The World According To Marley
The World according To Marley
Chapter One: A Sunny Day
As long as I can remember, I wanted to be a nurse. Many nights I have had dreams of working in the ER at our local hospital helping patients and savings lives. I want to tell you a brief story about me, my family, my life and how I went from a young 18-year-old woman working at Walmart into a successful nurse.
It was Friday, and I had just woken up from sleep when I walked into the kitchen of my grandparents’ home where me and my mother lived. My grandmother Kelly and grandfather Mark were getting ready for work and eating breakfast. My mother and grandfather were, as usual, arguing over my mother’s life. It was a regular thing in this house.
See me and my mother, Kylie, came to live with my grandparents five years ago. Her and my father’s relationship was transitory, to put it mildly. My dad worked on an oil field in Houston, Texas. My mom always referred to him as diligent but degrading. They fought often and their fights eventually got unfavorable and disheartened. Me and my father talk often, and his side of the story always borders on the narcissistic side. He remarried four years ago to a gracious lady named April; they seem serene.
My mother always talked about us getting our own place, but here we are five years later and still with grandma and papa. I love my grandparents and living with them. See, my mother Kylie is immature and self-loathing. I love my mom, but she just needs to be realistic. I hear my papa Kyle and mother fighting again. Feeling defeated, my mom stormed out of the kitchen and went outside to smoke, her favorite pastime. I followed her outside onto the front porch and tried to explain that papa meant well, he just didn’t want me to end up with a job I hated. She understood that, but it still hurt when he said those things, even if he was right.
My grandpa told me to go to Grayson County college today and fill out my paperwork for the fall semester. He knew I wanted to be an RN, not a host for the rest of my life.
The people that shopped there could be rude. There was one lady who made it a point to humiliate me regularly. So, working here for a long period was not one of my priorities. After asking her if she needed some help. She would reply,
“Yeah, you can help me by going over there, opening a regular checkout lane and do your damn job instead of watching over me like a Nazi.” The older lady told me with a stern look on her face.
It was hard not to voice my opinion towards any of our shoppers, but I needed my job. My friends Tina and Emory and I were all hosts, and all were starting college at Grayson in the fall. My grandparents would help with whatever expenses I had, and I would keep my job here on weekends for extra money.
Chapter Two: The Storm
Friday came and went as usual, but Saturday turned out to be uncompromising. See, this guy that I had a crush on came in and spoke to me, well he took up for me, which was amazing seeing how I didn’t know he even knew I existed. This other shopper, some old guy who was in a foul mood, cussed me out and told me I would die working here at Wal-Mart. It was the most degrading experience ever. Chad, the guy I liked, walked right up to him and told him to take his stuff and leave before he called the cops. He laughed at him and said I am a veteran. You don’t get to talk to me like that, son. Chad looked at him sideways, then replied.
“First, I’m not your son, and my dad is a cop, so yes, I will talk to you like that. She is a female, and you have no right to talk to her that way,” he says as he stood right in front of the rude customer.
Chad was 6’2 and about 180 pounds. He played sports, so when he stood up to someone, he looked intimidated. I felt thrilled and had a sense of euphoria. I just started at Chad like he was the bravest, most handsome man on earth. The old guy left, and Chad looked at me with a concerned look on his face.
“Are you ok Marley?”
“Yes, I am fine. I am used to dealing with mean customers every day. But thank you for asking. I appreciate your concern. Can I help you find anything today?” I asks him with a smile on my face.
Sometimes these shoppers get out of hand. He just looked at me and smiled and told me to have a great day. It felt amazing.
As he walked out the door suddenly my friend Emory came running up to me and said we need to get to safety now! He was screaming it at the top of his lungs. My manager Tim and co-manager Shelly came running down the aisle.
“There’s a tornado outside and everyone needs to get towards the back of the store immediately.” Tim says as he and the other manager started telling people to get to the back of the store.
People were running with their children towards the back of the store. All I could think of was Chad outside, so I ran out the front door. He was beside a big pickup truck. The path of the tornado looked to be towards the parking lot. Debris was flying everywhere, and he had the mean old veteran who had cussed me out earlier in his arms, protecting him from debris. I ran over to him and says,
“We need to get inside now,” I say as I pointed up towards the tornado funnel heading in our direction.
We ran as fast as we could. We held the man as we ran into the store. We got to the back storage area where everyone was at. They both were bleeding from flying debris. Tina and Emory had gotten towels and washcloths from one aisle, and they were helping those injured.
As the tornado swept over our store, all you could hear was a freight train and the powerful winds. It was frightening. The roof started giving way when I heard a woman scream loudly. “Please help me! I can’t get up!” she was screaming.
I didn’t know where she was at. We were all huddled together, back up against the walls. I started looking around asking, where is that coming from? Children were screaming in freight and parents were crying because they could do nothing about it. I grabbed Chad and asked him please help me find her! As tears ran down my face, He got up and said, let’s go and we ran out of the back room.
As debris flew all around us, we kept looking. I called out to her.
“Keep yelling so we can find you. You are going to be ok!” I yells with tears in my eyes.
Chad finally yelled I see her and pointed to a section of the store. She was a heavyset older lady who had fallen and appeared injured. We ran as fast as we could with debris flying past our heads as the roof was slowly coming off the store. Chad grabbed her by one side, and I grabbed the other side, and we started running as fast as we could towards the storage area.
In the storage area, Tina and Emory and others started giving first aid to the injured. Me and Chad started working to stop the bleeding on the lady. The tornado passed over us. We all felt enormous relief. I hugged the woman as she told me thank you both for saving me.
“Why wouldn’t we save you”, I asks her with a grin.
“Because I have been so terrible to you. My husband died four months ago. I am sick, and I take my frustration out on people, I guess, to make myself feel better”, she says as she hugged me with tears pouring down her face.
We both cried together.
“Of course, I forgive you. That’s the right thing to do. Sorry for your loss,” I tell her as I continue to hug her.
I always wanted to help others, but until this day I didn’t know what that felt like to really save someone. That feeling would stay with me for a long time.
See, after the tornado had passed, everyone in town knew what had happened. My grandparents and mother were waiting outside for me as we made our way outside. Of course, me, Chad, Emory, Tina, Tim, my manager, Shelly the co-manager, and a few others tended to the injured until the ambulances arrived. I realized in that moment that being an RN was my destiny. Emory also wanted to be an RN. Lisa wanted her degree in Marketing. Chad was going for business. Today changed many people. It made us realize how important life is. That you should always live your life to the fullest every day.
As I walked out of the store, lit a cigarette, and greeted my hysterical mother and grandparents, Chad came up to me and grabbed my arm. I turned around, and we just looked at each other and hugged. He told me if you ever need someone to talk to call me ok. He gave me his number and started walking towards the parking lot for his car; it was gone. His girlfriend Leisa greeted him with a hug. They got into her car and drove away.
I spent the rest of the weekend on the front porch smoking with my mom, who agreed that I should go to college and become an RN. We were on the nightly news, and both my mom and grandparents got calls all weekend. They called us heroes; it was amazing.
Chapter Three: Our Futures Before Us
That Monday me, Tina, and Emory went to Grayson County College to fill out our paperwork and get signed up for fall classes. We got to meet the head of the Nursing department, Mrs. Agnes Roth, who tells us with a grin on her face.
“I saw you guys on the news. We would be proud to have you in our nursing program. The medical field needs strong, fearless people like you to be the future healers of our town. Here is the paperwork and as soon as you finish your pre-requisites and apply, I will see about getting you into our program. Good luck!” she told us as we scurried out the building talking about our futures as nurses.
We all got what we wanted. Me and Emory finished college and worked for TMC as nurses. Tina is in her graduate program at the University of Texas at Arlington. I live with my mom in a two-story beautiful home in Denison. My grandparents are still living in their home on Burnett Ave. I talk to Chad all the time and I went to visit him and Tina at the University. He is studying to be a doctor. He and Leisa broke up shortly after the storm and he didn’t regret it. We have hopes for the future. Life is looking up again, but I have always seen the sunny side of life, and I always will.
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