Simply the Best

Bob had been working for 40 years in a woodworking shop making furniture and it was always the best of quality. He loved his business and it was his life; therefore, he could be counted on to put in the extra time to make sure certain contracts were met. The workshop was in a bay in an industrial park next to an internationally famous dance studio, which was kind of strange, but any business that could pay the rent were thrown together in this building in no particular order. Bob used to dance in his prime but not something that was done now, such as the polka, waltz, and two-step. The younger crowd were taking jazz, shuffle, and break dancing which are popular today, fun, and energetic. The fact that this studio was next door did tweak his interest though, causing it only to be a matter of time for some interaction to occur.

Bob became popular with the dancers, not because he was short, bald, old fashioned, but because he had a common interest in dance, was funny, caring, harmless, and he took a keen interest in them and their behaviour. He became known as "Mr. Fix It", when a car driven by two young Korean ladies, Brianna and Naomi, who as twins were known for their agility and synchronization on the dance floor, but had no clue what to do when their car would not start after a dancing session. Bob told them to place the key properly in the ignition and then press the start button. That was an easy fix! When a stool in the studio was accidentally broken by Danielle, Bob chose to fix it for free. Now that was rather embarrassing for Danielle who was tall and slender with long legs and jet-black hair, but she did come down quite hard on that stool with her energy at an odd angle to cause a leg to snap. 

Then there was a petite, soft spoken young lady with really long flowing blonde hair who went by her nickname Tiramisu, because someone called her that once and she liked it.  Now Tiramisu always took her handsome golden lab with her for protection and comfort, but Max the dog had a tendency to get too excited and bark at the dancers when really going at it.  The dog preferred the noises in the shop to be more pleasant, using a comfy bed to sleep on that Bob had made at one time. Bob always took care of that dog while she went to class which she so graciously accepted. All dancers would file in at set times throughout the day, or evening, or on a Saturday, with Bob in his shop still. Some would plant their face on a window only to see if he was there, then wave him down. He always gave that wave back, or perhaps if not in the thick of things would wander over to the door to say hello to his "kids".

There was one young lady in particular that perhaps was Bob’s favorite whom he met while acting as a chaperone one evening, for Alice took an interest in his carpentry and wanted to spend time after class to see how he built things. She was perhaps a little rougher around the edges, a country girl who often wore braids, needing an elder in her life to help boost her self esteem. She often confided in him her struggles, challenges, and opportunities. She had a tendency to become high strung and excitable, needing a prescribed, or hopefully not a street drug to calm her down. Alice chose dancing as a hobby so she could express herself and help control her anxiety and release tension.

As for being liked by the younger crowd, especially the younger ladies, life was not always like this as Bob had difficulty getting along with women for a majority of his lifetime. He generally liked any lady who had certain feminine qualities, but just simply could not understand them and all of the problems they could generate. He chose instead to live a life of solitude, at the sacrifice of having children of his own. Bob concluded that he was able to get along with the younger generation now because he found out that he just needed to be himself as an elder. He chose to adopt the kids completely for who there were, regardless of race, color, culture, or religion. They reciprocated with kindness because they knew he would be there for them in their time of need. 

He never had a financial plan, preferring to make a donation to an Anglican Church every week, or even hand out a little cash to his "kids" if its use was not going to cause harm, but as a necessity for their well being. He did not exactly have much money saved up for retirement and so this was not given much thought. But Bob’s life was about to change in a hurry, because what comes around, comes around and he got rewarded for having fulfilled his life with giving to others, since his lottery ticket from yesterday was going to pay him a nice $200,000! Now he no longer needed to work as much in retirement! He always had contract work to complete, but his head today was thinking about what he was going to do with that money now that his tide of fortune had come in.

Tiramisu had dropped off Max earlier and the dog was busy working on his bone to keep his teeth clean. The other kids were already gathering outside to go into the studio once opened up. When Bob uncharacteristically dropped a lathe tool on the floor and he bent down to pick it up, he never knew that his day was going to be like no other before and to change the rest of his life. Alice was making a beeline to his door and proceeded to burst through it to blurt out in a really loud voice:

“Bob! I am pregnant!”

Her voice caught him by surprise to begin with as he thought it was just the dog and him, but to have her come up with that announcement startled him so much, that when he bounced up, he hit the back of his head really hard on a chunk of metal rod coming from the lathe!

“Ow!”

That put Bob in a bit of a daze. He felt where the bump occurred and noted what appeared to be broken skin and when he brought his hand back down to his side, he noted it had turned red with blood. Alice saw the blood coming from his head causing her to scream rather loudly, which caused Max to bark due to the commotion. While Bob grabbed his hanky to place over the gash, Danielle came bouncing into the shop to see what all the noise was about, followed by Tiramisu.

With the next wave of people coming in, Bob was a bit unsteady and he placed his hand on a table saw to gain back his balance. The only problem was that a lathe tool that was too big for his side pocket was just at the right angle to hit the “on” switch for the table saw. The saw then proceeded to cut through Bob’s third finger before he could get his hand away! Bob was now in a state of shock and bleeding also from his hand and Alice was in a state of hysteria!

“Aiiyeeee!"

“Ow."

“Aiiyeeee!"

“Ow."

“Woof.”

By this time Danielle had rushed over to turn off the saw.

“Alice, are you okay? Omigosh, Bob, what did you do?!  You are bleeding all over the place!”  Omigosh, what happened to your hand?  You are missing a finger!”

Danielle just froze in shock of what happened, similar to Alice. Bob took his hanky to cover the stub on his hand to now stop it from bleeding, which proved to be a challenge finding the correct pressure point. Meanwhile blood was still coming out of his head.

“Ow.”

By this time Tiramisu had come out from behind Danielle to see what was going on, saw the blood on Bob’s head and hand, rolled her eyes around in her sockets, went limp, wilted, fainted, and fell to the floor. So now we had Bob with blood on his head and hand and Tiramisu lying flat on the floor, passed out! Alice became unstable but did help apply pressure on Bob where needed to stop the blood flowing. Max came to the rescue to lick Tiramisu’s face to revive her, while Danielle searched for the finger and found it laying on top of a pile of sawdust on the floor.

“Ewwwww! That is so gross! What are we going to do with it! I am not going to pick it up!”

“Ow.”

With Tiramisu stirring and now on her knees, Max came over to inspect and sniff the missing finger, then before Danielle could react, chose to pick it up in his mouth!

“Omigosh, Max, no, put the finger down! Tiramisu, your dog has Bob’s finger in his mouth!”

Now whenever any dog has something in his mouth that he knows should not be there, he has that look about him and so was the case with Max.  He was not chewing it, just holding it in his mouth waiting to see how others would react. Tiramisu hearing what happened needed to speak!

“Max! Drop it, now! Oh no, I think I am going to be sick.”

Max brought the finger over to Bob, who was now sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, and dropped it on his lap, wagging his tail as if he was indeed a good doggie! Both Alice and Danielle continued to have a look of horror on their face. Meanwhile, Tiramisu proceeded to start barfing on the floor right behind Bob and the stench was incredibly horrible. Max came to the rescue of Tiramisu again, pushing his nose against her face suggesting perhaps she should leave the scene and come with him back to the window. Danielle’s adrenaline finally started flowing.

“Omigosh, we’ve got to do something! Bob will have to go to the hospital! I think we are supposed to dial 911? We cannot just stay here!”

All Alice could do is to confirm with a trembling voice, “I know.”

“Ow.”

“Tiramisu, what on earth did you eat for breakfast? Ewwww!"

“Sorry, Danielle.”

Tiramisu, who was now at the window giving Max a hug, had an idea.

“Hey, Brianna is a medical student, she will know what to do! They are just outside waiting for the studio to open!”

Danielle bolted out the door, but unfortunately stepped in the barf to smear it around a bit leaving tracks. After paging the twins frantically, they started walking towards her, with Danielle impatiently holding the door open for them. The twins strolled into the workshop with Naomi entering first holding her nose.

“What’s that smell? Rather gross!”

Brianna started to analyze what she was seeing. After looking at Danielle’s expression of horror, Tiramisu’s white bleached face hugging her dog, the barf that was now smeared around on the floor, Bob with blood on his head and hand, and Alice helping him stop the bleeding. She also saw the finger on Bob’s lap and Alice who was having trouble keeping still and appeared to be hyperventilating.

One of the twins moved a step closer. Danielle wanted to help, but needed direction and so took a deep breath to remain calm and to speak now.

“Brianna, we have this, uh, problem and we do not have much clue how to properly handle. I think we are supposed to take the finger with Bob to the hospital, but I do not know if we are to disinfect it first and his hand and try to jam the finger back on his hand or not. As you are a medical student, could you help us, please!”

“Ow!”

“Me Naomi, she Brianna,” says Naomi pointing to the other one. Brianna takes a deep breath to focus and then takes charge with her broken English.

“Alice, let Naomi apply pressure. Take ten deep breaths and exhale slowly, then quickly find first aid kit, bring here and take ativan, now. You know where kit is?"

“Yes”, she said while panting.

“Danielle, you go get water for Tiramisu to drink and bring me glass of very clean water.”

Alice runs back with the first aid kit after Naomi had taken over to help Bob, who remained in shock looking at his missing finger. Brianna opens the kit to find what she needs for this situation, first of all starting with latex gloves. Snapping them onto her petite slender fingers tightly, she resumes her search.  Danielle is back with the clean water in a styrofoam glass who gives to Naomi.

“Here you go Brianna, as asked for."

“Thanks, but me Naomi."

“Hey, wait a minute, I thought you were…oh, maybe not."

“I found saline solution and so no need water yet. Just set aside.”

“Ow.”

Brianna talks something to Naomi in Korean and takes over from Naomi for his hand, and Naomi is allowed to step aside since Bob’s head seems to have stopped bleeding.

“Alice, clean blood off face with napkin here and some water while I work on hand and finger.”

Brianna takes the hanky away to inspect, but keeps applying pressure and speaks more foreign language to Naomi, who opens the bottle of saline solution and pours over the open wound and stub of Bob’s hand. Then Naomi provides Brianna with a gauze that she professionally rolls around the stub, fingers and hand. Next, Naomi provides some strips of hospital tape that Brianna applies. Seeing that Alice has Bob’s face relatively clean, Naomi provides her with a chunk of gauze and tape to protect the gash area in case it starts to bleed again. With Bob’s hand thoroughly bandaged up, Brianna picks up his appendage on his lap and starts to inspect.

“Bob, hospital will operate on you to attach finger and even attach tendons so that finger function again. You understand? See loose tendons in your finger here?"

“Uh huh. Ow." 

“Will you please stop talking in detail as I feel like I am going to puke again!” exclaimed Tiramisu still hugging her dog.

Brianna rinses the finger off thoroughly with the remaining saline solution. Danielle decides she better let Brianna know all the facts.

“By the way, Max the dog put the finger in his mouth before dropping it onto Bob’s lap. Should we put some disinfectant on it or something? Or maybe put some on Bob’s stump?"

“Dog saliva cannot be trusted, but better than cat. Disinfectant stingy putting Bob into more pain and so not recommended yet if it can be thoroughly rinsed to help prevent infection. Saline solution best.”

More Korean to Naomi is spoken, who provides more gauze and tape to thoroughly encase the finger after wrapping it several times. No one was speaking when this was being done, not even a mouse.

“Need plastic bag. If no find, can use spare latex glove in kit. Alice, do you know if there is plastic bag?"

“I don’t think Bob normally has any as he usually does not keep any such supplies."

“Okay, use spare latex glove keep clean,” as Brianna drops it into the glove and places it on the table, speaking her native tongue again to Naomi.

“We go hospital right away in our BMW. Naomi drive, Alice come with Bob in back seat and keep applying some pressure here."

“But I want to come,” pleads Danielle.

“Me too!” pipes Tiramisu, “but we need to take Max as I cannot leave him here!”

She really does need her dog wherever she goes and would be completely lost without him as he knows how to take care of her. Danielle though has a rather disgusting look on her face.

“You? I don’t think you can help any… okay fine.”

Tiramisu may not have been of much help, but it was her dog that broke the stalemate for what they should do next, since no one wanted to deal with the finger. What Tiramisu did provide perhaps was a silent prayer for the safety and well being of Bob to win her over in Danielle’s mind. Brianna had some final instructions.

“No more room in BMW.  Danielle take own car, but first clean blood off floor and table. Tiramisu, you clean own mess, then meet us in emergency but first lock shop. Alice where key?"

“Its hanging on a hook in the kitchen.”

Danielle looks at Tiramisu:

“We can go in my Lexus, and leave your Honda in the parking lot as it will be safe.  No one will want to steal your car as it is probably like 55 years old!”

“Yes, but it still works!  Are you sure you are okay with Max riding on your leather seats?"

“Yeah, fine, just as long as his feet are clean.  I should scrub my shoes first before getting in (ugh)."

Danielle watched Brianna and Alice help Bob get up and start walking out.

“Alice, I am glad that you are coming with Bob, as he could probably use your support right now."

“Yes, but Alice need Bob,” says Brianna and there was no one who would argue with her on that point. 

Bob had said very little throughout this trauma but things were progressing in the right direction miraculously; he felt he should just go with what was happening and not worry about matters.  Alice had calmed down but had tears in her eyes.

Once settled into the BMW, Naomi pressed the start button, but no response. 

“Naomi, place key ignition.”

Annoyed with her forgetfulness, Naomi sped out of that parking lot at high speed with others hanging on for dear life in their high-performance BMW.

“Finger."

“What? You need give finger to someone?"

“No!  Where’s finger?"

No one responded right away but Alice’s eyes got really huge.

“Oh no! We left his finger in the shop!”

“Naomi slams on her brakes, causing Bob a fair amount of discomfort as he was not expecting a rough ride.

“Ow!”

Now their vehicle was capable of going 0 to 60 in 3 seconds, but what most people do not realize is that this car can also do this when going…backwards!  In the wrong lane! So, Bob and Alice were now experiencing a new side of Naomi! She chose to switch into the other lane once she noticed a car coming right at her from behind. As they were now coming up to the parking lot again at break neck speed, she saw in her rear-view mirror that another car was about to pull out of the lot onto the street. Naomi did not know what that car was going to do next and so she cranked her steering wheel hard to the right to spin the car around, doing a 180 to put Bob and Alice further into shock and dizziness.  She then slammed the car into forward drive so she could have better control of the situation that was ahead of her!

The car in the parking lot did not move and not about to anytime soon, for when they drove past, they could see a little elderly lady with the most horrified fearful expression on her face! She must have been heading home after dropping off her granddaughter at the dance studio.  Standing in the parking lot was Danielle, holding up the package for their pickup, a real trooper to have the courage to do that. Tiramisu was not about to volunteer for that job.  Danielle was quite relieved to see them coming back so that she did not have to take the finger in her car, specially with Max coming as well!

With finger in Brianna’s possession, Naomi sped off and everyone noticed the little old lady was still there, not wanting to get on the road until danger had passed. On the trip to emergency, Brianna and Naomi were arguing back and forth in their native language, having a bit of a ‘cat fight’ so it seems, They were probably arguing about how they could possibly have missed taking the finger on their first trip, blaming each other for the screw up. Like true sisters, once they had cleared the air, conversation became more normalized. Brianna had some explaining to do.

“Naomi is actually good driver. She learn how drive fast in crowded streets Hong Kong. Then she work three months for CIA, stationed in Colombia and really learn how drive and spin car. This is how she escape from the mafia if she go down street and come across road block and if they ready to shoot.  She became known as target to be taken out and so quit job and work on becoming CPA. Besides, employee benefits for that job were not that good.” 

Naomi made good time maneuvering around cars, going through red lights and switching lanes to avoid jaywalkers and cyclists, pulling up to the emergency ward of the hospital with everyone’s knuckles turning white from pressing so hard on anything they could to keep from flopping around. 

The hospital had things under control and had Bob checked in but still in the waiting area to be assigned a room, with his finger on his lap. Naomi had parked her BMW and was with them and then Danielle came in and found them all, but she had left Tiramisu to deal with parking her car.

“So is everything going to be okay? Are they going to be able to attach Bob’s finger?”

“Me Naomi, she Brianna.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, whatever! Why do you two have to look so much alike? Why do you have to wear the same clothes all the time?"

“But it’s fun! We like confuse you! Just look at hair to tell us apart,” says Naomi with a million-dollar smile.

“Bob in good hands at hospital, as they have all their fingers", says Brianna. 

“Naomi and I have to go now as we have classes. Where is Tiramisu?”

“Tiramisu was still not feeling that well with her tummy and so has decided to stay outside with Max for now to get some fresh air. Hopefully she stays out of the car.”

A round of hugs, thank you's and best wishes were in order for everyone to have contributed so that they could have made it through rather trying times. Once Bob found out he was to be sent to the operating room soon, Danielle volunteered to stay with Alice. But since the operation was going to take quite awhile, she said she would be fine and she could wait by herself and see him after the operation was over. Then there was the matter of Tiramisu waiting outside and so Danielle gave her own hugs, best wishes and goodbyes to everyone before leaving. Alice turned her attention to Bob.

“I wanted to explain a bit more about what I said earlier."

“Not now, Alice. Wait until after the operation is over and I am ready to leave. We can talk then.”

Bob was still not saying much, but this was a good thing because he was doing a lot of thinking in the meantime and bracing himself to get a douse of all her news and what he should be doing with his shop going forward. 

It took close to three hours before Bob had his hand and finger back together with huge protection provided so that it could start its healing process. The prognosis looked good, full recovery of the use of his finger was expected. Just a few months of healing and rehabilitation work was needed. They took a taxi to go back to the shop where Bob’s car was located. Bob found out that Alice had gotten to that location by bus. 

Tiramisu must have been able to pick up her car as it was no longer there. Some broken glass in that parking stall though, rather strange, not knowing where that came from. The dance studio was finished for the day. Alice was to drive since it was Bob’s good hand and he did not feel up to it. Bob thought about how Alice was always by his side throughout the whole ordeal.  He was really impressed that she just waited for hours for him to be finished with the hospital so that she could continue to take care of anything he needed. Did she not have anything else to do, or any place to go? The time had come for them to have a little chat and Bob knew he had cut her off before, and so he was to start.

“I have been doing a lot of thinking while you kids were getting me taken care of, your efforts of which were most incredibly appreciated. One thing that came out of this experience is quite evident: Brianna is going to do very well in the medical profession. She kept her composure and took charge! I know that I cannot look at body parts the way she can. As for Naomi being a CPA? I do not quite have her figured out yet, but at least she will not be boring! Now as for Danielle and Tiramisu, their immaturity level really showed. Tiramisu had to have been the most hopeless person in this situation, but she is such a sweet, lovely young lady with a big heart. Danielle was completely out of her comfort zone, but with her high energy level, exuberance, and charm, she learned a lot about how to deal with such situations and no doubt will handle things differently next time.

“I told myself once, a few years ago, that if I ever had a serious accident at the shop with the saw, that I had to retire. I would need to look for a way to sell or fold the business so that I could close the books and move onto the next phase of my life. I have two helpers in the shop who are great assistants, but they do not have enough smarts and talent to manage the business, only to use their hands and skills to make the finest quality furniture. Now then, you mentioned something about you being pregnant? Who is the father?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. I can talk more about why I got pregnant, but need to sort out my thoughts first in order to properly explain.  All I know is that there is a life growing inside me and I need to do everything I can to have a healthy baby and to take care of it, as I have nothing else. I have no family, no mother, or father to give me support. I have no idea how I can possibly support having a baby when I do not have any steady income and how I can even possibly pay for the condo rent once I bring a new addition into this world. I am in really big trouble Bob, and I don’t know what I can do. I am so very sorry about coming into your shop the way I did and it was all because of me that caused you to have not one, but two accidents and that you may not get full function back with your finger and you may have to retire…"

“Hold on Alice, my turn to speak,” as Bob could see tears flowing down the cheeks of Alice’s face.

“You had mentioned that you have no family, well, neither do I, absolutely none whatsoever. When it is my turn to leave this world, as of now there will be no family to carry on and my business will be non existent. I thought I was always going to have to work, but as luck would have it, I came across a pile of money the other day and so will now be able to live comfortably for the rest of my life regardless of what happens to my business. Now it just so happens since I have some cash in the bank and my own three-bedroom bungalow in a well-established neighborhood full of schools that are within walking distance of my home…that I share that property with someone who could use a break in life, being you.

“Now before you say anything, let me continue on. I have noticed how keenly interested you are in carpentry. I would like to start to teach you how to use the tools and I cannot think of any better time than now, since I am disabled. I could coach you along and give my other two assistants a bit more responsibility for the production part, but I could continue to manage the business and line up further contracts. I could pay you for your services so you can build up some cash and you will not need to pay me any rent, but perhaps help pay for the groceries. I can teach you the ropes so you can eventually take charge of the business in my absence. Don’t ever think that you are incapable of managing because I know you can, as you have shown me you are intelligent, charismatic and charming, and you are determined.

“One of the first things we can do is start to convert one of my bedrooms into a nursery and we can build all of the furniture needed in my shop! You will be able to use some of the money that I pay you for your work to buy supplies needed to support the baby to be! I know you can get into an excitable state, but I see that as because you have absolutely no stable anchor, home or support mechanism to fall back on. I feel that you are completely lost without it and I think this will go away once you are settled! I know I can get lonely and sometimes I regret the choices I made in life to stay single. I see you as an opportunity to experience having family after all these years, having you as a daughter and watching your family grow. I see you as eventually taking over the business, as no one else seems interested in buying it. So, Alice, what do you think of all this?”

Bob notices that the tears have stopped flowing down her cheeks completely, she pauses a minute to think and absorb what he said.  Then Bob detects a little twinkle in her eye, just as she states with exhilaration:

“You are simply the best! Let’s do this!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE7P9GGVUnw