“Are you serious, man?” the driver asked, shocked.
“Yeah. I won’t move!”
“This is illegal!” the driver said.
“Sue me. Or call the cops,” Taylor shrugged, not even looking at the man now.
He stared straight ahead, waiting for the traffic to move finally.
“I hope no one you love is ever in this boy’s shoes,” the driver said, spitting on the ground beside his car in disdain. He got back on the ambulance and maneuvered his way through a sidewalk, and other vehicles let him pass.
After another 15 minutes of traffic, the roads cleared, and Taylor arrived at the office building in the nick of time. His client had just started speaking when his phone rang.
He saw Polly’s name flash across the screen but ignored the call right away. I told her not to call, he thought, as he listened to the client.
However, Polly called again and again and again until a message popped up: “Mark is in the hospital! Call me ASAP!”
“Hospital?” he whispered, staring at his phone intently.
“Mr.
Brown?” one of his executives said.
“Roger, handle this meeting. My son is in the hospital. I have to go,” Taylor said and rushed out of their meeting.
His whole body shook.
Polly was well aware of his distaste for doctors, so it would take a real emergency for her to take their son to the hospital. He knew this was bad. Taylor called her, got the hospital’s name, and drove there quickly.
Luckily, there were no other traffic jams like that morning.
He didn’t even notice where he parked his car. He only rushed through the emergency doors, asked nurses to help him, and finally met Polly outside the operating room where family members usually waited. His other kids, Jason and Mona, were holding her legs in fear.
“What happened?
Where is Mark?” Taylor asked, distraught.
“He’s in surgery right now. Taylor, darling. It was bad.
His head was bleeding,” Polly explained as she cried, and his younger kids started crying too.
Taylor had to compose himself and hugged his family tightly. “It’s OK. It’s OK.
Everything will be alright. Mark is in good hands,” he almost chanted. He was trying to convince himself.
A few hours later, a surgeon finally came out.
They all stood with their hearts in their throats, waiting for the news.
“The surgery went well. Your son is recovering in the ICU. We won’t know more about his situation until he wakes up, but the margins look good,” the physician said, nodding.
“We’re moving him now. But we’ll let you know when you can see him.”
Polly knelt as her emotions took over her, telling her kids their big brother had made it. Meanwhile, Taylor moved toward the doctor and pressed for more details.
“Be straight with me, Doc.
Is Mark really alright?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, he is, sir,” the physician nodded again. “But it’s only because he got here in time. We heard about the crazy traffic jam earlier, and if they had taken longer, we might be having a different conversation.”
Taylor said nothing as the doctor patted his shoulder and returned to the operating area, where non-patients were prohibited.
Traffic jam? he thought, surprised.
He turned to his wife, who had calmed down somewhat. “Polly, you were in the traffic jam this morning?”
“Oh yeah.
I was so worried. It was not moving at all for some time. The driver even got out and, apparently, fought with someone who refused to move their car.
Who does that?” Polly explained, scoffing at the idea that someone wouldn’t move over for emergencies. “But the driver got in, road the ambulance through a sidewalk or something – I was scared for a second – but he got us here as quickly as he could. What a champ.”
Polly didn’t see or notice how quiet Taylor had become.
“Kids, let’s go get some snacks from the vending machine. We’ll have to wait some more to see your brother,” she urged, looking back at her husband.
Taylor had to clear his throat. “Go.
I’ll stay here just in case.”
“Alright,” she smiled a bit now that the immediate danger was gone.
But Taylor felt like he was still in hell. He plopped on one of the seats and stared at the wall. He had delayed the ambulance, while his son was almost dying inside.
Mark would not be here if the driver hadn’t been so smart.
Tears burst from his eyes involuntarily. His chest constricted as his breaths came too quickly, and finally, he placed his head on his hands and cried. The realization that this was all his fault was too much to bear.
He had refused a nanny, refused to move for an ambulance, and ignored his wife’s calls.
“Taylor,” Polly whispered when she returned and hugged him. “Kids, come hug your Daddy.”
The youngest ones embraced him as he tried to stop his sobs, but it was hard.
“Mark will wake up soon, Daddy,” his daughter, the youngest of their brood, said in her high, precious little voice, finally calming him. Nothing would take away this guilt, but he eventually stopped weeping heavily.
***
They visited Mark an hour later, and the boy woke up.
The doctors checked his motor skills, and everything was alright. He even spoke a little before falling asleep again. His surgeon said he was fine and told the family they would move him from the ICU to a standard room soon.
Mark was officially out of danger.
Once his boy was placed in a normal room and safely surrounded by his family, Taylor went out and talked to one of the nurses, requesting to see the person who drove the ambulance.
“Oh, that’s James. You’ll probably find him outside where most of the ambulances are parked when they’re not dispatched,” a nurse kindly told him, and Taylor went out.
He found James immediately, and despite the rush and everything that morning, the old man recognized Taylor.
“Wait a minute. Aren’t you the guy who wouldn’t move his car?” James accused, pointing his finger at Taylor.
But Taylor didn’t stop approaching him and raised his arms to wrap the old man in a hug. James didn’t like that and tried to pry him off until Taylor spoke.
“I’m sorry. Thank you.
Thank you for doing your best. It was my son. You were bringing my son here, and I… I was such an idiot.
I’m so sorry. I could’ve lost everything,” Taylor said, and the old man relented, patting Taylor’s back.
“How is the kid?”
“He’s good. He woke up,” Taylor said, pulling and wiping a tear.
“He’s resting again, but the doctor said he would recover. Thanks to you.”
“I only did my job, sir. But I’m glad.
I used to be a paramedic. Now I only drive, but I’m glad he’s safe,” James nodded.
“Why are you still working?” Taylor wondered. “If it’s not too much to ask.”
“My wife needs surgery for her hip.
In this economy, retiring is not really an option anymore. Sadly, being an ambulance driver doesn’t pay much, but it helps,” James sighed.
“Would you be interested in changing fields?” Taylor suggested out of the blue.
“What do you mean?”
“How about you become my driver?” he suggested, explaining where he worked and how much he would pay. It was more than triple what the old man made.
“Is this a real offer?”
“100%,” Taylor insisted.
“I may be an idiot, but I don’t lie about business.”
The old man thought about it some more and finally agreed. He worked for two more weeks at the hospital but became Taylor’s driver after. The rich man didn’t realize how convenient it was not to worry about driving until then.
He and Polly also needed help once Mark got out of the hospital, so James ran errands, went grocery shopping, watched the kids whenever possible, and drove Taylor everywhere.
After a few months, the old man had enough money for his wife Helena’s surgery.
Taylor gave James all the paid leave he needed and visited them at the hospital. Once James’ wife got better, he came up with another idea.
“James, how would you feel about Helena working for us as a nanny? Would she like that?” Taylor wondered from the back seat.
James looked at him briefly and nodded.
“She would love that. She loves kids. We never had any.
It wasn’t in God’s plans for us, but she would love it. Would you really hire her, sir?” James asked, grateful.
“Oh, yeah. My wife needs help,” Taylor said and smiled as he stared out his car’s window.
He realized after Mark’s accident that there was no reason to have money if you didn’t use it to help your family.
You had to enjoy all your hard work and make your family happy. Furthermore, his disdain for doctors was gone completely.
He still resented the one who didn’t diagnose his mother well, but one person’s negligence shouldn’t reflect on the entire field. Everyone, including the ambulance driver, had worked hard to save Mark, and they did a fantastic job.
Taylor became a benefactor of the hospital, giving grants so kids from lower-income families could get surgeries.
Meanwhile, James and Helena continued to work for his family, and the kids adored them. Polly was thriving at work and no longer fainted.
And Taylor was always the first to move over when an ambulance passed by the road. He would never make that mistake again.
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