Gift of Life

By 11pm, he'd met the next mark on his bedpost, and whatever his earlier concern had been, it was long gone by the time they got to his place around midnight.

Just after 2am, Eric Rust had done some more wild-oat sowing. Specifically, he'd 'sown his seed', and as far as the cute young coed who'd spent a couple of hours in his apartment, nearly all of it in his bed, their 'relationship' was over. She was now long gone, and he honestly had no idea what her name was or whether she'd even told him.

Randy, who'd never had anywhere the 'success' of his best friend and fellow EMT, had, as usual, gone home alone with nothing more than a beer buzz.

Normally, Eric would have fallen asleep by now, but instead he was laying there, his hands interlaced behind his head, staring up at the ceiling watching the blades of fan slowly spin around and wondering what it was that had bothered him so much about meeting...what's her name. A little after three he gave up caring and crashed hard knowing he had the next day off.

When he awoke around 9am, he briefly recalled the girl and his previous concerns, but quickly dismissed them both. He had no intention of spending his off time peeling back the philosophical onion of his life, but he did have every intention of going to the gym.

As an EMT who loved his job almost as much as 'the hunt', he also enjoyed staying in shape to make both things easier. At 5' 11", he wasn't particularly tall, and in spite of a regular routine of lifting and swimming, he wasn't especially 'ripped', either. He just thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of working out. Still, he was very athletic looking, and with a full head of thick, very dark hair, and a very handsome face, he was more than adequately equipped to attract a bevy of pretty girls anywhere he went.

By the time he got back to work the following evening to pull a shift from 10pm until 6am, he was fully recharged and ready for the kind of excitement living near a big city like Dallas offered EMTs. He had no idea what specific emergencies would arise, but he knew they would happen. The only questions were how many calls would come his way and how serious they would be.

Randy was just getting off when his best friend walked in to get ready.

"Hey, bro. How was the day off?"

"Not bad. I hit the gym, had dinner with my folks, then found another hottie to uh, spend a little time with me."

Randy shook his head and told him—again—that he was seriously envious.

Eric chuckled, and before he could reply Randy mentioned that someone stopped by looking for him.

"Looking for me?"

"Yeah. The guy's a private investigator, and he was looking for information about a fatality from back in early 2017."

"One I responded to?" Eric asked as he pulled on his blue work shirt.

"No. Another company got the call. I heard about that particular accident, but you hear about so many over the years that it's hard to remember most of them," Randy told him.

"Yeah. I hear you. After the first dozen or so dead bodies, it's all a blur."

The comment wasn't disrespectful, it was just a matter of fact.

"But this one was a little different because the guy driving got waxed from the impact, but his wife, who was sitting right next to him, wasn't really even hurt. They took her to an ER just to be safe, but she was okay."

"Sorry, man. Still doesn't ring a bell."

"It wasn't that. The PI already talked to the guys who responded to the call. What he was looking for was anyone involved in transporting the decedent's organs for transplant."

"Ah. Okay. The plot thickens," Eric said as he pulled on the blue pants that were a part of the required uniform.

"Yeah, well, you got certified for organ pickup and delivery in January of '17, and I know you dropped off a heart around the time of this accident. Gary was the senior EMT on shift when the PI came in, and he looked it up and told the PI that you took the dead guy's heart to one of the transplant facilities in town."

"Any idea why he's digging into this?" Eric asked as he closed his locker.

Eric's question told Randy his friend was concerned someone was possibly looking for a lawsuit based on negligence of some sort, so he put that to rest.

"Gary asked him about that, and the PI told him he couldn't explain why his client wanted to know, but he did tell him it had nothing to do with anything legal."

Eric clicked the lock shut and turned toward Randy.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah. Gary asked you to stop by and see him before you get called out somewhere."

"Okay. Sure. I'll do that right now," Eric said before asking his friend what he was going to do.

"Go home, take a shower, have something to eat, and head out for a few beers."

Eric laughed, slapped his friend on the back as he walked by, and said, "So in other words, this is going to be a repeat of every other night of your life for as long as I've know you."

Randy laughed, too, then said, "You know me so well. But then, not all of us can just walk into a place and have our pick of the litter."

"Keep the faith, brother. You may just get lucky tonight."

"Uh-huh. And I might win the lottery without buyin' a ticket, too," Randy quipped as his friend disappeared from the locker room.

"Gary? You wanted to see me?" Eric asked when he knocked on the supervisor's door at caught his attention.

"Rust. My man. Come on in," the 43-year old EMT with every certification the state gave out, said.

"Randy said some guy was snooping around here looking for me. What's going on? And why are you pulling a double shift?"

Gary looked up, smiled, then said his wife was pregnant with their second kid, so the extra money was important. As he spoke, he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a business card. He gave it a quick glance then handed it to the younger EMT.

"You might wanna give him a call. He said he'll be back here until he talks with you, so you could possibly wrap this up on the phone."

Eric read the name then said, "Yeah, sure. Maybe I'll do that. Anything else?"

"Nope. But it's Friday night in 'The Big D' so...hold on to your hat."

Eric got up, smiled at his boss, pretended to hitch up his pants, then flatly said, "Yee-haw."

Before he could complete his equipment and medication stock checks, the first alarm sounded, and it stayed insanely busy all night long. There were two vehicle accidents with one fatality, a shooting that left two men dead and one in intensive care, an accidental poisoning, and a near-drowning at motel involving some drunk college kids as well as a handful of more routine calls.

By 6am, Eric was both exhausted and too wound up to sleep, so he decided to change clothes so he could go for a run and shower at the station before heading home. When he got back around 7:30, Gary's relief, a recently-divorced woman named Phyllis, waved for him to come into the office.

The man sitting in the chair in front of her stood up and introduced himself, and Eric knew he had to be the PI who was looking for him.

"Mr. Rust. I'd like a little of your time if that's okay," the man told him.

"I uh, I really need to take a shower first, but if you can give me a few minutes..."

"Take your time. And when you're ready, breakfast is on me," the PI told him.

By 8:15 they were in a local IHOP and Eric was shoveling an order of pancakes, bacon, and eggs into his very hungry body while the private investigator asked him some questions.

It quickly became clear why the information was so important.

"So your client is the wife who survived the crash?" Eric asked, just to confirm.

"Yes. She knows some of her husband's organs were donated, and she's at a point where finding out as much as she can is extremely important to her. She knows we may never learn actual names, but anything you can share with me would be very helpful."

As Eric chewed, the PI continued explaining.

"Any information would be nice, but she's specifically interested in knowing who got her husband's heart. And I understand there are times when your company gets called on to pick up and/or make deliveries. I also understand you're certified to do that."

"I am. It's not rare, but most of the time EMT companies don't get involved. But if say, everyone who normally does is tapped out, we can perform the service if there's a certified tech on call who's here at the required time."

The PI provided the specific date of the accident and asked if Eric remembered getting involved with an organ delivery around that timeframe.

"March 14, 2017," Eric repeated as his adrenaline rush began giving way to what he jokingly called a 'carbohydrate-induced stupor' brought on by a heavy meal like this after a long nightshift.

"Yes. Late that evening."

"Um...yeah. I do remember making a run from Baylor U. Medical early the next morning. In fact, that was the first heart I ever delivered. I'd transported other organs before but not a heart."

Eric then told the PI where he took the heart, and with that, he laid a $20 bill on the table and thanked the EMT for his time.

"Sure thing. And thank you for the hotcakes and eggs."

"My client's paying for it," the man told him with a smile.

He turned to leave then stopped and turned back around.

"Oh. Would you mind if I give her your name and number? She's a really nice lady, and something tells me she'll want to thank you herself."

Eric tilted his head, thought about it for a second or two then said, "Um...sure. Yeah. I think that's the least I could do for someone in that situation."

"All right. I'll do that, and thank you again."

"Good luck. I hope this poor woman gets some closure."

The PI nodded but didn't speak before turning to leave as Eric drained the last of the coffee in his cup.

That evening, Ben called Renee and ask her out for the following Friday night, and she told him that sounded lovely. He apologized for not being able to make it anytime before that, but between alimony and child support, his divorce made working as much as he could a necessity. They agreed on a time for Ben to stop by, made a little small talk, and that was that.

It was Sunday morning around 11am when Eric's phone rang, and when he saw the called ID, he had no idea who was on the other end of the line. But because there was at least a name associated with it, he felt fairly confident it wasn't someone calling to buy his house at a really great price or offer him an extended warranty on his vehicle or let him know about some great new, low interest rate he couldn't live without.

"Hello?" he said after swiping 'Accept Call'.

"Yes. Hi. Is this Eric Rust?" he heard a pleasant-sounding female voice ask.

"Yes. That's me."

"Good morning. I'm...my name is Renee. Renee Johnson. I hired a private investigator to find out about my..."

Her voice trailed off, and Eric knew why.

"Yes, ma'am. He spoke to me about that. I just wanted to say I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. I appreciate that very much. It's going on three years now, and I don't know why I need to know so badly all of a sudden."

She paused then said, "I just do."

"I understand," Eric quickly said, not sure he even could understand. "I hope what little I was able to offer was at least helpful."

"It was," the woman told him. "And I hope that I don't sound too loony, but it's somehow comforting to just talk with someone who..."

Again, she couldn't finish the sentence, but there was no need. He understood she meant 'someone who was connected' to her late husband in any way.

"Did you have any success finding out additional information?" he asked as respectfully as he could.

"No. As I suspected, everyone is being very tightlipped about everything from the time you delivered my husband's h..."

Eric knew she was choking up, and although he'd never met her, he truly felt sorry for her.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, letting her know he understood.

He could tell she'd recovered quickly as she said with more confidence, "I just wanted to call and tell you how grateful I am for what you did—and for what you do every day."

"Well, that's very kind of you, Mrs. Johnson. I love my job, and it's an honor to be able to help people in their time of greatest need."

Eric couldn't believe those words came out of his mouth, but he'd just said them. It wasn't that he didn't mean them, it just wasn't like him to say something like that.

She thanked him again then hesitated for a couple of seconds causing Eric to ask if there was anything else he could do for her.

"I'm sure you're incredibly busy, Mr. Rust, but I just live down in Lancaster, and I was wondering if you'd be kind enough to let me at least meet you and thank you in person. I know that must sound even stranger than what I've already told you, but it would mean so much to me if you could spare even a few minutes of your valuable time."

Up until that moment, Eric was feeling very sympathetic, but he wasn't the least bit interested in meeting some older woman he didn't know—for any reason. And yet, he suddenly had this mental imagine his own mother being in a similar situation, and when the thought of someone taking his father's heart to a waiting donor hit him, he knew he had say 'yes'.

"I'm sure we could find a mutually agreeable time, Mrs. Johnson," he told her, mustering up as much positivity as he could.

"Thank you so much. Today is Sunday today, and if you're not working, I could be there in an hour or so. Or if that's not convenient whenever works for you."

It was less than 20 miles to Dallas, and she could easily be there in 30 minutes, but she didn't want to press her luck—or him.

He could 'hear' her smiling as she said, "And you could be done with me in short order."

Eric tried to laugh, but he had to admit she had a point.

"Um...sure. That sounds reasonable. I don't have anything planned, so maybe we could meet somewhere?" he suggested, determined not to let her know where he lived.

"Yes. Of course. Just name the time and place," she said immediately.

"I live about halfway to Lancaster, and there's a Starbuck's just off of 35E at Pleasant Run. Would that work for you?"

"I know exactly where that is," she replied, sounding upbeat.

"Is noon okay?" he suggested.

"Yes! I'll be there at 12," she readily agreed.

"Okay. Then I'll see you there soon."

He nearly hung up before asking an important question.

"Mrs. Johnson? How will I recognize you?"

"Oh, good point," she said. "Um...hold on."

She scrolled through her photos and found one Desiree had taken the last time she was home. Renee rarely liked any picture of herself, but this one was an exception.

"I hope I don't scare you," she said as she hit 'send' and forwarded it to his number.

Eric laughed politely then less than two seconds later, he heard it 'hit'. He closed his eyes then opened one of them ever-so-slightly as if to ward off potential blindness if she looked anything like he pictured her.

But when he saw the pic through the slit of his left eye, what he was looking at surprised him so much he opened the eye completely then opened the other.

"Is it that bad?" she asked.

"Um...no. It...it isn't bad...at all," he replied, stunned by what he saw.

"My daughter's a senior at A&M, and she took that when she was home last summer. I don't normally like pics of myself, but..."

"This is...recent?" he asked, his eyes and brain still completely focused on the beautiful woman in the photo far more than on her voice.

"Well, fairly recent," she admitted.

Knowing how completely inappropriate it would be to say anything at all about the photo, let alone something like, "I thought you'd be short, fat, and dumpy, but you're a total babe," which was what he'd been thinking.

Even so, he thoughtlessly spoke.

"You have a daughter in college?"

He heard her laugh, and when she did, he relaxed and started paying attention.

"I do. A very attractive daughter who just happens to be my very best friend."

Renee quickly added, "And she's also single, and as I said, very pretty."

Now swept up in the back and forth, Eric told her, "She'd have to be. With a mother as beautiful as you, I don't see how she could be anything but pretty."

The beautiful, older woman laughed again then thanked him.

"I need to finish getting ready, but I'll be there by twelve," Renee promised.

"Right. And I'm looking forward to it," he told her honestly.

Once she hung up, he sat there looking at her photo trying to picture this woman with a daughter who was a senior in college. But no matter which way he turned it, he just couldn't see it. Even if she'd had her baby at 18, she'd have to be at least 40, and the woman in this picture didn't look like any 40-year woman he'd even seen before. It was possible she'd had someone touch it up for her, but that seemed rather unlikely.

He tried thinking of someone famous who looked like her but came up blank before taking one more long look at the very attractive, older woman he was about to meet for the first time.

"Wow. You are hot!" he said out loud to no one before closing the window on his phone so he could get also ready to leave.

He'd already worked out and the baggy shirt and shorts he was wearing would have been just fine with a pair of sandals or tennis shoes, but he decided to put on a button-down, shortsleeved shirt and a pair of Dockers...just because. He also put a tiny amount of product in his hair for the same reason, or at least that's what he told himself, because admitting he'd done either thing to impress this woman went against everything he stood for when it came to older members of the fairer sex.

Eric arrived at 11:45 and sat there waiting for the attractive woman in the photo who'd been wearing a red dress. He knew she wasn't going to be wearing it to Starbucks, but he had a feeling she'd look good in anything she wore. He was a huge fan of very short, skimpy little dresses with spaghetti straps that fell to the floor with a little flick of his fingers, and braless was definitely better but not required.

So when he finally saw the woman he felt sure was her, he watched her walk toward the front of the coffee shop and was surprised to find himself thinking she really did look nice in the dress she was wearing.

It wasn't red, it wasn't skimpy, and it wasn't even short, but it looked very nice on her nonetheless. It was black with a white band around the hemline and each of the three-quarter length sleeves. As she got closer he could tell it was a clingy knit fabric that was hugging a body that looked like many others he'd seen up close and personal over the years, and as he scoped her out, Eric just couldn't imagine a woman that age having a body like that, and yet she did.

Her fairly long, blonde hair was pulled back into a flat ponytail, and the only jewelry he could see was a pair of silver earrings and a thin watch. She was also wearing a pair of heels that were neither particularly high or low. Whatever height they were, they made the part of her legs not covered by the dress look very sexy, a thought he found caused himself a small amount of embarrassment.

He got out of his car, made a diagonal line her way, and quietly called out, "Mrs. Johnson?"

The woman stopped, turned his way, and smiled.

When he saw her face from just a few feet away, he knew it was her, and he was equally surprised to see she was wearing makeup to include lipstick.

"Yes. Eric?" she replied with a smile.

"Yes. Hi," he said as he stepped up onto the sidewalk.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you," she told him sincerely, a beautiful smile framed by two, full, dark-red lips.

"You, too, and I have to say you look...amazing."

"Oh, thank you. I went to church this morning, and I thought about changing, but I didn't, so..."