Don’t Take The Girl

By Terribv

Chris Desoto carried his fishing rod and tackle box out the front door. He covered the distance to the Land Rover in short order and barely touched the ground. He’d been looking forward to this fishing trip with his dad and his Uncle Johnny for weeks and he could barely contain his excitement. He carefully stored his equipment in the back and turned to go back into the house. He nearly ran into Maggie Davis in his haste.

“You’d should be more careful, Chris,” she told him but Chris only scowled at her.

“Where should I put mine,” she asked holding up a new fishing rod.

Chris’ eyes narrowed and he looked towards the house. He turned back to Maggie. “You can take it back to your house. That’s where you can put it,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Chris!”

The boy turned to find his father standing behind him. Where did he come from, Chris wondered looking up at the house.

“But Dad …”

“No buts, Christopher. Apologize to Maggie for being so rude,” Roy told his son and Chris mumbled a weak apology under his breath. Roy sighed. It was going to be an interesting day. “Here, Maggie, give that to me and I’ll put it in for you,” Roy suggested. The little girl handed her rod over to him and gave Chris a smile.

Roy turned and began storing the rest of the gear that he’d brought out.

“Can I help, Mr. Roy,” Maggie asked sweetly.

“Sure can, Maggie. Why don’t you go see what else Miss Joanne has in the kitchen,” he suggested and the little girl nodded before skipping into the house.

Chris wasted no time in pleading his case. “Dad, why’s she goin’?”

“Chris, I told you ten times last night. She was supposed to go with her dad but he got sick and I promised her mother that I’d take her with us.”

Chris pouted not for the first time. He was going to be the laughingstock of the neighborhood taking a girl fishing with him. “Can’t we take Tommy or Jimmy instead,” he asked.

Roy looked at his son and couldn’t miss the pleading eyes. “Chris, I know you don’t want her to go but someday you’ll will,” Roy said knowingly.

“No, I won’t,” Chris said defiantly. No way was he ever going to want to spend the day with a girl much less take her fishing. Fishing was for men, he thought.

Roy smiled at his son. “You might not think so but you will.”

“Not likely, Dad. Please don’t take the girl.”

Roy looked up and saw Joanne and Maggie bringing the picnic basket down the steps.

“I have enough food in here for an army,” Joanne told them laughing.

“It’s a good thing,” Roy replied taking the basket from her, “especially with Johnny along.”

Roy looked around for his friend but he was nowhere in sight. “Speaking of Johnny, where is he?”

“Jennifer is showing him her new doll,” Joanne advised and heard Chris grunt.

“Something wrong, Chris,” she asked him.

Chris looked at his mother and then tilted his head toward Maggie. Joanne nodded her understanding and gave him a sympathetic hug. “It won’t always be so bad having a girl along,” she whispered in his ear.

Chris rolled his eyes. Why were they always telling him that? It was horrible and she wasn’t gonna know how to bait the hook and he just knew she wouldn’t be able to reel anything in if it were to bite on her line. Girls should be doin’ just what Jenny was doin’– playing with their dolls. They definitely shouldn’t be going fishing with men.

“Chris. Maggie. Hop on in,” Roy told them as soon as he saw Johnny making his way out the door.

Maggie jumped right up. She was very excited to be going fishing. She just wished her own father wouldn’t have gotten sick.

Chris begrudgingly slid into the backseat next to her. He stuck as far to his side of the truck as he could. He decided he wasn’t even gonna look at her unless he had to.

Johnny hopped into the driver’s seat. “You kids ready to go,” he called out.

Chris heard Maggie’s voice as she hollered, “yes,” and couldn’t help but notice the excitement. He mumbled his own “yeah” and shrugged when Johnny raised an eyebrow at him. Great, he thought, another adult that doesn’t understand how awful it’s gonna be to have a girl with us.

Chris looked out the window and saw his dad give his mother a kiss. Man, no way am I gonna like girls, he thought. He looked back at Maggie and saw her smiling at him. Well, I guess if a girl has to go, he thought, it’s better that it’s Maggie than Jenny. And at least Maggie doesn’t like dolls anymore.

So, as his father climbed into the passenger seat, Chris thought that it might not be so terrible after all and he looked back at Maggie and returned the smile.

10 years down the road . . .

Christopher DeSoto walked out of the movie theater with his arm around his girlfriend. They had been dating all through high school but they had known each for the last ten years. Everyone knew that they’d get married one day and that they were as close as any two people could get.

Both Maggie and Chris said goodbye to their friends and started walking toward Chris’ jeep. There was an alley next to the theater and Chris pulled Maggie into it. He gently backed her up against the wall and kissed her softly. He held her tight and deepened the kiss and neither of them heard the stranger approach until he grabbed Maggie’s arm and pulled her away from Chris. Maggie fought him but he held her tightly.

“What the hell are you doing,” Chris exclaimed reaching out for Maggie.

The stranger held up his gun so that Chris would see it. “Just do as I say and there won’t be any harm,” he told them both. Maggie went limp in his arms as she saw him point the gun at Chris.

“Look, man, we don’t want any trouble,” Chris said. “Just let her go. Here, take my money,” he said reaching for his wallet.

“Whoa there fella,” the stranger said, “nice and slow now. Don’t try any funny stuff.

Chris reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He held it out for the stranger. He never took his eyes off of Maggie and as soon as he felt the wallet slip from his fingers, he reached into his front pocket and pulled out his car keys. “Here, take my car. It’s over there,” he said pointing to the white jeep wrangler on the far side of the street.

“That watch looks pretty nice, too,” the stranger said and Chris slid it off his wrist. His Uncle Johnny had given it to him for his sixteenth birthday and he treasured it but it wasn’t worth risking Maggie’s life over.

“Come on, man, I gave you everything I had. Let her go. Don’t take the girl,” he pled.

The stranger pulled Maggie in a little closer. “You know, that’s not such a bad idea,” he said as his eyes raked over her body.

Chris wanted to do something while the stranger’s attention was momentarily averted but he couldn’t risk anything happening to Maggie. It would be too great a price too pay.

“Let her go,” Chris said loudly to get his attention again and Maggie used the diversion to try to get away.

She lifted her leg and stomped down on his foot. “Damn,” she heard him swear as she shoved her elbow into his stomach. He released his hold on her and she ran into Chris’ arms.

Chris quickly pulled her around behind him as the stranger lifted the gun again. All three were startled by the voice.

“What’s goin’ on back here?”

Chris knew this was his chance and he wasted no time in tackling the stranger. “Run Mags,” he called out and she didn’t want to but she ran toward the front of the building anyway.

“Help,” she called out to the newcomer. “He’s got a gun. Please help us.”

She would never forget the sound of the gunfire for as long as she lived and she whirled when she heard it. “No,” she screamed as she saw one of the figures in the alley go still. She didn’t dare to breathe and she wasn’t sure how long she stood there but she knew it was Chris on the ground when the other figure stood and took off in the other direction.

“Chris,” she screamed as she ran back towards him. The newcomer wasn’t far behind. She dropped to her knees beside him and was horrified at the blood on his shirt. “Chris,” she called to him as the tears slid slowly down her face.

“I’m okay,” he said as he started to sit up.

The newcomer gently pushed his shoulder back down. “You just stay there, young fella,” he told Chris.

“But I’m all right,” Chris insisted.

“Chris, there’s so much blood,” Maggie said through her tears.

He lifted his arm and took her hand in his. “It’s his, not mine, Mag.”

The newcomer looked down the alley. “Then he won’t be getting too far. I’d better call the police,” he told the kids. “Come on. Come with me. I’m not leavin’ ya here alone.” He helped Chris to his feet and Maggie ran her hands over him to assure herself that he hadn’t been hurt.

Chris put his arm around her waist as they made their way out of the alley.

“You could’ve been killed,” she said with a shutter and he pulled her closer.

“I couldn’t let him take my girl.”

5 Years down the road . . .

“Chris, wake up,” she gently called to him.

“Huh? What?”

“It’s time to go,” she said. She was smiling brightly and placed a hand to her stomach.

“Go?”

She slid off the bed and tugged at his arm. “Come on, sleepyhead. You’re going to be a daddy.”

Chris’s mind slowly began to focus. He hadn’t been sleeping very long because he’d just gotten off duty a few hours ago. He looked at his wife with wide eyes. “It’s time? Now?”

She laughed when she saw his face. “Yes, now, come on.”

He jumped from the bed and dragged on a pair of jeans. “Do I have time to call my folks,” he asked as he pulled a LA County fire department t-shirt over his head. “I already did that. They’ll probably beat us to the hospital if you don’t hurry,” she joked.

He threw on his shoes and escorted Maggie to the front door. “Are you okay? How are you feeling? How far apart are the contractions? Did you call Dr. Morgan?” The questions came at her non-stop and she put her arm out to stop him.

“Slow down. Now you’re moving too fast.” She looked at his empty hands. “Are you forgetting something?”

Chris looked bewildered for just a second. He snapped his fingers together. “The keys,” he said turning to grab them off the table.

“And it would be nice if we brought that bag that we packed up two weeks ago,” she said with a smile.

“Right.” He turned and ran back for the bag.

It didn’t take him long to get her situated in the car and to make his way to Rampart. And although Maggie had been joking, his parents had arrived before they did, in part because Roy and Joanne lived closer to the hospital than Chris and Maggie did.

Maggie was already pre-registered and they got her checked in rather quickly. “You’re in luck,” the nurse said as she showed them to their room, “it’s rather quiet right now.”

Both Chris and Maggie were excited as they waited for their first child to be born. And Maggie insisted that she wanted to have a natural childbirth and so she wasn’t given anything to help dull the pain. The hours seemed to drag by and Chris had gone out a few times to talk to his parents. He wasn’t surprised to find Jenny or Johnny there as well but he assured them all that everything was fine and that the doctors had told them that it was almost time.

When he got back to the room, Maggie called out for him. He quickly went to her side and took her hand. He had never seen anyone work so hard for anything in his life. He encouraged and did everything they’d told him to at those classes that Maggie made him go to.

“Come on, Maggie. Bear down to the count of ten. We’re almost there,” the doctor said from where he was perched. Chris could only watch as she struggled through it and was startled when the doctor yelled for her to stop.

“The head’s out,” he announced. Chris was amazed at the sight and when the doctor told her to push again, he thought it seemed much easier this time.

“You have a son,” the doctor said holding up the baby. Chris looked down at his son and then back at Maggie. She was unconscious.

He wasn’t aware of too much after that point because everything was mass confusion. “She’s hemorrhaging,” he heard the doctor yell. The baby was handed off to someone else and then he heard, “Get him out of here,” as he was shoved from the room.

He staggered to the waiting room as the tears ran down his face. He managed to tell his parents what had happened and everyone was stunned. He dropped to his knees right there in the waiting room and he prayed.

“Take the very breath you gave me. Take the heart from my chest. I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me so make this my last request. Take me out of this world, God, but please don't take the girl.”

He didn’t know how long he stayed there like that but finally the doctor came out and it wasn’t until then that Chris moved.

“How is she,” he asked with trepidation. He couldn’t bear it if anything happened to her.

“We’ve got the hemorrhaging under control and we’re giving her some blood,” he said to Chris. “She’s not out of the woods yet but I think she’s going to be okay.”

Chris looked towards the heavens and said a silent thank you. “Would you like to be with her,” the doctor asked and Chris readily agreed thankful to God for not taking his girl.

The END

"Don't Take The Girl"

By Tim McGraw

Johnny's daddy was taking him fishin'
When he was eight years old
A little girl came through the front gate holding a fishing pole
His dad looked down and smiled, said we can't leave her behind
Son, I know you don't want her to go but someday you'll change your mind
And Johnny said "Take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson, take my best friend Bo
Take anybody that you want as long as she don't go
Take any boy in the world
Daddy, please don't take the girl

Same old boy
Same sweet girl
Ten years down the road
He held her tight and kissed her lips
In front of the picture show
Stranger came and pulled a gun
Grabbed her by the arm Said "If you do what I tell you to, there
won't be any harm" And Johnny said "Take my money, take my wallet, take my credit cards
Here's the watch that my grandpa gave me
Here's the key to my car
Mister give it a whirl
But please don't take the girl

Same old boy
Same sweet girl
Five years down the road
There's going to be a little one, and she says it's time to go
Doctor says the baby's fine but you'll have to leave
'Cause his momma's fading fast and Johnny hit his knees
And there he prayed
Take the very breath you gave me
Take the heart from my chest
I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me
Make this my last request
Take me out of this world
God, please don't take the girl

Johnny's daddy
Was taking him fishin'
When he was eight years old

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