can only get better, right? :I