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So they sat there for a bit, a convivial silence descending upon them, when suddenly a woman started screaming nearby for help. Immediately, both she and Chase were on their feet.

They reached the woman, who was cradling a little girl in her arms. The girl’s breathing was labored and her face deathly pale.

“What happened?” Chase asked urgently.

“She was stung by a bee,” the woman wailed.

“She’s in shock,” Odelia determined. “Did you call 911?”

“I did,” said the woman, tears streaming down her face.

Chase checked the girl.“She’s not breathing,” he said, and immediately started CPR. Odelia took out her phone and called her dad. He just might beat the ambulance. She watched Chase perform the lifesaving procedure and when he announced that she was going to be fine, she breathed a sigh of relief and so did the girl’s mother. Just then, her dad’s car pulled up, and he came hurtling down the stone steps and plowed through the powdery sand until he’d reached them. He was carrying his black doctor’s bag and sank down onto his knees next to the girl.

“She was stung by a bee,” Odelia told him.

He nodded and went to work. She watched how he took out a needle and proceeded to inject the girl.“Epinephrine,” he told the mother. “She went into anaphylactic shock. Has this happened before?”

“No, never. But she’s never been stung before either.”

“Some people are allergic to bee stings.” He carefully monitored the girl’s pulse and checked her vital signs. “How do you feel, honey?” he asked when she began to pull through.

She coughed.“I feel nauseous,” she said thickly.

“That’s normal,” he assured her. “As is the swollen tongue and lips. Does your tummy hurt?”

The girl nodded.“Yes, it does.”

He smiled at her.“You’ll be just fine, darling. What’s your name?”

“Jessica.”

“I’m Doctor Tex, and you’re a very brave girl, Jessica. You’re doing great.” He turned to Jessica’s mother. “She’ll feel the effects for a couple of days, but they’ll wear off soon enough.”

“Oh, doctor,” the woman said. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Thank my daughter,” said Tex. “She’s the one who called.”

“Thank Chase,” said Odelia. “He’s the one who performed CPR.”

The woman thanked all of them, and gave Chase a big old hug before enveloping her little girl in her arms and smothering her with kisses.“I thought I lost you,” she sniffed.

“I’m fine, Mom,” Jessica said, embarrassed at the display of affection in front of a bunch of strangers. “It was just a tiny, little prick. Though that bee sting really hurt.”

In the distance, the sound of an approaching ambulance could be heard. It pulled up right next to Odelia’s dad’s car and two paramedics jumped out and made their way over. Odelia and Chase watched as the EMTs gave Jessica a thorough checkup.

“That was a close call,” said Chase. “She’d completely stopped breathing for a minute there.”

She placed a hand on his arm.“You saved that girl’s life, Chase. You’re a hero.”

“Just doing my duty,” he muttered. “Anyone would have done the same.”

“Not everyone. Didn’t you notice how you were the only one who made an effort?”

“Not many people know CPR,” he admitted. “Though probably they should.”

Dad joined them, still carrying his little black bag.“She’ll be fine,” he announced. “Spirited little thing, isn’t she?”

“She sure is,” Odelia agreed as she watched the girl animatedly talk to the paramedics and the one lifeguard who’d finally decided to put in an appearance. She looked like she was enjoying all this attention, and demanded her mother take a bunch of pictures with her phone.

“Reminds me of something,” Dad said.

“Me too. Donna Bruce,” Odelia said.

“No, something a colleague once told me. Some woman who wanted to try apitherapy on her daughter, who was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.”

“Apitherapy?” Chase asked.

“Bee sting therapy. The venom of bees purportedly alleviates the effects of the arthritis. Unfortunately the girl turned out to be allergic to bees, just like Jessica over there.”

“What happened?” asked Odelia.

“She died. When the mother realized what was going on, she called 911, but too late.”

“That’s a horrible story,” said Chase.

“When was this?”

“Oh, I must have heard this story… about six, seven years ago? I think it was at one of those conferences. There’s a lot of bar talk when a bunch of medical professionals get together.”

“There’s a lot of bar talk when any professionals get together,” said Chase. “Or non-professionals for that matter.”

For some reason, the story rang a bell with Odelia.“Where did this happen?”

Dad frowned.“I don’t remember exactly. I want to say… Cleveland?”

Cleveland… Odelia wondered why this story resonated with her so much, but before she could think things through, the EMTs wandered over and started discussing what happened to Jessica with her dad. She checked her watch and decided it was probably time she headed back to the office. Dan had told her to take a break, but she still had a ton of work to do. Chase seemed to feel the same way, for he asked if he could drop her off somewhere.