Down and Out?
An added segment to ‘The Old Engine’
By Audrey W.
This takes place just after Roy and Johnny are dispatched out for a probable overdose . . .
“Man, what’re the odds we’ll see our eighty dollar engine being towed along the way.”
Roy glanced at his partner in the passenger seat. “Right now, I’d rather not think about that.”
Gage looked ahead and nodded. He’d rather not, too. But he still wondered.
~*~*~
The sixty-year-old man stood looking out his screen door in pride. He’d finally put a small white wire trim fence around the edge of his grassy yard the day before, and was quite pleased with the results.
Ed Lawson’s wife had been nagging him for weeks to do it. His argument was, “What’s it going to matter? It’s just a little fencing. It doesn’t even come up to our knees.”
But now he understood. It gave the lawn so much more character. When she got back from visiting her sister in Sacramento in a few days, she was going to be so happy. He just knew it.
After one more look at the new outside decor, the man headed for the kitchen to grab a donut for breakfast.
~*~*~
“There it is, up on the right,” John said as they approached the address of the call.
Much to both their relief, they hadn’t seen their old engine they’d purchased being towed toward to Station 51 along the way. It was now off their minds with the job at hand having taken over completely.
“It’s gonna be tight getting into that driveway,” Roy stated.
“You want me to take over the wheel?” his partner kidded.
Roy half smirked, then made it in the narrow strip fine. He parked the squad between the two close buildings, very proud of himself and unaware there had been a slight issue with his driving.
~*~*~
With his morning cup of coffee still in his right hand, Mr. Lawson made his way back to the screen door. He once again looked out at his recently fenced yard, his gaze following the row of trim until his sight settled on. . .
“Flattened? The corner is flat? Who in the hell flattened the corner of my fencing?”
He couldn’t believe it. Just minutes before it had been fine. Well, there was only one thing to do.
He set his cup on a nearby end table next to a lamp, then quickly put on his tennis shoes before heading outside in a hurry, allowing the screen door to shut behind him on its own. Once near the corner of his property, he noticed the red rescue squad parked between his home and the apartment building next door. The paramedics were no longer with their truck.
It was now obvious who the culprit was and why.
“They’re probably here for something to do with those young ladies in apartment six. I knew they’d be trouble one day.”
He bent the fencing till it was upright again, then stepped back as he eyed the back-to-normal section with renewed pride. It didn’t look bad at all, even after the trauma it had just suffered.
With a firm nod to himself that all was wonderful again, he headed for his cup of coffee inside.
~*~*~
Ed had just gotten into his home when he saw first one of the young ladies from next door run past on the front sidewalk, followed by one of the firemen.
He hadn’t even picked up his coffee cup yet when he saw the rescue truck back out and take off after them.
A frown remained on his face when he noticed what was left in the aftermath.
“Dammit! That driver flattened it again!”
~*~*~
Later, having stopped at Rampart and now on their way back to the station, the paramedics once again had time to think about their eighty dollar junky old fire engine.
“Ya know, just because it has to be towed doesn’t mean it won’t run.”
“That’s true,” Roy agreed. “They had to have moved it to know the rear makes a grinding sound, maybe it was when they tried driving it.”
Gage grinned. “Yeah. That’s probably it. I’ll bet the guy went to drive it out of the junk yard an’ someone pointed out the noise.”
The two still were oblivious to the fact that Roy had accidentally crushed part of a small fence . . .twice. . . back at their last run. Nor did they have a clue that while their day had returned to normal for now, across town a sixty-year-old man was busy debating if he should even leave his fencing up. He wasn’t certain the trimming could take being run over again and again, which in his view, the rescue squad demonstrated was likely to happen.
With a frown still on his face, Ed Lawson thought to himself. . .
I wonder how it would look with an open corner?
This was inspired when I watched the episode on METV Friday and my husband pointed out that the bent fencing was already up again when Johnny and the girl came running out of the apartment. :o) Just having some fun with it.
*Click above to send Audrey feedback
