Completing The List

by P.J. Lowry

Liz and the girls were on their way to the statue of liberty. The statue was the very same beacon of hope and freedom that many people passed by on their way to become a part of the nation that used to take in all comers. Just as they were approaching the area where they would have to travel by boat to get to the small island that held the statue, Lizzy's phone began to ring. She didn’t want to answer it because she was so excited about knocking off two items from the list in the same trip. She changed her mind when she realized it was a Jared calling from the firehouse, and likely calling to check in. She opened the phone and tried to answer as naturally as possible. "Hey Jared."

  "Hey Liz, how are things going?" Jared asked. He had been checking up on her about once a week just to make sure she had been faring well.

  "I'm doing fine." Lizzy said as she looked out the window at the statue from a far distance. "I'm on my way right now to visit the little lady."

  Jared paused for a moment. "What are you doing in North Carolina?"

  "I'm not in North Carolina." Lizzy replied, "I'm in New York. We're going to see what I thought Hayden referred to as the little lady."

  "Then you're in the wrong state, Liz." Jared said, "The little lady Hayden talks about is the same little lady we talk about here. That's Margaret Davies, current resident of Grace Harbour retirement home in North Carolina.”

  “Why North Carolina?”

  “Well, we wanted to pick a place that had good weather.” Jared answered. “It was also a little cheaper because one of the chiefs knew the guy who runs the place and we got a bit of a discount.”

  “I don’t understand.” Liz asked. “How do you know her?”

  “We saved her.” Jared continued. “Hayden pulled this old lady out of a fire and she lost everything she had. She had no family and no where to go, so Hayden came up with a plan. We all take a levy out of our own pay checks. With ten guys in the house, we were forking over a thousand smackers a month to help this lady out. We registered her with the nursing home and have a tab with them that we pay every month. We felt for the lady and Hayden wanted to make sure she was taken care of her. That's the little lady he was likely referring to because that's what we all call her. She's our little lady."

  "Oh, I didn't know that." Lizzy confessed, somewhat embarrassed.

  "We don't really talk that much about it." Jared confessed. "We don't advertise that we would help people out that much or everyone would want the hand out." he paused for a moment. "You're at the statue of liberty, aren't ya?"

  Lizzy knew she was busted. "Well... yeah."

  "Yeah, well considering the info you had to work on, that was a good guess." Jared had a chuckle at their expense, but she didn't mind. "Look, if you really want to meet the real little lady, I'd be happy to text the address and telephone number to your phone. Okay?"

  "All right, I appreciate that." Lizzy replied.

  "No prob Liz." Jared said, "Have fun at the big apple."

  "Thanks Jared." Lizzy closed the phone to disconnect the line and tapped the driver on the shoulder. "Change of plans: back to the hotel."

  "Are you sure?" the driver asked, "We're almost there."

  "I'm sure." Lizzy said as she sat back into her seat. "This isn't the right place."

  Once they got back to the hotel, Gale and Anna were dying for answers. They didn't get any until they got back to the privacy of their own room. Lizzy gave them the skinny on what they term 'little lady' meant to the firemen of their house, and that the woman Hayden wanted to visit is in an retirement home that he and the rest of his house paid for in North Carolina. There was no need for Lizzy to be upset at all. It was a simple misunderstanding and even Jared had confessed it was a good guess for someone who didn’t really know what the item was about. Their attempt to visit that statue was a good guess and would make sense if you didn't have access to the real story since this item came right after the park. The girls lounged in the living room pondering what to do next.

  "So what do we do now?" Anna asked.

  "We have two more days in New York." Lizzy said, "We will do the town for two more nights and then we're flying to North Carolina instead of back home."

  "Wouldn't hurt to buy something nice for Hayden's little lady while were out tomorrow too." Gale suggested.

  "Good idea." Lizzy said with a smile, "That will get us in the door at least."

  "And about twenty more items for me." Anna said as she got up from the couch.

  Lizzy could sense her frustration but she let her go, and decided to get a little sleep maybe get something for dinner and then wait until the next day to get back to the shops. Gale had things to do, but said she would come back the next day. She was true to her word and all three of them did some great shopping which combined with the lunch at central park made the trip all worth while. Lizzy spent a few bucks, but this was likely the last real big spend while on the quest to finish the list, so she really didn't mind. Mention of the list never came up that day until supper when they were again eating this time in the middle of one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. It was one of those fancy places downtown where guys wouldn’t be allowed to enter unless they were wearing a suit jacket.

  While they were eating an appetizer, Gale was the first to speak. "I want to help you guys out."

  They both looked back at her.

  "Excuse me?" Lizzy asked.

  "I want to help with the list. I don't want you two to have all the fun. I’d like to do what I can to help and hang out with my girls... just like old times!" Lizzy could tell Gale was serious and she wanted to get out of the city and help out a bit.

  "Why should we let you tag along?" Anna suddenly asked as if here territory were being threatened. Lizzy didn’t understand what was going on with Anna, as she was clearly frustrated earlier in the day and now was being unreasonable when someone asked to help them finish the list. It was something she would have to address later.

  "I know I can help. I may have messed up on this one guessing it was the statue, but I can help with other items on the list." Gale said as she took a sip of her drink.

  "Give me an example." Lizzy asked interested in what she was talking about.

  “As you know, I went to school with Hayden and his siblings.” Gale answered. “I have valuable information that might help solve a few of those mysterious items on the list.”

  "Such as?” Anna asked.

  "Well first off,” Gale said with a grin, “I know what a Hermy is."

  "What else do you know?" Anna asked, more curious than threatened now.

  Gale pointed to a specific part of the list. "I know this one too.”

  Lizzy cracked a smile and put her hand on Gale's. "I guess I have an extra ticket to book for North Carolina."

  And the next day they all flew to the city of Raleigh, North Carolina. It was a nice place and they had appreciated flying into nicer weather since it was raining when they had left the big apple. The retirement home they were looking for was just outside town and they took a car there immediately to just get it over with rather than go to the hotel first. When they arrived to the home, the place was amazing. People were out in the yards and either doing lawn bowling or just sitting out in the sun and relaxing. You would have thought it was a resort, but the girls didn't let that bother them as they walked into an enormous lobby that was meant to seat a lot of visitors while they waited to be met by those who lived in this particular residence. Was this a retirement home or a hotel, Lizzy thought to herself as she approached the desk. "Hi there, I called earlier this week. We're here to visit Ms. Margaret Davies."

  "Of course, I told her you were coming Mrs. Sheppard." the lady said as she stood up to shake her hand. Right this way, Ms. Davies is in the back getting a little sun. The girls all followed her out but as they were about to leave the lobby to the back area, the attendant held up her hand. "She wanted to only see Mrs. Sheppard and I don't want to crowd her as well. She is a very sensitive lady."

/>   Anna and Gale seemed a little shocked at first but settled down and understood as they returned to the lobby to wait. Lizzy followed the worker as they walked out to the deck behind the building. It was a nice place where residents could sit out there and get a little sun while checking out an magnificent view a near by forest. Lizzy saw the old woman as that the lady from the desk pointed her out. She was very old, in a wheelchair and just watching other people walk around on the grounds from a distance. Lizzy walked up slowly on the old lady, so she wouldn't startle her and waved when she looked her way. "Hi there, Mrs. Davies, my name is Elizabeth Sheppard."

  "Sheppard." the old lady said as she pondered the information. "I know that name. Where do I know it from?"

  "Likely that would be from my husband, Hayden Sheppard." Lizzy said as she took a seat beside her. "He was a fireman."

  "Ahhh, I see." Ms. Davies replied as she nodded her head. "You're his Lizzy."

  "Yes." She said with a smile, "I'm his Lizzy."

  "It's so nice to see you." she looked around, "Is Hayden here too?"

  "No, I'm afraid not." Lizzy said, "Did he visit you often?"

  "Once a year." the old lady replied. "You're about two months early."

  "He never told me about that." Lizzy informed the old lady.

  “Don’t feel bad, dear.” Ms. Davies replied. “This was something I think a lot of them men from the firehouse kept to themselves. They were likely afraid that if it was known they were doing this others would want their help too.

  While it made sense to Lizzy explained that way, she was still upset that there were so many secrets between her and the man she married. “How exactly did the two of you met?”

  "That day we met started out nice enough." the old lady recalled. "I had no idea I was going to lose everything I had. I would have lost my life as well if it were not for your husband and the nice men that work with him."

  She was sitting in the chair when the fire alarm went off. She was crippled to the chair and since the elevator was the last thing you should take during a fire, she was trapped and unable to get out of the building. She dialled 911 to tell the dispatch that she was in the building and unable to get out on her own accord due to her handicap. It was less than twenty minutes later when she heard the wailing of the fire Trucks as they came rumbling to her building. She was on the fourth floor so she really felt bad for the fireman who was going to prove his worth by carrying her down the stairs on his shoulders. That knock on her door came less than five minutes later. "It's open!" she called out.

  The door swung open and there were two firemen in full gear and masks to protect themselves from the heat and smoke. One of them removed his mask and walked over to kneel beside her. "Afternoon ma'am, my name is Hayden and this is Jared. We are going to be escorting you out of the building today."

  "Jesus, this is going to kill the back." Jared cursed to himself.

  "Then you do point and I'll carry her down. My back can handle it." Hayden responded as he already knew Jared couldn’t help out. He turned back to Ms. Davies. "It's time to go. I want you to take my arms. I'm going to heave you out of the chair and put your stomach on my right shoulder and carry you down the stairs to safety." he held out his hands and she didn't hesitate to grab them. Hayden was confident in his abilities and that was enough to trust him. As they left the hallway and worked their way towards the stairs, it wasn't Hayden's back that gave out but instead the floors below them. Hayden and the old lady fell through and to the floor below. Thankfully that floor held and they only got some bad bruises from the fall. Jared stuck his head over the hole and called down, "I've contacted the captain, he's sending up more help. Stay there and don't move!"

  Hayden wasn't much for doing as he was told as he sat up and was able to get back to his feet. The first thing he did was inspect Ms. Davies to make sure she didn't break anything serious. She was no worse for the fall and able to move if it became necessary. "Don't panic, Ma'am." Hayden said comforting smile on his face. "I've been in worse situations than this." While it wasn’t true, he understood that he had to be confident to help Ms. Davies remain calm and not panic.

  "Liar." Ms. Davies said to his face. She had been married to the same man for fifty years before he passed away so she could smell his bullshit almost as easy as it came from the lips of her own spouse.

  "Okay, maybe not." Hayden confessed, "But I work with a good crew. We will make it out of here, I promise." He got back to his feet and started to feel the walls for heat. "It's really warm on the other side of this one." and then he kept checking the other walls. "This one is good. We can save the crew some time if we waited in this room rather than here. It will also put more distance between us and that fire."

  "I don't see a door." Ms. Davies observed.

  "Well ma'am." Hayden said as he took off his helmet. "When we don't have the convenience of a door, we usually make our own." He took the axe he brought with him and started to pound a hole into the wall. After checking for smoke and realizing there were none, Hayden then tore into the wall and kept smacking the plastered wall until there was a hole big enough for most people to get through. He walked over and dragged Ms. Davies over to the hole. "You first, crawl through and I’ll push from behind."

  "Okay." Ms. Davies used her arms to crawl through the wall and Hayden helped her momentum by holding up her legs and pushing them through with her. After that he quickly jumped through and helped her from the floor of the new room to a bed that was located in the far corner. Smoke wasn't too thick but they couldn't open any windows without permission from the captain. Hayden took his mask and gave his oxygen to the old lady.

  They shared the mask as well as talked to one another to pass the time waiting for the others to arrive, which happened only a few moments later. Two more firemen had arrived and they carried Ms. Davies from the building while Hayden was well enough to exit the burning building on his own. Once out of the building, they were both taken to medical for exams and to be checked up on. Hayden patted Ms. Davies on the shoulder and gave her a big smile. "Still many more years to look forward to." he said to her with a big grin.

  "Thank you, young man." she said to Hayden as they started to take her away to the ambulance that was waiting.

  “You’ll see me again.” Hayden replied as he waved and watched her leave the scene. But Hayden was true to his word. Less than a week later, he and Jared came to her hospital room to visit. They wanted to make sure she was all right and that she had a place to go to when her stay at the hospital was done. She had no one, and this was when the firemen started to discuss ideas that eventually led her to North Carolina and to the retirement home that has treated her very well ever since.

  “Jared and Hayden came often to visit me.” Ms. Davies said with a smile, “They are both good men. Hayden and I had a bit of a tradition.”

  “What’s that Ms. Davies?” Lizzy asked.

  Jared would show up whenever he could find the time, but Hayden always came to visit me every year on the same day. The anniversary of the day we met when he and his colleagues pulled me out of that building. This summer will mark our fourth anniversary.” Ms. Davies beamed with pride, looking forward to the next visit.

  Lizzy sat stunned as she couldn’t believe the story she was just told. Everyone talked about how Hayden walked out of buildings with people time after time, but this was the first time she had ever met and talked to someone who Hayden had helped save from a fire. Yet she didn’t have the heart to tell her what had happened to Hayden as the thought of her finding out that he wouldn’t be coming this year could break her heart. Lizzy felt for the little lady and what she had been through and spent the next few hours talking to Ms. Davies about her life, her visits from Hayden among other things. When she stood to leave, Ms. Davis asked Lizzy if she would come and visit again. "I would love to." she said as she left the little lady with a hug. As she walked back to the lobby, she had a tear in her eye for being able to meet such a
sweet lady.

  Lizzy had every intention of visiting Ms. Davies again, but she never got the chance. Two months later on the exact day that Hayden rescued her, Ms. Davies passed away in her sleep just hours before breakfast. So for the fourth year in a row, Ms. Davies got to spend some time with Hayden on their anniversary.