The Balloons

I was just about to go to bed when my phone started its song. I looked at the caller ID and my heart sank.....as it read "Alarm". That told me that the alarm company was calling me. I looked at the time....9:48. It didn't make sense. Did someone hide in the bathroom or something? Were they trying to set the alarm and messed up? I was already up off the couch as I answered and was told that the motion detector in the back room had gone off and that the police were on their way. "I am too", I stated. "How long and what are you driving?" "Five minutes and a white Nissan.", I answered as I already had my shoes tied and hat on.

I shouted to Judy the word that we both dread. "Alarm". "Please be careful.", she answered. "Are the police on their way?". "Yes, I will and yes, they are!", I shouted as I raced out the door.

Thoughts flew through my now very active mind of previous calls and the damage that I had found when I had arrived. I hoped for the best and prepared for the worst. Then it hit me. The area of the motion alarm. I remembered just hours before when Judy and I had supper with our Model A friends. Some of them had left me a bouquet of balloons. I had decided to just leave them in the back room until today. They must be swaying in the breeze caused by the air conditioning.

I called Judy so that she would not worry and then quickly called the alarm company and was answered by a friendly female voice. I told her who I was and that I was responding to an alarm. "What is your address?", she answered. "2210 NE Hwy 20....you can't have that many alarms going off right now.". "What is your security code?", came the canned response. "****", was my response. After she was sure I was who I was, she then let me tell her that I thought I knew what the problem was. "Could you please let the police know that they don't need to come.", I asked. "Yes, we will and thanks for calling us back.", she responded.

I arrived to find two police cars outside the building. "Sorry guys!", I stated, "I know what the problem is. I am OK.". One of them decided to come in with me of which I greatly appreciated as I knew that I could be wrong but was pretty sure of myself.

Sure enough, as I entered the back room, there they were.....swaying in the breeze. I reset the alarms and walked out with the officer. "I will be here in the morning with my wife.", he stated. "We are looking forward to sharing one of your omelets.". I asked him when in the morning and he said that it depended on when he got off. I thanked him for his quick response and we both agreed that we were happy that it turned out like it did.

I shoved the balloons into the back of my rig and headed home. As I drove, I called the alarm company on my blue tooth. The same female voice came on and I told her who I was. "What is your address?" "My address is 2210 NE Hwy 20 and my security code is ****.", I stated. She thanked me for calling her back and wished me a good evening. The adrenaline rush now behind me, I suddenly was very tired and headed off to bed after putting the balloons on the dining table.

I was awoken by the yapping of Mia. Her bark told me that something was not right in the house. I jumped out of bed knocking my nearly full glass of water off onto the floor as I grabbed my bathrobe and shot down the stairs to find Mia........barking at the balloons.

So, thank you Speedy, Teresa, Marv, and Pauline for the thoughtful balloons. Thank you East Cascade Security for your call. Thank you Bend Police Department for your quick response. And thank you, Mia, my home security alarm. And thank you , Judy for informing all on facebook of my mini birthday demise. It has definitely made the beginning of my day very eventful. I can only wonder what the rest of the day will be like.