First Kiss

She was nervous. Finally she got the promotion she had been working towards. At last she had been noticed. She knew she wasn’t the most popular and sociable member of staff, but she got the job done. Sure, there had been the opportunity to move elsewhere in the Council, but she didn’t want to move sideways. The library was for her. Without a degree in library studies she could never call herself a Librarian, but with this promotion she was on the same level as them. She looked at the clock. It was time.

The circulation desk was buzzing. This library never ceased to amaze her. It was never quiet, ordered or it seems very civilized. Here goes her first supervisor shift. She would spend the rest of the day out here, front of house, managing the team. There were two staff members on checkout, one on membership, one on returns, herself and a Librarian at the information desk, who also had to answer the phone. Why the phone was also on the circulation desk was a total mystery? It would be so much easier to answer people’s questions without having to put the phone on hold constantly. When the membership person wasn’t busy she could get them helping elsewhere, returning items to the re-shelving bays, making sure the checkout line wasn’t unacceptably long and the return bins weren’t overflowing,   It gave her butterflies to walk out and finally be in control of the heart of this busy place.

She surveyed the situation, it was the middle of the lunch time rush, the return bins were half full and the checkout line turned a corner. She was short a team member as she let a tired morning worker go to lunch with no one to fill the place. Three customers waited for membership, the phone was ringing. The Librarian on shift took the phone, she helped at membership.

Jimmy Wilson and Sharon Lucas were joined to the Library.

She took a place at check out and helped clear the queue. Check out was pretty mindless really, swiping barcodes with a wand, collecting holds, pushing the books over the security system and making small talk. She learnt pretty quickly not to talk too much to the customers during this task. So many customers were desperate for a chat, except for those borrowing books on sexual health.

She was called away to the information desk by the Librarian; apparently something had occurred in row 5. She took a quick walk to look and sure enough someone had done a piss. She retrieved the witches’ hats the library had acquired for this reason and placed them around the yellow puddle.  She looked about for someone with wet pants and thought of the staff member who had to reshelve this row. Back at the circulation desk she renewed someone’s items over the phone before she rang the cleaners. They would be here as soon as possible. At least she didn’t have to clean it up.

Suddenly a banging noise started coming from the inside the disabled toilet, as she walked over the banging stopped, the door rushed opened and a person ran out, she didn’t get a chance to look at them,  she was staring at what was on the floor besides the toilet.

There was a man lying on his back.  She knelt down beside him, was he breathing?

She yelled for help, the Librarian came over,

"Ring an ambulance and get me the first aid kit.” She seemed to shout.

As she was putting him on his side in the recovery position a man came into the toilet.

“I’m an undercover policeman,” he said.

“Is he breathing?” she blurted.

“Not sure” the policeman said too calmly,“I wouldn’t touch him if I were you.”

“What? I don’t think he’s breathing, I’m going to resuscitate him.” She said.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, look at this” the policeman urged her and pointed to a bundle of items. There was a brochure for HIV and a needle.

Her head felt hot, where’s the ambulance?

The man’s face started to go bluish. She got the first aid kit out and rummaged through it for the face mask.

On presenting it, the policeman said
“That masks no good, don’t do it.”

She stopped for a second.

She thought of his mother, learning about his death asking her, “Why didn’t you try and save my son?"

She thought of him, a young man, life cut short, she could make it longer. Or not.

She thought of herself, how would she live with herself not doing anything?

She thought of the policeman, why was he here? Who was he to say, "Don’t do it.”

She thought of the ambulance, “Where the hell was it?”

She thought of him again, he was blue right now.

Cold.

She thought, "This is my first supervisor shift.”

She pulled him onto his back, tilted his head, lifted his chin, placed the mask over his mouth and nose, pressed it down, leaned over and gave him two of her breathes.  The kiss of life.

Written for Sunday Scribblings