Tonight, after coffee with JCS, I came home to an empty house. AJB was at a party, his kids were at various locations. Although I expected one of AJB’s kids to come home soon, I was all alone. I called my sister to get her opinion on my new business Thank You Cards. While we were discussing what a horrible sham Sarah Palin is, I heard ding dong – was it the doorbell or my computer? I ignored it. Then I heard it again. WTF? Who was at my door at 10:30 in the evening? My first thought was that it was AJB’s son being dropped off by the babysitter, but he usually rings the kitchen doorbell, not the front door. From my office on the second floor, I have a clear view of the front door. When I’m here by myself, I always take a peek before I answer the door. The door bell continued to ring – maybe 15 times in rapid succession. I didn’t see anyone and immediately thought: ghosts! A little shaken, I walked down stairs, grabbed a fire place poker and took a quick look out the windows. Nothing.

I hung up with my sister and immediately called AJB. Being the sweet, lovable man he is, he left the party to come home and keep me company. He even stayed on the phone with me as he drove. About 10 minutes later, the kitchen door bell rang. That would be AJB’s youngest son. I answered the door. C and the babysitter walked in. I chatted with the babysitter for a few minutes until she left. I walked her to the door, locked it, and set the alarm again. I called up to C and told him not to open any windows because it would set the alarm off. He agreed. About 30 seconds later, the alarm began to blare! I ran to turn it off, although I’m not sure why that was my first instinct. Suddenly, it occurred to me: Grab the kid and lock ourselves in the master bedroom. Brinks called, asked if were OK. I said I didn’t know. They asked me to call 911, so I did. C and I made haste into the master bedroom and locked the door. 911 stayed on the phone with me. About a minute later, AJB drove up. He walked into the house and I called him up. He came to the room and we waited another two minutes for the cops to arrive.

As we were waiting, AJB told me how some Mexican lady had pulled up in a car behind him asking for directions in Spanish. He didn’t understand her and she left. The cops arrived. They checked the perimeter and had us exit the house. A volunteer chaplain stood with us on the porch and helped calm our nerves. The cops checked the house. All clear.

So, here’s what I think happened. Someone rang the doorbell to see if anyone was home. When I didn’t answer the door, they assumed the house was empty. It’s a long weekend and most people go out of town. Good time to rob houses. The burglars might have seen the babysitter drive up, but she left very quickly. I’m assuming they waited until the babysitter drove away. They attempted to enter. The alarm sounds, they ran and hid. Not knowing if the coast was clear, the lady in the car – who would be the lookout or the get-away car – kept AJB busy long enough for her cohort to make a break for it.

AJB likes to explain things like this by playing Devil’s Advocate.

The door bell – Could have been faulty wiring, however unlikely. These things happen.
The alarm: I neglected to notice that I accidentally forgot to turn OFF the motion sensor, which meant, when I walked through the living room, I myself set off the alarm.
The Mexican lady: Just some random lady, actually lost, needing help.

While these are all probable justifications, I find that they are all such random occurrences, it’s odd that they would happen in that order, on the same night, within the same half an hour period. First off, if the doorbell wiring was wonky, why hasn’t it happened again? Second, while there is a slim chance I set off the alarm on accident, it’s unlikely, since setting it is routine for me and I do so every time I leave the house. Third, how random is it that, out of the blue, at the exact moment AJB drives up, someone stops asking for directions in Spanish…a language that would obviously confuse “Whitey” in a predominantly white neighborhood? Seeing as she was just an old lady who’d lost her way, who would assume she was a look-out? Right? Nice cover.

Anyway, we’re all safe. C and I acted quickly, got to safety, and the Pasadena Police showed up in 3 minutes. I do have to commend the PasPo, they were fast, courteous, and made sure we were safe and felt at ease. I have not one complaint about the PasPo. I love them and they make me feel safe.

How I wish we lived in a world where doorbells ring for no reason, alarms are accidentally set off by people who aren’t anal retentive like me, and old Mexican ladies really do get lost in nice neighborhoods in the middle of the night. We don’t. When AJB tells me we shouldn’t live I fear, I agree with him. We shouldn’t, but I’d prefer to prepare for worst-case scenarios and have a game plan. Tonight, I’m glad we got the alarm installed. I’m glad I didn’t panic and that, even though I was scared, I got myself and C to a safe place.

My sister seems to think that perhaps someone, any number of fired gardeners, were pissed they’d lost their jobs at our house. Maybe. Could be any number of people. Do burglars really case houses or are these things random? I don’t know. Look, I grew up in the ghetto. I know about shady dealings. My Dad trained us kids to be on the lookout for trouble, watch our surroundings, be prepared for the shit to hit the fan, and get out when things look bad. Maybe he made us all paranoid, but I’d rather err on the side of safety than not at all.