Emmalee and Penny - continued
I'm trying to write some fiction. This is a continuation of the last five Saturday Stories. Emmalee Smith and Penny Krause were teaching at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon. Last week they were picking apples at The Farm Place in Hood River. Emmalee and Izaak are getting a little romantic; Penny senses some water contamination in a farm pond.
*****
Emmalee fell asleep on her sofa almost immediately after getting home from their apple-picking trip. The rescue of the boy at Multnomah Falls, having to get some different clothes at a thrift shop, the apple picking contest and maybe falling for Izaak, the bouncer from the Afrodaddy Jazz bar in Portland.
She awoke at about 7:30 p.m. to her phone ringing. It was Izaak.
He asked “How are you doing? Have you been sleeping? “
Emmalee answered groggily - “Yes, and I’d still be asleep if you weren’t calling”.
Izaak laughed, “This is the fourth time I called.”
Emmalee looked at the time - “Wow - I’ve been asleep for about four hours. I was tired. I didn’t even change my clothes” and she looked down at what didn’t seem to be her clothes from the Hood River thrift shop.
Izaak continued, “I have the night off, would you like some dinner and some music?”
Getting more fully awake, Emmalee replied “Yes”.
Izaak said “I’ll pick you up about 8:00. How does that sound?”
Emmalee answered “Wonderful”.
*****
Penny couldn’t wait to analyze the water samples. When they got home at about 3:30, she changed clothes and showered. Her feet had been itching and red from her walking in the pond. As she finished in the shower, her stomach compressed, and she vomited on the shower floor.
“Well,” she thought. “If I had to vomit this is the right place for it. I wonder what brought that on?”
She decided maybe she needed to take it easy for a while, so she had some Tums and some herbal tea. After half an hour she had a piece of dry toast. Nausea did not return, so she decided she could go and check the water samples.
She jumped into her car and drove to campus. They had left the samples in her car after they took them out of Isaak's car.
The samples were heavy, but Penny had a cart on wheels in her lab, so she went to get that. Mount Hood was largely on the same level for easier handicap movement. But being on the same level meant that the campus footprint was larger. The Hunters Moon wasn’t quite full yet, but the moon was shining as she drove the mile to campus.
Bringing the cart to her car, in an empty parking lot on a Saturday night, she loaded the jars of water samples and pushed the cart to her lab.
There were three biology professors at Mount Hood Community College. Dr. Nielsen generally did the large freshmen classes in an auditorium with about 80 students. He had been doing this for over twenty years and had his lectures and presentations well organized. Penny had sat in on a few of his classes, and she was surprised that he made the classes come alive and wasn’t the boring old senior faculty person that she expected. Mary Neely was the lab coordinator and did human biology and anatomy classes. The lab coordinator was actually a challenging job as the lab needed equipment - like pig’s hearts for dissection, frogs, microscopes, and slides - and Mary could sometimes be a bit snarky.
And Penny as the new person got the second-level biology classes. Advanced biology, human biology for pre-med, and environmental sciences.
There are nine tests for water quality for standard drinking water. She had estimated the temperature at the water site at about 5 degrees Celsius (or about 40 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale). The two rivulets that fed the pond were probably a combination of melting snow of Mount Hood and normal rain runoff. While the rain would be warmer, the night temperatures in Hood River Oregon would be about 40 degrees this time of year.
For her interest, she would run quality tests on the pH (acid or acidic), turbidity, solids, dissolved oxygen, oxygen demand, phosphates, nitrate, and fecal coliform.
Most of the tests would take from 24 to 36 hours, so by starting on Saturday night, she should have some data by Monday.
It was almost midnight when she had set up the tests for all the samples. Fortunately, there should be no disturbance until Monday afternoon when the first of the biology labs met, and the Monday labs were generally small so taking one of the large lab tables wouldn’t be a problem. She labeled each of the tests carefully and almost ready to fall asleep in the lab, went home.
*****
Izaak picked up Emmalee at about 8:00 p.m. She had opted for Tex-Mex cuisine. She liked Agave Azul on Vista Avenue and directed Izaak there.
It was Saturday night, but the family traffic was about over and they got immediate seating at a table. The hostess had asked if they wanted a table or a booth and Izaak, almost before the hostess finished asking, said “table”. He wanted to sit next to Emmalee and not across the table like a booth.
He started, “Emmalee, it's been about 24 hours since we met, and I’m so glad we did. We had a great outing today. You were a real hero saving that boy’s life from the waterfall. I want to get to know you better.” He blushed as he talked. It was almost like he was tongue-tied.
Emmalee replied, “It’s been a wild and crazy 24 hours, Izaak. You were a hero last night when that guy tried to drug me, and again today with rescuing that boy. You are quite the man!!”
Izaak stammered as he said, “Emmalee, I’m like a schoolboy with a crush. For a guy who was almost on the Olympic weightlifting team, this is a very different experience. Sure, I’ve dated, I’m not a novice, but - ahh - I find you attractive, interesting, and alluring.”
It was Emmalee’s turn to blush, although it is harder to see on a black woman’s face. She leaned forward as Izaak did and they had a quick kiss. He reached out and grabbed her hand. They were gazing into each other’s eyes when their server came to their table and asked if they wanted something to drink.
*****
Raymond took most of his apples to his mother in Vancouver Washington. He liked the chunky applesauce his mother made. He checked if she would be home and she assured him that she was. He also checked with her about getting meals from Chick-Fil-A (which was one of her favorite places). She liked the Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich with the waffle sides and with Chick-Fil-A sauce. The line was fairly long at the drive-thru but it went quickly.
Laura Perez was expecting her son. They sat at the table and ate their meals. She was a retired teacher and a widow. They talked while they ate. Raymond told about their trip to the apple orchard, the rescue at Multnomah Falls, and the pond.
After dinner, they got to work in the kitchen. Raymond peeled the apples and pared them into slices. Mom put them in a large pot with cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and just a dash of clove.
The mixture cooked over low heat for about 30 minutes. Mom filled Raymond in about his two sisters and their families and other relatives. Maria’s son, Joe, was starting on the trombone; Leah, Beth’s daughter, was in a play at her school. Aunt Claudia was selling her house and moving to an apartment.
While they were talking, Raymond’s feet were really itching, and his stomach was a little upset.
“Mom,” he asked, “do you have some tums or Rolaids? My stomach is churning a little”.
Laura got some antacid for Raymond.
Soon the applesauce was ready. They split it 50/50. Raymond kissed his mother goodbye and headed back over the Interstate 205 bridge to Portland and then to Milwaukie to his apartment.
*****
Raymond’s feet still itched and burned when he got home and his stomach was still a little uneasy, so he took a shower and really washed off his feet. He had some athlete’s foot ointment, so he put a little between his toes. He dried off and settled down to watch some Netflix before bed.
*****
Izaak and Emmalee enjoyed their dinner. She talked about Chicago, basketball, running, working at State Farm in commercial art, getting her doctorate, and creating art. Izaak listened intently as she described her passions and ambitions.
Izaak talked of being a football and wrestling star in high school and going to college on a football scholarship and getting into weight training and competition and trying out for the Olympics. He had failed by about 4 pounds from getting on the team. He said he had lifted the necessary weight before the competition but just couldn’t do it that day. He talked about being a part-owner of a fitness club and being a weightlifting coach and his goal to own high-end fitness and exercise clubs.
Dinner was excellent and they opted for the fried ice cream for dessert over a second drink. Emmalee opted for a beer while Izaak had a Scotch and soda.
Izaak drove Emmalee back to her apartment and the two enjoyed a long smooch outside her door. Emmalee had to fight the urge to invite him in and spend the night together.
*****
Emmalee was woken at about 6:00 on Sunday morning. Groggily she answered the phone. It was Penny.
Emmalee, seeing the caller ID was Penny, answered, “What’s up”.
Penny’s voice crackled as she said, “Emmalee, I need your help. Can you take me to the hospital emergency room?”
Emmalee waking up asked, “What’s wrong honey?”.
Penny answered I can’t walk, I can’t move, I can’t swallow. I waited as long as I could before I called you. The door to my apartment is unlocked.”
Emmalee said, “I’ll be right there.”
But, Penny had clicked off the call.
Throwing on jeans and a hoodie, Emmalee drove the three miles to Penny’s apartment. Letting herself in, she called to Penny, “Penny, I’m here, where are you?”
Emmalee thought she heard something in the bedroom and went there. Penny was sprawled on the bed, looking as pale as a ghost. There were big red blotches on her legs and arms. She was dressed only in her bra and panties.
“Are you okay,” was Emmalee’s first question. It wasn’t really a good question, but she wanted to get Penny up and thinking.
Penny shook her head in the ‘no’ motion.
Emmalee said, “I’ll get you a robe and take you to Legacy Mount Hood Hospital.”
Penny gave a little nod of agreement.
Emmalee opened Penny’s closet and found a robe. She wrapped it around Penny. Emmalee put her arms under Penny’s arms and got her out of bed. But, Penny’s legs wouldn’t hold her.
“Darn”, thought Emmalee. She picked up her friend and put her over her shoulder and struggled to get her out the front door of her apartment and out to the car. She was thinking, “I’m glad she lives on the first floor.” She used her remote control to unlock her doors and with a shove, got Penny into the front seat. Penny was awake, but barely. Emmalee thought she might pass out any second.
At 6:15 a.m. on a Sunday morning in Gresham Oregon, there isn’t much traffic. Emmalee exceeded the speed limit on Stark Street and into the Emergency and Trauma Center and stopped by the doors. Leaving Penny in her car, she ran into the hospital yelling I need help getting my friend in. There was a night clerk at the desk, who looked at the crazy woman yelling at the door.
“I’ll get help immediately”, the night clerk said, and within 20 seconds the intercom was asking for immediate help at the Emergency Room, and within 2 minutes there were four people, three men, and the night clerk at Emmalee’s car carrying the non-unconscious Penny into the Emergency Room.
The four people put Penny into a wheelchair and with one pushing and one going ahead to open doors, two rushed her through two gray doors and down a hall.
The night clerk asked, “What happened to her?”
Emmalee took a big gulp of air, “I don’t know. We were picking apples yesterday and she was complaining of some burning sensation on her skin. She waited until 6 this morning to call me, which almost was too late”.
In the next few minutes, the night clerk got about all the information that Emmalee knew about Penny. Her name, Penny Krause, phone number, and address. Emmalee shared that she was a biology teacher at Mount Hood Community College and was originally from Coeur d’Alene Idaho. She remembered Penny’s parents were Will and Mary Krause for Coeur d”Alene. She thought Penny was 26 years old.
‘Wow, my best friend and I don’t know much of anything about her’, thought Emmalee.
The clerk noticed that Emmalee’s car was still in the driveway with both doors open. “Could you move your car to the parking lot?”
Emmalee did just that!!
*****
Izaak grew up going to church every Sunday, and today was no different. But, then Sunday was ‘lifting day’. He went to the “Iron Man Gym” where he was a part-owner and hit the iron. At times he wanted to put a sign on his back “Don’t bother me” but he knew he couldn’t do that. He did a lot of training with individuals many of whom he had met while working out. And, today was no different.
He helped a novice lifter get the right weight on his bar and gave him some instructions on how many repetitions (reps) to do before adding a little more weight. Micah frequently came to the gym on Sunday too, and they stopped and talked about their apple picking and Multnomah Falls experiences yesterday.
There was a lady in the gym this morning, working out alone. She seemed to be a bit of a klutz and was using some of the exercise machines, and just needed help getting the seat right, or setting the weight stack properly.
“Could you help me?” she asked sweetly.
“Sure, what do you need?” Izaak replied. “He was almost reading her mind when she batted her eyes at him. ‘Oh oh’, he thought, ‘I think she is trying to come on to me.
“How do I do some waves?” She asked demurely
Izaak answered, “Waves?”
The lady smiled and said, “I’m sorry, what are they - curls?”
Izaak took a few minutes to show her the curls, all the time she was oohing and ahhing next to me.
*****
Emmalee asked at the Emergency Room desk if there was any progress on Penny’s condition. The clerk checked her computer.
The intake clerk answered, “They’ve taken her to a triage room. They have an IV in her for fluids, she is quite sedated. They have started a battery of tests to see what is going on.”
Emmalee then asked, “Could I leave for a while, grab some breakfast and get my morning run in?”
The clerk said, “Give us your phone number and we’ll text you if anything happens.
Emmalee did.
*****
Raymond’s foot still itched after his shampoo and he was still a bit nauseous. But, the applesauce his mother made was awesome.
*****
The Farm Place was hopping. Sunday afternoons in the fall were a great time to take the family to pick apples, peaches, and pumpkins, let the kids go to the petting zoo, and find all kinds of interesting things in the store.
For about the third day this week, Frieda Johannsen was handling things. Roger must have come down with the flu. Rosa was a great help. A boy decided he would pick more apples if he climbed up in the tree. It worked for a while, but then he wasn’t sure how to get down. Frieda got the Gator and threw a ladder in the back and went out and helped get the boy down. His dad was really mad and was yelling at the boy. Frieda had seen something similar before - boys will be boys. “Be glad he is safe, Dad. He could have fallen and broken a leg or arm.” That seemed to calm the dad down.
“You’re right”, the father said, “I was overreacting.” The boy hugged his dad and said “I’m sorry”.
It takes a lot of work to run an orchard. In the winter they have to prune the trees to keep them productive, if they blossom too early and there is a rare cold snap, they have to put out heaters. Some of the newer varieties of apples could stand a few more hours of cold without losing their crop. They had to watch for insect infestations and treat the trees without injuring the bees which helped with the pollination. And, they also harvested the honey from the beehives in the summer. Rainy days in the fall could cut the apple picking down and cut the revenue down. Frieda was happy to have a pleasant Sunday and it seemed as if a lot of folks from Portland, and the Willamette Valley had made the trip today.
A good harvest and a good income could mean more improvements to the orchard. Frieda smiled. It wasn’t easy, but in some years it did pay off.
*****
Emmalee got some breakfast and her morning run-in before heading back to the Legacy Mount Hood Hospital. They hadn’t called but she wanted to be there when Penny woke up. She was scared for her friend. What had happened.
She paced in the emergency waiting room, and finally sat down and looked at the Oregonian Newspaper. Her jaw dropped when she looked at the picture on the top of the second section - the Home and Family section.
There was a picture of Emmalee, Izaak, and the others rescuing the boy who had fallen off the ledge at Multnomah Falls. It was touch and go for a while getting to the boy, making a rope out of belts, and almost sliding into the waterfall as well.
She immediately called Izaak.
“Hello,” said Izaak”.
Emmalee could hear some of the background noise from the gym.
Emmalee excitedly started, “Did you see the newspaper today?”
Izaak said “No, what’s up”
Emmalee answered, “We are on the cover of the second section with the rescue at Multnomah Falls yesterday. It even has our names. I look pretty grubby.”
Izaak laughed “You were grubby. WOW - that’s nice.”
Emmalee could hear a female voice in the background talking to Izaak, “Hey Honey can you help me.” What was going on - was he with some other girl?
Izaak answered her, “I’m busy this morning at the gym, but I’ll run out and get a copy of the paper when Carlos comes in at about 1:00.”
He continued, “I have to go. This lady here needs help with everything.”
He said bye and hung up.
Sure, Emmalee thought, the lady was trying to sweet talk to Izaak. They had just met, but she had just a tinge of jealousy!!!
*****
It was another hour before Emmalee’s phone vibrated with a text message from the intake clerk.
She went over to the window.
The clerk smiled, “Your friend is out of the triage room. I think you can visit her briefly in maybe another half-hour. They still didn’t say what was going on, other than she was awake.
Emmalee thanked her. Hmm - another half hour, she figured that would really be an hour. She had a drawing tablet in her car and brought that in and did some sketching for the Gresham mural she was working on.
*****
Will Penny be alright? Will Izaak and Emmalee’s relationship grow? Will this story lead gather momentum and move to an end?
LOVE WINS!!!
Karen
