By Aaunty Pasta
Disclaimer: the characters known on Early Edition belong to CBS, blah, blah, etc. For entertainment purposes only. No money is to be paid because I'm the one who'll get sued.
There is just a little romance and a week in the life of Gary Hobson as he saves the lives of one woman after another and they each reward him with a kiss.
*************************************
Monday
Gary walked backwards down the back steps of the large house listening to the woman as she thanked him profusely for saving her life.
There had been a story in tomorrow's paper that morning about a woman killed when an explosion tore through her kitchen. The pilot light on her stove had gone out without her realizing it and when she lit a match to light a candle... boom. He had gotten there just in time to stop her. Now all her downstairs windows were open and she was microwaving breakfast.
He turned with a shake of his head. He didn't know whether she had been more grateful that he had saved her from death or from being found dead the way she looked. Huge pink curlers held her black hair in circles that would be curls when she took them out and a green gooey substance covered her face. She had said it was a pore-reducing masque, but it had smelled like some kind of dip. She also wore a thick pink robe and fuzzy pink slippers. Gary shook his head as he entered the alley and turned right.
He pulled the paper out of his jacket and breathed in the chilly morning air. November was turning out to be cold. He flipped through the paper until he found another story he could do something about. "Boy falls through ice when dare goes awry," he read aloud. "When will they ever learn?" he muttered as he scanned the story.
The park where the pond was located wasn't far from where he was now so he walked quickly and reached the spot in a matter of minutes. He had plenty of time before the accident was due to occur, so he stopped where a man was selling roasted chestnuts and cider from a cart with an umbrella. The hot cider warmed him from the inside out and he made it back to the spot just as the boy slid out on the ice.
He dropped his cup and ran. He had hoped to stop the boy before he got on the ice altogether.
"Hey kid!" Gary yelled as he came to a stop next to the other boy. "That isn't a real good idea! The ice isn't thick enough for sliding on! You could fall through!"
"Hey mister," the kid called back snidely. "Mind your own business!" He laughed and slid off.
He started showing off by doing tricks, spins, turns and jumps, much to Gary's chagrin and the other boy's delight. "Hey Frankie!" the boy beside him yelled. "Do a toe loop!"
Frankie did a spin and a pirouette then jumped in the air with another pirouette. His landing left much to be desired when he landed flat on his chest. Both boys began to chortle and laugh and generally make fun of Gary's warning. "The ice is too thin," the boy on the bank said mockingly. "You could fall through."
Now he was rolling on the ground as Gary watched, annoyed. Frankie was laughing so hard that he pounded his hand on the ice.
Frankie's hilarity came to a screeching halt when he heard the ice crack and felt the cold water seep through it and into his clothes. He screamed.
Gary jumped slightly as the boy next to him quit laughing. "Hey Frankie, come on."
"I can't the ice is breaking!" Frankie called back as Gary looked around for something to reach for him with. Nothing seemed long enough.
"That's not funny Frankie," the boy on shore said.
Gary shook him. "The ice is breaking. Go get help," he ordered as he unwrapped the red scarf from around his neck.
The boy ran off as Gary slid out onto the ice on his belly and tried to throw the scarf out to the boy. It fell way short of its destination and Gary became frustrated. If only he had brought a rope. The ice cracked again, causing the boy to shift slightly and scream. "Help me!"
Water ran from the cracks and soaked Gary's clothes and jacket. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his leg. "Give me your scarf," a familiar feminine voice ordered.
Gary pulled his scarf back and handed it back to the woman behind him. When she handed it back, it had another scarf twice its length tied to it. On the end of hers was a huge knot. "Try it again," she ordered.
Gary threw the knotted scarf out to the boy and he caught it. The scarves together were more than long enough to reach him. "Hold on tight now Frankie," Gary said and, with the woman's help, inched his body back and pulled the kid from the ice.
Once the kid was safely on the bank and standing next to the woman she whacked him in the head. "I don't know what the hell you were trying to prove, Frankie," she said. "I ought to strangle you."
"No, no," Gary intervened. "I think he's learned his lesson."
"He damned well better have," the woman replied "And why aren't you in school?"
The boy winced and glanced at the boy who stood nearby with a sheepish look. "We were on the way," he explained. "But Tommy dared me and..."
"When will they ever learn?" she said with a roll of her eyes. She turned to the other boy. "Tommy, get to school. Expect to be reamed by your mother when you get home."
Tommy winced and ran off as the woman turned back to Frankie. "You get your butt home and get dried off and changed," she said. "I'm walking you to school after we get you warmed up."
"Aww sis," he said as he turned towards home.
"And before you ask, no you're not staying home from school today."
"If you think he'll be alright," Gary began as he turned away. "I'd better be going."
The woman grabbed his arm. "Not on your life," she said. "You'll catch your death if I let you go without helping you get dried off and warmed up." She wrapped her arm in his and led him off. "That's twice this morning that you've helped me."
"Twice?"
She smiled and looked at the ground then back up at him. "The pink robe and slippers," she told him.
"That was you?" Gary asked. When she nodded, he said, "I thought your voice was familiar." He let her lead him a few more feet before trying to get away. "I really have to go."
She clutched his arm in a death grip. "And have you die of pneumonia? Not on my watch."
Gary pulled at his wet clothes and slid the paper from his inner pocket. It was as soaked as the rest of him. "Aww," said.
"I've got the paper at home," she said. "You are welcome to it."
"I'd rather keep this one," Gary said as they walked up the back steps that he had only recently come down. "It has something important in it."
"A phone number?" she asked as she released him and took his jacket from him, leaving the paper still dripping in Gary's hand. She hung the coat on a chair to dry.
"Something like that," he replied.
"I'll get you a hairdryer," she said. "You can dry the paper when you dry your hair."
Gary took a step back. "My hair's not wet."
Frankie entered the kitchen. "It will be when Sandy gets through with you," he said.
Gary eyed her and tried to step back towards the door. "You know, I'll be fine to get home."
"Nonsense," Sandy said as she took his arm in her death grip once again. "I want you to get a good hot shower and some hot coffee." She turned to the boy. "Put some coffee on while I get Mr... Uh, what did you say your name is?"
"I didn't," Gary replied. "And it's Hobson. Gary Hobson."
"Mr. Hobson situated," Sandy finished. "Then I'll walk you to school."
"It's only two blocks!"
"And if you had gone straight there in the first place, we wouldn't be having this conversation now would we?"
Frankie shook his head then let it hang. He turned to the coffee pot and started to make the coffee.
"Now Mr. Hobson," she said as she pulled on the arm she had been holding. "I'll show you where the bathroom is."
The bathroom was decorated in an antique style with an old fashioned toilet and a clawed foot tub. The tub was modernized with shiny old style fixtures and a shower. A curtain rod ran at eye level in an oval and a pale blue shower curtain hung on it.
"Now get those wet things off and I'll bring you something to wear until your clothes are dry," Sandy ordered and closed the door. Gary looked around trying to decide what to do, hoping that she didn't bring him a woman's robe like the ugly pink one she had been wearing this morning.
She opened the door just enough to stick an arm through but, seeing his reflection in the mirror, pushed the door open and went in. "Put this on," she ordered as she handed him a dark blue man's robe. "Unless you want me to treat you like a kid and do it myself." Gary immediately put the paper on the edge of the sink and began unbuttoning his thick flannel shirt. Sandy turned the shower on and made sure the water was hot enough. "I'll be waiting outside for your wet clothes," she said as she turned to the door.
Gary stopped her to ask a question. "That looks a little too big for Frankie," he said with a gesture to the robe.
"It belonged to my ex-husband," she said and left.
Gary finished undressing and balled his wet clothes up to hand out to her. "Take as long as you want," she said as she took the wet clothes from him. "I'll put these in the dryer and run Frankie to school."
He watched her leave in the mirror's reflection and climbed into the shower. He had to admit that it felt good and was grateful that she had suggested it. Gary snorted. Suggested. Bulldozed was more like it.
He finished his shower and dried off with the dry towel on the rod. He tossed it on the pile in the hamper and pulled the robe over his shoulders, knotting it at the waist. The hairdryer lay in a basket on the counter next to the sink and he picked it up and began drying the newspaper from the last page to the front as he separated it. As each page dried, he scanned it for stories that might be of interest. As he dried the front page, he noticed one. "Woman raped and murdered by ex. Man still at large."
As he read down the story, it identified the woman as 28-year-old Sandra Raymond. "Sandy," he whispered.
Dropping the paper on the floor, he flung the door open in time to hear a crash and a scream from the kitchen. When he reached the kitchen, a dark haired man had Sandy cornered and was ripping at her clothes.
"Hey!" Gary exclaimed to get the man's attention. "Pick on someone your own size!"
The man came to his full height and turned to Gary with an evil glint in his eye. "Like, maybe, you?" he said. To Gary the guy seemed at least twice as big as he was so took a step back. The man spoke to Sandy over his shoulder. "The divorce has only been final for two months and you already got some new guy in here?" He laughed. "I always knew you were a slut."
He grabbed the front of the robe Gary wore and brought back his fist. "Say goodbye little man."
Gary winced as Frankie attacked him from behind. "Don't you hurt him!" the boy cried.
The bigger man flung him aside. "I told you not to mess with me boy," he yelled. "You're gonna get yourself hurt."
Gary took a chance and pulled himself away from the man as sirens began to wail in the background.
"You're lucky, pal," the man said with a finger in Gary's direction. He turned and stalked out of the house.
Gary breathed and joined Frankie in the doorway to the kitchen. "Thanks Frankie," Gary said then pushed past to close the kitchen door. Sandy sat there crying, her shirt torn open from neck to waist, a bit of her lacy pink bra showing. He brought her to her feet to hold her tightly as she cried.
Gary sat her in a chair with Frankie nearby and headed to the sink for a paper towel. He didn't make it that far as his bare foot came into contact with a glass shard from the broken coffeepot.
Gary wailed as Sandy stood in time to stop him from falling to the floor. She sat him down in the chair she had just vacated and took a seat in the chair with his coat hanging from it. She winced as she looked at the bottom of his foot and the huge shard of glass protruding from it.
She wiped tears from her face and looked up at Gary. "I can pull the glass out," she said. "But it's going to hurt like hell and it'll still need stitches."
"Pull it out. Pull it out," Gary said between gritted teeth.
"Frankie, get me the fist aid kit," Sandy ordered.
Frankie gingerly stepped over the glass shards and coffee spillage and ran from the room. He was back only a minute later with the metal case. Sandy placed it on the table and opened it pulling out a bottle of iodine and a pack of gauze. Tearing open the gauze, she carefully wiped the area around the glass.
"Frankie, clean the glass up real quick then go check on Mr. Hobson's clothes," She ordered as she carefully took hold of the piece of glass. "This is going to hurt," she said.
"Does this mean I don't have to go to school now?" Frankie asked as Sandy pulled the shard from Gary's foot.
Gary howled in pain.
***********************************************
"I'm really sorry about everything," Sandy said as Gary landed hard on his couch. She leaned a set of crutches against the couch and grabbed a pillow. "But I am in your debt for our morning adventures."
"No problem," Gary said as she placed the pillow carefully under the injured foot. "I'm only off my feet for a couple of days."
"You have this place to run and everything," she said with a gesture to the open door. "If there is anything I can do to help, let me know."
Frankie came up behind her. "Yeah, sis can really take control."
"I noticed," Gary replied.
"I thought I told you to stay in the car," Sandy scolded.
"You forgot his other shoe," Frankie protested.
Sandy took the shoe and put it on the floor next to the couch. "Thanks again," she said then leaned forward and kissed Gary on the lips.
Surprised, Gary watched her follow Frankie out the door and close it behind her. Gary shook off the surprise and put his head on the back of the couch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday
"Construction worker drowns in drainage ditch" read the headline beneath Gary's fingertips. The story went on about how he had gotten (or was it would get?) his foot caught after slipping in the mud next to a drainpipe. Nobody had noticed him in the murky water until they had gotten the water shut down. Nobody heard his cries for help. And because the family of the victim had yet to be notified, the identity of the worker had yet to be released.
Gary knew he wouldn't be able to get there in time to keep him from falling and getting his foot stuck, but he was of the hopes that he could get him out before he was overwhelmed by the water in the ditch.
As Gary approached the crevasse, he heard a voice calling for help. As he pulled off his coat and lay it on the dry bank, he hopped over the edge of the road and slid into the ditch without a bit of hesitation and only a slight wince of pain. He had forgotten his foot injury from the day before.
He could see a hard hat bobbing above the surface of the rapidly rising water. The water wasn't moving too incredibly fast, but was rising at an alarming rate.
"I'm here," Gary said as he swam out to him.
"Please help me," she said.
Gary hesitated for a second. She? She leaned her head back and the hard hat was washed away. Her long brown hair spread on the water behind her. That wasn't in the paper, Gary thought as he grabbed her around the waist and tried to pull her free.
"I've already tried that," the woman gasped.
Gary took a deep breath and dove beneath the dark water. Unable to se, he followed her leg down to her trapped foot and managed to loosen the laces to the steel-toed boot. Her foot still wouldn't come out and Gary was wary of pulling on it too hard. He went up for air. By this time, she was stretched out as far as she could get, trying to keep the water out of her nose and mouth. It was a losing battle.
"I can't get it loose," Gary said. "If I pull too hard I may break your foot."
"Break it," the woman pled before her face went under entirely.
Again, Gary dove. This time when he reached her foot, he jerked as hard as he could. He felt a pop beneath his fingers and then she was free. Gary popped back up with the woman's head close to his and swam her to shore. When he got her on the bank, he wrapped her in his dry coat and checked her vitals. He found that she wasn't breathing and began mouth to mouth. By the time the water in the ditch began to lower and several other construction workers noticed them, she began to cough up the water. Gary rolled her on her side in time for her to vomit water and refuse.
The world spun and Gary found himself fainting at the woman's side.
********************************
Gary woke wrapped in blankets with an oxygen mask over his face. The nurse smiled down at him as he spoke some unintelligible words to someone nearby.
"Well, Mr. Hobson," a nearby doctor began as Gary pulled the mask from his face. "I'm glad to see you feeling better." He paused to gesture to his foot. "Thankfully gangrene hasn't set in but I want you to stay off that foot and keep it covered."
"How's the woman?" Gary asked.
"She'll be fine thanks to you," the doctor replied. "Her foot's broken, but she says she'd rather be alive with a broken foot than dead with a whole one."
"I'm glad she doesn't mind," Gary said as he started to sit up.
The doctor placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now, you get some rest or I'll have you admitted for the night for observation. I'll make sure everything is in order and be right back. Then you can get dressed to go home," he said as he turned to leave. At the last second, he turned back. "Oh, and your friend Marissa will be bringing you some dry clothes."
Gary nodded and put his head back on the pillow and waited. An hour later, he was dressed and ready to go. As he limped out, a burly man whom he vaguely recognized as one of the construction workers stopped him.
"Mr. Hobson," he began. "Angie sent me to wait for you. She wants to talk to you."
"Angie?" Gary asked.
"Yeah, the woman you saved?"
"Oh yeah," Gary replied. "I'd be happy to see her." He turned to Marissa. "I'll be right back."
"I'll be waiting," Marissa said.
He got a chance to get a better look at her in the hospital bed. She was a bit pale and she had an oxygen hose feeding the precious air to her body. Her limp brown hair hung over her shoulders and she was smiling. Gary's coat was in her lap.
"I wanted to return this to you in person," she explained as she handed over the coat. "Thanks for your assistance today."
"It was no problem," Gary said with a smile.
"It may not have been a problem," Angie protested. "But it was above and beyond the call of duty." She paused to pull the blanket off of her casted left foot. "I would be honored if you would be the first to sign my cast."
Mentally Gary shrugged and took the pen that she offered. 'Good luck and stay away from drainage ditches. Gary' he wrote and handed the pen back.
Angie smiled for a minute and put her hand at Gary's neck. Before he could do anything about it, she had kissed him and let him go. "Thanks for saving my life."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday
Gary rushed through the kitchen and out into the bar, limping all the way. He grabbed his coat from the hook and began putting it on when his manager of the past year came over to help him. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?" she asked as he zipped the zipper.
"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Gary growled.
Marie winced and backed off. "OK, OK. I'm going," she said and turned away.
Gary took two steps before deciding to take back the word he regretted having said. "Marie," he called as he turned back to the woman. Marie turned expectantly. "I'm sorry I snapped."
"That's OK," Marie replied.
"Marissa said you needed to ask me something," Gary prompted.
"I need to get off early today for an appointment," she said twisting a long blonde curl between her fingers. "If that's alright."
"Sure," Gary said and left.
*******************************************
He had saved a cat from a telephone pole, a little girl from landing on her head after falling from the slide and a mailman from getting mauled by a pit bull. He headed back to McGinty's as he paged through the paper once again. A headline he had not seen this morning caught his eye.
'Pedestrian killed by falling planter.' Marie Wilson was struck in the head by a planter as she passed a building in the 1000 block of Cedar at around 2:10 p.m. yesterday. A woman watering her plants dropped the planter from a height of ten stories. Passers-by say that Wilson didn't even know what hit her.
Gary looked up. Marie Wilson was his manager. He checked his watch. 2:04. He had six minutes to get there.
He ran as fast as his sore foot could take him and arrived across the street from the scene in time to see the planter fall. Marie was only a few steps away with her hands shoved in her pockets and a dim look on her face.
"Marie!" Gary called as he ran top speed across the street, ignoring his throbbing foot. Marie stopped right where the falling planter would land and looked up. Grabbing Marie's arms, he spun her around and pressed her against the wall covering her head with one hand and wincing.
So close that he could almost feel it brush past as it fell, the planter crashed to the ground. Marie gasped and looked up as Gary did the same.
"I'm so sorry," a voice called from the tenth floor. "Is anyone hurt?"
"No lady," Gary called back. "Be more careful next time, would you?"
"I promise," the woman replied.
Gary looked back down at Marie. "You OK?"
Marie nodded. "Fine," she said then leaned forward and kissed him.
This kiss was longer than the others he had been given so far this week—and by far a lot more passionate. It finally ended and he pulled away to catch his breath. Marie caught her breath more quickly, muttered a quick thank you and walked away towards McGinty's bar.
Gary sighed, shook his head and followed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday
Marie was avoiding him like the plague. This didn't bother Gary—at least not too much. His foot had stopped throbbing but he was now sneezing and had chills. Marissa had commented that she hoped he wasn't coming down with something. Gary agreed and left for his abnormal routine of chase the paper.
After talking a man down from a ledge and rescuing a kid from a tree, he felt all tapped out and went home to take a nap. No dice, the cat kept bothering him until he took another look at the paper. Gary groaned when he read the headline.
'Sisters die in burning building'
*****************************************
Gary reached the house too late to keep the fire from happening. The fire had already engulfed the kitchen when he pushed himself inside. With a glance to the paper to see where they had been when they had died, he dashed up the stairs calling their names.
"Amber!" he called. "Amanda! Amelia! Where are you?"
He heard coughing and a weak voice from his right and followed the wall down the smoke filled hallway until he found a door. He coughed as he opened the door. It was a dark bedroom and he could see the three sisters inside as they huddled together trying to avoid the smoke. One had already passed out and was being held up by a second. The third was coughing and looked like she wouldn't last much longer.
Gary grabbed the unconscious one and picked her up. "I can get this one," he said to the one who wasn't coughing. "Can you help your sister out?"
The woman swallowed and pulled her coughing sister's arm over her shoulder. She followed Gary down the stairs and out the front door to where he could put the third sister on the lawn. He could hear the sirens of the fire department in the distance.
The young woman he had carried out was not breathing so for the second time in a week, he stated rescue breathing.
"Please, Amelia," the fist sister begged. "Amber and I need you."
Suddenly, Amelia gasped and opened her eyes. She began breathing regularly as her sisters took her into a group hug.
The rescue personnel arrived and gave the girls and Gary oxygen as the fire department worked to put out the fire. Gary took one final deep breath from the mask and removed it from his face. He ran his sooty hand through his wild mane of hair and walked from the fire department's rescue truck to the ambulance where the triplets sat receiving their oxygen treatments.
"You going to be all right?" he asked.
The girl with the shortest hair, Amanda if Gary was remembering correctly, took off her oxygen mask. "Yes," she replied. "Thanks to you." She stepped forward and kissed him on the lips. Amber followed and gave him a kiss after her sister had stepped away. Amelia's kiss lasted longer than the other's had and she released him, smiled and climbed into the ambulance with her sisters. A fireman closed the door and hit it twice to indicate that they were ready to go and it pulled away.
He stopped next to Gary and clapped him on the back. "Lucky dog," the fireman said then went back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday
"At the same time?" Marissa asked with surprise upon hearing the story of Gary's adventure the night before.
"No," Gary replied. "One at a time."
"They must've thought you were cute," Marissa responded with a stifled laugh.
"It's not funny," Gary responded. "I'm almost afraid to even look at the paper this morning."
"It's Friday," Marissa said as she took a sip of her coffee. "How many women could need your help today. Eight? Ten?"
Gary growled as Marissa let herself chuckle at Gary's chagrin. In Gary's opinion, he was getting way too much attention. Marie entered just then, ending the conversation and Marissa's jocularity.
"Gary, I think you should come out here," Marie said.
"What is it?" he asked, his patience growing thin.
"You have to see it to believe it," Marie replied with a gesture.
With a sigh, Gary followed the woman into the main room of the bar. There, on the bar, sat three bouquets of roses in vases. The first bouquet was a dozen pink roses. He pulled out the card to find that it was a thank you, I'm sorry and get well all rolled into one. It was from Sandy.
He wiggled his toes on the injured foot as he stepped to the next one. This bouquet was a mixture of white roses and rich lavender violets. The card said, "Thanks and I will. Angie."
Gary smiled and shook his head before setting aside the first two cards and searching the huge third bouquet for its card. Thirty yellow roses hid the card in their depths. He found it and found that this bouquet was from the triplets. Ten roses from each of us, the card read. We thank you ten times one hundred for saving our lives.
Gary set the card aside. He shook his head and looked up at Marie. "What? None from you?" he asked jokingly.
Marie smiled back. "What do you think I am? Made of money?" With a flip of her hair, she returned to the kitchen.
Gary shook his head and turned to the paper. Featured on the front page was the headline, "Student injured in early morning fire."
Gary folded the paper up and shoved it in his back pocket before grabbing his jacket and running out the door.
**********************
"Phi Theta Theta," Gary murmured over and over again as he ran up the street known as Sorority Row.
Finally, he found himself in front of the house where a big sign in the front yard announced its name and showed its symbol. He barged in and stared up the stairs scanning the article before he realized the article didn't say exactly which upstairs room the fire had started in. He bounded back down and stopped in the doorway of the main living area.
"Jenny Ferguson?" he asked the three women who were watching a soap opera.
"Third door to the right," one said without looking up.
Gary disappeared around the corner once again as the three girls suddenly looked at each other. "A man?"
Meanwhile, Gary had grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall and headed up the stairs. When he reached the door indicated, he pounded on it loudly. "Jenny!"
The girl threw the door open. "What in the hell do you want?!"
Gary looked at her then past her to where a fire was beginning to climb the curtains. "Fire!" he said and pushed past her to put out the fire with the extinguisher. When the fire was out, he turned to find that a group had gathered in Jenny's doorway.
"Saw the fire from the street," Gary mumbled as he attempted to press past the girls. He failed miserably.
Jenny grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you!" she exclaimed. "You saved my life!" She pulled away and kissed him smack on the lips. When she released him altogether, he tried once again to leave the house when the rest of the girls began to fawn over him, each giving him a kiss on the lips or the cheek or the forehead as he made his way out.
*************************
Gary walked in the bar where Marie and Marissa were going over the books at a table. Marie turned and glanced at Gary before turning back to the books. "Wait a minute," she murmured as she turned to get a second look at her boss as he took off his coat and hung it on the rack just inside the door. Marie began to giggle.
"What is it?" Marissa asked as Gary walked over with an angry look.
"Gary has at least a dozen smudged lip prints on his face," Marie replied as she tried to choke back laughter. "In at least a dozen different colors."
Marissa smile as she imagined her friend's chagrin. "What was it today?" Marissa asked. "Fire at a strip club?"
"Close," Gary replied. "Sorority."
Marie burst out laughing as Marissa help up a napkin. "Here. Have a napkin."
"Thanks Marissa," Gary mumbled and headed up to his apartment for a shower.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday
Meow, thump.
Gary peeked from under the pillow as his alarm went off.
"Meow!" screeched the cat.
Gary hit the button that turned the alarm off and pressed the pillow into his ear.
"Meow!" the cat screeched again.
"Go away!" Gary demanded.
At that, the cat began screeching and wouldn't stop.
Gary tried to press out the noise, but the cat wouldn't go away. He groaned and threw the pillow across the room. "Fine. I'm coming!"
The cat quieted as Gary made his way to the door and opened it. The cat brushed past his feet. "Come on in," Gary said sarcastically. He picked up the paper and looked at the front page. In the corner at the bottom was the headline, Woman dies from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Gary pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why me?" he asked.
***************************
Gina Anderson was already asleep on the couch when Gary arrived and broke the door down. "Gina," Gary said as he shook the woman. "Wake up."
"Leave me alone," Gina said with a weak swing of her arms. "I'm trying to sleep."
"Carbon Monoxide," Gary said. "That's why you feel sleepy."
"How do you know?" she asked groggily. "And who the hell are you anyway?"
"My name's Gary Hobson," Gary replied as he pulled her arm around his shoulders and lifted her off the couch, wrapping the blanket covering her more securely.
She began to struggle weakly then settled her head into Gary's shoulder. "To hell with it," he heard her say softly. "I don't much care whether he rapes and kills me or not."
Cold air hit her face and she breathed it in at Gary's encouragement. Gary sat on the front stoop of the tiny house with Gina in his lap and waited for the fire department. "Stay with me," he said. "Tell me something about yourself."
"I'm boring," Gina said. "No family, no boyfriend, no life."
Gary wouldn't be deterred. "Where do you work?"
"Jameson Advertising services," she replied. "I'm a gopher." She put her chin on his shoulder, her breath blowing softly on his ear lobe. "What about you?"
"I own a bar," Gary replied.
Gina lay her head back on his shoulder. "Nice bar?" she murmured.
"Yeah," Gary replied. "You still with me?"
Gina took in a deep breath. "Think so."
They sat in silence for awhile as the sirens got closer. "Gary Hobson?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind if I kissed you?"
Gary's mind laughed. At least this one asked, he thought. "No," he said.
Their lips met and they kissed until Gary could see the lights flash through his closed eyelids.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday
Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest, but for Gary Hobson, the day could be as busy as any other. People still got into trouble, even on Sunday.
No deaths and no major injuries were a relief to Gary this Sunday. He had to keep a puppy from getting stuck in a storm drain and help a mother find her child after losing him in the park. Then he dragged himself home.
His foot was still sore but the doctor wanted to see him tomorrow to have the stitches taken out. It felt like it had been a year since he had cut it on a piece of glass in Sandra Raymond's kitchen. "What a week," he mumbled as he got off the train near McGinty's. "I may just have to sleep until next week."
Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be able to make his plan a reality just yet. He entered through the back door of the bar, knowing that Marie would be behind the bar and not wanting to talk to her. Marissa stopped him as he made his way through the office.
"Gary?" Marissa began. "You OK?"
"Fine," Gary replied. "Something up?"
"I was just thinking," his friend began. "The paper sometimes does things that convinces you to try to balance your life a little more. Right?"
"Yeah?" Gary prompted.
"Well, maybe it's trying to tell you that you need someone to share your life—and the paper—with."
"I don't know," Gary said. "Maybe it is." He started through the door that led to his apartment.
"Gary one more thing," Marissa interrupted.
Gary turned. "What?"
"You have some visitors," she said then paused to see if Gary would say something. "They're in the bar."
With a sigh, Gary headed into the bar. There he found his week's work, all dressed in nice, and in some cases, fancy, clothes. His jaw dropped open and he started forward. Sandy and Frankie, Monday's rescues stopped him. Sandy placed a finger on his chin and closed his mouth. "How's your foot?"
"Uh fine," Gary stammered. "How are you?"
"They arrested Jake," Sandy replied. "My ex. He's been charged with assault and attempted rape." Sandy kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks again."
Frankie hit Gary in the arm with a fist. "Thanks for the assist, my man," the dark young man said. Gary shook his hand and moved on through the crowd.
Angie pulled him close and squashed him in a bear hug. "Gary, you're a great guy," she said as she put her crutch back under her arm.
"How's your foot?"
"It'll heal," she replied with a shrug then kissed him on the cheek.
Gary smiled as he turned to Amanda, Amelia and Amber. "I take it you're back to normal.
"Just fine," Amber said.
"All in one piece," Amelia said.
"Thanks to you," Amanda said then each gave him a delicate peck on the cheek.
Marie handed him a bottle of beer. "Just thought you might need this," she said then kissed his cheek. Gary took a swig from the bottle and handed it back.
"That hit the spot," he said as he turned to the giggling sorority sisters.
"Hi, Gar," Jenny said with a jab of an elbow to the friend beside her. "We just wanted to say thanks for stopping that fire the other day. I had a big test to study for and was kind of tired..."
"Don't worry about it," Gary said.
Jenny kissed him on the cheek.
By this time, Gary had reached the bar across the room where the flowers he had received the other day still sat. Gina sat on a barstool fingering the violets that Angie had sent. "The doctors released you already?"
Gina smiled and nodded. "I stayed at a motel last night because they had to turn my furnace off until I can get it fixed."
"That's good," Gary replied.
"I didn't know you had had such a busy week," Gina said with a nod to the group behind them. The women had started mingling and talking after Gary had passed them.
"All in a week's work," he replied.
"Yeah," Gina replied. "Gary?"
Gary turned back to Gina. "Yeah?"
"Can I make you dinner sometime?"
Gary smiled. "Sure. When?"
"You hungry now?"
"Starving," Gary said and held out his hand.
Gina slid off the stool and took his arm. "Lead on."
Gary led her up to his apartment. Before he opened the door, he turned to Gina, took her face in his hands and kissed her.
"Thanks," Gina said. "I needed that."