“Uncle Magnum, I did a good thing. Why am I getting so much shit for it and why is everyone enjoying my pain?”.
“Because we love you and don’t want to lose you.”
“Mark’s parents felt that way about him. Wouldn’t you want someone to come save me if I were in trouble. John helped save me years ago and he’s a hero.”
“John was doing what he was trained for and he had backup. Also, I’m pretty sure that he’d get reamed out by his family for doing what you did.”
I sighed and leaned back in my bed.
“Don’t worry Abby. Once we all get past our fear of having almost lost you again, you’ll see how proud we all are of you. I’ll try to calm him down for round two.” He gave my hand a squeeze to reassure me.
Another knock at the door and Eva and James came in, followed by Margaret. Uncle Magnum made quick introductions and explained that he was with Maggie when he got the call from Eva. My escapade had interrupted their picnic in the park.
We avoided talking about the fire and instead talked for a bit about Maggie’s upcoming trial Kung Fu class. Eva said that Maggie was going to love it while James shook his head and predicted that the only way she’d enjoy it is if she was a masochist. Eva and I both laughed in agreement and Uncle Magnum scowled at all of us. We all agreed that I would teach her classes in the beginning. Uncle Magnum and Charles were too tough on new students. Their philosophy was that you should let new students get the real Kung Fu class experience. I believed that you should ease them into the true torture that is Kung Fu. Kind of like hooking someone on drugs. You start with the small stuff first. You don’t start with Heroine. Hmmm. That’s a truly awful comparison. I’ll need to work on it.
Somewhere the middle of our discussion, I fell asleep. Eva later told me how they all slipped quietly out of the room and were sitting outside when dad and Pierce came back. She said that they both looked shell-shocked from the video. Apparently, the house collapsing only two or three minutes after we got out really scared them.
Falling asleep saved me from round two of yelling and by the time I woke up later that evening, the tension had eased. The nurse checked me over and the doctor came by to say that everything looked fine and they were only keeping me overnight for observation, as smoke inhalation symptoms could manifest over the next day or two. If I was still good in the morning, they’d tell us what to watch out for and release me. The only thing wrong with me now was exhaustion and the doctor explained that I shouldn’t exert myself for the next week and get plenty of sleep.
Having just slept for hours, I expected to be up for half the night, but I fell asleep right after eating dinner and I didn’t wake up until the next morning. Trying to get out of bed and go to the bathroom showed me that moving was not a good idea. My muscles were extremely sore from the strain of yesterday and I had to force myself to get up.
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After using the bathroom, I eased my sore muscles with a good half hour of stretching. Dad and the doctor came in as I was finishing, and it took me five minutes to convince them that I felt fine now. With a deep sigh and a comment about youth being wasted on the young, the doctor signed my release forms and I went home to shower and change. My shift at the hospital started at one o'clock and I planned on making it in.
Dad wasn’t happy that I was going back to the hospital to do my shift, but he couldn’t argue when I explained that if anything were to happen to me, then the hospital was the best place to be. He did insist on driving Eva and I over there, so we were a bit early and I had a chance to look in on Mark.
As I walked to Mark’s room, I was greeted by Mr. McKenzie. “Abby! We tried to come see you last night, but you were asleep and then when we tried this morning, you were already gone. We were wondering how we were going to find you.” Mr. McKenzie gave me a quick hug and then introduced me to his wife Stacey and to his other children Connor and Rose.
Stacey was a tall woman, at least 5’10, and was as well dressed as her husband. Physically, they made a good match. She gave me a long embrace and thanked me with tears in her eyes. “You saved Mark and I’ll forever be grateful to you for that, but I watched that video and I feel very sorry for your parents. It was the bravest and the stupidest thing that I’ve ever seen. Thank you!” She wiped her eyes and realized that her mascara had run on her. “Oh damn. I keep doing that. I think I’ll leave off the mascara for now.”
Connor came up and shook my hand. I pegged him at 13 years old, by the peach fuzz on his face, but he was already taller than I was. He took after his mother in looks. When he spoke, his voice broke in places. “Thanks for saving Mark. He’s a good big brother. How’d you manage to pick him up and walk with him. I saw it, but I couldn’t believe it.” He looked awestruck.
“He was very heavy to carry, but there wasn’t any choice. I’ve got strong legs from my Kung Fu and my shoulders and arms have been strengthened by my blacksmithing.”
Connor looked like he was going to ask a follow up question, but Rose stepped up at her father’s urging and gave me a shy thank you before moving back to her father’s side. She, at least, was normal sized, so far. At eight or nine years old, she hadn’t hit her growth spurt yet.
“How’s Mark doing today?”, I asked them. Mr. McKenzie said, “The doctor says that he’s doing well. He slept the night and he was alert. He didn’t remember anything from the fire, except coughing himself awake and then blacking out. He watched the video and he really wants to meet you and thank you. Right now, though, he’s asleep again. He gets tired quicker because breathing is still difficult for him.”
“Well, I can come back after my shift. I start in a few minutes and I’ll be done at around six o’clock.”
“I didn’t know you worked here. What do you do?”, Stacey asked.
“My friend Eva and I volunteer here twice a month. We work with the pediatric cancer patients. We play games with them, or read them books, and try to keep up their spirits. Mostly we help their parents have an afternoon to run errands or spend time with their other children. Most Sundays, Eva runs a small fitness class for them. Very low impact, but it gets them moving. The kids seem to love it. She’s really good with them.” Eva beamed at the praise and we left the family to continue with their waiting for Mark to get up.