Jessie dug her phone from the pocket of her shorts and quickly opened her online banking app. “Ugh, come on! Why won’t this stupid thing load?”
“Jessie,” Art placed one of his hand over his wife’s phone, obstructing her view of the screen. No matter how long she waited, the Trident app wasn’t going to spring to life. It wasn’t working. Trident was down. They couldn’t be sure exactly to what extent just yet, but for the time being they were theoretically penniless. “Jessie,” Art continued, “just leave it. Put it down.”
“But what if it’s all gone?” Desperation seeped through Jessie’s tone, her eyes pleading with her husband to give her some explanation. “We’ll be broke. We won’t be able to survive.”
“That’s not true,” Art rationalized. “Think about how many people have their money with Trident. Not just regular people, but those within the government, celebrities, people in power. Even if this is real, that number of people can’t just have their life savings wiped out. Trident will think of something. We don’t need to panic, not just yet.”
Locking eyes with his wife, Art smiled and tried to comfort her. His own opinion on what had happened changed quicker than the tide outside their kitchen window, new pieces of information constantly springing to mind and shifting his viewpoint. One minute, he was convinced that something like this just couldn’t happen to so many people, the next he was telling himself there was no solution. One thing that remained at the forefront of his mind however was the safety of his family. Jessie and their two little boys were the most important thing. Everything else could come later.
“Where are the boys?”
“Down the beach,” Jessie answered almost absentmindedly, before her heart jumped in her chest in a fit of panic. “Do you think we should get them inside? Are they okay?” Common sense evaded her as she thought of her children, jumping to irrational conclusions over how the banking collapse could affect them.
“Chill, babe,” Art calmed her again, cupping her face with his hand. “They’re fine. We don’t need to worry them with this, do we?”
“No, but –”
A knock on their open kitchen door cut short the conversation between Jessie and Arthur, their neighbors and friends Mike and Grace walking inside. However instead of strolling in with smiling faces and an invitation to a cookout or a games night like they usually did, the two of them looked just as frightened and concerned as Jessie felt.
“Have you seen it?” Grace questioned immediately, her eyes moving from Jessie and Arthur to their television screen. “You must have seen it. But can you believe it? Do you think it’s real? I don’t know what to think. It’s crazy.”
“Yeah, we’ve seen it,” Art answered. “Come in, come in. Do either of you want a drink? Jessie?” Art looked at the weathered expression on his wife’s face. “Glass of wine, perhaps?”
Looking over at her husband, Jessie gave him a hesitant smile. No matter what they were going through, Art always knew how to cheer her up, even with such a minor quip. “I’m okay actually darling,” she said with a flick of her hair, “should probably keep my wits about me in a time like this.”
“Got any sodas, Art?”
“Yeah sure,” Art nodded to Mike, opening up the fridge to grab some cans, but not before flashing a loving smile back at his wife. “We’ve got cola, orange and grape,” Art declared, depositing four cans of soda on the kitchen island his wife and friends now sat around. “Take your pick.”
“Your brother works for Trident, doesn’t he?” Grace asked a few seconds later, the sound of ring-pop’s being pulled from cans punctuating her question. “Have you managed to get in touch with him?”
Jessie nodded, “He’s not picking up his phone.”
“Ah,” Grace didn’t know how to respond, she had seen the chaos on the streets of New York just like Jessie and Arthur had. She knew that no one in the city could be said to be safe for sure, least of all those in the danger area of Wall St.
“I’m sure we’ll hear from him once he has time to talk,” Arthur interjected, cautious of Jessie’s mood worsening again. “He’ll have much more important priorities than us right now.”
“Damn right,” Mike agreed. “Do you really think everything is gone? We can’t even get into our accounts. Most people in the streets are the same. No one knows what’s really going on.”
“At least it’s not like it is in New York,” Art commented. “I’d certainly rather deal with confusion over mass panic.”
Mike laughed. “Right on. The way I see it, there’s nothing we can really do until we get more official news through. There’s no point going haywire over something that might just be a hoax or some kind of practical joke.”
“Can you imagine,” Grace sighed, taking a swig from her can of grape soda. “It looks horrible over there. Oh, Jessie,” Grace stopped herself, noticing how her words were affecting her friend as she thought about Samuel and how he was managing. “I’m sorry. I need to just keep quiet.”
Laughing awkwardly, Jessie sniffed and tried to pull herself together. “No no, it’s fine, I’m sorry. I’ll sort myself out. It’s not like we can avoid talking about this.”
“Sam will be fine, babe,” Art reassured her again. “Just give him some time.”
“When do you think we’ll hear from Trident?” Mike asked, changing the subject somewhat and steering the attention away from Jessie as she sniffed again, trying to stop tears from sliding down her cheeks.
“They’ll have to release a statement soon,” Art replied. “Even if they don’t really have anything to say. The lack of information is probably what’s driving so many people crazy.”
“But then what can they say? Hi, we’re really sorry we’ve lost all your money.
