A Tale of Two Roommates

The snow lay deep and crisp on the ground and was deepening by the hour.. All public transport was suspended and people were stranded all over the city. My roommate and I watched the worsening conditions with a differing eye..

She was home from Graduate School and had nothing on her plate for the next three days.. Her plan was to try out some new Italian recipes and play with her Hungarian Pumi dog and watch tv and have some long overdue rest and relaxation. She watched the ever worsening weather and darkening sky with undisguised glee. I watched her with affection and inwardly laughed at her enthusiasm .. I hated to point out the obvious that when, not if, the electricity went off, cooking and television watching would be a fond memory or what she was going to do and not a reality. At least she would have Asz, her dog, to keep her warm.

I, on the other hand, surveyed the ever deteriorating scene out of the window and on the news with a sense of deep foreboding. I had an agenda and one that wouldn’t, couldn’t wait. Tomorrow morning at 8am I had to be in Atlanta for a final face to face interview with an Airline for a Flight Attendant position. They had made it clear from previous correspondence that there were no excuses, no second chances or any circumstances that would be taken into consideration for not being there on time, properly groomed and brimming with confidence. Horrors, I wanted and needed this position so desperately .. a cold hand clutched at my heart and my mind searched desperately for a solution. I had tried to call the Atlanta number to explain but no luck. Surely they knew there was a blizzard, surely they knew with the airport closed it would be impossible to get there. 

I watched the television in alarm as it flickered .. oh good, my roommate exclaimed, we can make hot chocolate and watch movies. She knew I had been holding out hope against hope for having a successful interview in Atlanta and in that instant I felt a flash of anger towards my dear sweet roommate and her exclamations of joy towards the situation that was likely to cause me such despair

Suddenly, the electricity flickered and then died and with it of course the television and all thoughts of cooking and any other creature comforts such as a hot bath etc etc .. I groaned inwardly and tried the Atlanta number again.

How could fate be so cruel!

I sat and stewed for quite a while and every overture from my roommate that was made to me - that it wasn’t my fault, surely they wouldn’t hold it against me was met by my being sullen and downright nasty. Even her offer to lend me the dog to cuddle was met with a baleful stare on my part .. what a selfish beast I was being .. just the kind of soul who should be working with the public .. right?

The temperature dropped and night and cold began to set in .. my mood worsened and nothing was said at all .. even the dog wouldn’t look at me.. Suddenly there was a tap on the apartment door .. who on earth was out in this weather! 

The knock came again and I, being so full of my own misery. ignored it. My roommate glared at me and padded over to the door clutching a quilt around her. She opened it a crack and in doing so let a blast of freezing air in .. I growled at her to close the door. Outside stood a youngish man inadequately dressed for both the weather and I my sensibilities. I recognized him as one of the foreign newcomers recently arrived from God knows where.. He just said one word .. help.. I must admit it startled me and my immediate response was to tell him to push off and never come back but my roommate pulled him inside and began to try to ascertain what he needed. He spoke no English and the rocking motion he made with his arms made him a comic figure .. he looked, agitated and was shivering with the cold and obviously trying to communicate.. We have to help him, my roommate said. Of course she did, My little do-gooder.

We followed him out onto the common area and despite it being carpeted, the hallway was dominated by a large pane of glass which gave no respite from the bitter snowy conditions outside. It was cold. My misery deepened when on entering the apartment three doors down we were greeted by an middle aged couple and the sight of a young woman lying on a mattress on the floor covered only by a thin blanket. A quick glance around the room showed that there was one chair and an assortment of orange boxes being used as makeshift tables and somewhere to sit. There was no sign of food or creature comforts just a prevailing air of need. The young woman gave a sudden groan that turned quickly into a muffled scream as she stuffed the corner of the blanket into her mouth to stifle the sound. My roommate quickly took stock of the situation and told me in a gentle voice that this young lady was about to give birth. I stood up and announced that we needed to send for an ambulance immediately. The, by now, extremely agitated young man somehow managed to let us know that he had tried that but all services were out of action due to the weather. What to do? my roommate said. My senses screamed, let us get out of here. We don't know these people. We will never see them again and they don't even speak English. Why should we help them? I need to worry about getting a phone call.!!!!!                                                                               

Shame on you .. my roommate said.

A further scream from the bed dragged me back to the present situation. We had no blankets, no hot water and to get involved in this, no sense. I walked back over to the mattress on the floor and stared at the young girl .. I begrudgingly looked into her eyes and saw so many things – hope, fear, tears and a strength that belied her circumstances. Let’s try and move her I yelled.

Somehow we managed to move her in between contractions to our apartment. There we at least had clean linens and water, we had filled the bathtub and every serviceable saucepan and pot we owned.  

Nothing else mattered now, except this little wisp of a girl, her worried sick husband and her equally worried parents. It didn’t matter that they had arrived a few days previously, they had nothing of value and didn’t speak English. All six of us were united in purpose. This baby was coming whatever any of us             privately thought.  Twenty five minutes after we arrived back in our apartment Anya was born.  

I remember the moment I looked into Anya’s face and I can still feel the shock I felt when she looked into mine. Shame flooded me that I should be so selfish and devoid of feeling and caring about what was happening in our neighbor’s lives. Shame that I cared so much about myself that I had judged and responded to that judgement and almost missed possibly the most wonderful moment of my life. Thankful that I had witnessed the miracle of birth and resolve to try to be humble as this little family had been.  

The blizzard abated and despite the blanket of snow first responders were able to make some headway to answer emergencies. After the ambulance service eventually arrived and whisked Mother and baby off to hospital and electricity had been restored, my roommate and I collapsed on the sofa and breathed a tired sense of relief, she quietly said – Well done, I am proud of you. Thanks, I said .. a few seconds later - my phone rang - it was the Atlanta number I had been waiting for ..