What makes a day good?

No better way to start the day than to dare yourself to rise as fast as you can only to slip and fall face down on the plush carpet of the bedroom floor. The topper is reaching for the night stand as added support in rising and knocking over the glass of water you poured the night before to hydrate the first moments of the day. Fail. Alarm begins to sound and the joy of beating the clock fades as Tessa sees Chip scuttling to his corner bed with a bone from last night’s dinner that had been thrown away. Gritting her teeth, she bypassed the happy pup to find paper towel shreds and plastic strewn across the wooden floor. Glass in hand, she walked with determination around the mess to the fridge. Filling her cup from a pitcher, she gulped down the last of the water in entirety of the glass before releasing a long gasping breath of air.

“Today is a good day.” She fingered her cross charm necklace, hearing her voice aloud gave her a sense of hope as she turned to make her way to the bathroom for a shower. Ignoring Chip licking the bone incessantly in the corner, she hummed to herself as she rubbed on her hair removal cream to her legs and laced her head with raw apple cider vinegar for conditioning. Her eyes stung from the potency falling down her forehead into the corner of her eyes as she climbed into the bathtub and turned the knob for hot, steamy water. Nothing.

Tessa sucked in her breath suddenly, reaching for the cold knob to find the same result. Nothing. “Please, no. No. No.” She could feel the cream on her skin beginning to send a warm sensation, slowly heating at the surface of her skin. She ran to the kitchen sink. Nothing. She glanced at the empty pitcher on the counter and a small cry escaped her throat. She ran to her room and dabbed a towel on the wet spot on the carpet to get enough moisture to rub off the cream. She could feel her skin breaking under the friction of the dry portions of the roughly air dried towel. Tessa wasn’t sure if the vinegar burning her eyes caused the tears, or if she really had hit a wall.

Tempted to call out sick, she reached for her phone and saw a text from her boyfriend, Kyle.

“Today is the best day of your life, baby. Make it count.” Drawing a long sigh from her.

With all the push she could muster, she squeezed the remaining vinegar out of her hair and covered her slightly raw, hairless legs in a pair of slacks. She decided to wear a sweater and hat as an added layer in cover in possible musk from not bathing. She left in a hurry, cutting close to start time at work from all the surprises of the morning. The water shutoff notice lied face up on the floor with her dirty footprint from her shoes the night before carrying in groceries. She didn’t bother reading the 12-hour notice. With a deep exhale, she left the building to find her vehicle, thankfully, right where she left it, parked near the doors. As she walked towards the yellow Chevy, she noticed the front tire had been slashed.“What the…” she leaned down to see a straight line bending at the opening along the top of the wheel. “Why?” She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

“’Scuse me, Missus.” She turned to see a young boy. He was covered in soot and grime, holes in the knees of his short pants, without any socks in his shoes missing laces. She began to scan the area, but he seemed to be alone.

“What?” Tessa asked curtly, reaching for her phone to check the time.

“Can you spare a moment? I found a lady who seems hurt real bad just around the way. She needs help.” His voice sounded sincere and yet, Tessa swore she heard an accent in his broken English.

“Call the police. They can help, I’m sort of in the middle of—“ the boy grabbed her hand and caused her to lose her train of thought. He was missing his two last fingers, so she felt handled by a small bird; more like a reptile with the scaly feeling of his skin against hers.

“Police no come. I try. Please.”

Her shoulders fell. She chose to forget about making it to work on time. Tessa followed the boy as he ran ahead, watching her surroundings. He rounded to the back of the building and sure as the garbage in the dumpster, a woman lied against the brick, hair plastered against what must have been sweat and tears on her face, blood along her legs and hands.

Tessa rushed over to her, checking vitals as she sought for answers. “What happened here?” The woman coughed, and doubled over in pain, grabbing her abdomen, sobbing and retching on the concrete. The boy looked at Tessa and asked, “Can you help her?”

Tessa didn’t know. Simple first aid would be the tip of the iceberg on what this woman needed. She dialed 911 and spoke to the operator. She was told to wait patiently, someone would come. Tessa propped the woman up to keep her spine straight as she lied nameless, muttering through her tears words Tessa couldn't make out. The boy identified himself as Sam. Sam had found the woman as he was searching for his dog. Apparently young Sam had disobeyed his pop by leaving their home near the interstate.

Tessa had a sinking feeling in her chest as she listened to Sam describe everything as if he were living in some epic adventure. He spoke of the darkness as cold breathe of the ice monster outside the shelter she imagined must be a tent or shed structure with a door to keep closed. He described his dog as not only a friend, but his blanket warmer for the days the monster was especially mean. Sam said he was 11, but he appeared to be no more than 7. She knew she had to tell CPS (Child Protective Services) for his own good and still, she wrestled with feeling like she would ruin the world his pop fought so hard to create to protect him from the harsh reality of homelessness. It worked. Sam glowed with an excitement she doesn't even see in her nephew's eyes when she brings him presents.

Within 30 minutes, an ambulance came ringing down the road. Police followed in its wake and took the boy. She saw a light go out in his eyes when they carried him away, kicking and begging for Captain. He wailed, "I need Captain, I can't leave her!! Let me go! Why are you taking me? I only helped!”

Tears burned the corners of Tessa's eyes as she watched. Another officer grabbed her arm, his voice broke her silent contemplation. “Are you okay?”

She bit down on her lip to keep it from quivering, feeling pain for the woman riding away on a stretcher and the anguish of the little boy separated from both Captain and his father. She couldn’t see the officer clearly through her tears, but she addressed him with an air of resolution that surprised her. “Not until I know these two are okay. I thought I was having a difficult day until I met them. And we must find Captain for Sam.”

“Who is Captain?” The officer squared up, facing her, waiting for an explanation.

“His dog. Captain is Sam’s dog. We have to look for her.”

“Miss, if you don’t mind me asking…why do you concern yourself with this?”

She used her sleeves to wipe her eyes and face, and began rubbing down her shoulders as if to remove something on her. She paused before looking him directly in the eye to speak.

“I have to make today count. I can make a difference in that boy’s life just as he saved the life of that woman who would have no doubt mysteriously died in this alleyway.” Her voice cracked and tears began to fall afresh as she thought about how she helped keep her alive too. “Dear God.” She continued breathlessly, in recognition of the impact of her being there, late as she was. The officer knelt down to pick up something, commenting on how she is the real hero of the day. He stood, holding her necklace which had somehow been dislodged while helping the woman and the boy. She thanked him and held it between her fingers again, mere hours from the last time and confidently affirmed what is always true, no matter what.“Today is a good day.” 

The officer, already walking away turned back when he heard her speak. “Are you coming?” He asked, waving his arm around, pointing in every direction. “Captain could be just about anywhere.” She smiled as she stuffed the necklace in her pocket and followed after him. Kyle was going to be so proud when he hears how she really made today count.