Subtle Ties

ADDISON This cannot be happening. Even as I was being pushed towards the exit I refused to believe what was happening.  I think I was willing to risk smoke inhalation just to avoid that crow that has made it it’s mission to torment me.  I don’t hate animals. I love them actually. I volunteer at the shelter at least once a week just so I can spend time with the cats and dogs. They rarely have birds though. Which means I don’t interact with them. Which also means that I am more than unequipped to handle this bird that has it out for me. Granted I did hit it with my umbrella. But that was only after it tried to attack the dog I was walking. I didn’t mean to hurt it, just shoo it away. And somehow it has remembered my face. I’ve found a crow following me around walking the streets of Brooklyn. I know it’s silly to think that it’s always the same bird but I was attacked once and it made me drop my breakfast sandwich in retaliation.  I know deep in my soul that the crow is still angry with me. Which is why I’m seriously contemplating staying in the building we are being asked to evacuate because someone set a microwave on fire. Just my luck that I don’t have my umbrella or a coat and they refuse to let me run up and go get it. So I wait. I wait by the exit door until I’m physically forced out, or this building is up in flames. I will not be attacked by a bird in front of my colleagues. I refuse. New York’s bravest has already arrived. I could hear the sirens just outside the glass doors, someone yelling orders, people being asked to step farther back. This was it, FDNY were going to kick me out and all I could hope for was that the crow couldn’t find me in the swarm of people standing outside. Before I could turn to walk outside, firemen  rushed past me and towards the stairs. Maybe they couldn’t see me tucked away in this corner? I knew this was foolish and yet that crow filled me with nightmares. They were a bad omen, that’s what my mom always used to say. “If you ever see a crow watching you, turn around. It is not your time,” she would tell my siblings and I. They never seemed to listen to her sayings, but I did. I listened and now a crow is following me around. It’s not my time, I repeat to myself. It’s not my time, I say again, closing my eyes. It’s not my time, I murmur as I attempt to gather the courage I need just to walk out of here. “Excuse me,” a rumbling voice interrupts my thoughts. “Ma’am we need you to evacuate the building.” I open my eyes, staring at the ground seeing the fireman’s boots. I nod knowing I have to start moving. The only problem is that my legs won’t move. No matter how hard I try, they won’t move. “Ma’am are you okay?” The fireman asks again. No sir, I am not okay. What kind of therapist is hung up on superstitions and old wives tales? Not a good one I can tell you that. “Are you injured? Do you require medical attention?” “No, I’m okay,” I answered. I finally look up at the man that is most likely going to have to drag me out. And of course he’s handsome, because nothing spells embarrassment more than adding an attractive man.  He’s tall with dark hair and the prettiest eyes I’d seen on any man. They were a mixture of blue and green, and one looked more blue than the other.  “I really need to get you out of here,” he said, as he reached for me to escort me out. “Wait! Wait! Please just wait!” I panicked trying to swerve out of his reach. “There’s a bird! There’s a bird and it hates me and it’ll attack me if it sees me. And my mom said they were a bad sign and please don’t make me!” I finished rambling. The handsome fireman was rendered speechless. He stared at me as if I had lost my mind and maybe I had. But then one side of his lips curls up and maybe he found it amusing that I’m so terrified of a bird. “Okay,” he says as a full smile curls his lips. “Well there’s only one solution.” ****** I am mortified. I am too stunned to speak, and too afraid to look up from the dark cover that is shielding me from the sky. I am currently walking backwards with my face pressed against this man’s chest and his arms holding me steady. His fireman’s coat has me cocooned into his body as we take small steps towards the other side of the street.  We’re heading towards the bakery where I get my morning sandwiches. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to show my face there again. Especially not after being escorted there by this fireman that smells like all man and is built like heaven. “Watch your step.” I pause waiting for him to lead me forward, or rather backward. Instead Mr. hot fireman lifts me up with one arm around my waist. A yelp escapes me when I try to gain purchase on his body. He doesn’t put me down until I hear the unmistakable sound of the bell above the bakery door. I get unwrapped from his coat. As he starts walking backwards towards the door he gives me a little two finger salute with a blinding smile. Then he’s gone and I’m left standing like an i***t. My face feels warm, so do my ears, and my entire body for that matter. It was because it was warm under his coat I tell myself. It definitely wasn’t because I copped a feel of the hot fireman underneath his coat. Not at all. For once, I am slightly, remotely, marginally indebted to that crow.