“Three minutes,” the operator responded.
“They’ll need to take her to Sam Welles Memorial. It’s the closest hospital,” I instructed, as if I had any say over the matter. I already knew Welles had the best facilities to handle what I highly suspected to be a stroke.
“It’s going to be okay, Mrs. Caldwell,” I told her again. Her eyelids started to droop. “Here.” I gave the phone back to Ace and helped Mrs. Caldwell’s husband lower her to the ground when she began slumping even more, unable to support her body weight in the seated position.
I checked for a pulse and was relieved when I found it. Again, I took the phone from Ace and told the operator Mrs. Caldwell’s beats per minute.
It probably felt longer than it was before the paramedics arrived. There was an outbreak of movement around me once they did. All of the guests paused to watch as the paramedics loaded her onto the stretcher.
Her husband fell in line at her side, and I rushed behind the stretcher, telling them all of the details I could think of to give them the best information I could.
I stood outside of the ambulance as they loaded her and her husband inside and pulled off. I said a silent prayer that they got her to the hospital fast enough to get the necessary tests.
“Is she going to be okay?”
I turned and saw Ace standing beside me. A few people had piled outside of the door, watching the ambulance disappear into the distance.
“Hope so.” I sighed. “It’s been less than an hour since her symptoms started, and the hospital is nearby.”
He lifted an eyebrow.
I shrugged. “There’s no way to be certain without a CT, but I think she’s having a stroke. Her husband said she wasn’t on any medications. If the hospital responds as quickly as I think they will, they’ll be able to diagnose and treat her within the window. She should have a good chance of making it through this.”
I stared in the direction the ambulance took. It had disappeared, and I could no longer hear the sirens.
Ace reached out and pulled me to his side. I glanced up at him.
“Ready to go back inside?”
I nodded.
He held me close as we walked back inside the ballroom. A few of the other Airmen and their spouses patted me on the arm, either thanking me for my quick reaction or giving me a smile of appreciation.
It felt odd. I was simply doing what I’d been trained to do.
The rest of the evening went by in a sort of a blur. Half of my mind was still on Jane Caldwell and her prognosis. The other half of my brain felt as if it were malfunctioning from how closely Ace held me the rest of the night.
Even when we weren’t dancing, he kept his arm around my waist or his hand on my arm, keeping me near. He never failed to introduce me as his wife to the rest of his squadron or his commanders.
Toward the end of the night, the higher-ranking officers gave out a series of awards to different Airmen. I clapped the loudest when Ace was acknowledged. He was recognized for his abilities as flight lead in his squadron and for being a team player, stepping up when necessary.
“Congratulations,” I said as he returned to the table.
He gave me a brilliant smile that made the heat low in my belly burn hotter.
“Aiden’s going to ask you a million questions about that now.” I laughed and dipped my head toward the award in his hand.
“He can have it.” He said it like the acknowledgment wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t an official Air Force medal, but I knew it was special to have those around you acknowledge the work you put in.
“No,” I said, placing my hand on his wrist. “It is a big deal. Really.”
He peered down at me, and all of a sudden, the air around us crackled with electricity. That same feeling of being the only two people in the room came over me again. The sparkle in Ace’s eyes told me that he felt it, too.
“It’s time to go,” he said in a low voice full of something that caused my nipples to harden.
I held my hand out for him to take. It was time to leave.
* * *
