If This Is What It Takes

“If this is what it takes,” John grunted, “I can't do it.” He lifted another stone from the truck and laid it in the pile.

“Come on, bro. This won’t kill you. A little exercise never hurt anyone.” Brad picked up two stones at once.

Although it was hot, he hadn’t broken a sweat. John leaned on the side of the bed, wiped his brow, then tasted the liquid. He grimaced at the bitterness.“ Dude, I totally need some Gatorade. I’m losing electrolytes like crazy in this heat,” John said.

“What do you mean you’re ‘losing electrolytes’?” Brad tugged at a wonky-shaped stone. It looked heavy.

“I mean what I mean. I’m sweating up a storm. My body is losing salts and electrolytes. I need to replenish them.”

“You need to replenish them? Who the hell uses the word ‘replenish’?”

“I do.” John kicked dirt.

“Give me a break. You’re just copying what you hear on T.V. If you would get off the couch once in a while and exercise, then maybe you wouldn’t be so tired.”

“I’m not tired. But I’m going to be dehydrated if I don’t drink something soon.”

“Then walk to the gas station.”

“I don’t know. Plus, I don’t have any money. Can I borrow five bucks?” John asked.

Brad heaved a stone. It fell upon another rock and cracked in half. Crows burst from the treetops, cawing their annoyance. “I’m tired of your whiney shit. That’s all you’ve been doing for the past two hours. Landscaping is dirty work. You break a sweat. You’ve shadowed dad before, and you knew what you were getting into. So either you get yourself together and help me stack some rocks or you’re fired.”

“I can’t be fired if I’m not employed,” John retorted.

“If you don’t complete the assigned tasks, then you fail your class. That’s as bad as getting fired because if you fail one more class, then you repeat your senior year. Few people are so pathetic they become fifth year seniors in high school.” Brad laid the stones along the outside of the tulip bed.

John eyed the magnetic sign on the side of the work truck: “James Baker and Son Landscaping.” Ever since Brad became part of the family business, he acted like a big- shot; a know-it-all. Here he was again, throwing his weight around to put John in his place. It made John so upset he couldn’t stand it.

The anger in his stomach churned. It bubbled. It rumbled. It twisted his stomach into knots. John opened his mouth to say something when, suddenly, the anger flew from his stomach at full force, covering the ground near his sneakers in yellow chunks. The world spun and grew dark.

“...can you hear me?” The voice was far off and unfamiliar. “Lift one of your fingers if you can hear me…”

John squinted. Above him, a tree branch and a bird’s nest. He attempted to pull himself from the ground, to sit, but fell back. His head throbbed.

“Dude. Are you okay? Say something.” He recognized Brad’s voice.

John tried to sit up again. With his back to a tree trunk, he spent a dizzy moment staring at Brad and two other men. Their jumpsuits were orange. The taller man shined a light in his eyes.

“How are you doing? Can you hear us?” the short man asked.

“Come on, John. Say something,” Brad begged. Brad’s body was an enormous yellow circle, a by-product of the eye exam.

“What happened?” John rubbed his temple.

“You passed out and hit your head on the rocks,” Brad replied. “You’ve been in and out for at least twenty minutes now.”

“Explains why my head hurts.”

Tall man put his light away. “He’s likely dehydrated. We should take him in for fluids.”

Brad nodded. “Whatever you think is best.”

They pulled a stretcher from the back of an ambulance.

A long plastic tube protruded from John’s arm. He poked it. “This is so gross.”

“Not as gross as that nurse that came to check on you,” teased Brad.

“Not as gross as that doctor you were flirting with.”

“Well... not as gross as your feet after a basketball game.”

“… Not as gross as… as… your mom!” Brad rolled with laughter. To John, it wasn’t funny, but he made Brad laugh, a rare accomplishment.

“So, I guess you won’t be finishing your project,” Brad said. “At least you have a good excuse. I’ll vouch for you.”

“It just so happens that I’m done with my project.”

“How? You didn’t do anything today. No offense.”

“Yeah, well, on the ride in the ambulance, I asked the EMTs a lot of questions about what they were doing to me. I mean, EMTs sure get to use a lot of fancy equipment. I asked them a couple questions about their jobs. It seems pretty cool. Whenever I get out of here, I’m going to see if I can do a ride along,” John said.

“Great! Whatever it takes to get the project done, right? Even if it means risking your life.”

They both laughed.

“Yep. Whatever it takes.”