Fare
For a moment there I felt like I could’ve killed my son. That’s how angry and helpless I felt.
I didn’t see the accident happen; I’d been pruning the lilac bushes. He’d probably been daydreaming when he pushed the lawnmower over his baby sister’s hand. The spinning blades had severed it right off. I wondered how much of it had made it into the clippings bag intact.
“Stop gawking and call 911!” I shrieked so hard my voice cracked. I wrapped my thumb and forefinger around Marnie’s wrist as tight as I could. Kenton took one look at the blood and crumpled on the lawn. Marnie howled in my arms. The trees loomed over us and vindictively waved their branches at the spectacle.
I wanted to make a tourniquet with my shoelace but had no idea how I’d manage the feat without Marnie bleeding to death. At that moment a guy in a rusty black pickup skidded to a halt in the alley behind us. He threw open the passenger door.
“Get in! I’ll take you to the hospital!”
I didn’t recognize the guy, but we were six blocks from the nearest hospital and I realized it’d be quicker than waiting for an ambulance that hadn’t even been called yet.
I looked at my son. Kenton had partially recovered and was crawling toward the house. I ran to the pickup and jumped in, never taking my hand off Marnie’s wrist. She had quieted but looked deathly pale. He slammed the door and ran back around to the driver’s side.
“You got your wallet, man?” the stranger asked, as he floored the accelerator. Confused, I nodded. Then I realized they’d ask for my ID at the ER.
He spun the wheel and the truck sped up the street–away from the hospital.
“What the hell!” I shouted. “My little girl needs to get to the emergency room!”
“Not before you pay me for the ride.” The driver stared straight ahead.
“Christ, man! Are you nuts?”
“Don’t piss me off or we might just keep on drivin’.”
“I can’t let go of her wrist! She’s barely hanging on as it is!”
“I’ll stop at the first ATM I see.”
I thought about trying to jump from the vehicle but realized the stranger behind the wheel had me at a massive disadvantage. I couldn’t gamble with my daughter’s life. My tongue almost stuck to the roof of my mouth as I finally asked, “How much do you want?”
He glanced my way and sneered. “How much do you got?”
