It was the end of the day and Natalie just wanted to get on home. The class had asked her so many questions about what her family did for Thanksgiving that it was hard to come up with some of the answers she did manage to give.
"Not again," Natalie mumbled herself as she unlocked her front door to her small bungalow house. The neighbors were at it again. She could hear their voices raised inside their house. She was sure that the Diego house could hear the Noble couple five doors down.
"It's Thanksgiving in a few days, you would think they would get along for their daughter's sake." Natalie sai as she opened her door.
"Meow!" Callie, the calico cat that claimed Natalie some time back, came running up to her. "Meow!" And she began circling Natalie's ankles.
"You have no idea how much trouble you're causing me right now."
She dropped her bag down on the white couch and headed for her kitchen. The plants and herb garden was doing a little better this morning. Callie followed her into the kitchen, hopping up on the counter next to the sink where Natalie turned it on to a trickle.
"Why don't you drink out of a bowl like a normal cat?" Natalie asked knowing that she would never get an answer.
After making a pot of coffee, letting it simmer she walked outside where there was a garden of all gardens waiting for her. A light wind blew the moment she walked out on her back porch. The smell of the sweet flowers was the strongest, they grew in sectors and in places amongst the corn stalks and near some pumpkins she still had growing.
The kids in the neighborhood all had one this last Halloween. They all wanted pumpkins and since she never charged for the kids to have a pumpkin, all anyone had to ask was if they could have one. Just having what was called the community garden was indearing to Natalie because it meant she could get to know everyone around her. It also meant she could help people in the simplest way, having the food some of them would need.
Standing in the middle of the backyard, enjoying the cool autumn breeze and the occasional clouds casting shadows, Natalie smiled at the garden in front of her. "You look good today, babies."
They waved at her as she came closer. The vibrant autumn colors were red and orange even some brown colors from some of those that had come to the end of their cycle.
"It's okay to go." She coaxed them, looking at the wilted flowers that were on their way out.
It had to be the yelling, what other reason could there be for some of the plants were not doing as well as the others. The corn were strong and hardy, but it was the more emotional plants that were having a hard time with being close to the short white fence that separated Natalie's backyard from the Noble's backyard.
"Hi, Ms. Natalie." A little voice called out.
Peering over the white fence, Natalie saw a stack of red wood that the Nobles were using to make a deck around their swimming pools. Or at least they had been before the fighting started. Jessica Noble, Little Jessie, was standing on top of the stack of wood that was near the middle of the yard.
"Jessie, please be careful, sweetheart." Natalie stood up to look at her.
But that did not happen. The entire stack of wood teetered, and it was like slow motion as the little girl fell with the wood pile.
Station 51
"So, tell me, Gage, why do you have an issue with Thanksgiving?" Fireman Chet Kelly asked looking at his fellow firefighter.
Firefighter and paramedic John Gage, the only Native American with Station 51 did not say anything at first. Of course that was because he was busy with getting personal with the station toilet. John did hate having latrine duty, which meant cleaning the toilet. Chet was the one cleaning the floor, he had the mop. John, for lack of enthusiam, was in the dumps.
"John, are you even listening?" Chet asked walking up to the urinals.
"Chet, not now. I'm trying to think happy thoughts right while I'm scrubbing."
"What sort of happy thoughts? That blond woman from Halloween, the one you'll never see again?" Leaning on the mop, Chet continued watching his friend and coworker.
John did not want to give into Chet's goading. No, he was a better man than that.
"Because, don't you think you could have just gone to see her in the hospital?"
"I did." John dropped the scrub brush into the bucket next to him. "I did look for her but she had been released. I was too late to check up on her."
In the tone John used, Chet did not say anything. John was thankful for that, probably the only thing he had been thankful of since getting in to work that day.
"So what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Chet asked.
Spoke too soon, John thought bitterly as a wave of bile crept up the back of his throat.
With the urinals all cleaned and the toilets all brushed down, it was going to be the shower stall next.
"Hey, I'll do that." Chet stopped John. "You know just to be helpful."
John's brown eyes squinted at the mustached firefighter. This could have been a prank that The Phantom was playing with him. No, not possible. Nothing wet had hit John in the face recently, sure he was thankful for that. But there was something else that was wrong, it was the whole Thanksgiving holiday.
"Thanks, Chet." Putting the bucket and scrub brush down next to the shower stall.
"No problem, Pally."
Opening his mouth to say something smart in return, but then the station sirens went off.
"Squad 51, child injured. 3223 Bloomington Ave. 3223 Bloomington Ave, cross street Athena Street." The dispatcher informed.
John headed out into the garage where the Squad was parked next to the large fire engine. John's partner Roy DeSoto was already in the driver's seat while Captain Stanley was handing over the information slip to the accident sight.
"So, are you finished yet?" Roy asked as they pulled out into the street.
"Finished?"
"With latrine duty."
John rolled his eyes. "Chet said he would take care of the shower for me, since I did everything else and all he had was the floor."
These weekly cleaning sessions were good for moral, or at least that's what the top brass said. Plus it was their shift's turn for this weekly clean spree.
In the mean time, they still had a job to do and with this being a kid, well every other thing was off the table at that time.
"Hey, watch it!" John yelled as a car ran through a red light, crossing in front of them.
The last thing they didn't want was them getting in a car crash on the way to a scene. But luckily they did come out of it alive with a few rattled nerves and hyper senses for traffic around them. Some time later the two paramedics were able to find the cross street of Athena Street and Bloomington Avenue, in a low middle class neighborhood.
But it was the last woman on earth that John had expected to see standing on the side walk waving them down. At first John thought it was an illusion, but it really was her when he got out of the Squad with Roy.
"Natalie?" He asked, tilting his fireman's helmet back to look down at the blond woman. "What are you doing here?"
She made no notice of him, turning her attention to Roy. "It's my neighbor, she fell off a stack of wood. She's not buried but she isn't awake. I think she hit her head on the cement around the pool."
"Where are her parents?" Roy asked as he was reaching into the squad compartment for the drug kit.
Natalie pointed to the small red trimmed house. "They can't hear me because they are having a fight. I called from my house instead. Come on, along back here." She led them to the side of the house where a small gate led into the backyard.
He had to focus on the kid, John told himself as he followed Natalie into the backyard as Roy took up the pace behind him.
There was a good size pool in the back that had water in it. And there was a little girl laying on the cement, a small pool of blood haloing her head.
"Can you go try her parents again?" Roy asked.
"I'll kick down the door if I have to." She responded before pivoting around and brushing by John's shoulder.
He couldn't help but watch her walk on by, it was one of the things that she had that he had not noticed before. She was just an average woman. A little on the short side, a natural blond and a compassion that even he himself did not see a lot of in people as of late.
"John." Roy's sharp voice said making him look at his partner that was kneeling next to the girl. "Come on."
In the light of what he had witnessed, seeing Natalie after almost a month, he did have a job to do.
It was going to be difficult focusing on his job while knowing that the mysterious woman was so close now.
A/N: I know tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I have been very busy with other things to try to update this part of the story. It might take some time for me to update because of the family being here. Otherwise I hope you all enjoyed this part of the story. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.