“Well, that’s true enough,” she said with a chuckle. “I believe I tripped on the Oriental rug in the living room. I’ve been meaning to replace the thing. It has a rumpled edge, and I must’ve tripped on it while bringing Casper his hot Dr. Pepper. My head aches terribly from where I hit it on the floor, and I’m a bit embarrassed and flustered, but otherwise I think I’ll be fine. Now, Casper, don’t fuss. It’s just a scratch.”
While typing the information she’d given him, Samson said, “Sunny, are you still on the floor, or have you tried to move?”
She chuckled. “Oh no, that’s impossible at the moment.”
“Not possible?”
“No, not with my husband down on the floor, cradling me in his lap. You’d think I was dying or something. Silly man,” she added with a raspy chuckle. “I already told you I asked God for at least another fifty years with you.”
Casper’s muffled rasp came over the line. “I value every single day, dove.”
“The Almighty wouldn’t bring me through the London Blitz, and you through Omaha Beach, just to have me ‘kick it’ on our living room floor, now would He, darling?” The only response Samson could make out was a rumbling chuckle.
Still multi-tasking, to share information with the EMTs and for his report, Samson asked, “Sunny, have you experienced any lightheadedness or weakness on one side recently? Chest pains?”
“Well, once you get to my age, dear, you expect…” The phone clattered.
“Dove?” Casper asked, his voice wavering. “Open your eyes, dove.”
Samson called out to Mr. Tarrington and then looked over to his coworker, who was conversing on the two-way radio and said, “She may have lost consciousness.”
There was a flurry of back-and-forth conversation, and before the coworker could fill him in, Mr. Tarrington said, “Samson, I think Sunny has fainted. Are they coming?” Samson’s heart went out to him, hearing the panic in his voice. “I can’t lose her. She’s my whole world.”
The coworker waved at him and said, “They’re pulling up in front of the apartment building right now.”
“Casper, the paramedics should be coming through your door any second. They’ll do everything they can for her.” He continued on, speaking in calming tones. It was vital to maintain an impersonal distance in order to avoid worsening the caller’s agitation or fear.
Because of his training, he’d become an expert at it. For the first time ever, the lost tone in his elderly neighbor’s voice sent a kernel of fear to his own heart. This was what it was like when a couple lived together for so many years. They were paired halves, lost without each other. If he’d had the privilege of the last thirty years with Cassie, he’d feel the same way. He wanted it still.
Upon hearing the sound of activity and other voices over the line, Samson said, “Casper, are the EMTs there?”
“Yes, they are. They’re listening to Sunny’s heart right now. I thank you, Samson, for your help and support. You’re a good neighbor. I’m hanging up now because the EMT tells me I can ride to the hospital in the ambulance with him. See you when you’re home next time.”
“Good enough, Casper. I know they’ll take good care of you. I hope you and Sunny have many more happy years together.”
That evening, he’d found that he was putting himself more and more in the shoes of the strangers who called in, needing the police or emergency medical aid. The little girl who spoke no English, calling because her mother had passed out on the kitchen floor. And the couple who had been rushing to the hospital because the wife was about to give birth until they’d had a blowout and needed an ambulance. It didn’t matter that he’d never been in those identical situations. It was life. Crazy stuff happened. Life began…and it ended. How intentionally life was lived between those dates was what made the difference.
He’d been to several foreign countries and had found himself in difficult and sometimes life-threatening situations both in the United States and abroad. He’d always followed the orders of others, earning commendations and respect for his service. Yet he wondered if he’d truly been living. What had the BDSM been about? Control? Power? Would he give it up, as Joseph had asked him, if it meant having Cassie in his life? Was all of that a replacement for having no real life to go home to in his quiet, cold apartment?
“Where did they take the Tarringtons?” he asked when his coworker walked past.
“They’re way out on the county line. Divine Memorial was closer.”