Chapter 17

Oddly, perhaps, it was Randy who said something that changed Erica’s life yet again. He was sitting in the kitchen distractedly eating a peanut butter sandwich, when Erica wandered in.

“Why do you look so bummed?” she asked. “Oh yeah. Your squeeze went to the academy.”

“It’s not funny,” he said.

“I know,” she said, suddenly contrite. “It must be hard.”

“I really miss her,” he said. “We just barely got to know each other and then she’s gone. I’m miserable. I’ve never been miserable about a girl before.”

“Maybe you’re in love,” she said. “I know I’m going to be miserable when I go to college.” She sighed. “I just can’t get excited about four more years of school.”

“You’re going for interior design, right?” he commented.

“Yes. That was the only thing that I felt like I might be good at.”

“Well, that’s bullshit. You’re not stupid. You could do anything you wanted to.”

“It would still mean four years away,” she said.

“You have to grow up some day, Erica,” he said. “What you’ve been doing won’t work forever.”

“And you think what you want to do with Veronica will?”

“That’s different. We’ll be living somewhere else. If you stay in this town everybody will know you’re still living at home.”

“Now I’m even more depressed,” she said.

She made herself a matching sandwich and sat down. He’d only taken two more bites of his. They sat in companionable silence until he spoke again.

“I might know a way you could stay here and be employed and nobody would think a thing about it,” he said.

“How’s that?”

“Well, at KUMC, where I’m going, the nursing program is tough. A lot of people drop out. Most of them are directed to EMT training because the whole country is short of EMTs and Paramedics. You could become an EMT and work right here in Holden. I think the ambulance service here runs out of the fire station. Of course I have no idea if they would have an opening when you got certified, but like I said, the people at UMKC say the shortage is nation-wide. If nothing else you might get a job close to here.”

“Huh!” exclaimed Erica. “I never thought about something like that.” She blinked. “Do they offer that where you go?”

He shook his head.

“That’s usually offered at a technical or junior college. I know a lot of the ones who did that after dropping out of nursing went to the Kansas City Kansas Technical College, since it’s right there in town. It’s only something like 150 hours to get your EMT certification. If you want to go on and be a paramedic it’s two years. I actually thought about doing it myself when I got a D on an anatomy test. But I studied harder and brought my grade up. I wanna be a nurse. EMTs save lives, though. We did a rotation in the ER in one of our classes. We didn’t get to touch any patients, but we saw the EMTs bring them in. They really can be the difference between life and death for somebody.”

“I might just look into that,” she said.

“You should. I think you’d be a better EMT than an interior designer.”

“What makes you think that?” she asked.

“One, the sight of blood doesn’t bother you. Remember when Chad stood up under the open cabinet door and gashed his scalp? He bled like a stuck pig. You held a towel over it and got blood all over you and it didn’t bother you a bit. Secondly, your room looks like it was designed by zombies or something. There’s no feng shui in your bedroom, little sister.”

She stuck out her tongue at him. But then she asked him to tell her what studying to be a nurse was like.

They talked for over an hour.

Veronica texted Erica regularly for the first week of her academy training. Then it dropped to once a week and twice on weekends as the course got harder and Veronica was too tired each night to stay up texting. She loved the training. When Erica texted about possibly changing her college plans to become an EMT Veronica was excited. She said the basic lifesaving training they got at the academy was taught by an EMT and it was easy.

“If you’re an EMT maybe we’ll even work together sometime,” she texted.

That, and her research into the training of EMTs and Paramedics, convinced Erica to change her plans.

Only then did she talk to her mother and Bob about it.

“I thought you loved design,” said Julie.

“I do, but I think I’d like this even more. And if I’m an ambulance attendant I can really help people. Design wouldn’t be very exciting.”

“Where would you go to get the training? Is it college courses?”

“Yes. There are several schools within 300 miles of here. There’s one college in Kansas City and Randy said I could live with him if I go there. That one just has an EMT program. But there’s one in Great Bend, Kansas that has both programs. I could get my EMT certification and then go on to get my paramedic certification there. It will take two and a half years instead of four and Randy says there’s a shortage of EMTs everywhere. I might even be able to get a job near here.”

“Now I get it,” said Julie. “You want to stay close to Bob.”

“Well, of course I do,” said Erica.

“Sweetheart, we’ve talked about this,” said Bob. “You can’t plan on a life linked to me. Not a romantic one, anyway. You need to find a nice guy your own age and start a family with him.”

“I know that,” said Erica. “But it’s like this. I have no idea what being an EMT will be like. I have no idea what kind of men I’ll meet. I have no idea what college will be like. Basically, I know nothing about my future. I do know about the present, though, and I’m not going to just give it up and jump into the unknown with my eyes closed. I need a little stability in my life and you and Uncle Bob are that stability. At least for now. Okay?”

Julie hugged her daughter and rocked them both.

“Okay. I guess that makes sense. Just don’t think about Bob as a permanent lover, okay?”

“Mom, you know what it’s like. I kind of suspect that even if I get married and have three or four babies with my husband, if I’m alone with Uncle Bob for more than an hour I’m pretty sure we’ll end up in bed. I don’t think I could ever refuse him.”

“That’s where his self-control comes into play. If you’re married and have children, he won’t be asking,” said Julie, shooting a look at Bob.

He just smiled.

“So ... what do you think? It would be cheaper and I’d have a job a lot sooner.”

“It’s all so new,” said Julie. “I’m trying to imagine you with a stethoscope around your neck in a careening ambulance on your way to mayhem and carnage.”

“Randy says that’s only a small part of the job. Most ambulance trips are routine transport of patients between hospitals. Besides, blood doesn’t bother me.”

“I’m just now getting used to the idea that Randy’s going to be an RN,” sighed Julie. “Now I’ll have two children in the medical field.”

“I’m proud of you,” said Bob. “I think this could really be a great career path for you. There’s certainly job security.”

“If you’re going to do this you need to call them and see if you can still even apply,” said Julie. “It’s only a month til most colleges start classes.”

“I’ll do that now,” said Erica.

She hugged them both.

Then she went to the computer to get some contact information.

Barton Community College was a different kind of institution than most “junior” colleges. They offered everything from refresher training to four year degrees. When Erica called the admissions office they sketched out a program she could start in September that would get her EMT certification and then her Advanced EMT certification in one year. The following year she could start her Paramedic courses, which would give her an associate’s degree if she passed all her certification tests.

“You don’t have to take that whole path, of course,” said the woman in the admissions office. “You could do the semester of EMT training and then get some experience before going on. A lot of our students do that to make sure this field is what they really want. About ten percent of our students do the whole three year program before going to work. Most of them intern during the summers.”

“Is it too late to apply?”

“Let’s see if you qualify,” said the woman.

Fifteen minutes and thirty questions later, Erica had provisional enrollment. As soon as tuition was arranged, the enrollment would be official.

The woman gave Erica names and numbers of five organizations that offered scholarships for EMT and AEMT training.

“Let us know if you get scholarships. Otherwise have your parents submit half the tuition or paperwork for student loans and you’re ready to go.”

Erica looked at the costs the woman had given her. Tuition plus a room in the dorm and meals in the cafeteria looked like a lot of money to her. She wasn’t sure her mother could afford it.

She waited to talk to her mother and Bob. She called the numbers associated with scholarships. Most came with a commitment to work in a specific geographical area for three or four years. One, however, offered money for books and supplies, contingent upon a GPA of 3.25 or higher. The fifth offered to pay tuition for the advanced EMT training once she took and passed the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians computer exam. And then the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians skills exam.

That helped.

She went to talk to her mom and Bob again.

The transition between being a high school student and living at home to college life was scary for Erica. The course work wasn’t so bad, but being on her own was strange. She didn’t know what to do with her time out of classes. Meals were served in the cafeteria and the choices of food were pretty good. What helped was that she slowly got to know thirty other kids her age who were just as nervous and unsure as she was. The campus was twelve miles from Great Bend, proper, and she didn’t have her own car, so she spent a lot of time in her room, studying. She also went to the fitness center a lot.

The first time a boy asked her out she was shocked, but only for a few seconds. Bob had said this would happen and it did. Now she had to figure out what to do about it. She told the boy she’d think about it and within two days two more young men had asked her out as well.

Her self confidence was nicely boosted. She called home to tell Bob about it.

She decided to go out with all three guys, just to see what dating away from home (and high school) was like.

Veronica did well at the academy. Part of that was because there was definite competition between the male cadets and the women. There were only ten women in the class, and Veronica was one of only two who were of African-American descent. The women bonded quickly and all of them wanted to prove they were just as good as the men. The men, on the other hand, competed among themselves. It was healthy competition, but they were divided, while the women helped each other.

It turned out that Ronnie excelled in marksmanship, with both pistol and rifle. She did so well on the rifle range that she was chosen to receive sniper training. The state patrol had a SWAT team, which wasn’t deployed very often, but when they were needed it was important that they be the best of the best. They didn’t currently need a sniper, but anyone who showed that kind of expertise was tagged in the files as a potential member.