Home » The Archives » Chapter 9 » Regrouping and Recouperation
| Re: Regrouping and Recouperation [message #115 is a reply to message #114] |
Sun, 22 July 2012 18:42   |
artisticrainey
Messages: 1228
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
Karma:
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Field Commander
Switzerland |
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The next morning, the sun rose into a clear blue sky, witnessing the destruction left behind when the atmosphere exploded so violently. With all the cheeriness it could muster, the glowing orb insisted on showing the human inhabitants that the storm was over. Sunlight seeped around the edges of Heather's windows at the Regis Hotel, slipping its fiery fingers underneath her closed bedroom door. The combination of sunlight and a distant beeping sound caused her to awaken to the feeling that she'd forgotten something important she had to do.
With a groan, Heather pushed the covers back, wincing at the light. Her eyes ached, her head ached, and her nose ran. Turning towards the clock on the nightstand, she stared at the electric blue numerals that read 9 :14 a.m. "I hate crying jags," she moaned. "My head hurts."
The beeping started up again, and Heather crawled out of bed. "This better be important." Opening the bedroom door, the beeping grew louder. She walked over to where she left her work slacks on the floor.
"Oh, crap!" she squeaked with realization. "I was supposed to be at work!"
Picking up her pants, Heather dug frantically in the pockets for her cellphone and hit the talk button. "This is Heath--"
"Where the hell have you been, woman?! The boss has been trying to get in touch with you! We thought you'd been run over by a twister!" yelled Richard worriedly.
Standing nude in the living room with a headache and a growling stomach, Heather snapped. "Lemmee tell you what kind of day I had! I was nearly run over by a cotton-pickin' tornado, and then another one hit my aunt's farm--!"
"Heather--?"
"And it decided to take my home! Ripped every board and brick clean off the blasted foundation!"
"Heather!" The voice changed, but Heather continued ranting.
"So now I'm at the Regis with just the clothes off my back--!"
"This is the Supervisor Blake! You're on speaker phone, Kennedy!"
Heather's mouth dropped open. "Uh oh,"
"Is she always like this, Rich?" Blake asked.
"Uh-only when she's really stressed out."
Heather mouthed at the cellphone. I'm not stressed out! She made a fist at the phone.
"Heather, we've been calling everyone to make sure they're okay. Obviously, you've been through a lot and I understand that. Don't worry about making it in. Just sit tight and relax, all right?"
"Thank you, sir. By the way, what's the condition of the testing grounds?"
"A tornado tore up some of the runways at the edge of the fields," answered Richard. "The planes are all fine-including yours."
Heather breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's good to hear." She'd actually forgotten about her Jet Star.
"We've got to go, Heather," said Blake. "You've got lots of vacation time accumulated anyway. Call your insurance agency. Do what you have to. If I can help, let me know."
"Yes, sir, thank you, sir, and goodbye, sir."
The dial tone returned and Heather shut the phone down. Relieved she wasn't in trouble, she gathered her bags from yesterday's impromptu shopping expedition and went to shower and get dressed for breakfast.
Running her long slender fingers through her hair, she grabbed her purse, walked back to the elevator she'd taken the night before, and took a smooth trip down to the ground floor. As the elevator opened to let her out, she smiled. She did happen to like staying at hotels and eating out, so when she reached the restaurant, she made up her mind to enjoy the experience. As she walked up to the podium, she was met by the redheaded headwaiter whose name tag read Brian.
"My name is Heather," she said which sent him typing in her name. "I like the color of your hair."
With a sudden grin and dimples to match, he studied her and said, "My long lost sister!" The two of them laughed. "Well, I'm afraid at the moment that all the tables are full. I'm expecting a table to open soon."
"I can wait. That's certainly no problem."
"We got an overflow of customers in the hotel from families who lost their homes, so we've been swamped."
"And you've all been overworked, I'm sure."
"Some people have been really struggling, but I'll tell you what. About the middle of the dining room you'll find a little fella in a wheelchair. His name is David. He was one of those kids rescued by International Rescue. Well, after his family took him home, they discovered their home was just trashed. Like a bomb exploded. They lost everything they had except what they had on them. They came here. That little kid lost his own room with all his toys, computers and clothes. And yet, he's got to be the happiest little guy I've ever met. All because he was rescued by International Rescue."
Looking down on his board, Brian grinned. "Ah, we have a table about to open and it's all yours. Should be cleaned off in about two minutes here."
When Brian checked, the table was cleaned off. A cloth napkin was folded in the water glass and shiny silverware was set for her along with a menu. Brian led her to the table, helped her sit down, and then told her the server would be along soon. "What would you like to drink?"
"Hot coffee, ice water with lemon, and I take both cream and sugar." she answered.
"Hey lady," she heard someone say.
"Okay, this rates! They serve hash! Oh man, I want the hungry man plate." Suddenly, she realized someone was next to her. "Hi, I'd like the hungry man breakfast--Hold it. You don't look like a waiter."
Next to her sat David in his slightly scuffed wheelchair, laughing at her. "I can't be a waiter!"
"Actually, you could do it. Even do what the host does. The arms of your chair would be perfect for carrying trays for a start." Getting down near where only he could hear, she said, "And if you took a lady's hand to take her to her table? She'd be gushing! She'd think you were the sweetest thing since cinnamon rolls."
David laughed. "You're kidding?!"
With her brightest smile, Heather assured him, "Cross my heart and hope to die!"
"Look what I got!"
Looking at the outstretched wrist, Heather smiled knowingly at the bar coded bracelet with the IR stamp on it. "I got rescued by International Rescue! That's what I wanna do. Do you know how to become an International Rescue person?" Davy asked her.
"Boy, that's a pretty darn good question, I must say," Heather responded, blushing. That was the last thing she thought she'd ever be asked. She was thinking about a lowly job position, and he wanted the most intense job of all.
"Our home was wrecked by a tornado," Davy told her, not looking for an answer as many kids his age do. "But it's okay. I got to meet International Rescue. They come out only when somebody's hurt!"
"That's what I hear."
His next question surprised her. "Did something bad happen to you?"
She stared at him. Perceptive little kid! "What makes you say that?" she asked.
"You're eyes drooped for a minute just like my mom's did when she had to tell me our house was gone."
"As a matter of fact, I lost my home, too," Heather said wistfully. "I think it's no big deal and yet, it is a big deal." From the corner of her eye, she could see his parents studying their meals very intently, listening in.
"I have to talk about it, because if I don't, it hurts. If it hurts me, it hurts Mom. She loves me a lot. Daddy, too. They pretend it's no big deal, too, but I know it does."
"David, that is very wise. There's a lot of grownups that have a lot of trouble understanding that. If you stay as wise as you are, you can go anywhere you wish."
"Maybe even International Rescue?"
"Maybe International Rescue," she answered him with a smile.
A tall, sandy-haired man got up from his table next to Heather's and walked over. Heather noticed the jeans and denim shirt. He wore a chain of wooden beads. "I'm sorry, Miss. Davy, you still have to finish breakfast. Come on back to the table now."
Heather watched as David was led back to the table next to her as her own waiter came with her menu. She hadn't talked to the tyke for very long, but as she caught him spinning the band on his wrist, she smiled. David was so excited to be rescued by International Rescue; he wanted to become one just to return the favor.
On the way back to her room after breakfast, she made a mental list of the phone calls she had to make. As she made her way down the hallway to the elevators, she thought to herself how lucky she really had it as compared to David. I knew International Rescue rescued people from dire danger. Everyone knows that, but do they have any idea about the kind of inspiration they give? And good jumping grief, they've asked me to be one of them! My stars, that's a lot of responsibility! And they want me.
Catching the elevator back upstairs, Heather decided that the first call she had to make was to Jeff Tracy. He'd waited long enough and so had she.
Post by AmandaTracy on 10/18/2006
  
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