Roger rushed over to Mimi. Her rescuer carefully laid her down on the warm sand and began to perform CPR. Roger felt frozen in time. Mimi sputtered up water but remained unconscious. Her breathing was shallow and ragged.
"Do you know her?" her rescuer asked. Roger nodded
"She's my girlfriend," he confessed quietly. The roar of sirens filled the air, drawing an even larger crowd. The lifeguard shoved Roger out of the way and began to perform CPR.
"You're doing it wrong! You're blowing air into her stomach!" Mimi's rescuer cried.
"What do you know?" the lifeguard demanded.
"Enough, I'm a US Marine." The paramedics worked their way through the crowd. Maureen wrapped her arms around Roger.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine," she assured.
The Bohemians watched the ambulance speed away with Roger and Mimi inside. Nobody knew what to say.
"Umm, excuse me," a voice behind them said. Everyone turned around. Standing there was the Marine.
"Thanks for saving our friend," Collins spoke up.
"You're welcome." He extended his hand. "My name is Joseph St. James. I wanted to see if your friend was alright."
"We won't know right away," Joanne replied sadly. Joseph handed her a piece of paper.
"If you're going to press charges, let me know. I'd also like to send your friend something at the hospital." Joanne put the piece of paper in her pocket.
"Thank you for saving Mimi," Mark said.
"It's my job."
Roger paced back and forth across the worn carpet in the small hospital waiting room. Maureen throwing her arms around him quickly shattered his thoughts.
"I'm so sorry, Roger! This is my entire fault!" she cried. Roger returned the hug half-heartedly.
"It's that bastard lifeguard's fault," he insisted.
"How's Mimi?" Collins asked. Roger ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes.
"She's in a coma, there's probably some brain damage," he told everyone quietly. Maureen burst into tears. Joanne had to pry her off Roger and struggled to comfort her. Maureen buried her face in Joanne's shoulder and continued to sob.
An hour later, all the Bohemians were sitting in the waiting room. Maureen was still weeping softly. Joanne stood up and helped her to her feet.
"We're going to get going guys," she said. "I'm sorry, but…" Joanne glanced at Maureen. Roger stood up and gave them each a hug.
"I'll call you," he promised. Joanne and Maureen each said a solemn goodbye and left to go home.
Roger sat on the battered loveseat with his head in his hands. Anger towards the lifeguard surged through his body. She was supposed to keep them all safe! Instead, she couldn't have been bothered. A lone tear slid down Roger's rough cheek. The love of his life was clinging to life, and he couldn't do shit about it.
