Monday morning found me hard at work editing again. I'd reached a point where I was stuck. The publisher wanted me to change something that I really wanted to keep exactly as it was.

As I pondered what I should do, Maggie came in and handed me a cup of steaming hot coffee. I was delighted to take a break and chat with her.

"You know, Joe," she began, "I've been thinking. Mr. Thompson was nice enough to let me have today and tomorrow off with pay. Maybe this would be a good time to get some shopping done for our trip.

I considered this for a moment. Shopping was near the top of my list of things I do not enjoy. "Okay," I finally replied, "why don't we go this afternoon right after lunch?

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Maggie replied. "Well, dear, I'll leave you in peace while I check on Becky. She's spring cleaning her doll house again and . . . well, with her, you never know!"

"How true," I laughed. "Well, you girls have fun."

Returning to my work, I decided I'd try to negotiate this change with the publisher. Maybe if I refuse to change it they'll let it be. It's worth a try.

Around noon, Maggie fixed a picnic lunch and invited Mom to join us. Dad and Josh had left for work earlier that morning. Dad told Mom he was going to re-open the shop, saying Jeanne would have wanted it that way, and Mom had wholeheartedly agreed.

When Maggie and I told Mom of our plan to go shopping, Mom suggested that Becky stay with her.

"You know she'll be tired by two o'clock and you won't get much of anything done if you take her." Then, turning to Becky, she asked, "Wouldn't you rather stay here with Grandma than go shopping?"

"Yes!" Becky yelped. "Here be more funner."

Mom said, "Okay, it's settled. You two enjoy yourselves."

There's a big Wal-Mart a couple miles down the highway, and we decided we'd probably be able to get everything we need with one stop there.

As soon as we were in the store, I heard a soft, gentle voice say, "Don't forget supplies for the digital camera . . ."

Startled, I turned toward Maggie and asked her, "Did you say something, dear?"

"No, hon," she replied.

"Why don't we start over in the electronics section", I suggested. "I need to get some supplies for the digital camera."

Absentmindedly, Maggie said, "Okay. There's a few personal items I need to get. How about we meet at the luggage section after? We need to get a couple extra new suitcases, don't you think?"

"Wouldn't hurt. We can indulge a bit thanks to that advance from the publisher." While I had been delighted with the advance, I was well aware there would be no royalty checks until the advance had been covered. Still, the extra money would be very helpful right now, and I had already put a sizeable chunk of it into a savings CD.

As I headed toward the electronics department, I pondered that voice. It sounded exactly like the woman in the mirror. I wondered if I'd ever be able to share that experience with anyone, even Maggie. I wasn't even certain that I believed it.

To my surprise, Maggie arrived in the luggage department just a few minutes after me. We began looking at the selections and discussing the merits of different styles of luggage, when I heard a woman shriek: "My baby!"

Instinctively I turned toward the cry, then realized it had come from the baby department in the next section.

I rushed toward the young woman, who was holding a small infant in her arms, and asked what was wrong.

"My baby stopped breathing," she cried in a panic-stricken voice.

"I'm with the rescue squad. Let me help," I said.

She hesitated only an instant before handing the infant to me. Quickly I determined that, although the baby had a heartbeat, it was not breathing.

Immediately I began rescue breathing, checking to be sure the pulse continued.

While I was desperately trying to get the infant breathing again, Maggie did her best to comfort the mother.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only about two minutes, the baby suddenly coughed, followed by a loud wailing cry. By now, quite a few patrons had formed a circle around our group, and I heard a huge collective sigh of relief.

Returning the infant to its mother, I asked, "Has this ever happened before?"

"No, never," she said.

I went on, "Has the baby been sick recently? He seems a little feverish."

"Well, I don't know for sure," she said. "Maybe he's coming down with something. He was very cranky this morning, and he's never been that way before."

"You should get him to a doctor right away," I cautioned. "When a baby stops breathing like that, it's nothing to fool around with. Hopefully, it's nothing serious but to be sure, I can call an ambulance on my cell phone."

She looked startled. "Can't I just drive him to the hospital myself?"

"Yes, you could," I said, "but what if he stops breathing while you're driving? Wouldn't it be safer to let the rescue squad take him and monitor him all the way there?"

She agreed, recognizing the wisdom of my suggestion, and I told her she could follow the ambulance in her car so she and the baby would have a way home later.

After I made the phone call, I turned to the young mother. "Will you do me a favor?"

"Anything, sir. You saved my baby's life and I'll always be grateful to you."

"Don't give it a thought," I replied. "I'm just relieved I was nearby when this happened and able to help."

As I spoke, I pulled a pen and small notepad from my shirt pocket. I jotted down my name and phone number and handed her the slip of paper.

"Please give me a call and let me know how the baby makes out. I'm really concerned and again, I pray it's nothing serious."

"It will be my pleasure," she said. "I can never thank you enough for saving my precious Johnny."

"Never a dull moment being around you, Mr. Madison," Maggie said half jokingly. "Lately, you seem to attract the weirdest situations to yourself."

Giving her a quick hug I replied, "Just lucky I guess." But at the same time I couldn't help but wonder why it seemed I was always in the right place at the right time.








Continue to Chapter 20


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