A Soldier Finds His Way

by Irene Onorato

  Boy, did he hate kids. Why couldn’t she shut that big trap of hers for a while?

  The woman’s lifeless eyes stared up at him, her mouth agape, and skin pale.

  “No, no, no, no. Aw, come on, lady. Don’t do this to me again.” With two fingers pressed near her throat, he felt for a carotid pulse. Nothing. Once again he breathed into her and began chest compressions.

  He checked her neck again. Her pulse throbbed steadily under his fingers.

  He removed the woman’s wet clothing while the girl continued to cry and scream. “Hey kid, come here. You have to take your wet stuff off.”

  The girl looked at him with wide, frightened eyes. “What are you doing to her? Leave her alone! Don’t hurt her.”

  It dawned on him that the little girl didn’t understand what he was doing, him in his underwear, stripping her mom’s clothes off. “Do you know what hypothermia is?”

  “No.”

  “It’s when you get so cold that you die. Do you understand? When you’re wet and cold, you die faster. You got that? I’m not trying to hurt her. I won’t hurt you either, but you have to take your wet stuff off. Here, go behind the curtain and put this on.” He threw a thermal top at her. “I won’t look. I promise.”

  She took the shirt that had landed on her head and went behind the curtain. Her muffled cries continued as he got the rest of the woman’s clothing off and found another pair of long johns to put on her. Once she was dressed, he picked her up and gently placed her in the recliner with a warm blanket on top of her. He quickly got into dry clothing, and his shivering finally stopped. He towel-dried the woman’s hair as best he could. “How are you coming along back there?”

  The girl didn’t answer.

  He pulled the curtain back.

  She stood there, wearing the long john top with her wet clothes in a heap on the floor in front of her. The shirt hung down well below her knees, and the sleeves dangled off of her arms, hiding her hands.

  He squatted down in front of her. “You okay?”

  She didn’t respond.

  “I’m going to fold up your sleeves so you we can see your hands, okay?”

  She gave a slight nod and stuck her arms out in front of her.

  “You want to sit with your mom and help warm her up?”

  “She’s not my mom. She’s my aunt Audra.” The girl went to the recliner and put her hand on Audra’s. “Aunt Audra? Are you okay?”

  Audra lay still and didn’t respond.

  The child turned and looked at Edward. “Is she d-dead?” Her jaw quivered.

  “No, she’s not dead. Look, she’s breathing. She’s got a nasty bump on the head. Talk to her for a while and see if you can get her to open her eyes. That’d be good for her. It would help a lot, okay? I’ll make something hot for us to drink.”

  He put a pot of water on the stove to boil, moved the kitchen chairs in front of the fireplace, and hung their wet clothes on them to dry.

  The little girl watched his every move.

  Cricket lay curled up by the fire, worn out and shivering.

  Edward brushed the melting snow from her fur and dried her with an old towel. “If it weren’t for you, we’d have a couple of dead people on our hands. You heard their crash and led me right to them. What a good girl you are.”

  “Can you hear me, Aunt Audra?” The girl shook Audra’s shoulder. “Please wake up.”

  Audra writhed in the chair and moaned. “Zoe?”

  “I’m right here, Aunt Audra.”

  Audra blinked a few times and opened her eyes. They immediately brimmed with tears. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

  “I’m okay. That dog heard our crash and told the man we needed help. You were dead twice, but he made you alive again. The man pulled me out of the water and went back and got you out too. The car went down into the river, but we didn’t die in the car.”

  “Thank God you’re all right.”

  Zoe climbed onto the recliner and snuggled with her aunt.

  Audra winced.

  Edward went to her side. “What is it? What hurts?”

  “My arm.”

  He pulled back the blanket and gently pushed up the long john sleeve. Her right forearm was swollen. He examined it carefully, running his fingers up and down to see if he could feel a break.

  She winced again.

  “Maybe I should splint that up so you don’t make it worse. Can you move your other arm okay?” he asked.

  She lifted it and nodded.

  “How ’bout your legs, can you move them? Can you wiggle your toes?”

  “Yes, I think so.” She dragged her left hand across her midsection. “I think I bruised my ribs. They ache like crazy.”

  “I don’t doubt that. You had quite a wreck. Your car probably flipped a few times coming off the ridge.”

  He dampened a washcloth and wiped the blood from Audra’s forehead. “Head wounds bleed a lot even if they’re not serious.” He tried to keep his tone reassuring. “But I don’t think you’ll need stitches for this cut on your head. Here, hold this and put a little pressure on it, okay?”

  Steam rose from the pot on the woodstove. Cocoa. Kids liked that stuff. Yeah, that’s what he’d fix.

  His new guests chattered across the room.

  So much for a quiet vacation. Edward guessed the girl, Zoe, to be seven or eight years old. Audra looked to be in her early twenties. Zoe had long brown hair with curls that sprang out all over her head as her hair dried. She doted on her aunt in such a gentle way that it made him feel a little ashamed of how he’d spoken to her up to this point.

  The water boiled, and he poured it into the three cups he’d prepared with packets of cocoa, the marshmallow kind. His favorite. He left the cups to cool and went outside to get an armful of wood. After stoking the fire, he pulled the wooden crate close to them and delivered the cocoa to Zoe and Audra.

  Audra’s gaze met his. Man, she was pretty. Even banged up with her head still oozing blood, she was unbelievably attractive.

  Her head lolled to the side. For a second or two, she breathed soundly, then jerked straight.

  Edward blew across the cocoa, sipped, and set the cup on the crate. “I think it would be a good idea if Zoe and I made sure you didn’t nod off on us. Not yet. Tonight you can sleep, but I’ll have to wake you up every so often to make sure you can be woken up. Head traumas can be funny like that. Can’t be too careful.”

  “Sleep? Here? Tonight? No, I need to get Zoe home. My sister will be worried sick over her. Can we call home? Where’s my purse? My cell phone is in my purse.”

  “Lady, your purse, along with your cell phone, your lipstick and other frilly frou-frou stuff is in your very wet car at the bottom of the river. Something tells me you’re not talking to your sister for a while. And don’t even ask if I have a phone or a cell phone because the answer is no. I left my cell phone in my truck, which is parked several miles from here. I came in on a borrowed snowmobile with the intention of getting away from everyone. You two just destroyed any hope I had of a quiet vacation.”

  “We’re sorry to ruin your private little party.” Audra’s voice carried a sharp bite. Her face softened. “I’m sorry I said that. Truly, I am. I’m glad God put you here today to make sure Zoe and I lived to see another day. What you did for us was brave. You put yourself at risk for us. I’ll never forget you for that.” She faltered as tears streamed down her face.

  Chapter 4

  Edward warmed his back near the fire while Audra dozed in a fitful sleep. Zoe slept soundly beside her, unbothered by Audra’s twitching and moaning. Should he wake her, or let her sleep? She was breathing, and that was what mattered right now, and no one was screaming or crying.

  Audra jerked, and cried out in her sleep. “Zoe!”

  Zoe woke with a start and shook Audra. “Wake up, you’re dreaming. Everything’s okay.”

  Edward rushed over to them. “The kid is right. You
were dreaming. You’re okay, and Zoe’s okay. That must have been quite a dream you were having.”

  Audra put her good arm around Zoe and wept into the child’s hair. “I was dreaming about hitting the snowbank and—”

  “What were you doing out on that road in this weather anyway?”

  “I was bringing Zoe to my house for a few days. Vanessa and Mike, her parents, were going to come and get her and take her back home. They moved into their new house a few months ago, and I’d only been there once before. I nearly got lost driving there, so I bought a GPS to help me get back home. It didn’t seem to be working properly. Maybe I didn’t have it set up right.” Her shoulder lifted in a shrug.

  “As the weather got worse, the satellite signal kept getting lost, and so did I. I was also frustrated with the GPS because it seemed to be sending me away from the main roads. A few times it told me to make right-hand turns onto one-way streets going the opposite direction.”

  “It sounds like maybe you had it set for pedestrian travel instead of vehicle travel.”

  “Maybe you’re right. That would explain what was going on.” She nodded. “At first the snow wasn’t too bad and I pressed on. We ended up on a narrow, winding road with nowhere to pull over or turn around. When I rounded a curve, the road was blocked with snow and rocks. I hit the brakes, but it was too late. I remember going airborne.”

  Zoe’s eyes widened. “It was scary.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. Thank God you didn’t get hurt.” Audra kissed Zoe’s cheek and looked back at Edward. “The next thing I remember is waking up here in this chair.”

  Edward stayed silent. If she needed to say more and get it off her chest, he’d let her.

  Audra brought her hand up to her neck and rubbed it as if she’d just survived a hanging or other near-death experience. “It happened so fast. I guess that’s what everyone says when they’ve been in an accident. One minute you’re singing a silly song. The next moment your heart stops beating. But God—”

  “But God?”

  “You know sometimes you make plans but God changes them. Or something horrible is about to happen but God changes the circumstances. I don’t think you simply happened to be in these woods, with that particular dog and her supersonic hearing, at the precise moment my car decided to swan-dive into the river. Do you?”

  “Pfft. Gimme a break. If God was watching out for you, why’d He let you get lost and tumble into the river in the first place? If He’d have done His job and kept you on the right roads, or told you not to start out from your sister’s house right from the get-go, you’d be cozied up with your family right now instead of out here in the middle of the woods, all banged up, ruining my peace and quiet.”

  “I’m sorry about that part, but I certainly don’t blame God for what happened.”

  Edward rolled his eyes, walked away, and grumbled under his breath. “Great, just great, another Holy Roller. Just what I need. It’s bad enough I have to put up with our medic and all his hallelujahs and praise the Lords. Am I some sort of magnet for these people?”

  “Hey, excuse me, where’s the bathroom?” Zoe asked.

  “Come on. I’ll show you.”

  She popped out of the recliner and followed him.

  “Where’s the sink?” She wrinkled her nose and spun.

  “You have to use the kitchen sink.”

  “Hey, there’s no faucets on the tub.” She pointed to the holes where faucets would go.

  “Yeah, it’s tricky taking a bath. First, I have to attach a hose that I rigged for the kitchen pump then pump the tub full. After that, I have to heat water on the woodstove or fireplace to add to it or else take a freezing cold bath.”

  Zoe shivered. “No, I don’t want to be cold again.”

  “It’s not easy being clean out here. Let me give you a few house rules. If all you do is pee, don’t flush. I have to pump water into the toilet tank for every flush, and I don’t feel like doing that all day long. You got that?”

  “Gross.” Zoe scrunched her face. “Okay, got it.” She looked around. “Do you have any toilet paper?”

  “You’re a lot of trouble, you know that, kid?” He handed her a roll from the upper shelf and went back to the living room.

  “She likes you,” Audra said.

  Edward sat in the rocking chair and began rocking. “What makes you think that?”

  “She told me, of course. She said you were like an angel sent by God to breathe life back into me. She’s a bit melodramatic with her descriptions. By the way, where did you learn CPR?”

  “In training.”

  “They taught you well. It worked. I’m living proof.” Audra smiled.

  “Hey, um, what’s your name?” Zoe called from the bathroom. “Do you have a toothbrush I can use?”

  He met her at the doorway. “Edward. My name’s Edward.”

  “That’s it? Just Edward?” Head tipped sideways, she shot him a look of incredulity. “My whole name is Zoe Elizabeth Leonard. What’s yours?”

  “You know what? You’re a nosey little kid. You want to know everything. You want to know why I don’t have faucets on my tub, why I don’t flush every time, if I keep an extra toothbrush, and now you want to know my whole name. What’s next? You want to know my social security number?” How many questions could one kid ask? Did she ever shut up?

  Her relentless stare wore him down. “Okay, I’ll tell you my whole name, and I’ll tell you where the spare toothbrush is. It’s Edward Levi Giordano. Now stick your finger out like this.” He held out his index finger.

  She stuck out her finger as instructed, and he spread a blob of toothpaste on it.

  “There’s the spare toothbrush, kid. Come on, I’ll pump some water for you in the kitchen.” Edward moved a crate close to the sink, and pumped the water.

  Zoe climbed on and brushed enthusiastically.

  “It must be getting late. What time is it?” Audra asked.

  “It’s…” His watch hadn’t changed time since he last looked at it. “Well, I don’t know. So much for waterproof, I guess.” He loosened the strap, tossed the watch onto the wobbly end table, and went to the window. “It’s getting dark. Happens quickly out here, being surrounded by trees and hills. I’m going to let the dog out and clear the snow away from the door and windows again. Oh, by the way, Zoe.”

  She looked up at him.

  “The dog’s whole name is Cricket in case you’re wondering. You got that? Just Cricket. Okay, Zoe Elizabeth Leonard?”

  Zoe laughed as Cricket bounded out the door into a hill of snow.

  Edward came back inside with an armful of wood. “Are you hungry? Do you want me to fix something to eat?”

  Audra rested her hand on her stomach. “No thanks, I feel a little queasy.”

  “What about you, Zoe?”

  “I’m not hungry, thank you.” She leaned on the arm of Audra’s chair, whispered something to Audra, and sat on the floor with her head in her hands.

  “What’s the matter with the kid?” Edward let Cricket back into the cabin and shut the door against a gust of wind.

  “She’s tired, and she misses her doll. It was in the car.”

  Zoe looked up at him with sad eyes.

  “I can’t get your doll, but I know someone who’d love to sleep with you.”

  Her face brightened. “Who?”

  “See that fleabag over there?” He jerked a thumb toward Cricket. “She’d be glad to pile up in the bed with you. Would you like that?”

  Zoe stood, sprinted toward the bed and belly-flopped onto it. “Come on, Cricket.”

  Cricket leapt on the bed next to her and claimed a spot near the pillows.

  Edward covered Zoe with the blanket and walked away.

  “Hey, aren’t you even going to say good night?” Zoe called after him.

  “Good night. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” He pulled the curtain closed behind him and headed for the rocke
r.

  Audra looked up from the recliner and cast a glance toward the bedroom. “Zoe had quite an adventure today. An adventure that was entirely my fault.” Her chin quivered and she looked as though the floodgates were about to open.

  Women. They sprang a leak at the least bit of trouble in their lives. Any old thing could set them off in tears, sad stories, sappy movies. Why couldn’t they buck up and bear stuff? It was a wonder men could be attracted to such emotional creatures.

  “I know my sister is worried sick, along with my parents. We looked at the forecast, but Vanessa and I thought it wouldn’t be as bad as they predicted. We were wrong. I almost killed Zoe, and I feel horrible.”

  Edward couldn’t deny his attraction to this particular woman. When he’d checked her pupils earlier to make sure they were dilating equally, he noticed green specks sprinkled throughout her blue eyes. A guy would have to be a blind not to be captivated by eyes like hers. “Don’t beat yourself up. You and your sister don’t have a crystal ball. You couldn’t have known the day would end up like it did.”

  “Thank you for saying that.”

  “From here on out I have to put my energy into thinking about how to get you guys out of here. You probably should be seen by a doctor. How’s your arm? Mind if I take a look?”

  “It throbs now and then, especially if I bump it. And, no, of course I don’t mind if you look at it.” She supported her arm with her other hand. “Thank you for being so nice.”

  He had tied the stick he’d been whittling to her forearm after padding it with a towel and made a sling from one of his long-sleeved pullover shirts. Now, he carefully removed the crude splint from her arm and pushed her sleeve up. Her arm was still swollen. “I could ice it down if you think you could can stand it. It might help the swelling go down faster. What do you think?”

  “That may help, I guess. But where are you going to get ice?”

  “Where am I going to get ice? Are you kidding? I’ll step into the outdoor meat locker and get all the ice we need. I’ll be right back.”