Page 148 of Romeo & Antoinette

Mrs Monty yelled in disbelief. “Nobody?! Nobody here is a real doctor?!!”

The proctologists were real doctors. So were the two anesthesiologists from the firm of Oh, Kay & Guudnyt. But none of them moved. Not with those three litigious lady lawyers lurking about. They had sued the last doctor who did a good deed. Sure, he saved that guy in the movie theatre when he was choking on that bucket of buttered popcorn, but he also broke the guy’s ribs. Now the whole town was scared to step up and help out.

“Isn’t anyone going to help us!!”

Before anyone else had a chance to answer, Ant was there. She ran to Romeo, pushed Monty out of the way, kneeled over him, and put her half dozen years of certified lifeguard training to good use.

She positioned her hands upon the center of his chest and firmly pressed. Her interlocked fingers hovering above his wet shirt. The heel of her palm bearing down over his heart. One, two, three… That stupid song playing in her head…

She was fourteen when she took her first CPR class. Her parents had given her permission to get another summer job. She, like her brother, was already required to work at the restaurant slinging cheesesteaks every summer. But she wanted to do something else. Something more glamorous.

Sitting up there in the high chair. Overlooking the local pool. Twirling the whistle. When it came to summer jobs nobody was cooler, or tanner, than the local lifeguards.

So, she did it all. She took swim tests, learned life saving techniques, got her CPR certification, anything she had to. And the one thing she remembered more than any other thing was that song. That stupid Bee Gees song. Stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive, uh-uh-uh-uh, stayin’ alive… That’s how she was taught to keep count when performing CPR. Push to the beat. And that’s exactly what she was doing.

“Come on, come on,” she said anxiously, as she continued to compress his chest.

“Oh my God. It’s not working,” cried Mrs Monty.

“Shhh…” said her husband as he pulled her close to him. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Where is that ambulance?” Cap wondered aloud.

Stayin’, push, alive, push, stayin’, push, alive, push… “Come on!” Ant yelled again. “Wake up! Come on!”

The faint sound of sirens began to fill the distance.

Stayin’, push, alive, push, stayin’, push…

“Come on!”

Stayin’, push, alive, push, stayin’, push…

Then a cough. Romeo coughed. He gurgled then coughed again. Lake water ejecting from his mouth and lungs. His chest heaving. Sucking in air. Coughing and gasping at the same time. Breathing in more air than his lungs could hold. Then he opened his eyes.

At first everything was blurry. But soon the scene came into focus. Her - above him, beside him, on top of him. Her beautiful face framed by the stars

and the night sky.

“You,” he said weakly.

“Me,” she said back.

“What happened?”

“You almost drowned. You weren’t breathing.”

“You saved me?”

She nodded slightly.

He looked deeply into her eyes. “Why?”

She was silent for a second. There was too much to say and no words to say it. Then she leaned down and kissed him. He reached up and wrapped his arms around her. Hugging her tightly as he kissed her back.

51

Eventually, noises began coming from the crowd. Shuffling shoes, clearing throats, muffled whispers… They had forgotten where they were. Lost in the moment, Romeo and Antoinette had forgotten that there was a good forty, fifty people standing around them. Watching them. Including their parents.

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