Chapter 27
twenty-seven
FINN
I pull the truck into the parking lot at Northern Lights Retirement Home. I can’t help but reflect on how different things are since the last time I was here. Tonight, the woman sitting beside me is my pregnant one-night stand and not my fiancée.
It dawns on me that this is the first time I’ve thought about Tamra in weeks.
If that doesn’t tell me that it was a bad idea to be marrying her even under fake promises, I don’t know what does.
I still worry about my parents though. When I called my mom earlier to tell her I’d be home in a few days to pack everything up, she said everything was okay, but I could hear the underlying stress in her voice.
I couldn’t help feeling guilty for not being able to help them any longer, even if they didn’t know about my plan in the first place.
After I’ve turned the car off and am reaching for the door handle, Harper’s hand lands on the wrist of my hand that’s still on the console.
“Before we go in there, I just want to say that the most important thing is to not show fear. They can sniff it out like a bloodhound, and if they know you’re afraid, it will only make it worse. ”
“Why are you talking like I’m headed to war? This is a bunch of senior citizens we’re talking about. It will be fine.”
She opens her mouth to say something more, but I push open the door and exit the truck, grabbing the large first aid bag we use on our calls from the back seat.
I get my first indication that maybe Harper isn’t exaggerating when we’re met by Leann, and she takes one look at me and chuckles to herself. “I see they sent fresh blood this year. Well, good to see you again.” She gives me a nod and a smile, then looks at Harper. “Are you here for moral support?”
“Something like that,” Harper says.
Leann leads us around to a large room that’s been set up with rows of chairs. A bunch of seniors are sitting in them and a few are in wheelchairs on the outside of the rows. At the front of the room is an open space where I suppose I’ll be giving my presentation.
I follow Leann and set down the first aid bag. Harper sits in an empty seat in the front row.
Until this moment, I forgot that she’d be watching my entire presentation. I’m not sure why that makes me nervous, but it does. It shouldn’t matter to me, but I want to impress her. I want her to see me as capable person who will be able to handle the stress of raising a child.
“All right, everyone, listen up.” The murmuring in the crowd quiets down. “Finn is here from the Lake Starlight Fire Department and has been sent to do the annual safety talk with you all. Please give him the courtesy of your attention.”
“He’s cute,” a woman says, though I’m not sure who.
“Must be a bad boy. Look at all those tattoos,” another says.
“I’ve got some tattoos I can show you, Lois. Come to my place after,” a man says.
I clear my throat and shift my weight from one foot to the other.
“Enough talking. Everyone, please give Finn a warm welcome.” Leann turns, so only I can hear, and says, “If they’re a real problem, have Harper come find me.”
Smiling, I nod then turn my attention back to the audience. “Okay, thanks for having me here tonight. My name is Finn and?—”
“Speak up, I can’t hear you,” a plump man in the back calls.
I raise my voice and continue with what I was saying. “My name is Finn and?—”
“Louder,” he calls.
A quick glance at Harper, and her lips are pursed together as if she’s trying not to find the humor.
“My name is Finn, and I’ve been a firefighter for—” I feel as though I’m yelling at a rock concert.
“Too loud,” the man in the back says, then he and his buddy to his left laugh. “We’re just messing with you. I could hear you just fine the first time.”
The entire room dissolves into laughter at my expense.
After inhaling a cleansing breath, I start over.
“My name is Finn, and I’ve been a firefighter for almost a decade.
I’m here tonight to go over some basic safety and fire prevention tips that will help you at the retirement home, and also some basic first aid tips should you need to administer them until someone else arrives to help.
Feel free to let me know if you have any questions as I go, or I’m happy to take them at the end. ”
When no one says anything, I nod and start my presentation.
I go through why space heaters can be a problem and why those who smoke have to do it outside of the building in the designated areas, then I get into first aid.
So far, everyone in the audience has been attentive and quiet and no problem at all.
Maybe Harper and Leann were just trying to spook me or something.
“Now we’re going to move into the first aid portion of the presentation, but before we do, does anyone have any questions about what we just talked about?”
“Aren’t you the same guy who was here with his fiancée a while back?” an elderly lady with dyed red hair says from the front row.
I remember meeting her the day Harper was showing Tamra and me around. I think I remember her name being Alice.
“I, um…” I glance at Harper, unsure what to do. “I’m no longer engaged.”
“No doubt since you knocked this one up,” an elderly gentleman seated beside Alice says. He gestures to Harper at the end of the row.
“If we could stay on track, that’d be great.” I bend down to grab the first aid kit to pull out some things to use for demonstration purposes.
A man calls from the second row, “I have a question.”
I straighten up and nod in his direction. We also met him the last time I was here. Melvin maybe? “Sure, what’s your question?”
“If my little blue pill makes big Melvin stand at attention all day, what can I do about that?”
I clear my throat and glance at Harper, eyes wide. I thought she was here to help me. Based on the looks of things at the moment, she’s just here to enjoy the show. She looks as though she’s trying her best not to laugh.
“Well, I’d definitely speak to a doctor about that, if it’s a problem for you.” I clap my hands together in front of me. “Okay, let’s move on to some basic first aid. Things that are good to know and can help someone until the paramedics arrive.”
I go through the basics of applying pressure to a wound and, if it’s bad enough, tying a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Then I tell them about the signs of a heart attack or stroke and how they can differ between men and women.
“Is anyone familiar with CPR?”
A few hands go up in the room.
There’s no denying that it would be hard for a lot of the individuals here to effectively deliver CPR, but even a small intervention can be the difference between someone living and dying.
I begin to explain the basics of how to deliver CPR effectively, but a woman with dark gray hair stops me. “I think you should demonstrate on someone. That would make it easier for us to understand.”
“Great idea, Jean. She’s right,” Alice says.
I nod. “All right. Would you like to come up and help me?”
She scowls and shakes her head. “None of us can do it. We’d never get up off the floor. Harper, dear, go help the poor boy.”
I blink at Jean, taken aback by her referring to me as a poor boy.
But Harper stands and walks toward me. “It’s easier to just go with it,” she says under her breath. “It will get this over with faster if you do.”
“Let me grab a blanket from the kit before you get on the floor,” I grumble.
I lay it out flat on the floor, then help her get down. She stretches out onto her back, staring up at me. Positioning myself beside her and facing the audience, I get onto my knees.
I start with why CPR is so important and what it’s doing, then explain compressions, pointing to where on Harper’s chest would be the correct spot to administer it.
“I think you should show us. Where do we place our hands?” Alice asks, leaning forward in her seat.
With a sigh, I show them how to arrange their hands, then look down at Harper. “Are you okay if I put my hands on you?”
“You’ve already had your hands on her from what I hear,” the man beside Alice says and laughs.
“Maybe it was an immaculate conception,” Melvin says, and everyone laughs harder.
My face heats with embarrassment. I feel like a comedian, but I’m not telling any jokes.
Harper turns her head and looks at the audience. “Knock it off. Finn is here to help you guys out.”
That quiets everyone, and I give her a small smile in thanks.
“You’d place your hands here.” I place my hands in the middle of Harper’s chest, just below where I gauge her nipples probably are.
Do not think of Harper’s nipples.
I don’t press down on Harper’s chest, but I shift, showing them how if they move their weight over their hands, it can help to increase the pressure.
“What about the mouth? When do we do that?” someone from the back calls.
“How can we do it at the same time as the pressing on the chest?”
“Lois, let’s practice. Come over to my place tonight.”
I try to block out the talking, but it’s impossible. Harper’s smile and laughter is the only thing that’s getting me through this.
“Over top of the other person’s mouth,” I deadpan.
“Show us,” Melvin says.
“I don’t need to show you guys. You know where the mouth goes.”
“But how does it fit over it? Is it like kissing?” Jean asks.
I roll my eyes and lean down over Harper. “You’re going to be on the side of them, so it’s not like kissing. You’ll plug their nose and make sure your mouth is covering theirs so no air escapes.”
Harper and I lock eyes. I feel her breath on my face. I’m so close, and her flowery scent drifts up to me. My heartrate picks up, and everything around us melts away for a moment.
Until all the senior citizens in the audience chant, “Kiss, kiss, kiss.”
I blink and look away from Harper, breaking the spell. Does she look disappointed? I think she does, but she’s the one who said we need to stay platonic.
“This is ridiculous.” Standing, I bend to help her up off the floor. “All right, everyone, I think that’s enough for tonight. If you have any last questions, you can come up and ask me.”
I pick the blanket up off the floor and fold it as Melvin makes his way up to us slowly.
“Oh boy,” Harper says under her breath. “What’s up, Melvin?”
He looks between the two of us. “If you guys are looking for a third for your throuple since his fiancée is gone, I wanted to put my name in the hat.”
“What is with this place?” I shake my head, ignoring his comment as I pack up everything in my bag.
When I’m done, most of the people have left the room, and I find Harper talking to Alice near the door.
I make my way over. “You ready to go?”
Harper turns to me and nods. “Yup, let’s get out of here.”
She doesn’t waste any time saying goodbye to Alice, and neither do I, then we’re making our way to the exit, saying a quick goodbye to Leann, and getting the hell out.
“Well, that was interesting,” Harper says, then she laughs uncontrollably before we’re even two feet out the door.