Smoke

by Toye Lawson Brown

  “Goodnight, Gabrielle. Do you need an escort to your car?”

  “I think I’ll be okay walking by myself.”

  “Where are you parked?”

  “I’m in the garage on the roof. I couldn’t find a closer spot when I got in this afternoon.”

  He picked up his radio. “I can’t with good conscious let you walk that far alone this late. Let me call you an escort.”

  She slung her backpack on the bench flopping down next to it. “Alright, just tell him to hurry; I’m tired.”

  Waiting on Kyle to wake a guard to walk her to her car, she pulled Jonathan’s watch from her backpack. The gold and silver jeweled watch appeared to be an antique. Turning it over, she read the inscription written and signed by his grandfather.

  She removed her purse digging inside for the cellphone. Tapping a short text message she hit send and put the phone away. The ball was in Jonathan’s court now. If he wanted the watch he could let her know.

  Kyle zipped his jacket walking over to her. “I’ll walk you to your car, Gabrielle. I can’t seem to wake anyone.”

  “I’m ready,” she replied getting her stuff.

  The thirty minute drive to Mayfield Heights seemed to take forever. When she finally got home, Midnight circled her legs letting her know dinner was late. “I know; you’re hungry.” Feeding the chubby tabby that hadn’t missed a meal since she was a kitten, Gabrielle peeled an orange to starve off her own hunger.

  Sitting at the table she tore sections of the orange apart placing them in her mouth one at a time. The house was quiet and lonely. She looked around the room thinking there was no one to greet her in the evenings or wait up for her when she worked late. No one would know if she had an accident on the way home from work or if she got abducted traveling between home and work. No one would know anything about her demise until the neighbors noticed the mail piling outside or the smell of rotting flesh coming from the house.

  She went to the sink to drop the orange rinds down the garbage disposal.

  Looking across the yard to her neighbor’s house, it showed how a real family lived.

  The toys, outdoor furniture and cute matching doghouse; painted a cozy family portrait. Next door neighbors Marcy and Greg Steven’s were around the same age as she. They had two small children and played in the yard with them every weekend and on warm evenings, Greg would fire up the grill and the family would eat dinner outdoors together at the picnic table.

  Gabrielle scanner her backyard; it was immaculate. The backyard consisted of a simple patio set with a simple barbecue pit, covered by a custom-made tarp to protect it from the weather. There were no toys or cute doghouses or anything to exhibit a person under the age of thirty occupied the home. She hardly entertained or had people over after the fiasco with Damien.

  Gabrielle wiped down the granite countertop and cleaned around the numerous small appliances sitting atop it, before putting the sponge away. She was fantastic cook and thought about becoming a chef before going into the medical field. Every night she came home to feed herself; not a family or a man to eat the delicious meals she concocted; only herself. Jonathan was the first man she’d prepared food for since Damien, and would give anything to cook for him again. She stretched her arms against the sink dropping her head. “Dammit, Damien—thanks to your lies, I can’t look at any man and not think he isn’t living on the down low.

  Turning off the kitchen light Midnight nearly tripped her racing into the next room. A quick shower and change into her pajamas, Gabrielle set the alarm clock and turned the volume high as it would go on her cellphone. She had to hear it ringing in case of an emergency at the hospital. A few fluffs of her pillow, she settled in for another restless sleep.

  The cellphone ringing broke Gabrielle’s dream of happier times. Turning over in bed she fumbled for the phone to stop the annoying ring. In a raspy voice she answered, “Hello.” Sitting up quickly, she turned on the light. “I’m on my way.”

  *****

  The emergency room was electrified with activity. Doctors and nurses were

  tending to injured patients in the hallways because treatment rooms were filled to treat critically injured patients first. Gabrielle rushed to the desk where Millie was standing to check in. “Where do you need me?”

  Millie grabbed her by the arm. “Come with me. I have two patients to intubate and need you to assist the anesthesiologist in OR 1. I have a call in for all techs and specialist to get here.”

  “Millie, what happened?” She asked hurrying along to keep up with her

  footsteps.

  Millie grabbed a clipboard handing it to her. “There’s a fire at the steel mill in the Flats.”

  Gabrielle’s blood ran cold and she didn’t want to know the answer but had to ask. “Millie, do we have any fatalities?”

  “Yes, Gabrielle, but I don’t know how many; now get to OR and stop asking questions I don’t have the answers too.”

  Entering the OR, Gabrielle waited for the anesthesiologist. A surgical nurse entered making sure the instruments the surgeon would need were in order. “Hi Gabrielle, I guess we’re in for a long night,” she said.

  “Yes. Do you know who the patient is?”

  “Yes, a firefighter. I hear it’s pretty bad too.”

  Gabrielle’s legs instantly went weak and sweat beaded under the mesh surgical cap covering her head. Unable to stop her hands from shaking she prayed for strength.

  When the doors opened bringing the patient inside, she snapped from her fog to assist the anesthesiologist.

  Going over to the patient lying on the table she didn’t want to see his face. She so desperately didn’t want Jonathan to be lying on the table fighting for his life once again. Intentionally keeping her eyes away from his face as long as possible, she swallowed. Lowering her eyes, a low sigh escaped her lips. It wasn’t Jonathan but nonetheless a loved one with family waiting on word of his condition. She went to work on helping to save his life and hopefully to bring good news to his family.”

  Chapter Ten

  Three hours later Gabrielle exited the OR followed by the anesthesiologist. He patted her on the back. “You were excellent in there, Gabrielle.”

  “Doctor Greene, I’m sorry I got a little queasy, but I don’t help often with surgeries.”

  “I understand. Why don’t you take a break and calm your stomach.”

  Stripping off the gown and cap, Gabrielle went to the stainless steel basin to wash up. Jonathan came to mind. She wondered if his unit was helping fight the industrial blaze mushrooming out of control according to the chat during surgery. She pushed thoughts from her mind of him lying hurt or possibly on the way to one of the other local hospitals treating the injured.

  She shook her head; she’d dismissed any prospects of having a relationship with him and therefore did not have a right to worry about him. Her pager went off. “You gotta be kidding me.” Drying off, she went to the emergency room for her next assignment.

  *****

  Jonathan and Anthony surged further inside the plant. The flames bounced

  around them as they searched for trapped firefighters. The fire was being fought with water and foam but continued to spread rapidly across the acres of the steel mill. He tapped Anthony on the shoulder. “I see something on the top of that high platform,” he shouted.

  “Right, I see it too!” Antony shouted back.

  The closer they got to the firefighter dangling from the platform; they recognized who he was. “Damn!” Jonathan shouted running towards the structure. He followed Anthony up the metal steps reaching the platform that was connected to several other platforms that allowed workers to walk between the furnaces.

  “I’m stuck,” Nick shouted.

  “Hold on; let me see how bad you’re wedged in,” Anthony shouted as he

  crossed over him to see if he could free his body wedged between the metal grates.

  Looking to his left he noticed a door marked in bold red lettering DANGE
R

  EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS.

  Stooping down he worked to free Nick. “He’s in tight, Jon. We’re gonna need a K-6, a patient drag and a few more hands on deck.”

  “I’ll radio the Chief.”

  “While you got him on the wire have him send a crew to check on those

  acetylene tanks stored in that room—they could be trouble.”

  “Dammit! Can you hack through the grate, Anthony?”

  “I might but the heat is buckling the beams holding my end of the platform.

  More stress might make it collapse and takes all of us down.”

  Nick moaned, “I can’t feel my legs; get me out of here!”

  “Relax, Nick, we’ll get you out,” Jonathan relayed. “It’s your call, Anthony; what should we do?”

  “I’m gonna get him out. He might be a pain in my ass but I got his back in the field.” Anthony worked on cutting the grate apart. He had to be careful not to remove too much or Nick would fall through to his death a hundred feet below.

  A large beam to the left of Anthony buckled and fell causing the platform to lean drastically. “Hurry up, Anthony,” Jonathan yelled holding onto Nick’s arms. “This damn thing is gonna fall!”

  “I almost got him loose; on three pull with all you got!”

  “Don’t let me go, Jon. Don’t let me die here,” Nick panted. His eyes opened wide and he appeared scared.

  “We’re not gonna let you die.”

  Other firefighters arrived to help with Nick’s rescue. Anthony raised his hand waving wildly. “Go! Go! Pull him out!”

  Jonathan pulled hard; bringing Nick from the grate and passing him to the firefighters behind him; hearing a loud crash he whipped around. The portion of platform that trapped Nick had fallen into the fire below. “Anthony!” He yelled.

  “I’m down here! Throw me a line,” Anthony yelled, looking down and seeing nothing but a sea of flames balling and growing larger. “Hurry, man, this thing ain’t gonna hold my weight much longer!”

  Jonathan looped the rope around his waist and lowered it to Anthony who was holding onto the swaying platform attached by the remaining two beams. Anthony latched the rope through his carabiner securing it, and signaled for Jonathan to pull him up. With the help of other firemen, they were able to bring Anthony to the surface.

  “You okay?” Jonathan asked out of breath.

  “Yeah,” Anthony nodded unlatching the rope. But we gotta run like hell; I don’t think we have much time before this section with those damn tanks stored over there blow.”

  Running and warning firefighters in their path, they were almost to the mouth of the plant before the strength from the acetylene tanks exploding tossed them outside.

  Hitting the wet pavement face first, Jonathan curled to protect his body from the hot debris falling over him.

  The impact of the debris hitting his body eased. Jonathan turned his head to see Anthony lying next to him. “Man, we’re a couple of lucky sons-of-bitches.”

  Anthony sat up removing his helmet and fire hood letting the hard rain from the thunderstorm shower over him. “That was too fuckin’ close.”

  “We ain’t done yet.” Jonathan got off the ground reaching a hand to Anthony to pull him to his feet. “We gotta go back in.”

  “I need a break. I’m tired, hungry and don’t have any energy left to fight, Jon.”

  “Yeah, me either, but we might have more firefighters trapped after that last explosion,” he said cleaning dirt and mud from his face shield.

  Lieutenant Murad rounded his men together. “We’ve been working ten hours straight and fresh units are coming. We’ve been cleared to return to base. I want you guys to get some rest and then go home. You all did a great job.”

  “Lieutenant, I’m gonna head over to the hospital to check on Nick,” Jonathan said.

  “I’ll go with you,” Anthony echoed.

  “Good idea to have someone there from our house. Have Sweeney drop you off and I’ll be there soon as I can to relieve you.”

  *****

  Jonathan and Anthony entered the emergency room, dirty and smelling of a hard battled fire. Going to the desk Jonathan asked the receptionist, “Could you tell me what room Nick Barona is in? He’s a fireman brought in a few hours ago. ”

  The receptionist looked at both men who obviously sleep deprived. “I’ll get the doctor treating him. You can have a seat over there and the coffee is free; you look as if you could use a few cups.”

  “Yeah I could,” Jonathan said walking toward the coffee station.

  Anthony nudged Jonathan with his arm. “Jon, I didn’t like the look she gave; do you think Nick is okay?”

  “Yeah I’m sure he’s okay. Hell, he’s too stuck on himself to be anything but okay.”

  “Nick said he couldn’t feel his legs. He could be paralyzed and I didn’t help by rough-handling him—damn.” Anthony sat down on the chair dropping his head in his hands.

  Jonathan remained silent as the doctor approached them. “Are you the

  gentlemen here about Mr. Barona?”

  “Yes, sir,” Jonathan said standing. “How is he?”

  “Mr. Barona is in recovery and will be transferred to the critical care unit shortly.

  Extensive bleeding from a deep vein artery caused Mr. Barona to lose a lot of blood. We couldn’t stop it before he went into cardiac arrest. We were able to revive him but it will be touch and go for the next few days.”

  “Oh fuck,” Anthony mumbled.

  “Doctor, he said he couldn’t feel his legs; is he paralyzed also?” Jonathan asked.

  “As of right now; I’m afraid so. We won’t know more until he is stable enough to go through more testing.”

  Jonathan heard the words but could not respond. “Nick won’t be able to deal with this, Anthony.”

  Anthony ran his hands over his bald head. “I’ll call Murad.”

  Jonathan paced the waiting area. Firefighters filtered in as word spread about other firemen that perished fighting the steel mill inferno or checking on other comrades. He noticed the doctor still standing near the doors leading to the trauma rooms and went over to him. “Can I see Nick?”

  The doctor wavered at first. “I’m not supposed to let anyone see him but family.”

  “Listen, Doc, me and the other firefighter, are the only family Nick has in Cleveland. We saved him from burning alive. I promised Nick, he would not die.”

  “Son, the fire didn’t kill him—so stop blaming yourself for his current

  condition.”

  “I made him a promise I might not be able to keep.”

  “Alright,” the doctor said taking Jonathan by the arm. “I’ll give you a few minutes with him.”

  *****

  Jonathan walked slowly towards the bed. The clicking of the machines worked together rhythmically. Looking down at Nick, he couldn’t remember him ever being so quiet. Curling his fingers around the railing he leaned in close. “I only got a few minutes, so I’ll make this quick. I know we’ve had our differences lately, but, I never wanted our friendship to end this way. Nick, fight to live for your kid if nothing else; he needs you. I’ll check on you tomorrow.”

  Going to the elevator he pressed the button. Dropping his head, he took a few deeps breaths collecting the raw emotions enveloping him. The major nag cutting his gut was the silly argument with Nick. If Nick died, those hate-filled words would be their last conversation before the fire.

  The doors to the elevator opened. Gabrielle eyes gleamed at his sight. Her words rolled from her tongue barely above a whisper. “Jonathan, thank God you’re okay.” It took all her energy not to jump into his arms.

  He nodded. “Yeah, I’m one of the lucky ones to be standing after fighting that disaster.”

  “I was wondering if your unit was on scene.” She stepped off the elevator realizing what floor she was on. “What are you doing on the critical care floor? Is Anthony—”

  “Anthony was not hurt; Nick was
. Doctors are not sure if he will survive.”

  “I’m so sorry, Jonathan. But, you know he is getting the best medical care this hospital has to offer.”

  “I know he’s in good hands; I was here not too long ago.”

  The awkwardness fell over her causing a lag. Plus she was not getting the ‘ I’m so glad to see you’ vibe from him. “We really have to stop meeting in elevators; people are going to start to talk.”

  “Yup, we do seem to run into each at elevators a lot.”

  She studied his face. Shallow lines creased his forehead and bags formed under his eyes. “When’s the last time you’ve slept?”

  He ran his hands through his oily hair. “I don’t know; probably a day ago.”

  “I’m my way home—I can drive you home if you’re too tired to drive yourself.”

  “Home…a place I want to be, but I think I’ll stick around and see how Nick does through the night.”

  “Jonathan, it’s almost noon. You’re too exhausted to sit around a hospital all day.

  Come on, I’m taking you home with me. You can soak in a hot bath and get some sleep.

  I’ll take you home later.”

  He staggered on his feet before regaining his balance. “I don’t think that is a good idea, Gabrielle; we aren’t exactly on speaking terms.”

  His anger remained and she felt the bite with each word. “I-I want to apologize for the way I acted,” she stuttered. “I blew what happened between us out of proportion, and was too embarrassed to tell you the real reason for it.”

  He threw up his hands. “Gabrielle, I can’t do this right now! I’m tired as hell and my brain is trying to process the shit I’ve been through in the last 24-hours. Please excuse my language, because I don’t mean to be rude, but I can’t deal with your drama on top of everything else.”

  She caressed his strong jaw. “There won’t be any drama, Jonathan; I just want to be a friend and comfort you in your time of need.”