I used a photo that will appear at the end of this post
Weds Brief
If there was one thing about firefighting it was that one
day was different from the next—one day they could fight a house on fire or handle
a multi-car accident.
It was all good and well if no one got hurt of died, but Tom
knew that was all part of the job. Which
was why counseling was part of his life too.
It was wonderful to have a supportive partner like Ben, but Tom rarely
talked about the gruesome details of his job at home. He saved that for his
co-workers and the shrink.
Tom never knew when a simple call could turn so wrong, so
fast.
“Just don’t come near me!”
Like right now. A fender bender had turned into a man ready to jump off
the overpass, into the freezing Conestoga River. It was March and, just like the cliché, it was
coming in like a lion. It was cold, it
was breezy, and it had just started to snow.
Tom would love to be at home in front of a cozy fire with Ben snuggled
in his arms, enjoying a steaming mug of hot cocoa, but here he was trying to
figure out how to talk the distraught man out of making a horrible decision.
“Look, mister, it’s okay. Please step back over the railing
and we can talk about it.”
“No! You don’t know what I did!” The man had run a stop light and hit the
corner of a building. Judging by the
slightly crushed hood and minor damage to the dress shop, he couldn’t have been
going too fast.
“What’s your name?”
“What does it matter to you?”
“I’d like to know who I’m talking to.”
“It’s Randy, not that it matters now anyway. I’ll be dead in a few minutes.”
“Randy, whatever you did I’m sure it’s not as bad as you
think it is.” Tom wasn’t trained to talk
someone off the ledge, but he was the first one to find the man after they’d
noticed the car door open and the vehicle empty. They’d all searched and Tom was the one to find
him first.
“It’s terrible. I lost my job, my girlfriend broke up with
me when she found out, and I’m being evicted from my apartment. I’ve got nothing. I’m a big loser. No one would care if I ended things
now.” The man shifted position, closer
to the edge.
“Take it easy. I care. I don’t want you to jump. Come with
me, I’ll help you.”
“Yeah, right.” The man wiped the tears running down his
check with his sleeve.
“Randy, I mean it. Please give me a chance.”
Tom reached out to Randy, after a long pause, Tom was
relieved when their hands clasped and he was able to pull the man back over the
railing and into his arms.
“You should’ve just let me die. Now you’ll probably put the strait
jacket on me and take me away to the crazy house.”
“No, Randy, no crazy house.
We’re going to take you to the hospital and make sure you’re okay and
then you’ll get the help you need.”
“Sure.” Randy was obviously angry. “And what about you? Now that you got me off the ledge, so to
speak, you’ll just disappear. Job done.”
Tom had never allowed himself to get personally involved, it
wasn’t really the best thing you could do for yourself on a job like this. But Randy touched a chord within him. “I’ll come with you to the hospital.”
The paramedics had come over to take charge of Randy.
“Promise?” Randy
asked as he was put on the gurney.
“Promise.” Tom
climbed in the ambulance with the distraught man. And rode to the hospital.
They checked him over.Tom stayed with him as long as he
could. But he had to get back to the
station. A psychiatrist came in and he had to leave in any case.
“Thanks,” Randy said from the hospital bed. They were
keeping him overnight for observation.
“You’re welcome.”
Tom left the hospital and was very happy when his shift ended and he
could go home.
“Ben?” Tom came into
their home. Love greeting him as he put
his coat away in the hallway closet.
“Hi Tom, how was your day…umph.” Tom had enveloped Ben in a bear hug before
the man could finish what he was saying.
“What’s all this about?”
Ben pulled back a bit so he could look Tom in the eye.
“Rough day. I had to stop a man from jumping off an
overpass. He wanted to end it all.”
“Oh, Tom, is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s at the hospital right now, they’re evaluating
him.”
“More important to me is how are you?” Ben wrapped his arms around Tom and held him.
“I’m okay now, just glad to be home with my honey.”
Ben pampered Tom with a wonderful dinner and dessert. Which consisted of apple pie alamode and a
massage and some toe-curling lovemaking.
Afterwards Ben had fallen asleep but when he woke a short
time later he noticed Tom was busy on his laptop.
“Looking at anything interesting?” Ben asked him.
“Yeah, I think we need a break from everything. It’s time to plan a vacation.”
“Yeah? Did you have
anyplace in mind?” Ben scooted closer to
him and looked at a photo Tom had up on the screen.
“I love old buildings, especially castles and ruins. I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland and
England. How does this place look?”
“What is this place?”
Ben asked.
“It’s the Ballycarbery Castle located in County Kerry,
Ireland.”
“Looks wonderful. I’d
love to go. “
“You sure?” Tom
didn’t know how much convincing he’d need to do on Ben, but obviously none.
“Yep, I’ve always wanted to go see the British Isles
too. Hey, while we’re in Ireland. we can
kiss the Blarney Stone.”
“Sure, but I’d much rather kiss you instead.” And that is what Tom did.
TBC
Here is Ballycarbery Castle.
It's good Tom realizes he needs to get away from the stress for a bit. So often it's the partner trying to drag someone away, and it's nice to see Tom making such a positive decision for himself and Ben. :)
ReplyDeleteSadly, Randy's reality is more common every day. I'm glad Tom was able to save him and will be taking some time for him and Ben :_)
ReplyDelete