“We won’t be near each other, Jocelyn,” her friend said.
“You’re just in front of me. What’s the big deal?” Jocelyn said.
“I don’t want to be in front. You do it.”
Jocelyn rolled her eyes and moved to the front row. Closer to him.
“Now that we are all here, I’m Chance Drummond. I’m a firefighter with the Durham Fire Department and also a certified CPR and first aid trainer. How many people here have taken a CPR course before?”
There were two hands that went up. “Years ago,” one man said. “I need it for my job now.”
“People need it for many reasons. Their jobs are normally the most common. Some others just like to have that knowledge for friends and family members.”
He wondered why Jocelyn was taking it. Probably work.
“We’ll start with CPR, then move on to first aid. You’ll leave here with two certificates good for two years. In front of you is a manikin. Or as I like to call it, ‘Manni’.”
“So it’s a guy?” a young woman asked. “They don’t have women manikins?”
“It’s gender neutral,” he said. “Spell it any way you want. Gender means nothing when you’re saving a life.”
He continued and talked more about the signs of when someone was in distress, watching how many were paying attention.
Jocelyn was actually taking notes on the papers in front of her. He wasn’t surprised.
“Remember, the first thing you do is call nine-one-one. Or have someone else do it.”
He went through the steps of checking for blocked airways, chest compressions, and rescue breaths.
He watched the entire room, but his gaze returned to Jocelyn more than anyone else.
“Like this,” he said, getting next to her and putting his hands over hers to push down. “You can break a rib easily even if you’re careful.”
“Jocelyn is pretty tough. She can take anyone down in self-defense courses too,” her friend said.
He turned to look at her, caught her brown eyes laughing. “I’ve been known to. Got to stay on my game.”
“Something tells me you’re never off of it. Show it to me now,” he said.
He watched her hands pressing down, the muscles in her upper arms flashing. Not big, but a subtle definition that caught his eye.
She’d had workout clothes on the day he made his presence known at the fire call. Guess it wasn’t just for comfort.
He got up and moved around the room some more. When they were done with the CPR, he went through basic first aid. Wound care, burns, cuts, and lastly choking.
“We are going to take turns on the Heimlich maneuver. I’m going to do it to you, you’re going to do it to me. Where to put your hand placement. Unless of course you’re not comfortable with that.”
He’d had some in the past not be.
He put his hand out for Jocelyn to go first. Why not? He had to do it with her anyway, might as well start his night out right.
She stood up, he got behind her, trying not to inhale the floral scent that he hoped would follow him into the night.
Not strong, but intoxicating just the same.
“Make a fist with your hand; thumb side goes on the abdomen, above the belly button, but below the ribcage.” He made a fist with his right hand, put it on her belly like he described. “Grab your fist with your other hand and give an upward thrust. Here, we are doing it gently. No reason to hurt anyone, just get the action down.”
He did the movement slightly. He’d had people do it to him before and lift him up. A woman once tried to flirt with him. She’d knocked the breath right out of him.
