Broken Tears 13

Broken Tears 13

Bradley shook his head as Melody drove out of the garage and into the oncoming traffic. He was not in a hurry since he had nowhere to go. The coffee that he had drank was enough to warm him up but he knew that soon he would be hungry. He walked outside and looked up at the sky that he loved to fly in. He remembered the first time, when he was a little boy that he lifted a model airplane into the air and told himself that he would be king of the sky and soar like the strongest bird. He also wrote papers on the history of airplanes for his history project. Instead of going to baseball games he begged his father to take him to the airport and let him watch airplanes take off. He was so excited the day he was having lunch at the airport and two pilots sat down at a table near them. He listened to their conversation and then worked up enough courage to say “Hello” and ask a few questions. He thought that one day, he’d be the man in the pilot suit.

The sun was beginning to go down as Bradley started walking across the street to the café. He did not notice the pickpocket he had coffee with walk out of the café with his wallet. The stranger hurried down the street and turned the corner with a broad smile on his face as he dreamed of the money and credit cards that he would be using that evening.

As Bradley looked up one more time and paused, he saw a plane fly across the sky and disappear into the cloudy western sky. He felt a small breeze on his face and gave a small smile. That pause was long enough for him to not notice a car that had quickly turned the corner and zoom down the lane that he had paused in.

The driver honked her horn. Someone yelled “Look out!” It was too late. Bradley had been hit and knocked a couple of feet away. The last thing that he had heard was a lady yelling, “He just stopped in the street. I tried to stop!” Then all went black in his mind as the pain of a broken leg and some other internal injuries took control of his mind.

The people gathered around the unconscious man in the street. A police car that was driving to check on a traffic jam stopped and the officers went directly to the man laying on the street. The driver, a young looking black officer who hurried over to the victim, immediately reached for his communications device and called for an ambulance. The officers moved the people back and asked what happened. They gently looked in his pockets for any identification but found only coin change and a card for Alcohol Anonymous. The lady, who hit Bradley was in tears and walked up to the officers. She began to explain her story but started crying from time to time. There was a lot of noises since cars were honking and finally an ambulance’s siren was heard.

The ambulance drivers checked Bradley and determined that he did have a broken leg at the very least. They gently picked him up and put him on a stretcher. He started to groan a little and cough.

“Hey mister. You have been in an accident.” asked the young officer. “Can you tell us your name?”

“Mel-oh” he responded and then groaned again.

“Mel what sir,” asked the older officer.

“My wi, hurt.”

“Mywi?” the older officer repeated.

“Mel Mywi?”asked the younger officer.

“We need to take him to the hospital. He’s going into shock. You can ask him there.” informed the ambulance attendant who signaled to the other attendant to pick up the stretcher and put it inside the ambulance.

The officers got the information that they needed from the lady and other witnesses. They got the traffic moved so that the ambulance could leave safely. The lady was still shaking and got information that she needed to tell her insurance company. As she left the street was now once again filled with cars, buses and taxi cabs that were taking very tired and hungry people home to family and peace and quiet. The same time that the ambulance drove away and started towards the community hospital, Bradley’s brother, Brennen came up to the garage area in his new sleek car. He began looking slowly looking for his brother. Bradley had asked Brennen to pick him up at 6:15 to take him to his first AA meeting. Brennen knew that Bradley was going to say hello to Melody and then go to the meeting. It was the first time that a younger brother would be taking care of an older brother. And Brennen could think of no better way to say “Thank you” to a big brother who save his life when he almost drown as a little child.

Inside the ambulance the two attendants checked Bradley’s heart rate, blood pressure and outer appearance for bleeding. They noted that Bradley had two scars on his left arm.

“Suicide?” one asked.

“Or maybe a knife fight. The cuts are not close to the wrist but put that down on the information sheet. I’d say that this man has been lucky most of his life.” he replied as he checked the eyes for unusual dilation.

“Say did we ever get the defibrillator fixed?” asked the first attendant.

“I asked you to tell the chief that it had a problem. Didn’t you do it?” The ambulance hit a small bump and both attendants jumped a little.

“Ah, I didn’t hear you. Was that me or Tony you asked?”

“You, blockhead! And if we need it tonight, I’m going to see that you don’t ride in back any more as well as be put on report.”

“Calm down.” responded the second man. “I’m sorry but I didn’t hear you. Look we’re almost there. I promise I’ll get it reported as soon as we unload this patient.”

The ambulance turned into the city hospital and backed into the emergency room area. As soon as they arrived, they opened the doors and took out Bradley. Nurses hurried and took the papers and ringer’s lactate bottle. Night time was starting to come quickly now and this was going to be a strange night for Bradley.