Chapter Seven

Sixteen weeks had flown by, and Tim arrived at the training facility at seven-forty-five on a crisp October Friday morning, even though his last day of class to complete his EMT program didn’t start until eight a.m. The final written exam and practical he’d studied for was mere moments away.

He strode with purpose toward the front door, the laptop he’d invested in tucked safely as always in the backpack slung across his right shoulder.

“Hey, Stacy,” he called out as he passed the reception desk on his way to the classroom. “Looking forward to the weekend?”

“When am I not?” she answered with a smile. “How about you?”

“Yeah, me too,” he grinned. “Hey – when does the Advanced EMS set begin?”

“We won’t schedule you into that program until the test scores come back,” she advised him. “Should know something in a week or so.”

“A week of downtime,” Tim said thoughtfully. “I may not know what to do with myself.”

***

Sarah sighed as she saved her cost analysis paper and then printed it out before closing her laptop.

One more major assignment done. Not gonna miss those, I have to admit.

She could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Six months. That was all that was left of her degree program.

Sarah Genard was more than ready to move on and start the next chapter of her life.

She checked her watch, frowned, and loaded up her backpack to go turn in her work.

***

The practical came first, and Tim sailed through each hands-on demonstration with ease. By mid-day, all that stood between him and his first goal of certification as an EMT in the state of Texas were two hundred questions comprising the written exam.

Tim took his time, carefully reading each question and making a selection from the multiple-choice answers. Once he’d answered the last question he scrolled back to the top and reviewed his answers to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. Satisfied with his performance, he pressed the ‘submit’ button on his final exam and logged out.

“All done?” John asked as Tim stepped out into the hallway.

“Yep,” Tim confirmed. “And now, we wait.”

“I’m sure you did fine, Tim. Your performance has been stellar throughout the program,” John reassured him. “Check your email. You should have your scores within a week.”

“Will do,” Tim said. “In the meantime, I think I’m going to take a road trip.”

“Have fun.”

Tim waved as he headed toward his truck.

I wouldn’t necessarily call where I’m going ‘fun’, he thought to himself as he drove back to his apartment to pack a bag. But I’ve put it off for far too long.

When he got home, he made a sandwich and ate before grabbing his small duffel bag and putting in enough clothes for a week’s trip. Then he opened G****e Maps on his cell phone and typed in an address. He clipped his phone to his belt, hoisted his duffel bag and backpack, and closed and locked his apartment door.

Once he was settled into his truck, Tim moved the phone from his hip to the holder on his dashboard and pressed ‘start’ for turn-by-turn navigation.

Corpus Christi, Texas, here I come.

***

Sarah got back from her class and walked into the apartment complex’s office just in time to see Jodie scowling, her tiny hands holding a claw hammer high in the air above her head as she stalked toward her desktop unit.

“What are you doing?” Sarah exclaimed.

“This damn thing is the bane of my existence, and it needs to die,” Jodie muttered between clenched teeth.

Trying her best not to laugh, Sarah moved swiftly to intercede on the machine’s behalf.

“Jodie, calm down. Let me take a look at it.”

“Fine,” Jodie growled. “But if you can’t fix it, I’m gonna put it out of my misery.”

She’s a tiny little thing but Jodie is terrifying when she gets mad, Sarah thought to herself. I sure hope she never looks like that because of me!

She forced down the chuckle she felt coming on and turned her attention to diagnosing the problem as Jodie mumbled continued threats of physical harm to the computer under her breath.

“The anti-virus software is about to expire, that’s all,” Sarah announced. “Give me just a few minutes and I will have this thing good as new.”

“That’s it?” Jodie asked ten minutes later when Sarah pushed the chair back and stood up.

“Yep, all done. Want to know what I did?”

“No,” Jodie shook her head back and forth as she dropped the hammer on the desk. “I don’t care. It’s fixed, so it gets to live another day. Now, how was your class?”

***

While Sarah was rescuing Jodie’s computer from being bludgeoned beyond repair, Tim was passing through Waco, Texas.

Although the total drive from his apartment to his destination was less than eight hours, he’d decided to relax and take his time on the journey. So, he diverted over to the less traveled US-77 from I-35 for a more scenic route south. He stopped for dinner and a motel room in LaGrange and fell into restless sleep.

***

At eight-thirty the next morning Karli called Sarah to shore up their plans for the day.

“I’ll be there around eleven-fifteen. Is that too early?”

“That’s fine. See you then.”

Promptly as scheduled, Karli arrived to pick Sarah up for the writers’ group meeting.

“You ready? Got your laptop, right?” Karli asked as Sarah buckled her seat belt.

“Yep, it’s in my backpack. And I’m looking forward to this.”

“Me too. I wonder what they’ve got planned today?”

***

Tim yawned, stretched, and looked at the alarm clock next to the bed.

Eight-forty-two, the red dials read.

“Better get going,” he mumbled to himself, and threw back the covers to head for the shower.

***

Just after noon, Tim turned left, parked in the main building’s visitor lot and went inside to get further directions. The kind woman manning the desk checked her computer records, then retrieved a map of the property and indicated Tim’s desired destination.

“Thank you very much,” he said solemnly, and returned to his truck.

He glanced at the map for a moment to get his bearings, then pulled out onto the narrow strip of pavement that led into the wide open. He passed under the archway and took the third right onto another slender strip of asphalt until he came to the section he sought.

He parked his truck and closed his eyes for a moment, then stepped out, shutting the driver’s side door gently behind him. To his left was a small fountain, and the sound of gently flowing water was soothing as he began to scan ahead and slightly to the right, walking between the rows.

At last, he found what he was looking for. A somber light gray granite stone, polished to a deep sheen, with a simple but heartfelt inscription:

Dack Abrams. Soldier. Son. Brother. Friend. You are missed.

Tim stood for a long while, just staring at his friend’s headstone. Then he gently cleared his throat and sat down beside it.

“Hey, buddy,” he tried to say, and instead burst into tears.