Last Day of My Life

by Lani Lynn Vale

  “$150.78.” My cashier said.

  I handed over two one hundred dollar bills, but kept my ear on the conversation behind me.

  “I don’t know yet. If the amnesia story is true, that’s heartbreaking. I haven’t seen him with a woman in the three years I’ve been around, and for a man like him, that’s saying something right there. Although, he could just be discreet about it. It would explain a lot about him if he really hasn’t been with anyone all this time.” Ember said while keeping a watchful eye on the total.

  “I’m just attached to him. I don’t want him to get hurt by some scamming bitch. He helped out so much when Harleigh was born that he really means the world to me.” Payton grumped.

  “Thank you, have a pleasant day.” My cashier said with a bored tone.

  Taking my change, I pushed my cart and sat down at the bench across from the register that Payton and Ember were checking out. I didn’t try to hide the fact that I was listening. I was extremely interested in hearing what they had to say. Plus, it would be nice to get the down low now, just in case they hated me. Then I could put my guard up around them.

  “I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt. I’ll reserve judgment until she proves that she isn’t playing him. Just keep a close eye on her. I don’t want Jack hurt.” Payton said as she watched the coupons being handed over.

  I didn’t want Jack hurt either. It’d been merely six hours since I’d left Free, and I had the phone on and pressed to my ear before I even realized it.

  I was now gainfully employed by Champion EMS, had a grand signing bonus coming, and had pretty sweet insurance coming my way.

  Shamrock EMS and Fire was awesome, but it was a small town and money just wasn’t as comparable like it is in larger cities. I’d be stationed in Longview, which meant I should probably start looking for a place within a few minutes of the office. Twenty-four hour shifts were drainers. There were some days that you never got any sleep, and I didn’t want to look for a place twenty minutes away from the office if I could help it.

  I told myself I would start looking for a place in the morning. Although I knew I wouldn’t. I didn’t want to leave Jack. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I could breathe. The looming danger that the motorcycle man informed me of was of no consequence at the moment. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jack would be there if I needed him, and that meant the world to me.

  Ember’s total went down nearly a hundred and twenty dollars, and I laughed quietly as other patrons started to cheer her on. Even the other cashiers were now watching the spectacle.

  My eyes wandered over to a man in his late forties early fifties. He was a fit man, but the weathered skin and laugh lines around his eyes and mouth told the world that he’d really lived. He had a bottle of wine in one hand, and a bouquet of flowers in the other. His shirt had a KFD symbol on the left breast pocket. Kilgore Fire Department.

  He’d just set the items on the belt and turned to see what all the commotion was about when his hand flew to his chest. His knees gave out underneath him an instant later and he slid slowly to the floor. His eyes were squeezed tight in pain, and my heart went into overdrive. The man showed all the signs of a heart attack in progress.

  I was standing and moving before I’d even realized I was doing it. My left hand was digging into the compartment in my purse where I kept my aspirin.

  “Call 911!” I yelled at the top of my lungs as I dropped down to the fallen man.

  He was on his knees, doubled over.

  I heard a chorus of ‘Oh my God’s’ but ignored them.

  “Sir, do you take any medication?” I asked.

  “No.” He groaned.

  “Are you allergic to aspirin?” I asked.

  “No.” He panted.

  “I’m going to give you some aspirin. I want you to chew it up and swallow it.”

  He did as instructed, and then rolled over to his back, hands still clutching at his chest. Payton pushed through the crowd and dropped down to her knees beside me. She opened her mouth to say something when the man’s breathing went from panting to non-existent. His arms flopped limply to the tiled floor, and everything ceased moving.

  Taking quick action, I dropped down, pinched his nose and gave him a puff of air. Payton felt for a pulse and shook her head frantically. “He’s got no pulse. I’ll breathe for him.”

  For the next seven minutes, we traded out breathing and CPR duties. At one point, during my compressions, I felt crack, and cringed slightly. I continued to pump, listening as the two pieces of his breastbone rubbed together with a grinding crunch with each depression and release of his chest. I continued chest compressions as the medics intubated the man.

  A whirlwind of activity later, we watched as the ambulance pulled away with the now stable man. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins like usual, and I smiled at Payton who was wiping sweat from her brow. My shirt was wet with sweat as well, but it didn’t matter. The man was alive, and I was too relieved to think about how awful I probably looked. You wouldn’t believe how much energy you expend while administering CPR.

  “Well, that was just plain awesome. Is he going to be alright?” Ember asked from behind us, receipt in hand.

  Her smile lit up the room.

  “What do I do with his stuff?” The stunned cashier asked weakly.

  I looked over and saw the man’s wine and flowers. Taking out my wallet I said, “I’ll get it. How much?”

  “Uh, just take it. I’ll pay for it.” She said lamely.

  I glanced at her nametag and read her name. Marcie, and underneath her name was Assistant Manager. Nodding, I took the wine and flowers, carefully walking back over to my cart.

  “You heard everything we said, didn’t you?” Payton asked with a smile in her voice.

  “Sure did.” I agreed and started walking towards the front door.

  The two of them flanked me on each side, chattering on and on about how calm I’d been. “Yeah, I’ve been a paramedic for six years now. It’s hard to surprise me anymore. The adrenaline still flows though.”

  “Cupcake?” Ember asked, offering me the box.

  I declined. I wasn’t a fan of strawberry. Now if she’d offered me a vanilla one, I’d have accepted in a heartbeat. We’d just made it to the parking lot, and were crossing at the crosswalk when a chromed out black Escalade with tinted black windows nearly ran us over.

  “Jesus Christ, asshole! This is a fucking crosswalk! Learn to fucking drive!” Ember yelled and threw her cupcake at the retreating SUV’s back window.

  It struck the window with a plop and slid down slowly, leaving a lovely pink streak in its wake. The driver braked hard and came to a rocking stop fifteen feet or so in front of us. A sneering woman and her companion nearly flew out of the SUV, already ready for a fight. Both women were screaming, charging forward with hell in their eyes.

  I watched them come; I was fairly sure I could take them with one hand tied behind my back, but just in case I reached my hand into my purse and pulled out the lip stick stun gun I’d gotten at the Army Navy store during my first stop in this new town.

  “What the fuck, bitch?” Crazy bitch with the black hair screamed.

  Our carts held them at a safe distance, but I knew this was going to deteriorate fast.

  “Hello, Amanda. Nice to see you again. Did you know there was a crosswalk right here? That’s what those yellow lines, and the letters c-r-o-s-s-w-a-l-k spell. It means you have to yield for pedestrians, in case you didn’t know.” Payton sneered.

  Obviously, there was some bad blood there. I’m sure it wouldn’t be long and I’d know the complete story. They looked like the loose lips type.

  “I know it’s a crosswalk, and I know what it means. I don’t like you though. I didn’t really care if you were ran over in the process or not.” Crazy bitch two with the brown-cropped hair sniggered.

  “Y’all are freakin’ nuts. Especially you, Gina. Maybe you should get a life.” Ember mu
ttered. “Sluts.”

  Although the last was coughed into her hand, the two women still heard it.

  “We’re not sluts! Just because your men think we’re hot doesn’t mean we’re sluts!” Amanda hissed.

  “Did it hurt?” Payton asked Amanda.

  She looked confused. “Did what hurt?”

  “When you fell out of the whore tree and banged every guy on the way down.” Payton said devilishly.

  I couldn’t contain my laughter any longer, and doubled over. A cramp was starting in my gut, but I didn’t stop. Oh my God. This was hilarious. The two woman were shrieking at Ember and Payton, who were just shrugging it off and throwing more whore and slut jokes around without the slightest care that they were attracting attention.

  A crowd was gathering around. Most of them were trying their hardest not to bust a gut as well. The sound of sirens filled the air but it didn’t faze them. An unmarked police car pulled up beside us, and the guy that had confronted me outside Free earlier stepped out. His clothes were changed to black cargo pants and a white KPD shirt. A shoulder holster crossed over his shoulders and housed a mean looking gun underneath his left arm.

  He took in the situation with gleeful eyes, and sauntered up, placing his body between the two groups. “What’s going on here?” He asked with a deep voice, humor exceptionally evident.

  “This bitch threw a cupcake at my car.” Gina yelled starting forward.

  “Calm down,” Luke snapped. “How about you all?” He turned to us and asked.

  “She nearly ran us over. Ran right through the crosswalk and didn’t even slow down when she saw us crossing. Nearly ran my fucking toes over.” Ember practically growled.

  I chose not to point out that her toes were nowhere near the car, that it would have been the cart that was hit first. She looked a little upset, and I chose to stay silent for the time being.

  “Yeah, right. You’re just bitchy because I caught your man’s eye at The Big Tuna last week.” Gina scoffed.

  “That’s because you shoved your fat tits into his face and practically fell in his lap.” Payton gritted out.

  “I am not fat. You’re just jealous.” Gina growled.

  “You’re fat. Don’t sugarcoat it, because you’d probably eat that too.” Ember said with bright shining eyes.

  Ahh, God. I couldn’t take it anymore. I dropped my hands to my knees and just lost it. I was laughing so hard I missed the next few attacks. I was wheezing and sputtering by the time I saw Luke escorting the two lovely ladies to their shiny black Escalade and telling them to avoid us at all costs.

  He came back just as I regained my feet. Wiping my eyes, I looked at his stern face. He was trying his damndest to contain the mirth that was boiling underneath the surface.

  “Really, Ember? Can’t you stop acting like the schoolyard bully?” He asked, barely containing laughter.

  “I just can’t help it. This gets worse and worse every time we see those crazy bitches. God, they have like a network of whores who keep a bead on all of our guys. Every single time we go out, one of those crazy bitches shows up and ruins everything.” Ember snarled.

  “Alright, ladies. Time for y’all to get home. Have a good day.” He said before returning to his car.

  We watched him drive away, and then continued to our cars. “It was nice seeing you all again. I’m gonna run to the hospital and drop this off. I want to check on that man anyway.” I announced as I reached my car.

  “I’m going with you!” Payton yelled and scrambled after me.

  I nodded, we waved goodbye to Ember, and headed in the direction of the hospital.

  “So, you’re a medic. How did you get into that?” She asked curiously.

  “After my accident, I went to thank the helicopter medics that saved my life. They acted as if it was no big deal that they changed the course of my life by saving me that day. I started paramedic classes the next school semester, and haven’t looked back since.” I said, flipping on my blinker to get into the next lane.

  The car beside me gave me a raised hand in complaint as she drove past, so I made sure to flip her off as a good gesture. Bitches. Everyone driving today was a big asshole. Couldn’t they see that the people in front of me weren’t going, which meant I couldn’t go?

  “What the hell is going on today? Why is everyone driving like crap?” I asked with a crankiness to my voice that didn’t often present itself.

  “Welcome to town. Get used to it.” Payton shrugged.

  I grimaced and managed to pull into the parking lot with no extra dents in my car. Finding a spot, we walked swiftly into the emergency room. Payton carried the wine, and I carried the flowers.

  “Hey there, Payton! How’s it shakin’? Celebrating something?” A big burly security guard asked.

  “Goin’ good, Mr. Reynolds. Just checking on a patient.” She waved.

  “You here a lot?” I asked curiously.

  She pulled me by my free hand to a locked door with a keypad beside it. Punching in a sequence of keys, she led me into the nurses’ station and stopped, looking around for someone. Spying the person she wanted, she headed in the direction of a male nurse.

  “I work in the postpartum unit. Winter, I’d like you to meet Jason. Jason, this is Winter. We’re here to see about the man that came in with the heart attack.” Payton said.

  He gave me the once over and then nodded in the direction of a curtained off room. Quite a few men in blue firefighter uniforms, consisting of blue Dickie pants and a blue t-shirt were crowded around the curtain, with an older lady sitting on the edge of the bed next to the man. As we approached, all eyes turned to us. The man in the bed looked much better, compared to how we’d last seen him.

  His eyes watched us approach in confusion, and then realization lit his eyes. “You’re the ones who helped me!”

  “So, you smooched on the chief, didja’?” The man closest to us asked.

  I looked at him. He was very young, maybe eighteen at most. Definitely a boy man. On his shirt read ‘KFD,’ and underneath that said ‘Apprentice.’ It made sense now. He looked way too young to be anything but an apprentice.

  Ignoring his cheeky grin, I focused on the man whose eyes were misting. “How’re you feeling?”

  Payton drew abreast with me and snuck her arm around my waist. I looked down at her, and she was smiling the brightest smile I’d seen yet.

  The man cleared his throat twice before he was able to speak. “I’m great because of you two. Thank you. I’m not ready to leave this young woman yet.” He said as he ran his hand up and down his wife’s back reassuringly.

  The man’s wife sniffled and stood, making her way to both of us. She stood incredibly close and looked at both of us before engulfing us in a mama bear hug. “That man is the love of my life. I don’t know what I would have done without Allen. You’ve saved the most important piece of me.”

  I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before she backed away. Realizing I still held the flowers, I thrust them into her arms. “Your husband was buying these when he had to leave suddenly. So we brought them with us.”

  “Oh, Allen. That was a sweet thing. What’s the occasion?” She asked sweetly.

  A faint blush started at the base of his neck and engulfed his face. All of a sudden, he looked incredibly embarrassed, and I got the distinct feeling that he didn’t want to say this in front of his men, let alone at all.

  “Allen.” Allen’s wife gasped in outrage. “You didn’t.”

  “I couldn’t help it! Jesus, Linnie.” Allen said, while throwing his arm over his eyes.

  We all stood in an awkward silence. Linnie’s head was thrown back, eyes on the ceiling, tapping her foot in exasperation. The men of the fire department stood around looking at each other, wondering what exactly to say.

  “What exactly did you buy this time?” Linnie asked, eyes still on the ceiling.

  “I’d rather not say.” He said roughly.

  Linnie turned to us and finally
explained. “Allen has a problem sleeping. Which, in turn, makes him watch TV at all hours of the night. Unfortunately, that’s when all those infomercials come on. Our house is filled with nothing but crap.”

  Out of all the things I’d been imagining, infomercials never crossed my mind. “Well, I guess it’s better that it’s an infomercial problem rather than a porn problem.” I said helpfully.

  “At least that would be beneficial in some way. You know, clearing the pipes and all that shit. Now he just gets exercise equipment that doesn’t work and household products that leave much to be desired. Last year, he bought me a miracle bra. One size fits all my entire ass. Do you think these would fit into a one size fits all?” She asked in exasperation.

  Her hands left her boobs and she went to sit on the side of the bed. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest and she glared daggers at Allen. “It’s not another Uroclub, is it?”

  If I’d thought his face was red before, it really was now. Which made me incredibly curious. “What’s the Uroclub?”

  “Well, apparently, when you’re golfing, sometimes the need to relieve yourself is too high. Therefore, the Uroclub has the perfect solution. You wrap a towel around your hips and piss into the golf club itself. It has a reservoir that allows you to put the lid on it and dump it out at your earliest convenience. Funny thing is, Allen here doesn’t even golf.” Linnie told us.

  Raucous laughter poured out of everyone when she spilled that juicy bit and by the time all the Chief’s dirty little secrets were revealed, my sides burned. With promises to keep in touch, we left the gathering and went back to the car.

  “I think I need to buy Max a potty putter. Do you think he’d like it? He spends a long time in the bathroom.” She asked with a smile.

  “I don’t even know Jack that well, but I think it’d be a perfect Christmas gift for him. That and the Hawaii chair.” I answered, while navigating my way through the traffic.

  We arrived at Free just in time, it seemed. Payton took my hand and led me through the front door of the office. Winding her way through the maze of rooms, past the garage bays, and finally to a back room.