'You could at least have called ..'

I was all ready and waiting at 9am. We were popping into town to get new shoes, and as there's hundreds of shops to go to, 9am was a good plan.

At 9.12am l sent a wee message.

'Everything ok? I can meet you down the road. Save you a few minutes'.

I ran upstairs to have a quick pee before setting off. It was absolutely freezing out. The cold makes you go more, don't you think?

I'd never seen anything like that thickness of ice before. Real scary to walk without holding on to the hedges or railings.

Where was that girl. She's never late.

At 9.30am, l was right pissed off. Why would you not bother to respond to a text message? Rose always had her phone on her. She needed it for work-related emails and stuff. The woman slept with it under her pillow, for goodness sake. Maybe she slept in? If l ring and she's driving, she won't be able to answer. I'll wait a few more minutes. It is very icy out. Perhaps they have to do a ten miles per hour thing.

Now. My dear friend was a reliable sort. Always bang on time as her time was precious, so this no-show was worrying me. My emotional barometer told me she wasn't coming.

I left a voicemail saying l would wait at the corner of the street, as maneuvering into my courtyard would prove a tad difficult, considering just how slippery the roads were.

I was quite warm in all sorts. Jumpers, gloves, hat, scarf and thick-soled boots. I'm afraid the ladies-who-lunch heels and high hair wasn't at all appropriate on such a cold day.

Full of fresh hope, l timidly stepped out of my house, hanging on incase l fell.
Expecting to see the shiny, red car, engine purring, and Rose's smiling face as l made my way to the main street, my heart missed a beat as l saw an empty space. I'd been stood up! Never mind. I really couldn't stand about in this weather. The sun was actually shining, however with every intake of breath, the air cut you like a knife and my eyes watered in such bright sunlight.

Eventually, l made my journey carefully back indoors. Another voicemail, just saying please to get in touch about going another time. Something was up, and l didn't want to seem angry or disappointed down the phone.

After changing into my warm, fluffy dressing gown, l made a cuppa and settled down on the couch, switching on the television to catch the local weather forecast. Hopefully this cold spell will soon be over. I'd been tidying up, so a good couple of hours had passed, and still no word. There was a mixture of worry and disappointment. Strange, that feeling inside.

As l listened to the smiling, young woman blah-blah'ing about minus ten degrees, a flash announcement interrupted her delivery.

'At precisely 9.12am, there was a five car pile up on the city bypass.

The accident occurred due to a woman looking at her mobile phone'.

The reporter's voice faded, as my mind was trying make sense of the news bulletin.

Noooo ..

It COULDN'T be, could it?!

I ran over to the television screen, kneeled down and with fear running all through my body, l recognised the second vehicle.

A shiny, red car ..