“What am I supposed to say to him?” I asked my reflection. “Thank you for making my heart beat again?” I shook my head. “No! No! No!” I looked up at the house that I had been sitting in front of for the past thirty minutes. It was huge, definitely expensive, and there was a party going on inside. I checked the address on the paper and checked the address of the house I was in front of for the millionth time that night. It was definitely the right house.
It was almost ten by the time I had gotten the courage to speak to Dr. Lindo. For some reason my heart caught in my throat every time I was going to leave the house to go up to Pleasantville. My wife had finally convinced me to go after I told her about a hundred times “not until you are feeling better.” She practically pushed me out of the house saying, “it’s now or never” and slammed the door.
I drove slowly upstate and around the block a few times, finally ending up in front of the house.
It was time.
I took a deep breath and opened the door, quickly slamming it shut seconds later. “I can’t do this,” I said putting the car back in drive. I put my hands on the steering wheel and felt the car lurch slightly underneath me. I put it back in park and turned the key. The heater shut off. If it wasn’t for the man that lived in that house I wouldn’t be revving the engine, turning the key, or seeing my twins being born.
It was now or never.
I opened the door, grabbed my keys from the ignition, and climbed out of the car. I took a deep breath and started up the walkway. My heart was pounding in my chest and my breath was coming out in a cold cloud of mist in the freezing night air. I looked down at the paper in my hand and then at the number on the door. This was most definitely it.
I reached up and rapped on the door with my fist.
There was laughter coming from inside the house. The door was pulled open.
I plastered a smile on face.
“May I help you?” A woman asked politely. She was holding a glass of champagne in her hand. There was the loud sound of a TV blasting throughout the house along with the sounds of laughter and music.
I cleared my throat. “I- Is Dr. Lindo at home?”
“Hold on one moment, sir,” she said. She turned in the doorway and called into the house, “AL! ALBERT! Someone’s here to see you!” She turned back to me. “Please come in.” She stepped back.
“I just-”
“It’s dreadfully cold out there, please come in.”
I stepped into the house. She closed the door behind me. “Can I take your coat?”
“I’m not staying long,” I said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your party.”
“It’s quite all right,” she assured me. “Are you a patient of Dr. Lindo’s? I do hope this isn’t an emergency business call.” She started to get worried
“It’s not,” I told her.
She smiled in relief. “Good, because I can’t bear to see anyone sick on a holiday.” She turned back towards the back of the house. “ALBERT!” She yelled. “GET OVER HERE!” She turned back to me once again. “He’s talking to friends,” she said. “I’m so sorr- Albert!” She smiled at the man who walked towards us. “This man came calling for you. He says it’s not an emergency.”
My eyes grew wide and the sides of my mouth twitched.
Dr. Lindo looked at me peculiarly, “do I know you?” he asked. His eyes were puzzled, as though he was trying to fit my face with a name or an event, even. He had an arm around his wife’s waist. She was smiling at him and then she looked at me.
I cleared my throat. “A couple of months ago you were walking your dog in Manhattan and came upon a man lying in the middle of the park, his heart unbeating, his pulse low, and his lungs not taking in any air. This man had just had a heart attack and you gave him CPR.”
“Yes, that’s right,” the doctor replied with a nod, his eyes questioning why I was telling him this.
“You went with him all the way to the hospital giving him CPR the whole way there.” I paused and swallowed hard. “Dr. Lindo, my name is Taylor Hanson,” I stuck out my hand. “I just came to thank you for saving my life.”