Chapter 4: What Her Convenience Had Cost
The fire response continued for some time.
Meredith stayed nearby, no longer trying to cross the restricted area.
The replacement hose was now feeding the operation again.
Firefighters moved with the same concentration they had shown before she interfered.
That bothered her.
She had expected her action to produce a confrontation.
Instead, the crew had simply absorbed the additional work and continued protecting the hospital.
Eventually, the first firefighter walked past her.
Meredith stopped him.
“I owe you an apology.”
He turned.
She took a breath.
“I was angry because the hose was in my way.”
He waited.
“I thought you should move it because I needed to get through.”
The firefighter nodded once.
“You were told why we couldn’t.”
“I know.”
She looked toward the hospital.
“I just didn’t think it mattered that much.”
His expression softened slightly.
“That equipment mattered because people inside mattered.”
Meredith lowered her eyes.
There was nothing clever left to say.
The firefighter returned to his crew.
Meredith remained at the curb.
Then she looked at the hospital entrance and at the equipment surrounding it.
She finally understood the question she had been asking all along.
Why should their equipment come before her convenience?
Because it wasn’t really about equipment.
It was about what the equipment was there to do.
The hose had been carrying water.
The firefighters had been carrying responsibility.
The hospital was carrying people who needed protection.
Her convenience had been only one thing on the other side of that equation.
And it was the least important one.
