The Unexpected Hero

         The Unexpected Hero          
I had known Joseph for as long as I could remember. He was my grandfather’s dearest friend, and when Grandpa passed away, Joseph comforted me, treating me all the while like his own granddaughter.
Every day, I went to his store after school to help him run the shop. Then when I was thirteen, he asked me if I would like to take a real, paying job at St. Rose Florist. I was more than happy to accept the offer and I had been working there ever since.          
St. Rose Florist was a quaint two-story flower shop in our small town of St. Rose, Louisiana. On the ground level, Joseph put his shop, where Joseph sold his flowers and unique bouquets, and Joseph, being the owner of the store, lived on the top floor with his dog. The two floors were connected by an ancient spiral staircase that Joseph had purchased from a flea market years ago.
Ruby, Joseph’s dog, was a playful golden retriever who always wore a red bandana around her neck. Joseph, being a man of age, could not keep up with Ruby’s energetic personality. Therefore, I had bestowed upon myself the responsibility of taking care of her, except for when Joseph took her on her daily walk.
One day, while Joseph and Ruby were on their walk, I was watering some flowers in St. Rose Florist’s display window. In the window, I fashioned together bouquets of lilies and tulips into a lovely display. There was a faint smell of smoke floating about the air on that summer afternoon, perhaps from a neighbor’s grill.
After a while, the smell grew more prominent, and there eventually was a cloud of smoke swirling above my head. I heard a crackling noise; it sounded as though it was coming from the top floor of the flower shop. Looking up, I saw a crack run through the ceiling and stop right above me. Suddenly, the ceiling collapsed and a piece of the ceiling hit me hard on the head, like a brick. In an instant, everything went cold, and there was a loud ringing in my ears.
The next thing I knew, my face was wet and something rough was rubbing my cheek. I slowly opened my eyes, becoming aware of my surroundings. I was lying on the floor and could smell nothing but smoke; my eyes were stinging wildly. Despite the stinging, I saw Ruby smiling down upon me, licking my face. Then she surprisingly nudged off the piece of drywall that anchored me to the floor. When I regained feeling in my body, she tilted her head toward the exit as if she were trying to tell me to leave the fiery building.
As I approached the door, the sound of sirens became more pronounced. I proceeded out of the blazing building with Ruby following me close behind. We passed the old spiral staircase, creating a feeling of longing within me. So many memories had come from inside this house and now it was being destroyed right before my eyes.
Joseph was there at the door with a look of anguish on his wrinkled face, but when he saw me emerge from the sweltering store, his expression changed to relief as he ran to hug me.
“Thank goodness you are alive!” Joseph exclaimed. “I thought I had lost you.”
“Well, you should thank Ruby because believe it or not, she pulled me out from under the ceiling pieces!” I explained.
The big, red fire truck pulled up in front of the house and the firemen, in a rush, sprayed down the shop with their giant hose.
“We examined the building. The fire appears to have started because of a burning pastry in your oven upstairs. The heat must have caused the ceiling to collapse,” a fireman told Joseph.
“Not much is unscathed by the fire. I am afraid that this residence and everything in it is ruined,” I overheard another fireman say to Joseph.
“Joseph! I am so sorry about your home!” I told him. “I have such good memories of that place.”
“It’s quite all right, Charlotte. I am just thankful that you and Ruby are safe!” Joseph rejoiced.
“Where is Ruby?” I asked. “I haven’t seen her, but I know she followed me out of the house.”
“She probably just ran over to the park. You know how much she loves the park!” Joseph laughed, exposing his laugh-lines.
“Yeah…” I said, but I wasn’t sure. I looked all around the area, but there was not a single trace of Ruby. I started to panic then. Where is she? I wondered. I hope she is safe!
Then, without a thought, I rushed into the sopping, smoke-filled shop, looking everywhere for that precious golden retriever. When I didn’t find her, I was purely relieved. She probably just ran to the park like Joseph proposed! I reassured myself.
As I made my way to the door, I saw a shriveled up scrap of red fabric lying next to a piece of drywall by the spiraled stairs.
“It can’t be,” I gasped for air. It felt as though the walls of my beloved workplace were closing in on me, and I could not breathe. I slowly walked toward the bandana and lifted up that piece of the ceiling. There was Ruby’s body lying on the ground. Right there, on the ground, I sat for what seemed like hours, crying. It felt as if the tears would never come to an end.          
When Joseph realized to where I had escaped, he entered the store after me, finding me sitting there on the floor. He was awestruck when he saw my discovery, and came running to me. Then he held me in his arms as he used to do when Grandpa died.
“I know how fond you were of Ruby,” he told me. “Me too, I was too.”
After a while, our tears dried up.
“Let’s leave,” Joseph suggested. “We should go. Fresh air would be nice.”
Reluctantly, I got up, heading toward the door. Before I crossed the threshold and entered the daylight, I took one last glance at Ruby. What I hadn’t noticed before was that she was smiling. Ruby had a smile on her face.
*          *          *