by Maddy Barone
“Oh, my God,” said Linda again, pushing through the spectators with the help of a purse almost as big as she was. Her daughter, taller and leaner, hurried in her wake. Linda came to a stop two feet from her, panting. “Are you all right, Isabel? José, what have you done to yourself? See, Mary Ellen? I told you it was our place.”
Mary Ellen’s elfin face was lifted to stare at the fire. “Yeah, mom, you did, and you were right.” She tore her gaze away from the fire with what looked like quite a bit of effort to look around. “Well, thank God everyone’s all right.”
Isabel stared numbly at the fire. Not everyone was all right. Where was Dusty?
“We must tell the firefighters that the two women they are looking for are out here, safe,” she murmured. “Eddie?”
“I’ll go,” her brother immediately responded, and left her to trot across the street.
Inez put an arm around her waist. She tried to find comfort in the presence of her sister, but nothing penetrated her grief.
José crossed himself and began to murmur prayers. “Dios te salve, Maria,” he began, and Isabel closed her eyes and mouthed the familiar words along with him. “Llenas eres te gracia…”
That prayer ended, and José began another one. In her heart, Isabel’s prayer consisted of, Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please, bring him out. Please, oh, please.
Inez’s arm jerked into a vice around her waist. “Look!”
Isabel opened her eyes to see black silhouettes against the fire, crossing the street toward the ambulance. As they came closer, she could see her brother walking beside two grimy firefighters who were supporting an equally grimy man between them. Dusty? Her knees buckled. Dusty!
“Gracias a Dios!” cried Inez, gripping her more firmly. “Isa, he’s alright.”
Alright? He couldn’t walk by himself! She took a step and found she couldn’t walk by herself either. Inez dragged the laptop case over her head and put it over her own shoulder. Mary Ellen took her purse. Isabel went with faltering steps to the ambulance. Vaguely, she was aware that her family, José, and Linda and Mary Ellen trooped right along behind her. She didn’t care about that. The only thing she cared about was Dusty.
His face was black with soot, and the navy dress slacks and fine white shirt had turned grimy gray. Not just from smoke, she realized. They were singed patches on his clothes. Her eyes swimming in tears, she examined him closely. Was his skin singed too? His head hung down and he looked perilously close to utter collapse.
“Oh, Dusty,” she breathed.
Her voice had been only a thread, easily lost in the roar of the fire and the blare of sirens, but his head jerked up and his eyes found her. Even the whites of his eyes looked grimy. Only his teeth were white when he gave her a weak smile.
“Isa, I couldn’t find…” He trailed off as his gaze went past her. “Oh, Linda, there you are.”
He sounded mildly pleased. Then his head lolled and his knees must have given out because he crumpled. Isa wanted to leap for him, but she knew she couldn’t hold him. The firefighters half carried him to the ambulance and laid him on the litter where the EMS went to work.
“Oh, my God,” cried Linda. “Did that fine-looking man go into that burning building to try to find us? Mary Ellen, I knew we should have stayed home tonight.”
“Mom, if we had stayed home, we could have burned to death.” Mary Ellen shook her head and looked at Isabel. “Did he really try to save us?”
Isabel couldn’t look away from the stretcher. “Yes, because I told him you were in your apartment.”
“That’s my fault!” Linda wailed. “I told you we were going to have an early night, but then we decided to go to the bookstore to buy books to be signed. We thought, what if all the books are sold out by the time we get there tomorrow afternoon? So we got our shopping done tonight. The bookstore didn’t close until eleven, and afterwards we decided to go for a drink. And … And if anything happens to him, I will never forgive myself!”
The raw guilt in her voice finally tore Isabel away from Dusty. “It’s not your fault.”
Had she been unconsciously blaming Linda and Mary Ellen?
It wasn’t their fault. Dusty was going to be fine. She looked back at the two medical personnel working over Dusty and at the two firefighters who stood a few feet back. He was going to be fine.
Eduardo touched her arm. “The police have questions for us.”
Police? Of course the police were here. They had routine questions for her and Inez as store owners, and Eduardo as the building owner. The two police officers wrote down their answers and then moved on to Linda and Mary Ellen. Isabel wouldn’t say they were bored, exactly, but this was probably a standard routine for them. They didn’t look very interested until it was José’s turn to be interviewed. They suddenly seemed much more alert. His jail and gang tattoos were on full display, and they had a lot of questions about those. Linda tried to defend him and Mary Ellen dragged her mom away.
Since the police had finished with her, Isabel returned to Dusty. He lifted his head and smiled at her. “Come here,” he rasped.
She wanted to throw herself on him but refrained. The fine trembling in his hands and lips showed how weak he was. Taking care to not get in the medic’s way, she edged close. Not close enough to touch, though.
His exhausted eyes stared right into hers, shining with determination. “Isabel Ybarra, will you be my wife?”
Tears welled and giggles, edged with hysteria, neared erupted. “Yes, Dusty, a million times yes!”
She’d never seen such a wide, happy smile on his face before. “I’ll spend the night in the hospital,” he told her. “The rest of the night. Come with me?”
“Of course,” she managed.
The EMS were preparing to load him into the ambulance.
“Can I ride with you?” she asked.
“No, ma’am,” was the reply. “But you can follow along behind us.”
Eduardo put his hand on her shoulder. “Come on, Isa, I’ll drive you.”
It wasn’t quite that easy. First, José, Linda and Mary Ellen had to be settled for the night. Obviously, they couldn’t go to their apartments. Her brother said that since it was his building, it was his responsibility to find them temporary housing. Eduardo called Carmen and asked her to prepare for guests, and then gave directions to Mary Ellen. Eduardo, Inez, and Isabel walked to Eduardo’s car and headed off to the hospital.
Inez and Isabel were together in the back seat. Inez reached to touch Isabel’s clenched fist. “Thank God everyone is safe,” she said. “But the store is gone.”
“I wonder what the insurance will cover.”
“We have good insurance,” Inez said firmly. “It will be enough for us to start over.”
“Dusty asked me to marry him.”
“Oh, Isa. That’s wonderful.” There was tender love in the squeeze Inez gave her hand. “When?”
“Just now.” Isabel shook her head with wonder. “While I watched the building burn, I thought I had lost him. That we wouldn’t have a chance to have a relationship. And then,” she paused to wipe her eyes. “And then, he was safe. I would have said yes to anything he asked right then.”
Eduardo met her eyes in his rearview mirror. “Are you having second thoughts?”
No,” she said immediately. “I love Dusty, and I want to marry him.”
Inez gave her a hug. “That’s one good thing that came from this disaster.”
“Yes.”
A tiny thought tried to creep into her mind, a reminder that Dusty’s future included living on the reservation South Dakota, far from everything she knew. Isabel slammed the door on that thought. All she wanted was for Dusty to be well. Everything would work out.
At the hospital, Eduardo pulled up to the door to drop his sisters off, then drove to the lot to find a parking spot. Isabel headed for the information desk to find out where Dusty was. Following directions, they went up to the fourth floor and down several hallways. The st
aff at the desk told them Dusty was being examined, and if they would sit in the waiting area, they would be called as soon as he was cleared to see visitors.
Isabel’s leg was too tired to pace, but she wanted to. Eduardo came in with cups of vending machine coffee for all of them. “Relax, Isa,” he said. “Wait. He is in good hands.”
“It feels like I’ve been waiting for him for hours!” she burst out.
“Or all your life?” he asked gently. “Tell me about this man you want to marry.”
It all poured out of her, from their first meeting in Iraq to the fire tonight. “Half an hour ago he asked me to marry him,” she finished. “I accepted.”
“Are you sure you want to marry him?’ her brother inquired.
“Absolutely positive. I don’t think I could live without him.”
Inez sniffed. “So tender.”
“Ms. Ybarra?” said the nurse from the doorway.
Isabel lurched to her feet. “Is he…?”
“You can see him now,” the nurse said brightly. “Follow me please.”
Isabel turned to her anxious family. “I’ll be back.”
It had been a long, exhausting night. Her leg ached as she followed the nurse down the hall. The smells of disinfectant and the sound of machines reminded Isabel horridly of her own many hospital stays.
Dusty was in a hospital bed set at a slight incline, with an oxygen cannula held up to his nostrils with an elastic band around his head. He wore a hospital gown with the sheet pulled up to his waist. Now that the soot had been cleaned from his face, she could see his skin was angry red. The nurse quietly left after checking one of the monitors.
“Dusty,” Isabel whispered.
His eyes fluttered open. The dazed, unfocused expression in them cleared when he saw her. “Isa.” His voice was a hoarse croak. He coughed a little. “I’m so glad to see you. Did I propose to you?”
He didn’t remember? Did he regret it? She almost took a step back, but made herself stay at his bedside. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Did you say yes?”
“Yes.”
The blinding smile that lit his face reassured her. But it must have stretched his dried lips too far because he winced and licked them. He fumbled for the tube of lip balm on the tray attached to the bed. She moved quickly to take it from him and uncap it. He pursed his lips for her.
“No,” she murmured, bending to hold the balm his lips. “Relax your mouth.”
“Thanks,” he said when she finished and set the tube aside. “I don’t think anyone has ever—” He broke off to cough. “Ever put lip balm on my lips for me before.” His eyes drifted closed for a moment. “So many other things I like you to do to my lips.”
“I think it will be a while before we do any kissing.” He had an IV in one arm, so she moved to take his other hand. “Dusty, how badly are you hurt?” She scanned him anxiously, noting the redness on his face and some patches of bubbly looking skin on one forearm. She loosened her hold on his hand. “Am I hurting you?”
“No.” He smiled. His eyes still looked a little dreamy. Probably the result of painkillers. “I’m great. I have some second degree burns that will heal up fine. They’re going to keep me here for a day or so because of smoke inhalation.” He paused to cough again. “I am fine.”
“I don’t know about fine,” she argued gently. “But you are alive, and that’s what counts. I love you.”
“As soon as I’m out of here, I’m going diamond shopping.” His cough sounded painful. “Would you like to come along, or would you like to be surprised?”
A ring. As a child, she’d dreamed of wearing a wedding ring. “We don’t need to worry about that yet. Just rest. We have time to plan.”
His eyelids drooped. “You’re not getting cold feet, are you?”
“No, not even my one foot is cold. I love you, Dusty.”
“Good. Because I want to marry you as soon as possible.” He yawned. “I think I’ll just rest my eyes for a minute or two, ’kay?”
She watched while he drifted into slumber. In a few moments, the nurse returned to take his temperature.
“You should go home and get some sleep,” the nurse told her. “He should sleep through until morning. You can return during visiting hours tomorrow. That’s eight o’clock in the morning to nine in the evening.”
Isabel hesitated. “I’ll write him a note,” she decided, and picked up the note pad on the bedside tray. She scribbled, I’LL BE BACK TOMORROW MORNING. I LOVE YOU. ISA. Propping it prominently against his water glass, she slipped out.
Chapter Thirteen
Eduardo wanted her to come stay at his house. Inez insisted she stay at her place. Eduardo argued that he had a larger house. Inez countered that he already had Jose and Linda and Mary Ellen. Sitting in the back of Eduardo’s luxurious car, Isabel listened with half an ear to her siblings squabble. The rest of her was coming to the realization that she had nothing. Her clothes were ash. Her furniture, dishes, jewelry, the medals she had won in Iraq, all were gone. She didn’t have so much as a clean pair of panties to change into. Sitting in the backseat of Eduardo’s car, she hugged her purse to her face and cried soundlessly.
“Isa!” Eduardo sounded helplessly horrified. “Don’t cry, niña. It will be okay. Where would you like me to take you? My place? We’ll put you in Maria’s room.”
“Or you have Paulita’s room,” Inez put in quickly.
Eduardo was the best of brothers, but right now she wanted her sister. “Inez and Manuel’s house, please. You and Carmen are so generous, but you already have three.”
Inez was practical. “Go by Walmart first,” she told Eduardo. She turned to speak over the seat to Isabel. “I can lend you some clothes, but you’ll need a few things right now, like a toothbrush and comb.”
A few hours ago, she’d had a toothbrush of her own, plus a spare she was going to lend to Dusty. Now … The thought that she had nothing kept intruding. She sniffed to control her tears. “That’s a good idea. And some underwear.” She forced a chuckle. “I love you, but I’m not wearing your underwear.”
By the time Eduardo drove them to Inez’ house, it was nearly four, and Isabel felt drugged with weariness and numbed by an overload of emotion. She managed to take a shower, put on the new panties Inez had bought her and the T-shirt she was given, and climb into her niece’s bed before she fell asleep.
She didn’t sleep well. Her dreams turned to nightmares full of fire and bleeding stumps and visions of Dusty walking away from her no matter how she pleaded with him to stay. It was almost a relief to see sunshine filter through the blinds. She smelled bacon. After slipping into her niece’s ruffled pink robe, she put her leg on and went out to the kitchen.
“Good morning.” Inez turned from the stove to survey her. A frown pinched her brows. “You look tired. Go back to bed. It’s only nine.”
“Nine?” Isabel blinked at the window. It wasn’t dawn? “No, there is too much to do. I need to see Dusty. And the store. And …” She trailed off, not even knowing what else.
Her sister slid fried eggs onto a plate with bacon and toast and put it on the table. “Alright. You eat. I’ll get some of my clothes for you to wear today.”
She came back with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt just as Isabel was finishing the last strip of bacon. “You look better.”
Isabel smiled over the rim of her coffee cup. “Good food makes everything seem a little bit better.”
It was true. The leaden fog that had smothered her last night had lifted with every bite of breakfast. Isabel wouldn’t say she felt sunny, but at least she could think.
“You could still use a little more sleep,” Inez scolded. “But I understand. Go take a shower and then we can go.”
After showering and changing into Inez’ clothes, Isabel called the hospital to see if Dusty had been released yet. He hadn’t. The doctor would make that decision later this morning. She and Inez drove first to the store. They had to park some distance
away, as the area was still cordoned off.
Inez stared through the windshield at the broken, blackened skeleton of their store. “It looks even worse in the light of day,” she said in a small voice.
Isabel disagreed. The flames shooting into the night sky had been much worse. This was only pitiful and barren. “It still stinks,” she said.
“Yes.” Inez’ shoulders slumped. “I’d hoped it wasn’t as bad as I thought. That maybe we could salvage something.”
Isabel stared at the bowed wall where her apartment was. If she threw a rock at it, would the wall collapse? Dusty had been inside last night. He could have died. She closed her eyes to control her urge to scream. “Let’s go to the hospital. I want to see Dusty.”
Inez started the car with a brisk nod. “Yes, we should count our blessings. No one died, and now you and Dusty are going to be married. While you visit with him, I’ll talk to Eduardo. He was going to call his insurance agent this morning.”
That was something else she should do: call her agent. She had renter’s insurance, which should cover at least some of her loss. Her furniture, clothes, and other possessions hadn’t been top of the line, but it would cost more than she had to replace them. And the store’s stock was insured also, as well as the building. Claims had to be filed. She should make a list of all the things she needed to do.
Inez must know what she was thinking. “Don’t worry so much, niña,” she said, pulling into the hospital parking ramp. “Everything will work out. Eduardo has a few properties vacant. If we don’t want to wait for the old location to be rebuilt, maybe we could reopen in one of those. This is a blessing in disguise. We can fix all the little things we wished we had done differently when we first opened.”
Isabel tried to emulate her sister’s positive attitude. “True. We should try to stay in the area, though, so we don’t lose our established clientele like Ana Gonzalez.”
They discussed location pros and cons all the way to the hospital. Inez sounded exhilarated to be starting over. Isabel just felt tired. Inez noticed. After she slid into a parking spot in the ramp, she turned to Isabel.