Bab 21: Long Time No See!
It was unthinkable for Martin to sit at home on such a beautiful day, even after the insanities Steve was doing to him. Crying on the pillow just wasn't his style. Yes, he had been shocked and plunged in despair for a while, but the conversation with Jack made him realize two extremely important things. One of them was information that Martin loves Steve. The second is that Martin has something about him that can attract Steve Paxton for a little longer than the moment of sex. But Martin had to find out, what it was?
People often told him that he had an attractive face. They used words such as 'handsome', 'pretty' and even 'charming'. Martin could agree with the first two adjectives unreservedly. His mother was a real beauty and people said he had her eyes, mouth and nose. 'Charming', however, was a term for women, not men, so he was subconsciously against it. Till yesterday. Yesterday, to keep himself busy, he was serving on the Internet and reading comments under the interviews and music videos and he discovered that many girls use words such as 'charming', 'sweet' or 'lovely' in relation to singers, actors and even sportsmen. Even Steve Paxton did not escape that type of expression, which caused Martin to giggle nervously. But after hesitating for a moment, he had to admit that even this cold bastard in the form of Steve Paxton had a cute side to him. When he looked at him after he had satisfied Martin with his mouth ...
No, no, no, Martin couldn't remember those events all the time. He was still stunned by them, still had no idea whether to treat them as good or bad, but he was sure of one thing - for Steve Paxton, he was ready for this strange experiment.
Taking advantage of the beautiful weather and the fact that he had some time, Martin decided to go to the hairdresser first and then go shopping. His hair was already a tad too long for his liking and begging for haircut, and the contents of his wardrobe had expired some two years ago. It is true that he did not have anything grossly unfashionable, because he always wore simple and classic, but there are times in a man's life when he wants to look good and trying to win someone's heart certainly belonged to such. One shirt Martin had bought when he started dating Ami, but there was no point in kidding himself, Steve had been in slightly different social circles, as Martin had already seen.
Excited by the day ahead, Martin ran joyfully down the stairs when he nearly got hit by two screaming kids running upstairs. It was a pair of toddlers whom he helped to remove a kitten from the tree. From then on, he had seen them occasionally, as did their grandmother, who was just climbing the steps while carrying groceries.
"Good morning!" Martin called out to her. "I will help you with these purchases. They look heavy. "
"Thank you, young man. You're always so helpful…" gasped the older lady. Climbing the stairs has been making her more and more tired lately, but today she looked like she was having a very big problem with it.
"Are you okay?" Martin asked with concern.
"I'm a bit stuffy," she admitted. "Today is such a harsh weather ..."
Martin heard that people with heart problems can handle heat harder, and that the day was sizzling with heat. He did not know if the neighbor had heart problems, but he suspected it might be. He smiled kindly at her and was already reaching for shopping bags when the older lady felt worse and, gasping for breath, tilted dangerously backwards.
"Watch out!" he cried, grabbing the woman's arm. If he was even a second late, she would have tumbled down the stairs.
The unconscious woman hung in Martin's arms. The boy was scared that she might have died. He checked her breathing with a trembling heart. She was breathing! Thank God!
Martin looked around and saw only the kids standing on the stairs staring at their grandmother with terrified eyes.
"Are your parents home?" Martin asked, taking his phone out and dialing the emergency number.
"Mom is at work," the excited girl squealed. "Dad too."
"It's okay," he said and turned to the telephone. "Hello? The woman lost consciousness while going up the stairs. She hasn't hit herself, but I think she has a heart condition… No, I don't know, I'm a neighbor and I don't have contact with her family yet. Gives the address…"
The ambulance should arrive soon. Martin put the old lady in a safe position and looked at the children standing on the steps. What should he do with them? Should he take them to the hospital with him? He couldn't leave them alone. They are far too small for that.
Martin looked for the old lady's purse. She should have a phone there and some sort of identification document.
Then the door of a nearby apartment opened. Another neighbor of his peeked out at the stairwell and screamed in surprise.
"You!!!" she roared in fury. "Leave Mrs. Rogers' purse! I'm calling the police! "
"Mrs. Tyson, take it easy, Mrs. Rogers fainted and I called an ambulance," Martin replied hurriedly, a little surprised that he was suspected of theft or even of assault on the older lady. "She'll need an ID at the hospital, and I want to notify her family."
"Ah, it's you, Martin, I didn't recognize you. Oh dear what happened? "
The confusion was aggravated by the siren sound. After a minutes, paramedics were already on the stairs.
"Mrs. Tyson, I will go with Mrs. Rogers to the hospital," Martin announced, "but I don't know what about the children ...?"
"Leave them to me," she decided. "Sarah, Dave, will you go to your aunt's for tea and cookies?"
The children nodded.
Mrs. Tyson was slightly younger than Mrs. Rogers, but both were good friends and Martin had seen them together many times. He felt at ease being able to leave the children under her care. He himself got into the ambulance to accompany Mrs. Rogers, and though he knew little, to answer the medics' questions.
Martin spent nearly an hour in the hospital before Mrs. Rogers' daughter-in-law showed up. Martin knew her tired face from the bar where he sometimes ate breakfast. She worked there as a waitress. However, he had never seen her in his neighborhood, so he had no idea that the woman was the mother of his two toddlers he knew. The woman was clearly tired and stressed and it was difficult for her to embrace the whole situation at once. Martin was informed that her mother-in-law had suffered a stroke, and if Martin had not acted so quickly, the woman could have become paralyzed or even died. As a result of immediate treatment, the danger was averted. Now her life was no longer in danger, and she could only have a slight paralysis of her face or hand that should subside over time. The mother of the children thanked him with tears in her eyes.
In his eyes, Martin had done nothing that deserved a profuse thanks from anyone. The gratitude of the Mrs. Rogers' daughter-in-law made him feel uncomfortable. After all, he had done nothing deserving of praise or gratitude. After all, anyone in his place would have acted the same.
But Martin was struck by the fragility of human life. One moment Mrs. Rogers was talking to him quite normally, the second she was close to death. There was something terrifying about this turn of events. He decided to call his mom today. He hasn't done it for a long time, and he should. He should also remind her to look after herself and to do her regular examinations. If something like Mrs. Rogers had happened to his mom ...
But Martin's mom was doing fine, and though she was happy about his call, she was laughing at his sudden interest in her health. She forbade him to worry and told him to focus on his own life. She's fine.
Martina was reassured by the lighter tone of his mother's voice than her words. She just couldn't lie, so if anything were wrong, he would have sensed it.
There was no longer any need for him to stay in the hospital any longer, so he was just getting ready to leave when an old acquaintance unexpectedly ran into him.
"Oh!" Don Alston exclaimed in surprise. They used to ride amateur races together, but Don had more courage on the track, and when each of them tried their hand at more professional competitions, Martin could not stand the pressure and voluntarily retired into the world of mechanics. Don did, however, he finished the last season as the third in his racing class. "What a surprise! Long time no see!"
"Hello, Don."
If you asked Martin, they might not see each other for another ten years. Alston was a good driver - Martin had to admit it with a hint of jealousy - but he was an even worse asshole in life than Steve Paxton. Steve was difficult because of his moods and unpredictability and a strange stubbornness, plus… Enough about Stevie! Martin admonished himself, blushing with embarrassment that even a chance meeting in the hospital evoked Paxton's memory.
Well, if it was up to Martin, he could easily have survived without seeing Don Alston for at least ten years. Don was simply one of the types of people who had themselves as the lords of the universe and the kings of life, and viewed people inferior to them with pity or even reluctance. Not only that, because they believed that everything was due to them, they took everything for themselves without asking for consent or whether what they were doing was moral at all. Martin knew Don had slept with Heather when she was his girlfriend.
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