Free Short Story - changed every season (solstice and equinox) - Thanks for your interest!
Right Place Right Time
by
Kathleen Spalding
That Saturday started like any other, but halfway through breakfast Henry stopped eating. There was trouble in the air. Big trouble. He could smell it.
Suzanne strolled into the kitchen, pulling her long blond hair into a ponytail. Dressed in short shorts and a tank top, she looked like a gangly teenager, though her long legs had grown tanned and muscular in the six months since Henry'd moved in.
Leaning over and tying her running shoes, she flashed him a smile. Those quick smiles and gentle touches had made Suze the center of Henry’s world.
He shifted his weight, foot to foot, willing her to hurry as she performed her morning ritual: cell phone in pocket, sunglasses and hat on, keys in hand. His eyebrows furrowed. She opened the door and he rushed past, leaping down the front steps.
“Henry, wait!” Suze yelled as she locked the door.
He ignored her and raced ahead through the parking lot. He had to get to the beach.
“What are you doing?” she shouted. She ran full speed across the pavement then slowed as her feet sank into the sand dune separating the parking lot from the ocean.
Henry heard it then, just as he knew he would -- the terrified screaming of a young girl.
Gasping, Suze clambered up the dune and joined him at the top. Henry looked right then left. Crashing waves and a stiff ocean breeze hid the child from him until another shrill cry rang out, “Heeere! Help! Pleeeease!”
To his right, small arms waved from a dark lump near the shore. Hot loose sand sucked at his feet as he and Suze scrambled to the side of a girl who knelt by an old man lying in a crumpled heap.
“Please help my Granddad! We were walking, and he just collapsed!” The girl looked to be about ten years old.
Suze whipped her cell phone out of her pocket and dropped to her knees beside the unconscious man. “It’s 911. Talk to them when they answer,” she shouted above the ocean and handed the phone to the girl. “Don’t hang up until they tell you to.”
She pushed the man onto his back and shouted, “Are you okay? Can you hear me?” The slackness of his muscles, his closed eyes and bluing lips broadcast that he was the farthest thing from okay.
Hands centered over the man’s chest, Suze whispered, “Hands between the nipples, push, two, three….” One hand on top of the other, she thrust hard, released, repeated, kept going...
The girl started talking into the phone, voice wavering as her body shook. Henry sat down close beside her to shield her from the ocean's cool breeze.
“Where are we?” the girl called to Suze.
"2550 East Ocean Highway," Suze shouted over the waves then paused to press and release. "The beach behind Royal Palm Condos.” Beads of sweat popped up on her brow. A whine built in Henry's throat, but he stayed silent.
Distant sirens grew louder. When the sirens' wailing stopped, Henry strained to hear fragments of men’s voices. Four Emergency Medical Technicians topped the dune, and the girl stood up and shouted, “We’re here!” The men ran toward them.
“They’re here! I see them!” the girl cried into the phone. Two men took Suzanne’s place beside the old man within seconds. Sitting back, Suze took several deep breaths before getting to her feet and joining Henry and the girl.
“Thank you, I will. You, too. Bye,” the girl spoke into the phone. Then she handed the phone back to Suze. Their hands trembled.
“Thank you!” The girl hugged Suze. “And thank you!” The girl turned to Henry and hugged him, too. Her touch was light and strong, like a seagull's wing feather. He smiled broadly.
A young EMT carrying a clipboard and blankets walked up. He handed a blanket to Suze then squatted and draped the other blanket over the girl’s shoulders.
Speaking softly, he asked the girl questions and wrote on his form. He checked her eyes, pulse, and temperature with a calmness that was contagious.
Suze sat down between Henry and the ocean, leaned against his shoulder and put her arm around him. When the EMT finished his questions, the girl took a deep breath and rested her head on Henry’s other shoulder.
Then the young man turned to Suze. Her hand slid down Henry's back as she stood up, and she and the EMT walked a few feet away as she answered his questions. Her voice wavered occasionally, but when the EMT asked for her statement, her words tumbled out. “…. And, and I just took a CPR course at my condo, and they said it’s changed. You’re not supposed to check for a pulse and you're not supposed to give mouth to mouth, just start chest compressions right away. So, so, it, it...it’s what I did.. because when I got here, he, he, he was already turning blue and, and, oh my God, is he going to be OK?”
An EMT shouted, “We’ve got a pulse!”
The young man’s smile was like sunshine piercing storm clouds. He said, “You were in the right place at the right time, and you did the right thing. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it? Is this your first rescue?”
Suze nodded.
“Well, the first time is the hardest,” he joked. “Next time it’ll be a piece of cake.”
The corners of her mouth lifted briefly.
Two more young men in uniforms appeared at the top of the dune. They brought a stretcher and set it down beside the grandfather and the two EMTs working on him. The four positioned themselves then lifted the old man onto the stretcher. The girl gave Henry one last hug before walking to her granddad’s side. She held his hand as the four men carried him up the dune.
“Well, that’s a good sign,” the young man said, packing up the remaining gear. “He’s stable enough to move.”
Henry tensed, watching the group leave. Then he looked at Suzanne as she waved her willowy arm at the dune, showing the EMT where she and Henry had run over it. They kept talking as they walked shoulder to shoulder, following the group’s path. Henry brought up the rear.
The young man shot admiring looks at Suze from under dark eyelashes. Then it came, a quick flash of white teeth, her cheeks flushing. Was she returning his interest?
“And who’s this handsome guy?” The EMT smiled back at Henry.
“This is Henry.” Suzanne chuckled as Henry wrinkled his brow and looked from one to the other. They paused, and she reached down to give Henry a pet.
“Henry?” The young man asked.
“Yes, after Indiana Jones. And my dad. He has the same inquiring eyes.”
The EMT grinned. "How does your dad like having a dog named after him?”
“No complaints allowed.” Suze smiled and flicked her ponytail off her shoulder. “My parents got a kitten after I moved out, and they named it Suzy-Q.”
Squatting, the young man held out the back of his hand to Henry. “Hello, Henry. I’m Jake.”
Henry sniffed Jake's hand. Diesel, medicine, and bacon. He licked it in approval and accepted Jake’s pat. Jake gave him extra ear-scratches. Good friend.
They started walking again, and Suze said, “You know, if it hadn’t been for Henry, I wouldn’t have come here. He couldn’t wait to get out this morning. Then he bolted out the door and ran straight to the beach.”
“Dogs are amazing. I wonder if he heard or smelled them.”
"Personally, I think he's psychic. It's not the first time he's led me somewhere important."
They reached the dune’s crest and watched the EMTs load the gurney into the ambulance below. Henry’s eyes locked onto the scene as he followed Suze and Jake down the dune.
When the girl climbed into the back of the ambulance and the men closed its doors and drove off, Henry wagged his tail. Suze chatted with Jake as he loaded equipment into the rescue vehicle. Then they pulled out their cell phones, tapped on the screens, saying and repeating numbers.
The ocean breeze parted Henry’s fur with cool fingers. He lifted his nose and inhaled its briney smells. The sun was getting hot. He’d had a run instead of a walk. He'd made two new friends. It was a great day to be a dog.
The End
Originally published in FWA's "First Steps" collection.
by
Kathleen Spalding
That Saturday started like any other, but halfway through breakfast Henry stopped eating. There was trouble in the air. Big trouble. He could smell it.
Suzanne strolled into the kitchen, pulling her long blond hair into a ponytail. Dressed in short shorts and a tank top, she looked like a gangly teenager, though her long legs had grown tanned and muscular in the six months since Henry'd moved in.
Leaning over and tying her running shoes, she flashed him a smile. Those quick smiles and gentle touches had made Suze the center of Henry’s world.
He shifted his weight, foot to foot, willing her to hurry as she performed her morning ritual: cell phone in pocket, sunglasses and hat on, keys in hand. His eyebrows furrowed. She opened the door and he rushed past, leaping down the front steps.
“Henry, wait!” Suze yelled as she locked the door.
He ignored her and raced ahead through the parking lot. He had to get to the beach.
“What are you doing?” she shouted. She ran full speed across the pavement then slowed as her feet sank into the sand dune separating the parking lot from the ocean.
Henry heard it then, just as he knew he would -- the terrified screaming of a young girl.
Gasping, Suze clambered up the dune and joined him at the top. Henry looked right then left. Crashing waves and a stiff ocean breeze hid the child from him until another shrill cry rang out, “Heeere! Help! Pleeeease!”
To his right, small arms waved from a dark lump near the shore. Hot loose sand sucked at his feet as he and Suze scrambled to the side of a girl who knelt by an old man lying in a crumpled heap.
“Please help my Granddad! We were walking, and he just collapsed!” The girl looked to be about ten years old.
Suze whipped her cell phone out of her pocket and dropped to her knees beside the unconscious man. “It’s 911. Talk to them when they answer,” she shouted above the ocean and handed the phone to the girl. “Don’t hang up until they tell you to.”
She pushed the man onto his back and shouted, “Are you okay? Can you hear me?” The slackness of his muscles, his closed eyes and bluing lips broadcast that he was the farthest thing from okay.
Hands centered over the man’s chest, Suze whispered, “Hands between the nipples, push, two, three….” One hand on top of the other, she thrust hard, released, repeated, kept going...
The girl started talking into the phone, voice wavering as her body shook. Henry sat down close beside her to shield her from the ocean's cool breeze.
“Where are we?” the girl called to Suze.
"2550 East Ocean Highway," Suze shouted over the waves then paused to press and release. "The beach behind Royal Palm Condos.” Beads of sweat popped up on her brow. A whine built in Henry's throat, but he stayed silent.
Distant sirens grew louder. When the sirens' wailing stopped, Henry strained to hear fragments of men’s voices. Four Emergency Medical Technicians topped the dune, and the girl stood up and shouted, “We’re here!” The men ran toward them.
“They’re here! I see them!” the girl cried into the phone. Two men took Suzanne’s place beside the old man within seconds. Sitting back, Suze took several deep breaths before getting to her feet and joining Henry and the girl.
“Thank you, I will. You, too. Bye,” the girl spoke into the phone. Then she handed the phone back to Suze. Their hands trembled.
“Thank you!” The girl hugged Suze. “And thank you!” The girl turned to Henry and hugged him, too. Her touch was light and strong, like a seagull's wing feather. He smiled broadly.
A young EMT carrying a clipboard and blankets walked up. He handed a blanket to Suze then squatted and draped the other blanket over the girl’s shoulders.
Speaking softly, he asked the girl questions and wrote on his form. He checked her eyes, pulse, and temperature with a calmness that was contagious.
Suze sat down between Henry and the ocean, leaned against his shoulder and put her arm around him. When the EMT finished his questions, the girl took a deep breath and rested her head on Henry’s other shoulder.
Then the young man turned to Suze. Her hand slid down Henry's back as she stood up, and she and the EMT walked a few feet away as she answered his questions. Her voice wavered occasionally, but when the EMT asked for her statement, her words tumbled out. “…. And, and I just took a CPR course at my condo, and they said it’s changed. You’re not supposed to check for a pulse and you're not supposed to give mouth to mouth, just start chest compressions right away. So, so, it, it...it’s what I did.. because when I got here, he, he, he was already turning blue and, and, oh my God, is he going to be OK?”
An EMT shouted, “We’ve got a pulse!”
The young man’s smile was like sunshine piercing storm clouds. He said, “You were in the right place at the right time, and you did the right thing. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it? Is this your first rescue?”
Suze nodded.
“Well, the first time is the hardest,” he joked. “Next time it’ll be a piece of cake.”
The corners of her mouth lifted briefly.
Two more young men in uniforms appeared at the top of the dune. They brought a stretcher and set it down beside the grandfather and the two EMTs working on him. The four positioned themselves then lifted the old man onto the stretcher. The girl gave Henry one last hug before walking to her granddad’s side. She held his hand as the four men carried him up the dune.
“Well, that’s a good sign,” the young man said, packing up the remaining gear. “He’s stable enough to move.”
Henry tensed, watching the group leave. Then he looked at Suzanne as she waved her willowy arm at the dune, showing the EMT where she and Henry had run over it. They kept talking as they walked shoulder to shoulder, following the group’s path. Henry brought up the rear.
The young man shot admiring looks at Suze from under dark eyelashes. Then it came, a quick flash of white teeth, her cheeks flushing. Was she returning his interest?
“And who’s this handsome guy?” The EMT smiled back at Henry.
“This is Henry.” Suzanne chuckled as Henry wrinkled his brow and looked from one to the other. They paused, and she reached down to give Henry a pet.
“Henry?” The young man asked.
“Yes, after Indiana Jones. And my dad. He has the same inquiring eyes.”
The EMT grinned. "How does your dad like having a dog named after him?”
“No complaints allowed.” Suze smiled and flicked her ponytail off her shoulder. “My parents got a kitten after I moved out, and they named it Suzy-Q.”
Squatting, the young man held out the back of his hand to Henry. “Hello, Henry. I’m Jake.”
Henry sniffed Jake's hand. Diesel, medicine, and bacon. He licked it in approval and accepted Jake’s pat. Jake gave him extra ear-scratches. Good friend.
They started walking again, and Suze said, “You know, if it hadn’t been for Henry, I wouldn’t have come here. He couldn’t wait to get out this morning. Then he bolted out the door and ran straight to the beach.”
“Dogs are amazing. I wonder if he heard or smelled them.”
"Personally, I think he's psychic. It's not the first time he's led me somewhere important."
They reached the dune’s crest and watched the EMTs load the gurney into the ambulance below. Henry’s eyes locked onto the scene as he followed Suze and Jake down the dune.
When the girl climbed into the back of the ambulance and the men closed its doors and drove off, Henry wagged his tail. Suze chatted with Jake as he loaded equipment into the rescue vehicle. Then they pulled out their cell phones, tapped on the screens, saying and repeating numbers.
The ocean breeze parted Henry’s fur with cool fingers. He lifted his nose and inhaled its briney smells. The sun was getting hot. He’d had a run instead of a walk. He'd made two new friends. It was a great day to be a dog.
The End
Originally published in FWA's "First Steps" collection.
