Death Grip

by Barbara Ebel

  “What do you think?” he asked. “A little gumbo up front?”

  “And share a big platter of jambalaya?”

  “Sounds like a winner.”

  Dustin nodded his approval to the waitress for both items. She filled their glasses with ice water and left.

  “How’s your partner?” Annabel asked.

  “Edgar’s fine. I’ll tell him you asked about him. He makes my job a lot easier and, I believe, a lot safer. We watch each other’s back. I’m fortunate to work closely with someone I trust and get along with.”

  “He seems like a nice guy. It’s that way with me and Bob Palmer, the medical student. He’s been sick and missing some ward time, so, presently, there’s an uncomfortable void for me.”

  “Hope he gets better. I suppose neither one of us can ever afford to be sick, especially you. What you do and the service you’ll provide in the future doesn’t leave room for you to be the patient.”

  “So true.” Annabel picked up her glass for a toast.

  “Would you like an alcoholic drink or wine instead?”

  “No. I’m on call tomorrow and never drink before that long haul.”

  “Water it is, then.” He clinked her glass. “To the beginning of the second part of our relationship … with finer food, a more intimate conversation, and who knows?”

  “Yes, to round two,” she said with amusement in her eyes. “I think the dimple in your chin just turned mischievous.”

  As they became more engrossed in conversation and Dustin studied the people around them, the waitress returned with their dishes.

  “I brought it all out at once,” the waitress said. “Be careful. The dish is piping hot, so the food won’t get cold anytime soon.” She placed the jambalaya and gumbo in the middle of the table and two separate dinner plates in front of them. “Need anything else at the moment?”

  “No,” Dustin said. “Thanks.”

  Annabel used a big serving spoon to wiggle some of the rice dish onto her plate while being amused at the couples sitting at the table next to them, across the spacious aisle. The two middle-aged couples were eating their main course. One of the men kept joking; every few minutes the other three of them burst into laughter.

  Annabel and Dustin glanced over and then smiled at each other. She tried the jambalaya and motioned up and down with her head.

  “This jambalaya,” she said, “makes me wonder how fantastic their beignets must be.”

  “Why don’t we find out later? Take a few home to your place or my place?”

  There it was, she thought, a clue for later, but lousy timing. “I’m sorry I delayed us this evening. If not tonight, then please, let’s do a rain check next time. I’ll even appoint myself the gopher and pick them up.”

  A shadow of disappointment crossed his face while one of the women at the adjoining table laughed at her husband’s joke. Annabel glanced over. They were all shelling and eating shrimp topped with a generous helping of spices and herbs. The female’s chuckle faded and it turned into a distressed cough.

  The woman leaned forward over the red crustaceans and then suddenly stood. Her coughing turned into choking and, although she tried, she couldn’t speak. Her hands went up above the collar of her blouse and tapped her throat. She was unable to take a breath. With a backward thrust of his chair, her spouse jumped up.

  “Martha! Martha!” the man yelled.

  The woman’s face reddened.

  Her husband stood stricken with panic, unable to move.

  Annabel dropped her fork and scrambled out of her chair.

  CHAPTER 19

  As the commotion at the table next to Annabel and Dustin escalated, the restaurant staff and other customers in the restaurant glued their attention towards the woman holding her throat and her husband barking her name in panic.

  Not a sound escaped from the middle-aged woman’s vocal cords as she gave up trying to dislodge the shrimp hung up in her trachea. No one at the table did anything to render first aid, including her husband, who finally stopped yelling “Martha.”

  With four big steps, Annabel was beside the woman, who was shorter and heavier than Anabel’s five-foot eight-inch slender build.

  Martha signaled for help, her airway obstructed and suffocation an impending threat.

  “Can I help?” Annabel asked, wanting permission before touching the woman.

  The woman gestured, waving one hand towards her neck.

  “Hurry,” her husband yelled.

  Annabel stepped behind her. Martha wore a checkered blouse tucked into a skirt, which made it easy for Annabel to wrap her arms around the woman’s upper abdomen. She applied a sudden upward pressure without any luck.

  On the second attempt, the woman’s foreign object came spilling forth – a decent-size chunk of a curled shrimp.

  Martha tried to regain her breathing back to normal as her husband put his arm on her upper back. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  She gave him a slight nod and grabbed Annabel’s hand, holding on to it like her life still depended on her. The head waiter stood behind the husband, waitresses paused nearby, and all customers had their eyes planted on the victim and Annabel.

  Martha squeezed Annabel’s hand.

  “Why don’t you sit down?” Annabel guided her into her previous chair and crouched down.

  The woman sat, cleared her throat again, and took a deep breath. “Thank you. What would I have done without you? What’s your name?”

  -----

  Dustin watched the alarming scenario unfold at the restaurant table next to him. He wondered about the poor woman customer’s outcome because her situation grew worse; he feared she could become unconscious if her airway obstruction continued.

  His apprehension diminished when Annabel scooted over and began assisting her. Martha’s husband and the other couple at their table appreciated her presence; they made space for her to perform a Heimlich maneuver.

  He decided to stay put as folks gathered nearby to gawk while other customers stayed at their tables. The manager left the cash register at the front entrance and stood close, mouth open with concern. Past the manager’s and maitre d’s high-top desk, the men’s bathroom door opened and a man in his early twenties exited.

  The man wore a simple blue T-shirt and brown jeans and stepped gingerly while observing the developing commotion. He did not go back to his spot at the bar. Instead, he eyed the entrance area, devoid of staff or customers.

  The young man slinked slowly towards the cash register. His eyes scanned the restaurant area where Dustin sat and Annabel performed her medical student magic. Dustin shifted his gaze towards the medical emergency and then quickly looked back.

  The young man now had his back to the front window, and he had the front drawer of the register open. From the side, his hand paused over it and then it sneakily inched in and pulled out bills.

  Dustin did the same thing as Annabel had done and scurried out of his chair. His long legs took him past another two tables, no one giving him a second glance, and he ended up abutting the tall desktop at the front entrance.

  Without any forewarning, and with the element of surprise, Dustin grabbed the young man’s hand. In the palm of his hand, the man’s fingers clasped large denomination bills, which had been stored underneath the register’s main money compartment.

  “I bet you don’t work here,” Dustin said.

  “Mind your own business,” the fellow retorted.

  “What’s going on here?” the manager asked, stepping back to his post.

  “You have a robbery in progress,” Dustin said. “I’m an off-duty policeman, so I’m calling my station.”

  The manager took a step back. “Two incidents at the same time. This is disruptive for business. If I’m ever going to have a heart attack, now’s the time.”

  “I strongly advise you not to do that. My date’s got her hands full at the moment.”

  Dustin put his hand on the young man’s shoulder, signaling f
or him to sit on the bench where customers waited. He took the cash out of his hand, counted it in front of the manager, and handed it to him. He scanned the front entrance and was relieved to find security cameras.

  “You’re busted,” Dustin said. He pulled out his cell and called his local station to report the crime.

  -----

  At the Heimlich maneuver table, Annabel gave reassurance to her newfound patient after she was sure the woman was clear of any breathing difficulty.

  “Even though you may be in the clear,” Annabel said to Martha, “I think you should seek medical care before going home … to make sure you have no residual physical damage to your throat or airway.”

  Martha stared into her eyes and nodded. “You saved my life, young lady. How can I repay you?”

  “By having a doctor check you out and look down your throat. Okay?”

  “Do you have medical experience?” the husband asked.

  “Kind of. I’m a medical student, in my third year.”

  “Thank God you were here.”

  The manager abruptly turned, several other customers shifted their gaze to the entrance, and Annabel also looked over. A situation had developed and Dustin seemed to be in the thick of it.

  She wondered what he was doing. Were they both practicing extracurricular work duties when they should be enjoying their time together?

  -----

  A cop car with bright swirling lights came by and stopped out front. When two uniformed officers came in, they greeted Dustin and made out a report. Dustin relayed the robbery he witnessed while everyone else’s attention had focused on the choking customer. The manager mentioned the doorway security camera and the thief decided not to plead his innocence.

  “So this is how you spend your off-duty time?” the older officer asked Dustin with a grin.

  Dustin shrugged. “I wish not. In essence, I’m on a date.”

  Annabel walked up with the Heimlich-maneuvered customer and her husband. The woman turned and gave Annabel a slight hug and her husband grabbed her hand and gave it a kiss.

  “Thank you again,” they both said in unison.

  “I’m taking her to the hospital on our way home,” the man added, “so she can be checked out like you suggested.”

  “Good luck.” Annabel turned to Dustin and tilted her head. “What on earth is going on here?”

  “There was a little thievery going on while you were expelling crustacean exoskeletons from a lady’s windpipe. Meet Officers Trent and Billows.”

  “Hello. Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” Trent said. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen or heard of such an intriguing date. Are you two always this fascinating?”

  Annabel laughed. “Come to think about it, we do seem to attract trouble.”

  Trent shook his head and tapped his fist into Dustin’s arm. His partner grabbed the man wearing the T-shirt and escorted him out the door.

  “Stupid ass mothafucka,” the thief mumbled.

  “What did you say?” the officer said as the door closed behind them.

  “We’ll call any of you if we need more information later,” Trent said. He tipped his head at the manager, followed Billows out to the car, and hit the stealer in the back of his head for his foul language.

  Annabel and Dustin headed back to their table to their food, which was now cold. The manager was on their heels.

  “We’ll take this away,” the manager said, “and serve you again. Needless to say, your dinner is on the house, and order whatever you’d like. That is the least I can do. I can’t repay you both enough for your Good Samaritan service tonight in our restaurant.”

  “How about a once-a-week coupon for twelve months for a free dessert?” Annabel suggested.

  The manager nodded emphatically, happy to get off so easy.

  “I guess that takes care of our beignets for tonight,” Dustin said. “Should we keep our same entrees and let the kitchen staff warm them back up?”

  “Yes, for sure.”

  The manager took the jambalaya and gumbo away while the friends of the departing couple from the next table got up and came over. They stood in the aisle.

  “We appreciate what you did for our friend,” the man said to Annabel. “We were scared to death that she was going to fall on the floor and choke to death. I thought about slapping her in the back, but that wouldn’t have helped like what you did. Can we buy you a drink?”

  The couple lingered and the man nodded at the empty spaces at their table.

  Annabel shook her head. “No thank you, but I appreciate the offer.”

  “Where did you learn to do that?” the woman asked.

  Annabel stole a glance at Dustin. He furrowed his forehead, waiting for them to leave like she was.

  “An instructor talked about it in a CPR class I took,” she said, not divulging that she was a medical student.

  “I thought you were a nurse or something.”

  Annabel shook her head.

  The manager, with a waiter, stepped alongside them and set down their food, including an extra dish of mixed stir-fried vegetables. “You both must be hungry and overdue for dinner,” the first man said.

  Two bearded old timers left another nearby table and also stopped. “It was befitting to see two youngsters stepping forward to render help tonight,” one of them said. “It’s been two counting decades since I’d seen that with my own eyes.”

  “Here.” The waiter grinded seasoning over one of the platters. “Some extra Cajun flavoring.” He stuck the bottle back in his apron.

  The second old man scrutinized Dustin. “You be in the military like I was?”

  “I bet he is,” the man with his wife said.

  “No,” Dustin said. “Although I would be proud to serve if the need arose.” He glanced at Annabel and then at the food. She raised her eyebrows.

  “Actually,” Dustin said to the waiter, “we need to be somewhere else. Would you mind packing up our food?”

  The waiter scrambled to bus the platters to the kitchen. “Don’t be late on our account,” the manager said. “We hope to see you again soon too.”

  The first old man licked his lips. “Your mouths are gonna water for more once you savor that stuff.”

  Two waiters came back this time with a paper bag stuffed with Styrofoam containers. Dustin wrapped his hand around the handle and they both rose. “Sure I don’t owe you anything?”

  “No, no, no,” the manager said.

  The cluster of customers still managed to be dead weights next to their table and Annabel and Dustin peeled around them. They picked up their pace as they neared the front door.

  Outside, as they piled into Dustin’s black Acura, Annabel burst out laughing. Dustin raised his eyebrows as he put the key in the ignition.

  “We sabotaged our own date!” Dustin exclaimed.

  “I’m to blame.”

  “You can’t help saving someone’s life.”

  “And you can’t help sticking your nose into police work.” She continued to chuckle and had to clear a happy tear from her eye.

  “Maybe she would have been all right,” he said, “after her husband pounded on her back.”

  “I don’t know. Choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional death. I wasn’t going to feign stupidity and watch that unfold.”

  “Did they take your name and number? Are they going to send you a reward?”

  “I wish. You fared better with our free dinners.”

  “And you sabotaged us with free dessert for a year.” He smiled over at her. “I guess that means we’re strapped to each other for twelve months.”

  “Hmm. It will depend on how tasty those beignets are.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Where are we headed to eat our dinner? Your place or mine?”

  “I’m on call tomorrow. If it’s okay with you, let’s go to mine.”

  “You bet.”

  -----

  A half-moon graced the night sky as Annabel and Du
stin walked two blocks over to her place after they parked. They held hands and still joked about their evening. They argued in jest over whether it was a failed dinner or not. It depended on how they looked at it.

  Annabel put her finger to her lips as they passed Travis’s door on the second floor. Inside her apartment, she grabbed dinner plates from a cabinet while he pulled the containers out of the shopping bag.

  “My apartment is not exactly spacious for company,” she said. “Although my sister has stayed here, I never entertain.”

  “You have more important things to do.”

  They both opened up the three larger containers. Annabel rested her hand on top of the last one.

  “This must be dessert.” She pried it open and they both grinned.

  “I know you’re dying to try one,” he said. “You’re one of those people who doesn’t save the best for last.”

  He picked up a beignet with one hand and caught the powdered sugar with the other as he guided it to her lips.

  She leaned forward and took a small bite. “Correct,” she mumbled. “Tonight, the best is coming first.”

  He pulled a fraction of the doughy fritter for himself, letting it practically melt in his mouth.

  “This is delicious,” he exaggerated, “but you’re going to taste better.”

  They leaned close and, as their mouths met, the powdered sugar on their lips dissolved from the kiss. Dustin’s hand went behind her neck and Annabel’s hand locked into the small of his back. With parted mouths, their tongues explored slowly … then intensely.

  Annabel felt a needed desire surge through her from her mouth, to her breasts, to between her thighs. She hung on to every passionate kiss like she couldn’t get enough. Dustin did the same as they stepped around the stool in their way, and the bulge in his trousers grew against her.

  He picked her up. “Where to?” he asked.

  She pointed to the other room and their mouths joined again. Dustin carried her inside where they toppled onto her bed.

  CHAPTER 20

  Annabel and Dustin’s clothes were strewn on the floor and the bottom of the bed. She propped herself up on her right elbow and laid her hand on his bare chest.