Baby Heat

Shannon felt a fleeting sensation of apprehension gnaw at the back of her neck as she heard the dislocated clunk of the door lock mechanism, triggered by her press of a button in the car’s center console.  As she had done countless times before, she slammed the door shut and began to walk away, when the nagging sensation abruptly intensified a hundred fold and forced her to look back.  In the back seat of the car, Shannon’s six-month old son Colin was peering up at her from his car seat with an inquisitive expression on his face as if to say, “where do you think you’re going without me?”

         Mentally cursing herself for almost having done something so foolish, she rummaged in her pockets for the car keys as she strolled back to Colin.  To her dismay, she discovered that the keys were not in the pocket where she normally kept them, nor in any of her pockets.  Shannon’s stomach clenched in anticipation as she took the last few steps and reached her car, a glance confirmed that the keys were resting on the passenger seat, along with her purse and cell phone.

         Shannon looked up at the blazing Arizona sun.  In the shade, it was probably 95º; at the deserted rest stop along the side of Highway 377 where she had pulled over, it must be over 105.  She couldn’t remember seeing another car on the road for quite some time since leaving Holbrook.  She was alone with her infant son, whom she had just locked in her car in a moment of idiocy.

         “Colin, honey – Mommy will be right back.  Just hang tight, sweetie.”  Shannon left the car once again, heading towards the portable toilets 20 yards ahead.  She had pulled over for a reason after all, and her current predicament didn’t decrease her need to visit a restroom.  As she sat in the stuffy, ill-smelling booth, her mind raced as she considered her situation.  How long could a small child survive in a car in this kind of heat?  Could she afford to wait for another motorist to happen by and help her?  What were her other options?

         Shannon left the toilet, and hurried back to her son, feeling anxious.  It had been scarcely five minutes since accidentally locking him in the car, but she could see that Colin was already drenched in sweat.  She swiftly came to the realization that she couldn’t afford to wait for help; she had to take action right now in order to save his life.

         She carried no tools on her person.  She was dressed in comfortable and soft travel clothes, consisting of thin grey sweat pants, a white tank top, and long white socks stylishly paired with a pair of blue crocs.  Shannon climbed onto the hood of her car and scanned her surroundings, looking for anything nearby that would help her situation

         The desert was inscrutable; revealing no sign of any objects that Shannon might use for breaking and entering into her automobile.  Due to to the dry climate, there weren’t even any trees in the area.  She also noted the absence of large rocks - it seemed that everywhere she looked, sand or pebble sized gravel covered the ground.  Desperation rose from her chest in waves, putting her mind in turmoil as she frantically searched for a way to help Colin escape a horrible stifling death.

         Broadening her search, Shannon walked in ever-increasing circles around her car.  She studied the ground, scouring for anything that could be of help.  After several minutes of hunting, she stumbled upon a belt of gravel with stones that were about three quarters of an inch in size – certainly not the ideal tools for breaking the thick safety glass in her car, but time was running out and she had to try something… anything.

         As she approached her car, she could hear Colin screaming from the back seat.  Shannon was relieved to hear his cries, but her relief quickly turned to dread as the wailing faded out, and then stopped.  She broke into a run and covered the last 10 yards in a flash, pounding on his window with the palms of her hands in a futile attempt to wake him.  She could see that his eyes were closed, and his face deep red in color, the sweat gone from his skin.

         The young mother sprang back a few steps and hurled a handful of stones at the driver’s side front window with all her strength - and watched with dismay as they bounced off the glass like hail stones hitting a tin roof.  She sank to her knees, and tears began to roll down her face as she lost all hope of rescuing her son. 

After a few moments of wallowing in despair, a tiny ray of hope gleamed, as a new idea formed in her head – she immediately took action, removing her left shoe and sock.  She gathered up the stones she had thrown seconds before, and dropped them into the toe of the sock.  Shannon cocked her arm and took a mighty swing at the glass; time seemed to slow for her as the handful of stones struck the window and a spider web of cracks spread out from the point of impact.  Another swing with the loaded sock, and she was in!  Unsure what to do, Shannon removed Colin’s clothes, and doused him in water to bring his temperature down.  She started her car and cranked up the A/C, with all the vents focused on her wet son.

         The seconds dragged on as she watched for signs of life; after a long minute had passed, Colin opened his eyes and began to cry, as Shannon sighed with relief and exhaustion.  The first thing she would do upon arriving in Heber, she told herself, is to get a spare key made and hang it around her neck - as a reminder, and as a form of insurance.