starfish

Starfish

 Grant Long thought, " People are going to die tonight." It will be the coldest day of the year, and a nor’easter is expected tomorrow. He continued to spread salt on his driveway, hoping it would be the last storm of the year. He hated what the salt did to his vehicles.

 Sometimes, you forget how grateful you need to be. To even have a roof over your head is a luxury, he told himself in the mirror. Tugging on the collar of his shirt, he studied his face. It was closely shaven, strong, square, with dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. His hair was brushed and short, remnants of his days on the forces. His phone rang. He was one of those few who had a landline instead of a mobile.

“Grant”, he barked. Just enough edginess in his voice to make the person on the other end aware that this better not be a nuisance. Move on. If you've got frivolous business.

“Dad,” said his daughter at the other end of the line. “I'm not one of your troops. Ohh. For heaven's sake, you've always acted like I was. It's just one of the things I love.”

Grant chuckled.” No, baby, you're definitely not one of my troops. What can I do for you, Amy?”

“I'm going to bring your daughter and your grandchild, Charlotte. to see you next Saturday. I think one of the reasons you've ever refused to get a cell phone with FaceTime and all that is so that we show up. What are you doing?”

“Well, Amy Darling, I never wanted to watch phone calls since I had so many of them when I was working. But I do like to see the faces of my loved ones right in front of me and not on the screen. I'm free next Saturday, so come on over.”

“Charlotte, say hi to your grandfather,” Grant heard. The patter of little feet on the other end of the line. And then Charlotte's beautiful little voice. “Papa, guess what I did today? I found a frog.”

“My goodness, baby girl,” Grant said. “I once found a frog. When I turned around, it hopped right away. It's best to Keep an eye on your frog.”

“Mama says I can't keep it. So, can I bring it to you, and you take care of it for me?”

Grant thought to himself. Oh, God, a frog.” Absolutely, Charlotte, you bring it on. I'll even get a terrarium for it.”

“Thanks, Papa. We'll see you Saturday.”

“Indeed, you will. Let me talk to your Mama again.”

He heard Amy pick up the receiver.” Well, Colonel, are you missing work yet? I bet the army misses you. “

Grant chuckled. “Well, I miss ordering people around, but my tactics don't apply to you guys. You ignore me.”

 “OK, Dad. We'll see you on Saturday. Love you. Bye.”

“Love you too”—an empty receiver.

Grant looked at the receiver in his hand for a few seconds and then hung up. They always move so fast now, which is another reason he liked having them face-to-face and not on the screen. “Grant Long, you are a dinosaur.” He said out loud

He looked around his kitchen, wishing Julia was still with him. He didn't care what she made—just the fact that she was the one who made it. He poured himself a mug of powerful coffee, carried it into the living room, and sat down in his comfiest chair, which Julia had gotten him for one Father's Day gift. It quickly became his favorite piece of furniture in the house, next to the bed where he lay with his wife. He finished his coffee slowly, reliving other memories of Julia.

He got dressed, jeans with a white shirt and pale blue tie, then his camel-colored corduroy blazer, looked at himself in the mirror and nodded his approval that he had held up well. He still exercised daily to keep his fighting trim. It was a habit he kept up even when he became a colonel when he served and then in his civilian life. Now, he organized relief efforts for national disaster sites, floods, tornados, hurricanes, fires, and whatnot, in addition to his consulting skills. He went to the driveway and slid into his Lexus RC200 T sport, a black beauty of a machine.

He had had it for about four years, and it had been pre-owned but had low mileage. best of all, he had a lifelong friend who owned his own car business and was grateful for all Grant had done for his country. When they had been on a hunting trip, he had tripped on a rock and began sliding towards a cliff. Grant reached out, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him back. That's when he sold the car to Grant for a trifling amount compared to what it was worth. Grant loved the vehicle. It was made to make you care for how a car moved under your hands, best on curves, then rocketing down the straightaway. He knew it was indulgent, but he had lived sparsely in the army. He had wanted to sell it when Julie got sick, but she forbade it, telling him he could remember the times they made day trips together when she was gone. Perhaps she was right, he thought. He remembered the trips, but the car had lost some magic with her passing as well

As fast as his car was, he could only go as fast as the local traffic, which on this morning was brutal, bumper to bumper—probably rubberneckers at an accident up ahead. His surmise proved prescient as further along the road, wreckers dragged the crushed wreck to the side of the road. The sirens of an ambulance disappeared in the distance.

He took some side roads and left the city. Slick patches of ice caused his tires to slide frequently, but he grew up near the Canadian border, so the sliding did not scare him.

At last, he pulled into his parking spot at a large, white brick building that served as his office and training center for his agents. His name was on a small placard next to the door. Grant Services Inc., it read. Grant Services, he thought, smiling, just me. He had many interests and a consulting business where he could use his military organizational skills. This was how he made his money, and it made him a lot of it. He was proud of the business, but the volunteer business made him the happiest, helping good people with problems that they could not afford to get out of themselves.

His was the only car in a deserted parking lot, and it was a Saturday, and the office was closed. There was one other vehicle there, a large ex-Amazon van that he mainly used for transporting large packages and sometimes people.

He went inside and cleared all the security devices, using thumbprint and retina sensors. He brewed himself some coffee and sat at his desk. The side wall of his office was one large monitor divided into multiple displays. One view was of a large warehouse he was converting into a homeless shelter, but it was only half finished. Regardless, he thought while sipping his coffee, I can at least collect some people off the streets and keep them warm tonight.

He finished the pot of coffee while attending to some work that needed to be done before Monday, then grabbed the keys to the van and headed back into the city. He stopped at Walmart and stocked up on coats, socks, blankets, and food. Then, he drove to one of the overpasses frequented by the homeless.

He parked and got out, walking toward a group huddled there,

“Hey, Colonel, you'll freeze your stones off out here.”

“Not going to happen tonight, Tony, nor for you.”

The rest of the group greeted the colonel as well. He had brought things to them before. Twelve people in all huddled there.

“Come on, all of you, let's get in the van.”

There was no hesitation as eight men and four women followed the colonel to the van and climbed in. It was tight quarters, but they did not mind. The colonel told them to help themselves with clothes and food. Then he drove to the warehouse, and they all went inside.

“What you got going on here, colonel?”

“Tony, I am converting this into a shelter. You all are the first tenants.”

“Wow,” said several in the group. “Colonel, you are amazing.”

“Not me, Beth. Thanks go to God, who allowed me to do it and provided the means.”

The colonel knew most of the people by name. They all came to him, and it was a very large group hug.

“Now, “said the colonel,” there are showers in the back over there and lots of shirts, shoes, and pants, so you can clean up if you wish.” They all wished and headed for the showers.

“Tony, hold up a minute,” he said

“Yes, colonel? “

“I'm going to get more folks, but I will be back soon.”

“Bless you, colonel,” Tony said, his eyes tearing up. The colonel gave him another hug and went back out into the frigid day.

Colonel Long made two more trips, bringing another twenty souls to survive the cold that night, then returned to his office. He parked and sat a while, pleased with his day's efforts. It was different; he thought it was saving lives when so much of his career had been spent taking them. He did not regret any of his works on behalf of his country, but he also thought that the country came up short when protecting its citizens at home. He knew his efforts were paltry in the big picture, but, as the story went about the little girl on the beach crowded with starfish and threw a starfish back into the sea,” That one was saved today.”

He got out of the van. He took a step, but his foot slipped on the ice. He went down hard, snapping his hip and slamming his head on the pavement. His world went from pain to black. He awoke hours later, and night had come. His head and right hip were in agony.

“I've got to move,” he said out loud. He knew the temperature had dropped further, and he was in danger of dying in the cold. He tried pushing himself up, but he kept slipping on the ice, his hip unable to support him. The van door handles were beyond his reach, so he had nothing to pull up with, his initial fall having taken him over ten feet from the van.

He kept trying, inching himself closer to the van. “Inch by inch, step by step, the closer he came.” He laughed at the old movie line, a giddy laugh, one he knew came from his brain shutting down. He slipped once more as he got within arm's reach of the door of the van, striking his head again, thinking just before it all went black that he ought to get one of those damned cellphones with GPS. Then, he fell unconscious as the cold continued to take his life away.

“Dad. Wake up. I'm here.”

Grant tried to open his eyes, trying to escape this dream. The voice continued, “Wake up, Wake up.”

“We have him now, Mamm. Let's get him into the ambulance. You can come with him.”

Still, Grant did not recognize the voices in what he thought was a dream.

“Don’t worry, Dad, we're getting you to a hospital.”

 Wait, thought Grant, I know that voice. He struggled to open his eyes, and they felt glued shut, but he put in a huge effort, and finally, some light slipped in. He opened them further and looked into his daughter's eyes, Amy.

“Hi, kid, he croaked weakly, then that maniacal giggle as his voice reminded him of his granddaughter's frog

“It's ok, Dad, we’ve got you.”

A male voice chimed in. “I’m EMT Fred Banes, colonel. You’ve suffered a fractured hip and a severe concussion, possibly a fractured skull, along with a big scalp laceration. We are almost at the hospital.”

The colonel was becoming more lucid. He saw that he was wrapped in warming blankets and hooked to a monitor.

“How did you find me?”

“Your cars got GPS, so when you never answered my calls, we used GPS to find you. When I got here, and you were unconscious and bleeding from a large wound on your skull, I called 911.”

“I'm going to get one of those phones you harass me about. Turns out it would be useful, so thanks,” the colonel said

Amy leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Thanks, Dad. I will get you one today. It's an early Christmas present.”

“Ok, you two, we are here,” said EMT Banes

Once in the ER, he met a new doctor, Doctor Giles. Another young person thought the colonel, "I must be getting old because people in their thirties and forties looked like college freshmen to me.”

His scalp wound was cleaned and stapled quickly, and he wondered what had happened to the sutures. Dr. Giles checked over his whole body and placed his hip in traction. The pain was intense when they did it, and Dr. Giles gave him some IV Toradol.

“This should help, “Doctor Giles said. “Sorry, I can't give you anything stronger until your cranial CT and a neurologist sees you. Orthopedics will be coming after that to address your hip fracture.”

“Nice efficiency, doctor,” said the colonel.” I may have to hire you.”

Dr Giles just smiled.

He got the CT and X-rays done, and he was brought back to the ER

“Amy, I need you to do something.”

“Already done, Dad; I spoke with someone named Tony, who has repeatedly called me about your progress. You are doing a great thing with converting your warehouse.”

The colonel breathed a big sigh of relief and gave a silent prayer of thanks.

“OK then, doctors and nurses, I am in your hands. Have at me.”