Instead, I kept following the emergency instructions.
Then the paramedics arrived.
They moved quickly.
One took over the resuscitation effort.
Another assessed the man's condition.
A third prepared equipment while asking what had happened.
I answered as clearly as I could.
โHe collapsed suddenly. No normal breathing. The AED advised a shock. We've been doing CPR.โ
The paramedic nodded.
โThank you. Give us room.โ
I moved backward.
For the first time since kneeling beside the man, I stopped doing something.
That was when my hands began shaking uncontrollably.
I sat back against the bottom shelf.
My chest rose and fell.
Sweat soaked the collar of my shirt.
I looked down.
There was a small streak of blood across one knuckle where I'd scraped my hand while moving beside the display.
I hadn't even noticed.
The paramedics continued working.
I watched their faces.
Their movements were focused and practiced.
Nobody was making dramatic speeches.
Nobody was promising a miracle.
They were doing the work they'd been trained to do.
A few moments later, one of them announced that they had a pulse.
The words struck me so hard that I almost couldn't understand them.
โA pulse?โ
The paramedic nodded without looking away from his patient.
โYes. We have a pulse.โ
I covered my mouth.
My eyes filled.
Across the aisle, June began crying.
She looked toward Nora.
The little girl stared at the paramedics.
Then at her.
June signed something slowly.
I didn't know what it meant then.
Later, she told me she'd signed that the helpers were taking care of Daddy and that he was going to the hospital.
She hadn't promised he would survive.
She hadn't lied.
She had given Nora the information she needed in a language she understood.
The difference mattered.
The paramedics prepared to transport the man.
He remained unconscious.
An oxygen device covered his face.
Equipment surrounded the stretcher.
As they wheeled him toward the entrance, Nora tried to follow.
June moved beside her.
The child made a rapid series of signs.
June watched carefully.
Then spoke to the paramedic.
โShe's his daughter. She's asking to go with him.โ
The paramedic looked toward Nora.
His expression softened.
โWe need to make sure she's with a safe adult. Let's get her family's contact information.โ
That was the next problem.
The man couldn't speak.
Nobody knew his name.
And Nora couldn't simply tell us the information aloud.
The manager asked whether anyone had seen a phone or wallet among the father's belongings.
A store employee found his shopping cart near the end of the aisle.
Inside were children's art supplies, a small notebook, a bag of apples, and a pale-blue backpack.