Dan stared at the books for his pizzeria. Over the past month, his sales had climbed to over seven hundred dollars a day. Opening time accounted for nearly a hundred dollars. Lunch added another two hundred. The kids in the afternoon brought in a hundred. The dinner rush accounted for two hundred while the evening generated another hundred.
His working pace had eased considerably over that same time period. He had three regular cooks with Sandra, Kevin, and Diana. Diana had been a total surprise. She had asked Kevin to teach her how to run the oven when Dan had taken off from work. Ernie was working hard to learn to cook and was coming along well. Dan made sure that either he or Kevin was working when Ernie was working. Alison came in and helped out every morning with the muffins.
The staff had grown to include a dozen teenagers who worked part-time. The most energetic of them all was Cory. It seemed to him that Cory was always at the pizzeria. When he wasn't working he was there with the other teenagers. He was begging to learn how to cook. In fact, he had suggested that everyone learn to cook. Dan wasn't too thrilled with that idea.
With the additional help around the pizzeria, he was also able to run business errands during the day. He met with his CPA to work out the taxes on his business. Since he had selected to have his end of year coincide with when he had started his business, his tax year was going to end soon. It amazed him that he was already showing a profit for his first year in business.
Dan was taking two nights, one morning, and all of Sunday off every week. He was now working sixty hours a week rather than ninety-one. He felt a lot better than he had in a long time. Sundays were his favorite day of the week. He basically lounged around the pool fooling around with little things around the house.
A noise that sounded like someone falling at the front of the room attracted his attention. He looked up and saw Ernie dancing around like someone had dropped a piece of hot coal down his pants. When Ernie finally found his voice, he shouted, "Someone has got to help her. She's dying here."
Dan rushed to the front of the room and found Granny Parker lying on the floor. Kneeling down beside her, he checked to see if she was breathing. She wasn't. As he checked for a pulse, he shouted, "Call 911."
Surrounded by noise and people trying to see what was happening, Dan started performing CPR on the elderly woman. He remembered that it was thirty and two; thirty chest presses to two breaths. He tilted her head back, closed her nose, and gave her two breaths checking to make sure that her chest rose. He then started the chest presses. Over and over he repeated the cycle of two breaths and thirty chest presses.
For Dan, the world collapsed into him and Granny Parker. He didn't stop until the paramedics arrived. They basically had to pull him off of her. Seeing the men working on Granny Parker, Dan rose to his feet staggering a little as his knees nearly gave out on him.
Ernie was standing beside him looking frantic. The guy was still hopping around like someone had dropped a hot piece of coal down his pants. Almost incoherent, he said, "That was amazing."
"Thanks," Dan said in a soft voice. He didn't know if he had helped her any, but he felt incredibly tired.
Dan watched as the paramedic went about getting out the defibrillator. He knew that they were going to rip her shirt open and he wanted her to retain as much dignity as possible. She might not be worried about it at the moment, but he was. Realizing what was going to happen, Dan shouted, "Hey! Everyone! Get back and give her a little privacy!"
He went around and pushed the crowd back from Granny Parker. Kevin and Ernie were right there beside him making sure that everyone stood well back from the action. There were a couple of policemen there who were keeping people back. Dan wondered when they had arrived. It took two shocks before her heart started again. Without looking at his partner, one of the paramedics said, "Get the gurney."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Dan said, "She's alive everyone. Let them get the stretcher in here. She's got to get to the hospital."
One of the policemen came over to Dan and asked, "How long was it before you got to her?"
"Ten or fifteen seconds. It might have been more," Dan answered. He'd seen Ernie dancing around and had headed over as soon as Ernie had said something.
"You're on the CERT team, aren't you?" the policeman asked realizing where he had met Dan.
"Yes," Dan said thinking he was lucky to have finished that training.
"Good job," the policeman said. He wasn't a particularly big supporter of the program, but he appreciated that Dan had known what to do because of it.
Looking around at the chaos, Dan turned to Ernie and Kevin. He said, "You and Kevin take care of the pizzeria. I'll follow the ambulance to the hospital when they take her out of here. Someone needs to stay there in case there is a problem."
"Sure, Mr. Parker," Ernie said stepping towards the pizza station.
Grinning at Dan, Kevin said, "You were so focused on saving her that I couldn't get in to relieve you."
"Sorry," Dan said. He hadn't been aware that Kevin had even been around.
Irritated at himself, Kevin knew that he had been slow to reach Granny Parker. Dan had raced past him and reached her first. He knew that it would have taken him some time to get down on his knees. Shaking his head, he said, "There's nothing to be sorry about. You did it just like they trained me in the Army."
It took a lot longer than Dan thought it would to get her loaded on a gurney and into the ambulance. As they worked, he went back to the table where he had been working and shut down the computer. It took him half a minute to put it back in the storage room. As he made his way to the door, kids congratulated him for saving Granny Parker. Dan nodded his head and made his way through the crowded room.
Dan sat in the waiting area outside of the emergency room where they had taken Granny Parker. He sat there with his head in his hands hoping that she was going to be okay. There was some old western on the television in the corner of the room near where he was sitting. Even though he had seen the movie before, he wouldn't have been able to identify the movie if his life depended on it.
Dan's thoughts were on the events back at the pizzeria. All of the things that he might have done wrong kept coming to mind. Had he pressed too hard? Had he not pressed down hard enough? He had gone through the training and had thought it was fun. Suddenly it had stopped being fun.
A male voice intruded on his thoughts, "I understand that you were the one who saved her life."
Dan opened his eyes and saw a pair of men's shoes in front of him. He looked up and recognized Kim's father. Nodding his head, he said, "I tried, Mr. Parker."
"You know who I am?" he asked looking over at Dan surprised.
Feeling tired, Dan nodded his head and answered, "You're Kim's father."
"Oh, you're friends with Kim?" her father asked with a smile. He thought it was a small world.
That wasn't exactly how Dan would describe his relationship with Kim. Shaking his head, he answered, "Not really. We went to school together."
"Oh," her father said feeling that the conversation had suddenly gotten a little awkward. He sat down on the chair next to Dan and said, "Mom was lucky that you were there."
"They wouldn't tell me anything. Is she going to be okay?" Dan asked looking over at the door to the emergency room.
"The doctors are looking at her. We'll know more in a while," Mr. Parker said. They hadn't been able to give him any information other than the fact that the young man beside him had performed CPR on her until the paramedics had arrived.
"Oh. I kind of figured that," Dan said. Seeing the puzzled look on the man's face, he explained, "That's what they always say in the movies."
"You're right," Mr. Parker said thinking that there were some things that were accurately portrayed in movies.
"I hope your mother will be okay," Dan said.
"My wife and Kim should be here any minute now," Mr. Parker said. He didn't know what he'd do if his mother died. He was still getting over the death of his father.
Dan started to rise out of his chair and said, "I probably ought to leave to let you explain things to them in private. This is a family matter."
"Nonsense. You saved her life," Mr. Parker said. There were hints of tears in his eyes as he added, "You're family now."
Sitting back in his chair, Dan wondered how Kim would react to that little piece of news. He didn't want to be there when she heard that. He said, "Thank you."
Mrs. Parker followed by Kim entered the emergency room in a rush. Mr. Parker rose and hugged his wife. He stepped back and said, "Mom had a heart attack over at that pizza place. This young man saved her life."
Turning to see who her father was pointing at, Kim stared at Dan speechless. The irony of the situation was not lost upon her. She slowly went over to a chair and sat down. Her father asked, "Are you okay?"
"Is Granny going to be okay?" Kim asked slowly turning to look at her father.
Her father answered, "The doctors are with her now. We'll know more in a little while."
Uncomfortable with Kim being there, Dan stood up and said, "I'll let you alone. Would you mind calling the pizzeria and letting us know how she's doing?"
Her father knew how much his mother enjoyed her time at the pizzeria. It had given her a whole new energy and bounce that had been missing after his dad had died. He nodded his head and said, "I'll be sure to do that. I never did get your name."
"I'm Dan Parker."
Kim's mother looked at Dan recognizing the name. She slowly looked over at Kim who was sitting in her chair staring at the floor. She asked, "Do you have anything to say, Kim?"
"No, mother," Kim answered. The last time she had said anything to Dan, Granny Parker had dragged her out by the ear. She remembered that lesson.
Mr. Parker held out a hand and said, "Thank you, Dan. We owe you a debt of gratitude."
"She's an amazing woman. I did what I could. I just hope it was enough," Dan answered shaking Mr. Parker's hand.
As Dan left, Mr. Parker turned to his wife and daughter and said, "That's a fine young man."
As soon as Dan returned to the pizzeria, Ernie approached him and asked, "How is she?"
"The doctors were with her when I left the hospital. Her family came and I felt it best that I leave," Dan answered.
Shaking his head, Ernie said, "I was over there and she dropped to the floor like a stone. I knew it was bad."
"Well, you summoned help and that may have saved her life," Dan said. He thought about calling Eric and talking with him. Eric would understand how he was feeling.
"No. You were over there doing that DUR thing. I was just standing there," Ernie said calling CPR by the wrong initials. Shaking his head, he said, "I hope she's going to be okay."
"I hope so, too."
Ernie said, "She's something else."
"It sounds like you like her," Dan said looking over at Ernie. He knew that Granny Parker still didn't trust the young black man.
By any standard, it was a strange relationship. The old woman was Ernie's harshest critic. She told him in no uncertain terms exactly what he was doing wrong in his life. She pointed out every character flaw that he had. She wasn't even gentle about it.
At first her constant reminders that he was lowlife scum had irritated him. The problem was that Jimmy has said exactly the same things to him and for exactly the same reasons. He realized that it was the voice of experience rather than prejudice speaking and he had come to value her opinion. Shrugging his shoulders, Ernie said, "We talked a little. She kind of grows on you, you know?"
"Yeah," Dan said nodding his head. He felt that it was going to be very quiet for the next few weeks without her around. He hoped that she would return.
Although he knew that he was the most likely suspect, Ernie said, "Someone stole some money out of the cash register while everything was going on. Can you imagine that?"
"Really?"
"Yes. They took over a hundred dollars," Ernie said looking pensively at Dan. He expected Dan to tell him that he was fired.
"I'll check the security tapes to see who it was," Dan said.
Ernie was unaware that there were security tapes, but realized that they would clear him. Relieved, he said, "Nail their ass to a cross."
Dan chuckled at the anger in Ernie's voice and said, "We'll see who it was and I'll decide what to do about it."
"That was a very bad thing to do. I mean someone is over there dying and they're stealing. That's just ugly," Ernie said shaking his head.
"I agree. Why don't you go over to the oven and relieve Kevin? I need to talk to him for a bit," Dan said.
Kevin came over and asked, "How's Granny Parker?"
"I don't know," Dan answered. He said, "Her son promised to call when they got some news about her condition."
"Good," Kevin said. Hating what he had to tell Dan, he frowned and asked, "Did Ernie tell you what happened?"
"Yes," Dan answered, "Who do you think did it?"
"I'd rather not answer that," Kevin said glancing over at Ernie.
Standing in the supply room where the DVR was located, Kevin and Dan reviewed the security video. One of the skateboarders had slipped behind the counter and grabbed some money out of the till. He had done it right after one of the waitresses had made the call to 911. Relieved at finding out who had stolen the money, Kevin sat back and said, "I was pretty sure that it had been Ernie."
"I didn't think so," Dan said. He had seen how upset Ernie had been about Granny Parker. The guy wasn't in a state of mind to think through anything as excited as he had been.
Kevin replayed the video and watched Ernie. The video showed Ernie dancing around behind Dan waving his hands around. The kid looked like a chicken trying to fly. He shook his head and, with a large grin on his face, said, "He's not very good in an emergency."
"No he's not," Dan said with a laugh.
"You better sign him up for a Red Cross course," Kevin said. He switched the video feed to show the kid making his way over to the cash register. There was no doubt of who was guilty of stealing the money. Shaking his head, he said, "If Ernie is going to be around here for a while, knowing a little first aid would do him a world of good."
"You're right," Dan said watching the kid take the money of the register. In less than five seconds, the kid had opened the register, grabbed all of the twenties, and closed it again. He had walked off with more than a hundred dollars. He would have to count the money in the register to know if it was a hundred and twenty or a hundred and forty dollars.
"What are you going to do about the kid who stole the money?" Kevin asked. The kid didn't come into the pizzeria very often.
"I'm going to talk to Captain Dawson and see what he knows about him," Dan answered. He was pretty sure that Captain Dawson would know what to do with the kid. There were some perks to knowing local law enforcement.
Kevin thought that what the kid had done was pretty low. He asked, "Are you going to have him arrested or are you going to save him?"
"I don't know," Dan answered. He watched as the video showed Ernie ringing up a sale. The look on his face when he realized that some money was missing showed that he knew exactly who the first suspect would be. Pointing to the monitor, he said, "Ernie looks scared as hell."
"I can understand that. I would be if I were him," Kevin said. Ernie's fears were justified. His first thought had been to blame Ernie and it was only because of watching the tape that he believed otherwise. He wasn't proud of his initial thought. He said, "I guess I owe him an apology."
"Did you accuse him?" Dan asked.
"No," Kevin answered, "I thought it would be better to watch the tapes before saying anything."
"Then you don't owe him an apology," Dan said looking over at Kevin.
"I was positive he had done it," Kevin said.
Shaking his head, Dan said, "You waited until you had proof. You don't owe anyone an apology for giving them a chance for the proof to clear them."
"I guess," Kevin said with a frown.
Dan rewound the video to a few seconds before Granny Parker had her heart attack. Looking over at Kevin, he said, "Why don't you send Ernie in here?"
"Okay," Kevin said. He limped out of the kitchen to fetch Ernie.
Ernie sat down at the dinner table and looked at the pot of Macaroni and Cheese that was sprinkled with chunks of ham. This was one of his favorite meals despite the fact that it was one of the meals that his mother made to help stretch the food budget. Rather than reacting like normal and grabbing the pot, he calmly asked, "Could you pass the Macaroni and Cheese?"
His mother passed the dish over to him and asked, "What's the matter?"
"It was kind of a strange day at work," Ernie answered.
"What happened?" Sam asked trying to figure out what Ernie thought constituted strange. His big brother was strange enough.
"Granny Parker had a heart attack. I guess you could say that she was dead, but my boss, Mr. Parker, performed CPR on her and saved her," Ernie said. He had watched the video of the entire episode. He had never been so embarrassed.
"She's lucky he was there," his mother said. She noticed the evident respect in his voice when he mentioned his boss.
"What were you doing?" Sam asked.
Ernie dished a bunch of Macaroni and Cheese onto his plate with far more energy than he had intended. He answered, "I was dancing around like a duck on a hot plate."
Sam burst out laughing. Struck by the mental image of him acting like that, his mother said, "That's funny."
"It is not funny. She could have died and I was doing nothing," Ernie said getting angry. He looked around the room and said, "What if it was you, Mom? I'd have been running around squawking and you'd be lying there dying. It is not funny."
Stunned by the emotion in his voice, his mother looked at her son with new eyes. She said, "This really upset you."
Sam was speechless. He was staring at Ernie talking about his mother dying. This wasn't something to joke about. If something were to happen to his mother, Ernie would be raising him. That was a truly scary thought.
"Mom. I watched the tape. I looked like a stupid goose. I was standing right next to her when she collapsed. There must have been thirty or forty people there and we were all standing around watching her die. The only ones who knew what to do were Kevin and Mr. Parker. Mr. Parker beat Kevin there because Kevin has a fake leg," Ernie said. Shaking his head, he said, "This is the first time that I've ever seen someone almost die."
"Oh," his mother said.
Ernie said, "Dan is sending me to take life saving lessons from the Red Cross."
"That's good," his mother said.
Shaking his head, Ernie said, "I don't know if I can do it."
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't see how I reacted. I was stupid, just like everyone used to say about me," Ernie said. He frowned and turned away from the table as unpleasant memories nearly overwhelmed him.
"No, you aren't stupid. You just didn't know what to do," his mother said.
"You didn't see me."
She smiled and said, "I remember when I was a little girl learning how to fry chicken. Some of the oil spilled on the stove and caught fire. I was frantic and visions of the house burning down flashed through my head. You can imagine what I felt like thinking that I had destroyed our home by cooking fried chicken.
"My mother was as calm as could be. She grabbed some salt and threw it on the fire. It went out just like that. She cleaned up the mess explaining how if you take the air away from the fire that it goes out. Five minutes later, we were cooking the chicken as if nothing had happened. I will admit that the chicken was a little salty."
Missing the point of the story, Sam laughed at the comment about the chicken being salty. Ernie nodded his head recognizing that his mother had just told him something significant. She said, "I've never had another little fire like that, but I don't think I'll panic the next time it happens. I know what to do now. It isn't so scary."
"I guess I can see that," Ernie said.
His mother said, "Go take those lessons and one of these days you'll be saving someone's life."
Nodding his head, Ernie said, "I'll do that."
"Good. Anything else happen today?" she said trying to lighten the conversation.
Nodding his head, Ernie said, "While Granny Parker was having a heart attack, someone stole some money out of the register."
Unable to believe what his brother had done, Sam said, "You didn't."
"Sam, he didn't do it," his mother said. She had seen that Ernie was too upset about the old lady having a heart attack to think of stealing anything.
"I didn't. When I opened that register and saw the money was missing my heart fell to the floor. Who else there would steal money? I looked around and the only one I saw that no one trusted was me. I was sure that they were going to fire me on the spot," Ernie said.
"Did you lose your job?" Sam asked.
Ernie shook his head and answered, "Mr. Parker has security cameras monitoring the entire pizzeria. He and Kevin watched the video. They saw who stole the money."
"That's good," his mother said.
"I bet they pointed the finger at you until they saw the truth," Sam said.
Amazed by what had really happened, Ernie said, "No, they didn't. They waited until they looked at the evidence before saying a word about it. They may have thought it, but they didn't say a word. From the time I found the money was missing until they showed me the video of the kid stealing it, I figured my time at the pizzeria was over."
His mother studied him for a minute. He was demonstrating a character that she had never observed before. She asked, "Why would you think that?"
"Because I would have fired me if I were in their place," Ernie answered. He remembered that old saying about reaping what you sowed. He had sowed some pretty bitter seed and now it had born a bitter fruit.
She nodded her head and said, "Let's eat before the Macaroni and Cheese gets cold."
Ernie turned back to the table and passed the Macaroni and Cheese to his little brother. He sat there thinking about how Kevin must have felt to stand there and work with him while believing that he had stolen money. It was difficult to imagine feeling that way and not saying a word.
His mother watched Ernie playing with his food. Normally he wolfed down this dish. She hoped that he was learning something from this experience. It was hard to believe that he was taking this pizzeria job so seriously. She said, "I'm proud of you."
Looking over at his mother, Sam said, "Huh? What did he do?"
Puzzled, Ernie asked, "Yeah, What did I do?"
"You're growing up. You were concerned about that old woman. You've started caring about people and their opinion of you. You're taking your job seriously. I never thought that I'd live to see this day," she answered. She took a bite out of her dinner thinking that it would have tasted much better while it was still hot.
Lazlo Zalezac