Promise of Tomorrow

Promise of Tomorrow

8:00 AM, A small apartment building in downtown New York City
Beth leaned against the counter, drinking her coffee as she waited. A hacking cough echoed throughout the small apartment.
"Why don't you just stay home?" Beth called.
"Because," Robert said hoarsely as he came out, straitening his tie, "I have a big presentation at work today."
Beth sighed, "You need to take better care of yourself."
"My main concern now," he replied with a kiss, "is taking care of you."
"Yeah, yeah," Beth laughed, "Come on, we're going to be late."

8:14 AM, Outside the apartment building

"Are we still going out tonight?" Beth asked as they pulled away from the curb
Robert furrowed his eyebrows guiltily as he kept his eyes on the road and remained silent.
"Robert!" Beth cried in exasperation.
"I'm sorry, Beth! I promised I'd stay late tonight and help the boss give a tour to our corporate members."
Beth plopped back in the seat and glared out the window.
"Sometimes I think you care more about your stupid job than you do about me."
"Babe, you know that's not true," Robert pleaded, "I'm doing this for us."
"Whatever," Beth grumbled. Now it was Robert's turn to get angry.
"We always said we wanted to get out of the city and buy a nice house to raise a family in, didn't we? Well, for us to be able to do that, I really need this promotion! Especially now!" he added, gesturing towards Beth.
Beth said nothing, glaring out the window as they made they way through the heavy traffic. Robert gripped the wheel tighter and didn't say anything until he pulled up to the TV station Beth worked at as a technician.
"I love you, babe," Robert said, but she simply slammed the door and walked swiftly away. Robert sighed and drove away, promising himself that he'd make it up to her tomorrow night.

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone."
~Pablo Picasso~

8:22 AM, Channel 3 News Station

Beth felt a little bad for storming off like she had, but that Robert just made her so mad sometimes. It was bad enough he was canceling yet another date, but going into work when he was sick was just plain silly. She clocked in, a little late, and made her way to her crew to find out her assignment.
"We're doing a piece on the World Trade Center today," Susan, the reporter Beth was assigned to, said, "Just an informational piece, nothing big."
"Alright. DO you think I could go up and see Robert after we're done?" Beth asked, "we had a fight this morning."
"Sure, that's no biggy" Susan said, glancing at her watch, "We better leave soon though if we want to get through traffic."
"Ok, I'll go start up the van," Beth smiled.

"If tears could build a stairway,
And memories a lane.
I'd walk right up to Heaven
And bring you home again."
~Author Unknown~

8:35 AM, North Tower

Robert arrived at the 74th floor and exited the elevator. It was still too early to clock in, but not too early to call Marea, the restaurant where he had proposed to Beth. He sat down in his office chair in his small cubicle and punched in the number. No one else was in yet, so the only sound he heard was the ringing of the phone.
"Hello, Marea Restaurant, Pablo speaking, how may I help you?" the thickly accented voice asked.
"Yes, I'd like to reserve a table for two," Robert said, shuffling through his invoices.
"Date and time, please?"
"September twelve, at six. Under the name Swift."
"Hmm. Short notice, but we had a couple cancel, so we can squeeze you in."
"Thanks!" Robert said hastily before hanging up the phone as his boss walked in.
"Ah, good morning, Swift. Just the man I wanted to see," The older, finely clad man address Robert.
"Morning, sir!" Robert said respectively. Maybe today would be the day he would finally get promoted.

"How disappointment tracks the steps of hope."
~Evan Esar~

8:44 AM, TV Van

Beth honked the horn as a taxi swerved in front of her. They were only about four blocks from the site. Susan sat in the passenger seat beside her, fixing up her makeup for the shoot.
"What's that?" Susan said suddenly, looking up through the windshield.
Beth followed her line of sight.
"Looks like a plane," she said nonchalantly, looking back at the road.
"That low?"
Beth looked again.
"That is pretty low," she realized. They both watched as the plane continued to fly, descending at a constant rate.
"It's going to crash!" Susan cried.
"It's not going to crash," Beth said, but she didn't look away.
"Yes it is!" Susan replied, grabbing up one of the small cameras from the back and turning it on.
"No, it can't crash," Beth whispered, but Susan was too busy filming.

"Cruel Fate, that hast hence, liv'd
To place thy Will upon my lonely self.
And long have I, in Joy and Love, believ'd
All in vain, for all I do is cry and wane."
~HansRik~

8:44 AM, North Tower

"Swift, you're fired."
"What?" Robert said over the roaring sound that seemed to be getting louder and louder.
"You're fired."
"Sir, I don't understand."
"I know it's hard, boy, but these things happen.."
"I can't hear you!" Robert managed to say over the roar.
"What is that sound?!" the older man called back. They both looked toward the rattling windows, facing a fate neither of them had expected.

8:45 AM, TV Van

"Oh my God," Susan said as the plane crashed into the side of the building. Beth sat there, gripping the steering wheel until her knuckles were white.
Susan just looked at her.
"Oh no, honey, not Robert..." She tried to hug the distraught woman, but Beth refused to believe. She scrambled out of the van and began sprinting down the road, pulling out her cell phone. She was shaking so bad that she could barely punch in Robert's number, but somehow she managed it. She held it up to her ear as she stopped before the towering building.

8:45 AM, North Tower

Robert and his boss ducked down as the plane crashed into the floors below them. The world seemed to turn upside down as the windows shattered, the floor shock and they were deafened by the sound. Fire alarms started going off all over the place as they got to their feet. Without saying a word, they sprinted towards the stairwell. It was flooded with people, screaming and crying, trying to escape. They joined the crowd. Smoke filled the halls, making the air hard to breath. Some people cried, some asked what had happened, but many were silent, knowing that they probably wouldn't make it out. Robert heard his phone going off, and, wondering how many times he'd missed it, he pulled it out. Before he answered it, his boss put his hand on the younger mans shoulder.
"Tell her you love her," he said gruffly. Robert nodded, knowing what he meant, and answered the phone.

"If you were going to die soon and only had one call you could make,
Who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?"
~Stephen Levine~

9:00 AM, Outside the North Tower

"Beth?"
"Robert!" Beth cried, tears streaming down her face.
"Beth! Beth, I love you so much! I'm so sorry about this morning!"
"Robert don't talk like that," Beth said, hearing the desperation in his voice, "You're going to make it out of this. The firemen are here. They're going to get you out."
"I should have stayed home like you said," Robert said. Beth could barely hear him over all the other noise, but she could tell that he was crying.
"Robert..." she said.
"Beth, I'm sorry."
"Robert, I..." Beth started, but she froze in terror as she saw it. Another plane, plummeting towards the towers. She could only watch as it crashed, a deafening roar resounding throughout the city. The phone line went quiet.
"Robert?" Beth whispered. There was no response. This couldn't have happened. He couldn't be gone.
"Robert!" she screamed into the phone, tears streaming down her face and dripping onto the asphalt. She couldn't help picturesque his broken body under piles of rubble. Her husband, her love... she moved her hand to her stomach, where she was just starting to show... the father of her child. He was dead. Never again would he caress her cheek, he kiss her lips. They would never laugh or argue, or walk hand in hand. Beth fell to her knees, sadness crashing down on her as she sobbed openly.
"...Beth?" a voice said over the phone.

"Love conquers all."
~Virgil~