When the service concluded, the crowd made its way down to the hospital. Ty expertly led Scarlett through the mass, ensuring the safety of her and Ice.
“Do you want to mingle with the crowd?” Ty asked, bending low to hear her above the sound of people telling stories of Debbie.
“Do you have a spot in the kitchen where I can sit out of the way or help serve something?” she asked. “I’m afraid Ice might get stepped on.”
“Of course. How about I put you and Ice at the end of the line to pass out the rolled utensils? When you get to the last box, let me know, and I’ll have the teens bring out more. It’ll help keep the line moving if we hand it to them instead of them stopping to chat with their neighbor,” Ty explained.
“I can tell you’ve done this a few times,” she said as he led them outside the groups and into the main area.
“There’s a chair in front of you. I’ll get the supplies and put them on the table to your left, then you can pass them to your right,” Ty said, taking command of the kitchen. She listened as he set everything up and gave the teens their tasks.
A few minutes later, he returned with the prepared silverware, a glass of tea, and a bowl of water for Ice.
“Thank you,” she said, as he set everything down.
“You’re welcome. I placed your drink at three o’clock and the utensils at nine. I put a lid on your cup, in case the table gets bumped,” he informed herbefore one of his staff members interrupted him. “I’ll check on you in a bit,” Ty said as he went to handle something in the kitchen.
“Scarlett, thank you for helping out,” Lizzy said, giving her a slight hug. From her voice, Scarlett knew Lizzy still shed some tears.
“I’m sorry. I wish…” Scarlett paused as a little hand touched hers.
“Hi, I’m Tyler. You saved me, my brother, and my sisters. Thank you. I drew you a picture.” He handed her a piece of paper. “Caleb’s friend, Frankie, said it’s stupid because you’re blind, but Mama says if I tell you, you can see it in your head.”
“I will enjoy hearing all about it,” Scarlett assured him. “Can you keep it safe for me? When I finish my job, you can tell me all about it. Then I can picture it.”
“All right,” Tyler said as Lizzy encouraged him to take his silverware.
“We’ll talk later,” Lizzy said, ushering Tyler, Caleb, and Faith from the line.
She greeted people as they introduced themselves. In no time at all, the crowd thinned, and Ty approached her.
“Thank you for the extra set of hands. The teens did such a great job, I’m halfway done cleaning,” he said, sitting beside her.
“It still feels crowded. Did they go outside?” she asked.
“Yes, we have the hot chocolate and hot apple cider set up right before the back deck doors. Do you want a cup?” he asked.
“May I have a cup of cider, please?”
“Do you need to take Ice out for a break? We can grab you a cup and take him out the front away from the crowd,” he suggested.
“Don’t you need to stay here?” she asked.
“My team can handle everything,” he assured her. “I’ll get your cider and we’ll avoid the crowd.”
Scarlett stood, unfolded her cane, and took Ice’s harness. Ty returned, and she inhaled the scent of the cinnamon in the warm cider. “Turn right and it’ll take us to the elevator,” he instructed.
Scarlett navigated through the crowd and released her breath as they made it to the elevator. The door opened, and Ty held onto it while she walked inside. His hand rested on her lower back as they rode it to the first floor.
“When you step out, take a left and it’ll take you to the glass doors,” he instructed.
“I know my way around the hospital. I have a mental map,” she replied as the doors opened.
“Oh, I forgot.” He chuckled. “Then you lead the way.”
Ice led her down the stairs and into the grassy area. When he finished, he barked. Scarlett removed the bag from her jacket, tucked it over her hand, and followed his back to the end of his tail. She scooped up the poop, and Ice led her to the trash bin. Once she disposed of it, she reached inside one of his pockets from his service dog vest, pulled out a wipe for her hands, and then squirted sanitizer on them. She returned to where she left Ty.
“If I’m completely honest, I wondered how you picked up his poop. You made it seem much simpler than I thought in my head,” Ty confessed.
