"He's right here, Emily. Hang on a second."
She didn't expect to talk to him this suddenly and felt herself getting nervous.
"Emily, thank you for picking my phone up. It's crazy here right now." Parker's voice wasn't calm at all.
"Parker, is everything okay?"
"No, not at all. My apartment building caught fire today. I have sick animals, misplaced tenants...This is horrible."
"Parker, can I help with anything?"
"Just come here, Emily. Please."
***
Rhonda met Emily at the airport at four in the morning when her plane landed. Rhonda greeted her with a hug,
"Parker and Russell have to stay where they are. None of us have ever gone through a fire before. This is so horrible. No one was killed, thank God, and some of the tenants were on vacation. They aren't aware that they have no home to come back to yet."
"Where are the tenants staying?" Emily didn't want to openly ask if Parker's apartment was destroyed.
"Parker's staying with us. The top three floors burned. I feel so awful." Rhonda dabbed at her eyes.
"I'll get a room and stay to help for as long as I can."
"You can stay with us. You're not going to find a room in this area. The entire building was evacuated and remains closed. You'll be a wonderful sight for Parker. Both men have stayed at the office. They walk back and forth from the apartment building to the office. Some of our employees lived in that building as well. Everything's really bad right now. I'll take you to my house so you can get some rest. I need to go back to the office."
"No, take me with you. I'm not going to be any good to anyone if I don't go with you."
Parker stood outside, across the street from the place he called home for a few years. The fire chief shook his hand and gave him a tired smile.
"The good news is, we can confirm that no one is missing and there were no fatalities. There were several treated for smoke inhalation and most of those have been released. It's looking like the fire was deliberate. The police are questioning a suspect who lit all his wife's clothes on fire. We believe gasoline was the accelerant. He ran from the scene using the stairwell."
"Thank you. Let me know if you find out anything else."
Parker rubbed his face with his hands. The odor of smoke still filled the air, and sounds of crying, praying, and disbelief were around him.
People scrambled around calling for their animals that were scattered in temporary cages and in need of medical care. Emily walked over to the makeshift area created for them. She saw Parker out of the corner of her eye as he stood there staring at the animals.
"Parker!" Emily called as she made her way through the people.
"Emily!" He threw his arms around her and seemed to hold on for dear life. "Thank you for coming out here. I feel so lost."
"It's okay. I found you once, I'll find you again." Emily let out a soft chuckle, but the comment went right over Parker's head. "Let's go someplace and get a plan together so I can find out the best way to help." Emily kissed his tired face and let him guide her by the hand.
Rhonda had gotten three of her staff to man the phones which were ringing off the hooks. She made Parker shower, eat some food, shave his scruffy face, and take a two hour nap. He refused to leave the area. Emily curled up beside him on the couch in his office, and that's the only way he was able to let himself relax enough to sleep.
After a couple hours, Emily unpacked her scrubs and then went with Parker to where the animals were being cared for. The amount of people who opened their homes to provide temporary shelter for the pets amazed her. She helped wash and examine the animals and met with several of their owners. Camille Johnson, a local veterinarian, was overly grateful for Emily's help. This experience was definitely changing her opinion of Manhattan.
Parker and Russell had worked closely with the tenants and offered motel rooms for them to stay in until the insurance companies were able to do their part. Most went with relatives. Parker didn't miss anything that got destroyed at his penthouse. He learned there was more to life than money and possessions. Being lost in the woods, and his close call with death, changed his perspective on life.
"Why don't you two come on back to the house and rest up?" Rhonda had tried many times to get them to do that, but they wouldn't budge.
"I'm going to have to find a new place to live." Parker laughed, but he was reminded of their early childhood and not having a steady home.
"You need to show him, Russell." Rhonda smiled and nodded at her husband.
"Show me what?"
"Parker, come with me. We'll be back here in an hour, but there's something I want to show you. It's important or I wouldn't drag you away." Russell found another reason to love his wife.
Parker climbed in the Jaguar with Russell as he steered around the thick traffic. Most of the people clogging up the streets were news vans and gawkers. Russell finally turned the corner and headed up his street.
"Russell, if you're taking me back to your house, you might as well turn around right now." But Russell ignored him and passed by his home.
After three more miles, Russell pulled over to the side of the road. "There," said Russell as he pointed out the driver's window.
"Who lives there?"
"This house went on the market last week. I think you should take a look at it. It's a buyer's market right now and that house isn't going to be up for long. It's beautiful, spacious and, most importantly, near us. Seriously, Parker, it's time you just bought a house."
"It's really nice. I'm going to be a dog owner soon, so that yard will come in handy. But why would I need a house that big?" Parker laughed.
"It won't always be just you. This would be a great home to raise a family in. Think about it, okay?"
Parker nodded as Russell turned around and drove back to the office.
Emily phoned Mick when the situation was under control in Manhattan. He seemed frantic.
"Mick, what's going on?"
"Just busy. Jerry Moore has the flu. I gotta go, Em."
"I'll be on the next flight Mick. Hang in there." The guilt soared through her. Emily had never felt so torn. She felt guilty for leaving her obligations, ones that she willingly signed up for. She walked back to the office and found Rhonda.
"I'm really sorry, but I have to get back to Baldwin. The other veterinarian is sick."
"I understand, Em. Thank you for coming out to help. Let me check on flights for you, or I can just call for the jet."