Page 37 of Everybody Needs a Hero

Ashley smiled. “I’m sure she is,” she said, thinking for a minute about the decision that Bryce needed to make about what she was going to do with her future. They hadn’t talked in detail about it yet, but she knew the time was quickly approaching as the end of the week neared. She wasn’t sure how she felt about everything. They hardly knew each other, that was true, but Ashley was already feeling very attached to Bryce, and she didn’t know what it would mean if she left to go back to the military.Could I be a military girlfriend?she wondered, not even sure what that would look like in the future.And how long would that last?

Before she could wonder about the scenario any further, the first boy asked her another question. She wasn’t sure she heard him right, so she asked him to repeat it. “I said, are you a lesbian?” he repeated, nothing but curiosity on his face.

Ashley raised her eyebrows not sure she was ready to go down that path when luckily the second boy jumped in. “Lesbians are cool. My moms are lesbians.” He said it so matter-of-factly it was hard for Ashley not to laugh. It was nice to know that Marines and lesbians were considered cool by twelve-year-old kids in today’s society.

There was a loud knock on the front door of the bus followed by, “Hello. Please let us in.”

Ashley moved quickly to the front of the bus and saw the faces of four anxious adults. “Oh, thank God,” one of the women said. “At least an adult is here.” Ashley pulled the lever, and the door opened. The four adults rushed onboard.

“Mom,” yelled one of the boys.

“Dad,” yelled another. The parents rushed down the aisle and hugged their children.

After a moment, one of the men with his arms around his son looked at Ashley. “Where’s Coach and Assistant Coach Ryan?”

“I think Coach had a heart attack,” chimed in the boy in the back row.

The parents all looked at each other. “What?” asked one of the moms. “Where are they?”

Ashley held her hands out to calm the situation. “We don’t know what happened, but he wasn’t feeling well so the assistant coach took him to see the nurse at the first aid station. And they asked me to stay here with the team.”

One of the fathers ran his hand through his hair. “This is madness,” he said. “When the bus didn’t make it onto the freeway, we got separated. Then, there was the earthquake…” He shook his head.

The other father took over. “And with the traffic jam, it took us hours to circle back.”

A mother let out a sob as she squeezed her son tight. “I’m so glad we found you,” she said. “I’ll try to text the other parents. We have been searching everywhere.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Ashley said. “The team is fine. But if you don’t mind staying with them, I will go find my own mom and my friends.

“Her girlfriend’s a Marine,” one of the boys chimed in.

“And she’s a lesbian,” said another. Ashley rolled her eyes but was happy to see the parents didn’t even blink at the comments.

Stepping carefullyover the damp rubble from the collapsed onramp, Tess followed Bryce and the others as they carried Linda to the first aid area. She could not be more relieved that everything had turned out okay, and they were able to rescue the woman. Although Tess had faith that Bryce could coordinate the men and women to work together to unstack the concrete blocks covering Linda, in the back of her mind, she continued to worry there might be another shake. As they neared the triage station, Tess saw Ashley weaving through the parked cars as she came toward her.

“Mom,” Ashley said, running up and throwing her arms around her in a giant hug.

Tess hugged her back, not realizing how anxious she had been about where her daughter was and how she was doing. She was so focused on saving Linda. “I’m okay, sweetheart,” Tess said in the woman’s ear. “Everyone is fine.”

Pulling back, Ashley looked down. They were both covered with mud from Tess’s shirt and pants. “Why are you covered in mud?”

Tess let out a little laugh. “It’s kind of a long story,” she said. “Once we get out of here, and I have both a shower and a glass of wine in my hand, I’ll tell you all about it.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Drew coming to meet Linda and the others. “Bring her over here,” Drew said, leading the way. “On the blanket, please, I want to do a quick examination.”

Linda looked around. “Tess?” she asked, a note of distress in her voice.

Tess moved closer as they sat Linda on the blanket. “What do you need?” she asked. “More water? Anything?”

“I know it sounds weird,” Linda said with a weak smile. “But I was wondering if you could stay with me a little longer. You have been my lifeline through everything if that makes sense.”

Somehow, Tess got it. They had a connection for a few hours. “Absolutely,” Tess said and then turned to Ashley beside her. “Linda, I would like you to meet my daughter, Ashley.”

Linda’s eyes widened. “Oh my God,” she said. “You look like each other. Although I would guess you were sisters.”

Tess let out a laugh. “I appreciate that.”

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Ashley. Did you know your mother is a hero?” Linda said, her eyes shining with gratitude. “Did she tell you what she did?” Tess wasn’t sure she was ready for Ashley to hear about her heroics yet, but Linda kept going. “She crawled on her stomach in the mud under tons of concrete to bring me water when I couldn’t stop coughing.” Tess saw Ashley’s eyes go wide as she turned to stare at her mother. Tess saw emotions run through them—both pride and fear.

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