The wind was blowing fiercely and the snow was quite deep. Everything had been cancelled, schools, government offices were closed even many of the local churches had given worshipers a day off using the rationale that, "God wouldn't want you to risk your life in this weather just to worship him." It made perfect sense. So, what to do? The kids were home and entertaining them was first and foremost. Rich had decided that video games would do the trick. Bridgett was 9 and LOVED Super Mario Brothers. They had an old Nintendo. Stephanie had wanted to get rid of it, but Rich felt too much nostalgia and when Bridgett discovered it, Rich took the opportunity to say, "Nyah nyah."
Bobby was easy. He was only three years old and could easily be entertained.
So, here it was a horrible February. Rich said that he had shoveled so much he figured a coal miner might take pity on him. They were all sick of the snow. The kids were even starting to miss school and were dreading the number of make-up days they were facing, well not Bobby, pre-school had no makeup days. Bridgett said, "I want to go back because I can't stand it anymore, AND I'm scared of how many days into summer vacation we'll go into." Steph fully understood. Bridgett had also wanted to get back to her friends. She had been given plenty of opportunity to see them since driving was allowed, but it was still becoming a burden on everyone and with this latest storm, everyone was ready to lose their minds.
Once ten o'clock came, the kids were getting tired but Bridgett insisted he stay up to watch the rest of a movie she had started. Rich couldn't find a reason to say no and neither could Steph so; Bridgett was up until almost midnight. Once she finally got to sleep Rich and Steph could relax as well, but since they both had to go to work in the morning, relaxing was just going to bed.
At about four a.m., the phone rang scaring Rich out of a deep sleep and in the middle of a strange dream where he was shooting monsters which were playing Super Mario. He leapt up and grabbed the cordless and answered. "What?" It was more of a moan than a word.
"Hi, Rich? Sorry to bother you this early but this is Gordie down at Bay State EMS, is Stephanie there?" came the voice on the other end.
"Well Gordie, where else would she be at...what time is it?" Rich was slightly more alert.
"Four in the morning," replied Gordie, "and frankly, where she might be wouldn't be any of my business. I was just told to call." Rich had to admit, it was a good reply.
"Hold on," and Rich attempted to wake Steph up. He caught her in mid-snore and she sat upright, quite confused. Rich handed the phone over and Steph.
As deeply as she would sleep, Steph had spent too many years working nights and being woken from a sound sleep with the need to be fully functional to be as groggy as Rich. She took the phone and answered. Gordie on the other end said, "Steph, is there a chance you could come in early? We're getting swamped with calls. The fire department is off with a big working fire, plus plow guys are falling asleep and hitting things and even at this hour, maintenance guys all over the place are having back issues, strains, slip and falls and so far, two heart attacks."
"Why ME? Why is it always ME?" She thought aloud. She knew the reasons. For one thing, she lived only a few miles from the garage and always had the best luck getting there and also, she would get there. Steph would never offer and excuse unless it was legitimate and serious. She was known to be dedicated to a fault and the fault was her own. "Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can. Any chance someone could pick me up? I'm not sure what shape my driveway is in and it could take me over an hour to dig out, especially if the plows have been by more than once."
Gordie agreed to have a crew swing by her house in twenty minutes or as close to that as possible and thanked her. Steph grumbled a somewhat sarcastic 'you're welcome' and hung up. She wasn't due to be in until 8, so a few hours of overtime wouldn't hurt. She got dressed, kissed Rich so long and stood in the doorway awaiting an ambulance. Rich had already told work he wouldn't be in and they were cool with it, so Steph had no worries about the kids. Bobby had insisted that at 12, he could definitely take care of himself and watch over his sister. Both Rich and Steph commended his responsible attitude and immediately danced around the idea, thanking him profusely in the meantime.
Rich never even noticed she had left. He had no sooner handed over the phone, he fell back into a coma and began to snore so loud, Steph was beginning to look forward to leaving.
When the ambulance pulled up, Steph made her way through the deep snow. Thanks to constant attention by both of them, Steph and Rich (and to a lesser degree, the kids), the walkway and the driveway was only 7 inches deep as the snow continued to fall. The driveway was about the same though the drift on the side closest to the neighbor's yard had to be about 2 feet and thanks to the relentless attention to the street clearing efforts, the end of the driveway had a 2 and one half foot pile of ice across it. Steph slipped as she traversed the alpine range that poor Rich would have to tackle later. She hit the ground but felt no pain as the snow cushioned her fall. Both the EMTs in the truck jumped out but Steph was just laughing and cursing and found it ironic that this hated snow had been not only the cause of her fall, but the cause of her not being injured. She climbed in back and buckled into the jump seat and off they went to the garage.
"Been a lousy night, eh?" She asked the crew.
"FUCK ME! FUCK THIS SNOW!" bellowed Ernie, the driver. "I am so bloody sick of this. TWO STINKING WEEKS AND NO END IN SIGHT!"
Francine, his partner, just shook her head, then added, "He's been a joy to work with all night."
"WELL I'M LOSING MY MIND!" came Ernie's reply.
With that, the dispatcher came over the air with a call for them. "Ambulance 3, are you available?"
Steph nodded that she could accompany them if needed. Francine took the mic and answered, "We're still on that transport for one of ours but could respond if needed. What have you got?"
"Report of a maintenance man at the college having slipped on the ice sustaining a head injury. He's conscious but bleeding. Police on scene report he's a bit disoriented. Police advise to enter through the Front Street Entrance."
