The Switchblade Mamma

by Lindsey Schussman

  22.

  Finally, alas, Paige and I were grouped up to work as one. As the boys, Barrett and Clive, took off in the suburban, Paige and I, made our house calls in a 1996 Ford Bronco, equipped with a lift and big mud terrain tires. The vehicle was maroon with tan trimmings. I was more of a Chevy girl myself, but couldn't help but think that this vehicle was one damn fine machine.

  It had been over a year since I was exposed to the songs that were being played on the radio. Paige would at least play the radio and let me know what was going on in the world.

  Every morning Paige and I were dispatched to work on tasks. We would fix simple things, such as dishwashers, or pulling weeds from an elderly person's yard. We would replace toilets, or fix broken drains.

  One of our daily tasks, led us to a barn that needed re-shingling. It was at least a week's worth of work. We worked together. Cautiously, we worked through the thunderstorms. Paige and I were an unstoppable team. We worked so well together. We casually talked as we put new shingles into place.

  The day was flowing long and of course both of us were growing tired. As I crawled down the other side of the barn to gather new shingles, I heard a ruckus as Paige was screaming for help.

  I swiftly ran up the side of and came to the top. Paige was dangling from the gutters by her two bare hands. The gutters could not hold her weight and were slowly peeling away from the barn.

  I quickly dropped the shingles that resided in my hands and chucked myself over the top side of the barn. I too, lost footing as the older shingles gave way. I fell hard and abruptly onto my butt and slid down to where Paige was hanging on for dear life. On the way down, was able to hook my two feet around a pipe that shot out of the rooftop. I was able to grab Paige's hands just as she let go of the gutters. The pull of her fall, caused my feet to lose their grip around the exhaust pipe. With nothing left to hold onto, Paige and I began to spill over the side of the barn's roof.

  I knew if I fell, I would most definitely survive the fall. But Paige, she might be injured severely, or even worse, death. I held onto her tighter. I looked down at her eyes and she into mine, eyes wide, and frightened. I could see the fear as is it cascaded over her like a dark blanket.

  Paige had her hands in mine, and her body was swaying uncontrollably. I tried so very hard to keep her there. I saw below a jumble of wood, stacked. I knew if she fell, she would truly break her back.

  "Please, don't let me go." She pleaded.

  "I won't." I said. "Is the upper-level door open?" I asked. The heat from the saucy summer day began to create a lubrication of sweat between our hands. My heart began to pound harder as she slowly slipped. She was down to just my fingers, clasped. I held on tighter. I cringed as I felt my nails digging into the base hers.

  She took her eyes off of me for second. Nervously, she looked ahead of her. Her gaze that reached back into mine. "Yes!"

  "Okay." I said. It was just a thought. A quick calculation in my head. Some way, somewhere, I had seen it done on TV. Yes, it was a movie, but hopefully with my strength I could apply it here. "Going to start swinging you. Try to hang on the best that you can. When you get enough momentum, I am going to release you."

  "Are you shitting me?" Paige looked at me, eyes wide with fear. "No offense, but you're not a superhero."

  "I know, but you have any other better suggestion."

  "Yes, drop me and save yourself."

  My eyes narrowed in disbelief. I shook my head. "Fuck that lady. Hold on, and for the love of God, have faith in me." I took a deep breath and hardened my abdomen. I began to sway her slowly. Back and forth, back and forth. Our grip became more volatile. I could feel her slipping from my hands. I worked harder. Her momentum became stronger and stronger. The sweat began to bead up and roll from my four head. My breathing became explosive and my heart was on speed. As I felt she had enough gumption to go, I gave her the go-ahead. "When I say go, you swing your legs as far in front of you as you can."

  Paige's eyes begin to tear up.

  The moment before I said go, everything slowed down in my mind. My heart stopped and my breathing became rhythmic. As I could feel the positive energy welling up inside me, I tried flowing it through me and into Paige. I hoped the positive flow would give her the strength to do what she would have to do. One last giant swing out. Before she hit the crest of it, I shouted. "Go!"

  As if on a swing, her legs extended straightforward. Her momentum, quickly glided her. Before I could safely see her into the barn, the gutters gave way. I saw wood planks on my way down. Protecting my head, I covered it with my arms. I didn't scream. I just waited for the inevitable.

  I was, and would always be afraid of heights. I remembered many times at the lake at my father would take my sister and I hiking about. We would scale tall mountains. My fear of heights was always there, but as long as I was with my father, they were kept at bay. There were many things that I didn't want to do growing up because I was frightened. Because my father was fearless, I was fearless. I never purposely put myself into situations, but others find themselves into those situations. And for that, without thinking, I was totally equipped to handle them.

  How to deal with yourself after a great fall? The greatest fall I had ever taken, was off the monkey bars in the fifth grade. It was a quick oops and then sand in your face. I rolled over of course, for I had survived. Finding the strength to brush the sand from your jeans and get back on the monkey bars was a whole different beast. Even though I climbed right back on, memories of the fall were still fresh in my mind.

  As I slowly opened my eyes, the sky was still blue. I took a deep breath, swallowing hard. My mouth dropped open and I let out a deep gasp. Clenching my right fist, I felt another hand that laid within it. As I took another deep breath and slowly blinked, I opened my eyes and saw Paige looking into them.

  She laid close to me. Her arm behind my neck, her other hand brushing my four head, rustling through my hair. As I slowly rose and tried to get myself into a sitting position, Paige backed away to give me room. When I finally sat up and got a good look at her, I saw the blood her shirt was covered in. My mind was still in a mix and I gave out a gasp as soon as I saw the blood.

  Paige looked at me and shook her head. "Oh no, Lill, it's yours." Smiling, she moved in closer and brushed her hands over my cheeks. Paige kissed me gently, hoping to hurt nothing further. "You saved me." Moving onto her knees and placing both her hands upon my cheekbones, she placed her lips even deeper onto mine, looking into my eyes and slowly pulling away. "You saved me, thank you."

  I looked at myself up and down, I noticed the blood had also covered my shirt. I raised my hand to my face and felt a moistness from my nose. I rubbed it slightly and pulled away. My hand was covered in bits and pieces of blood.

  "I saw you fall, but didn't see it hit the ground. As I rushed down, the position that you were in, looked like you hit your face first." Paige's eyes slowly began to well up with tears. "Your nose was bleeding. You were out, I tried to get you up, but you wouldn't wake. I had nothing to stop the bleed, so I used my shirt. I held you there for at least 30 minutes trying to get bleeding to stop."

  As Paige's tears became more apparent, I leaned over and I hugged her. I held her tightly and embraced her sadness. "I'm okay babe, I'm still here." I held her tightly and kissed her neck, slowly making my way to her ear. Quietly I whispered. "Thank you. I am okay my love, but thank you."

  I didn't mind the time that passed between us. As we held each other, the clouds of the mighty monsoon began to roll in. The winds began to thicken. Time was running out and a job needed to be completed. Smiling, I slowly pulled her away from our embrace. "Lady, we still have a job to do, so let's do this."

  Paige pulled away, kissing me once again as she rose to her feet. "I know you've got my back."

  Paige assisted me to my feet. I was wobbly at first, but she helped lift me up and held me in her arms. Carefully and gently, she kissed my bottom lip. Smiling, she slowly to
re away, taking my lower lip with her until it snapped back into place. "Let's finish this." She said. "Are you OK? Will you be able to go on?"

  My gaze never left hers. Grinning and agreeing, I smiled. "No doubt babe, let's get this shit finished."

  With the memory of the fall still fresh in my mind, I slowly followed Paige up the ladder onto the top of the barn. I of course, brushed the dirt away from my jeans and made my way back up.