Don’t be sad, Jen. I love you.
The crumbling garages pulsed red and white as Engine Fifteen roared up the alley.
Chapter 65
Soft purple lilac bouquets lined the altar and windowsills of Milroy Trinity Lutheran Church, saturating the air with their comforting scent. The small chapel was packed. Dr. Mallory, Big Jim Nelson, and the Milroy Volunteer Fire Department were seated in the back rows behind Captain Reemer, Kenny, Crusher, Ralph—and Nic. Farm families from as far away as Watertown filled the remaining pews. Mitch’s lifelong friend Danny was there with his parents. Next to them was Maggie’s family: John, Betty, and big sister Lydia.
The silver-haired pastor, who had baptized Mitch and buried his mom, motioned for Brother Williams to join him at the altar. The church went quiet.
Brother Williams looked over the crowd, cleared his throat, and slowly sang a mellow version of Hallelujah. His voice swelled with emotion as he reached the chorus. Brother Williams motioned for the congregation to rise. Tissues came out as parishioners swabbed at their eyes. Those who could, sang Hallelujah after Hallelujah, each one louder, until the entire congregation was swaying and waving their hands in the air.
After the last Hallelujah, the pastor stepped forward. “Don’t think this church ever experienced anything quite like that. Thank you, Mr. Williams.” He motioned for Miss Bernie to join them on the altar.
The pastor reached toward the ceiling and began, “Brothers and Sisters, today we add another soul into the body of Christ. We celebrate the baptism of Jasmine Margaret Garner with her parents and her sponsors, Clarence and Bernice Williams.”
Brother Williams and Miss Bernie took their place next to Mitch and Jennie. Together they all gazed at the baby girl dressed in a lacy white baptism dress and bonnet, barely concealing her thick black hair. The pastor began. The squirming baby clutched Mitch’s finger while Jennie held her to her chest. Mitch’s free arm went around his wife’s waist. To each other, they mouthed, “Love you.”
Alexus smiled at them from the front pew. Her two front teeth had grown in. She rocked a baby in her arms while Chris bounced a toddler on his knee. Sid was seated between two adolescent boys. Sid, Chris, and Alexus had been placed in charge of Miss Bernie and Brother Williams’ four foster children during the service. Alexus was now the Williams’ adopted daughter.
After the baby had been properly sprinkled with water and baptized, the pastor motioned for the congregation to stand. He took her from Jennie and held her toward the joyful gathering. “Please welcome Jasmine Margaret Garner into the body of Christ.”
Cheers came from the back. The rest of the congregation joined the firefighters with thundering applause, startling baby Jasmine, whose wails rose about the applause. Jennie took her from the pastor and calmed her. Mitch caught sight of Maggie’s mother, Betty Hillenbrand, dabbing at her eyes with a white handkerchief while stroking her husband’s back.
Mitch and Jennie led the others back to the front pew. After they were all seated, the pastor launched into the sermon. Alexus tapped Mitch’s arm. In a whisper, she said, “Baby Jasmine need to have this.” She unclasped the white gold necklace with the tiny gold leaf from her neck and handed it to him.
Mitch held the necklace in his open palm, staring at it.
Jennie kissed Alexus on the cheek. “Aw, Lexi, that’s so sweet.”
Alexus went back to rocking the foster baby. “Just make sure she knows about my sister.”
“You bet she will,” Mitch said. “She’ll know all about your sister. And you too.”
Alexus nodded. “Good.”
Mitch looked up to the thick wooden rafters. How could I ever forget you? He closed his eyes and saw her sparkling emerald eyes.
After the sermon and last hymn, the pastor closed by saying, “May the peace of the Lord that surpasses all understanding be with you.”
Mitch and Miss Bernie nodded at each other.
The congregation repeated, “And also with you.”
Mitch looked up again. And with you, sweet Jasmine.
As the congregation filed out the door, Mitch’s pager buzzed. “Report of a barn fire, Highway 18 at Q. Repeat. Report of a barn fire ...”
The End
Thank you so much for investing your time and money in my story. If you enjoyed it and think it’s an important story, I would be deeply grateful if you would leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads or both. Smaller publishing houses don’t have the funds to promote their books like the major players. So we rely on word-of-mouth and these reviews. Please consider leaving a review even if it’s only a few lines or a few words.
Thank you,
Gregory Lee Renz
Acknowledgements
Where do I start? Who do I thank? I could fill pages and pages with the names of everyone who played a part in this eight-year journey to publication.
I’ll start with my biggest supporter, my wife Paula, who kept me humble and focused. Her eyes were the first to see my pages and her editorial advice was crucial in keeping me on track. She knew my characters, especially Mitch, better than anyone. Frequently, our dinner conversations centered on whether I was portraying this young man properly.
A huge thank you goes out to the University of Wisconsin Continuing Studies program. Without their creative writing courses, conferences, and workshops, I’d still be plunking away at the keyboard with no idea on how to write a novel. My mentor and coach, best-selling author and playwright Christine DeSmet, was there at the beginning of this journey and pushed me to the finish line with her wisdom and insight into this incredibly challenging craft of creative writing. Along with Christine, I have to thank Laurie Scheer for her support and Angela Rydell for her patience in my early creative writing courses. The conferences and workshops offered through the Continuing Studies program always provide a wonderful experience for us writers due to the tireless work, behind the scenes, of Laura Kaul. Thank you, Laura.
I have to thank our writers’ group in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, The Writers’ Dozen, for energizing me with our monthly meetings. Along with this group are all the Beta readers who read the manuscript and provided honest feedback for improving the story. Every one of you helped polish the story in some way. Thank you all.
I’m grateful to the Milwaukee Fire Department for offering me the best job in the world. This book would not be possible without the twenty-eight years of unimaginable experiences and all the colorful characters I had the privilege of working alongside.
A heart-felt thanks goes out to all the writing friends I’ve made on this journey. I learned, early in this journey, that we all share the same challenges of getting words on the page and the pain of rejections when we type the end to our labor-of-love. Without this inclusive community of understanding supporters, it may have been tempting to walk away. So glad I didn’t.
Finally, many thanks to Kira Henschel of HenschelHAUS Publishing, whose vision and enthusiasm for this story matched my own. Her experienced guidance through the revisions, publishing, and marketing of the novel have been invaluable.
About the Author
Fire Captain Gregory Lee Renz was involved in a dramatic rescue of two little boys from their burning basement. He received a series of awards for this rescue including induction into the Wisconsin Fire and Police Hall of Fame in 2006. When he was asked to share the dramatic rescue at several awards banquets, he was moved by the emotional responses he received and was struck by the power of his storytelling. Gregory has always been an avid reader and thought maybe he could craft a compelling novel if he could learn how to get these stories on the page. Numerous creative writing courses, workshops, and conferences later, he typed The End to this novel, his first, which was inspired by two adorable little girls, around eight and five years of age, who lived across from an inner-city firehouse he was stationed at for three years. Those two girls stayed in his thoughts over the years, demanding he tell their story. They are two of the main characters in the novel. He hopes
he did them justice. After serving the citizens of Milwaukee for twenty-eight years as a firefighter, Gregory Lee Renz retired to Lake Mills, Wisconsin with his wife, Paula.
Website: glrenz.com
Copyright © 2019 by Gregory Lee Renz
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Published by
Three Towers Press
An imprint of HenschelHAUS Publishing, Inc.
www.henschelHAUSbooks.com
ISBN (hardcover): 978159598-687-0
ISBN (paperback): 978159598-688-7
ISBN (e-book): 978159598-689-4
ISBN (audio book): 978159598-690-0
LCCN: 2018965332
Cover design: EM Graphics, LLC
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