You Win Some, You Lose Some
2 years ago
⋆⁺₊❅.
It must’ve been raining. The whole day and to say I forgot both my coat and my umbrella is an understatement. Everyone felt the doom and gloom even as the thunder rumbled outside. Being only 6 months into this job and having dealt with desperate calls–half of them being pranks–exhausted me beyond belief.
But tonight would feel different because I took on the overnight shift–the offer of getting paid more on the table sounded like a win-win to me. I saw most of the people I work with leave since I must be dumb enough to take the offer.
Something I didn’t know was about to come my way, I don’t know how or when but it would be here, just like that thunderstorm–raging outside, with angry winds.
As soon it rang, I answered, the training kicking in. “911 what’s your emergency?”
“There’s a crash. Highway 81. He’s… He’s not moving. Please,” the voice, a little gruff with an underlying tone of someone who might hyperventilate any moment.
“Listen if this is a prank, I am hanging up,” I replied, since most of these time-waster calls come in at night, I swear.
“It’s not a prank,” he choked out. I could hear the relentless rain and the soft thud as something hit a glass or some other barrier. “I swear to god, it’s not a prank. My name is Garrett King. Please… don’t hang up. I don’t know what to do.”
I straighten in my seat, and grab the notebook flipping to a new page, scribbling his name down. “I will send an ambulance and police to your location. Can you tell me where you are?” I asked, gently.
He seemed to be sobbing, albeit not being that audible. The rain was pelting in full force by now, the lights here flickered. Great, if power cuts off I might lose connection.
His voice breaks, along with my heart, “He needs help… Please.”
“Garrett?”
“Yeah?” he says through his sobs.
“Take a deep breath, and… tell me what you see…. Anything. A building….”
“I already told you… Highway 81…” he sounds pissed right now. I would be too but… I send the team of ambulance and police to his location and provide details too.
“Can you tell me what happened?” I prod. A thick silence followed, the light flickered and the rain kept its song up. I waited for him, his explanation. Forcing someone is never what I want to do.
Eventually he spoke, remorse coating his every word. “We…. we were driving home. From a party.”
He continued, “J.D. was…. He was trying to pass or something. I don’t know—he lost control. There was another car. I don’t even… I didn’t see it happen right. It just—”
And then he said something so softly I couldn’t hear but I could guess. A good guess as to the rest of it.
I could give him a few comforting words, but would that do anything? Maybe. So I just told him, “Okay. Stay where you are… and are you able to move away from the vehicle?”
Another silence. He must be assessing his end of the line. “No.”
He repeated those exact lines again. That he needs help and to send help. I reassured him they are en route once again followed by, “Stay on the line until they’re there.”
I can try and make small talk for now. “A party huh? What was it for, Gary?”
Not sure why I wanted to give this man who is hyperventilating like a hippo a nickname but, gotta make him feel less like an idiot at this point. At least his crying stopped.
“A win,” he replies. “A Hockey game win.”
“Congrats.”
For several more minutes I help calm down, letting him ease into knowing that this night will not be a failed one.
