Bird nodded. “You can’t stay here in the cold. I’ll call 911.”
“Yes. Please do that, dear. I need some water.”
Bird stood up, pulled her cell from her pocket, and punched in the three numbers. She placed the flashlight end-up on the floor to illuminate the entire room. As she waited for an operator to answer, she brought over a glass of water from the sink.
Mrs. Pierson drank it down and motioned for Bird to refill it.
Bird filled the glass again at the sink. The water pressure was lessening. Bird knew that pumps don’t work without power, and once the previously pumped water was gone, there’d be no more until the power came back on.
She gave the water to Mrs. Pierson and waited while she drained the glass, then refilled it. Good thing Cody had come to get her when he did.
Again, Bird wondered if the coyote was okay.
The call went to a recorded message, asking Bird to be patient because of an extraordinary number of emergency calls, and informing her that her call would be answered in sequence. She was asked to press one for police, two for fire, and three for an ambulance. Bird pressed three. Another recorded message asked that she be patient because of an extraordinary number of emergency calls, and informed her that her call would be answered in sequence.
Bird willed herself to stay calm. How can I be patient at a time like this? she wondered.
She thought about hanging up and calling Paul and Hannah. But the roads were impassable. They couldn’t come to help, and she’d only make them worry. They’d wake up and not get back to sleep, and for nothing.
Holding her cellphone to her ear, she checked out the oddly tilted kitchen door. She made an effort to get it closed but had no luck. The weight of the tree on the door frame was enormous.
How could she stop the continuous flow of cold air and sleet? The pipes would freeze. Bird opened the old wooden trunk next to the armchair and found a thick grey army blanket.
“Can I nail this up, Mrs. Pierson?”
The old woman nodded feebly. She was losing energy.
Bird was still on hold. She put her phone on speaker and set it on the table while she found some nails and a hammer in the hall closet, then tacked up the blanket. She put a pile of books on the blanket edge, which kept it from flapping in the wind. With the wind blocked, suddenly there was quiet. It was a bigger relief than Bird expected.
Mrs. Pierson was asleep. Bird hoped that she hadn’t fainted.
Finally, a male operator answered. “This is 911. What is your emergency?”
Bird scrambled for the phone and said, “My name is Alberta Simms. I’m at the farm of Laura Pierson at 19347 Third Line, Caledon. I’m her neighbour. She’s in her nineties. She’s hurt and needs help.”
There was a pause. “The third line of Caledon, north of the Grange, is completely blocked at this time. The hydro lines are down. No emergency vehicles are able to pass, and they will not be able to reach you until the hydro crews clear the roads of danger. What is the nature of her injury?”
Bird assessed Mrs. Pierson. She looked terrible, even worse than before. “A tree fell on her house. She’s lying on the floor, and she’s either asleep or unconscious. There’s a bump growing on her forehead. Her right ankle is twice as big as her left.”
The man asked, “Can you make her comfortable?”
Bird grimaced. “I’m not sure. She’s in a lot of pain.”
“Raise her injured ankle so it rests above her heart, keep her hydrated, and if there’s Tylenol, give her three tablets. Do not give her Aspirin because it’s a blood thinner. And try to keep her body warm any way you can.”
“Okay. How soon do you think somebody will come? The house is freezing, and she’s really old.”
“An ambulance will arrive at the earliest possible time, but it might be several hours. I’ve put in a request. That’s all I can do. Please continue to do what you can for her, and we will get to her as soon as possible.”
“I’ll do my best. Thank you.”
“Can I reach you at this number?”
“Yes.”
“Good. We’ll call with an update as soon as we can.”
“Okay. I hope it’s soon.”
“Good luck, Bertha.”
Bird pressed “end,” suddenly very unsure of what to do. Would Mrs. Pierson be okay for several hours? She understood their problem with the hydro lines down, but could the old woman survive this cold and the pain in her ankle, and maybe a concussion, for much longer?
The way Bird saw it, Mrs. Pierson likely slipped on the icy floor when she got out of bed to investigate the crash in her kitchen. Bird calculated how long she’d been lying there. Cody had woken Bird just before midnight. It would’ve taken Cody at least twenty minutes to get from Merry Fields to Saddle Creek Farm, so he left to get help around 11:30 p.m. Bird’s cellphone read 1:36 a.m., so Mrs. Pierson had been sitting on the floor for at least a couple of hours, plus however long she’d been there before Cody noticed. How much longer could they wait?
Bird knelt at the woman’s side. “Mrs. Pierson?”
She didn’t respond. Bird gently shook her shoulder.
Laura Pierson groaned quietly and let out a tiny cough, like the one Bird heard when she first entered the house.
Bird stood up. She made her decision. Mrs. Pierson could not wait until the hydro lines had been cleared. She needed to come home to Saddle Creek now, and Bird had a plan.
She picked up the flashlight, walked to the washroom, and looked behind the sink mirror and in all the drawers for the drugs that the man had prescribed. None. Bird ran upstairs and checked the bedroom and cupboards. Finally, she found a bottle of Tylenol. It had expired six years ago, but Bird deemed it would be better than nothing.
She came downstairs, was able to fill the water glass one more time, and urged Mrs. Pierson to take the pills, which was very difficult for her because while she could briefly open her eyes, she was still not anywhere near alert. Instead of three tablets, Bird gave her four. Whatever strength they had left, Mrs. Pierson would need.
Bird? Are you in there? What’s taking so long? Her horse stretched his neck and pushed the blanket over the door with his nose, causing it to come away from one of the nails.
Sunny! I was just coming to get you.
Can we go home? I want to go back to my stall.
Yes, we can, but we’re taking Mrs. Pierson with us.
That’s crazy. She’s too old to learn to ride.
We’re going to pull her in a sled.
We’re going to pull her? Or I’m going to pull her?
You’re going to pull her.
What’s in it for me?
You go home to your stall.
Done.
First, I need to find a sled.
What’s that?
A flat piece of wood that people slide down hills on.
Hey! There’s one in the shed, where I’ve been waiting forever and ever.
Great! Are there ropes in there, too?
There are metal ropes.
Chains? I’ll go look.
Bird took another look at Mrs. Pierson. A large bruise was forming on the bump that was growing on her forehead. Bird noted how transparent