“Do you see that, Sis?” Marc asked.
“And look behind Tony!” Angelina shouted as she pointed. “There’s another one!”
Tears came to her eyes. The only explanation she had was that Gino and Papa Giardano had both been there with them, which meant they hadn’t really been without family after all.
“We didn’t show you our wedding video yet,” Marc began, “but the same thing happened when we spoke our vows at the altar in June. Only that time, the stationary orb was behind Angelina and the one near me was more animated.”
“Gino,” Mama whispered almost reverently. Carm glanced over at her mother whose gaze was glued to the screen. Papa patted her upper back in a comforting way, but he also was mesmerized.
Had Gino come in on the wind to tease her by blowing her veil into her face? Carmella blinked away the tears that sprang to her eyes.
“Seeing that Papa was there beside me makes the occasion even more special,” Tony whispered to her in a husky voice.
The rest of the video was a blur, difficult to see through her tears, but after it ended, another round of congratulations was made as family members exited the room.
“You did good, little brother,” Rafe said before turning toward her. “Welcome to the family, Carmella. If this brother of mine doesn’t stay in line, just let me know, and I’ll kick his—”
“As if it isn’t enough that her two brothers are going to come after me if I screw up?” Tony joked. “Geez!”
“She’s a special one. You may not deserve her, but we’re going to make sure you treat her right.”
After Rafe left, Tony leaned into her. “Don’t you worry, principessa. I know what I have is precious, and I’m not going to take you for granted or hurt you—ever.”
“I know, Tony,” she said as she glanced at Rafe’s retreating back. “You know how big brothers are.”
Mama G approached them with Paul and the streaks of tears on her cheeks were still evident. The two women hugged each other without a word at first then she hugged Tony.
Mama G stepped back to where Paul waited, and he wrapped his arms around her in a supportive gesture. Carm was happy she’d found love again.
“That was beautiful, A.J. and Carmella. Thank you for sharing it with us tonight so we didn’t have to try and imagine your wedding on our own. I loved the vows and the beauty of it all.” She turned to Carm. “And you were a beautiful bride. Elegant and classic.”
Carmella teared up again. “Thanks, Mama G.”
“We wanted everyone to see how special it was, Mama,” Tony said before turning to his bride of one day. “Carmella and I are excited to begin our married life right away. We didn’t want to waste any time.”
Mama G laughed as she patted Tony’s cheek. “Always my impetuous son.”
“I think he’s wearing off on me too,” Carm added.
Paul and Mama G returned to the party. After Sandro congratulated them in this receiving line of sorts, Carm’s parents approached. Carm held her breath, not sure what would happen next. But Mama seemed shaken as she held onto Papa.
Carm couldn’t stand the separation a second longer and took the few steps to wrap her arms around Mama and hug her tightly. “I’m sorry we couldn’t wait for a big wedding, Mama. I didn’t want to disappoint you, but—”
Mama pulled away and Carmella felt immediately bereft. “My darling, your wedding was beautiful—and I can see now how perfect it was for you two. I was being selfish.”
She understood? She forgave her?
“And now I know that Gino was there to represent the D’Alessios.” Mama’s voice cracked a little.
“And your papa was there to stand up with you, Tony,” Papa said.
Fresh tears welled in Carmella’s eyes, and she reached for Tony’s hand. “And you were both in our thoughts, as was Tony’s mama. Both sets of our parents have set strong examples for us, showing what a good marriage should be.”
“I hope you have many, many years together,” Mama said, “just like we have had.” She looked at her husband with so much love in her eyes.
Carmella had no doubt that she’d look at Tony in the same way after they’d been married for many more decades too.
They had forever together.
Epilogue: Six Months Later
Tony drove into the parking lot that had served as the staging area for the operation a year ago today. He’d timed it as close to the time of that incident as possible, wanting to be here exactly one year since the disastrous call had happened. Lieutenant had insisted he take today off given the bad-call anniversary. Normally, he’d want to be busy, but he needed to do this and couldn’t just abandon his post midday.
Tony put the truck into park and stared at the river a few minutes. It was high, but that was normal for this time of year. The river was clear, nothing like the mud and debris that had filled the waters last year.
With a deep sigh, he picked up the bouquet of flowers from the seat beside him and opened the door. Tony’s throat closed up with emotion as he remembered exiting the ladder truck that last time he’d been in this spot. The sounds of the radio chatter reverberated in his brain before he was able to use the slow-breathing techniques Lisa had taught him and clear the clutter from his head. Eventually, he simply listened to the rush of the water, which he’d been able to make peace with over the last year. He’d always loved the water before that bad call.
But today, the river was nothing like it had been on that day a year ago. The sun shone brightly, and the birds sang as they gathered food for their babies. Images of the woman holding her toddler on the roof of the SUV flashed across his mind.
Tony breathed in to a count of ten, then out to the same count.
You need to do this.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you that day.” The words were swept away on a breeze. He cleared his throat which had begun to close up on him. “I hope you know I tried my best. I’ve regretted my failure every day since.”
He hadn’t had a nightmare in months, but he wasn’t out of the woods yet given the anniversary. “I wanted to tell you that my wife and I worked together to start a water-rescue squad in huge part because of what happened here. Just two weeks ago, we performed our first successful swift-water rescue downriver from this spot.”
Not all of the details had been the same, but the biggest difference was that they had been able to work much more efficiently than they had before with only a ladder truck. Tony, Marc, and Ryder had manned the boat and had pulled off the rescue in a matter of minutes.
“While nothing I can do will bring you back, a teenaged girl is alive today because of the actions we took after your loss. Her car got swept into the water much like yours did, but we had the proper equipment this time to make the rescue and bring her to the riverbank safely.” The girl had been whisked off by an ambulance to the hospital but hadn’t even needed to stay overnight from what he’d been told.
His community had already benefited in a huge way from the fundraiser Carmella had carried out. When she’d heard the news of the rescue from Marc, she’d gotten on the phone with Angelina and the two of them had brought a full meal into the station that evening. They celebrated the mission’s positive outcome together with the crew. Carm had never lived here, but that only made her support of the ACFD and his work mean even more to him.
Several months ago, she and Angelina had started an auxiliary of spouses, parents, and others in the community to help with non-firefighting matters at his station and in their countywide department. They’d recently brought in experts to talk about first-responder marriages, and the fire chief had made attendance mandatory for all of the married firefighters who were off duty. It hadn’t been too bad. Tony hadn’t realized how many of his brothers and sisters in the firefighting family were divorced. He and Carmella had only been married six months and there weren’t any signs of problems, but they now knew what to avoid and how to make their marriage even stronger.
Tony bro
ught his focus back to the river but wasn’t sure what else he needed to say. His phone buzzed, and he glanced down to see a text from Matt asking if he was okay. Franco and Marc had texted him earlier. And he’d talked with Mama in the early afternoon. She’d told him she and Paul would be thinking of him today and to call or stop by if he needed to. Tony wasn’t sure why he hadn’t heard from Rafe yet, but his brother knew the exact time the rescue had gone south, so he might be holding off to text or call closer to then.
Once again, he turned his attention to the river. “I hope you’ve found peace in heaven. I hope your family and friends have been able to find peace too.” He knew from the experiences of his family and fellow firefighters that the grieving process would take much longer than a year.
The crunch of tires behind him caused Tony to turn as Rafe’s truck pulled in and parked next to his F-150. How’d he known Tony would be here? Or had he come to make his own peace with the bad call?
Tony felt self-conscious to be standing here holding a bouquet of flowers.
Rafe came up to him. “Thought I might find you here today.”
“You did?”
“I remember what I did on the one-year anniversary of my first bad call.”
Rafe had gone back to that house where the kids had died? Had anyone known he’d done that?
“How are you doing?” Rafe asked.
Tony shrugged. “Better than I expected to be. No nightmares lately.”
“Good. Doesn’t mean it won’t happen tonight or some other time this week. Anniversaries suck.”
Tony nodded. “Lisa told me that could happen.” He still saw her every few weeks, but she’d suggested they continue to extend the time between visits, unless he needed her in a crisis.
“Carmella know what to do when they come?”
They? Oh, the nightmares.
“Yeah. She’s been great. I guess she learned what to do when Marc came back from Iraq.”
Rafe’s eyebrows rose. “You hit the jackpot with that woman.”
“Don’t think I don’t know that. I’m one lucky man. And I highly recommend marriage.”
Rafe huffed. “I’m too busy to seriously date anyone.”
Tony had thought that a year ago. Maybe not that he was too busy, but he certainly hadn’t wanted to have a serious relationship with a woman. Funny how things could change in the blink of an eye.
“Congrats on making battalion chief. I know how hard you worked for that promotion.”
“Thanks. Feels good to achieve that goal.”
Rafe had a rivalry going with Mama’s husband, probably one-sided, after the man had beaten Rafe out of a job in nearby Breckenridge for the BC position. That was a bigger department, though, where the rank above lieutenant was captain. But here in the smaller ACFD, he could go straight to battalion chief. Rafe sure was on the fast track in the department, but he’d proven he had the knowledge and experience to do the job.
Rafe’s gaze turned to the river. “Anything I can do to help today?”
Tony glanced down at the flowers. He’d had the pink and orange bouquet arranged at the local grocery; the colors reminded him of those worn by the mother and little girl that day.
“I brought these to…” He wasn’t sure exactly what he’d intended to do with them. Leave them on the bank as a memorial? Toss them into the water to drift away in the path the bodies had taken a year ago? He shuddered at the thought.
“I just need a few more minutes, but thanks for checking on me. I appreciate the support.”
Rafe nodded. “Would you like to say a prayer for them before I leave you alone?”
“Yeah. I’d like that.”
After their prayer, Tony said goodbye to his big brother and his focus returned to the flowing river.
“Rest well,” he said to the victims of that horrific day before preparing to leave too. “I wish a peaceful slumber for you both.” He held onto the flowers, not quite knowing how to end this moment.
The water mesmerized him a moment, and he lost track of time until the sound of a car made him look up. This wasn’t a heavily traveled area, but he watched the SUV cross the river on the same roadway that had been overrun by water a year ago. Probably a local tourist heading from Breck to one of the rental houses on the mountain behind him and using the shortcut, much as the woman had been doing last year.
His gaze returned to the water until he heard the SUV pulling into the parking lot behind him.
Who the heck was stopping here now?
Tony turned and watched as a man he didn’t know left the vehicle and walked toward him. Without preamble, he asked, “Are you one of the firefighters who were here that day?”
His uniform must have made his occupation obvious, but he wondered how the man knew that a tragedy had taken place here.
“Yes, I’m with the Aspen Corners Fire Department. We were the first department to arrive that day.”
Lines creased the man’s forehead as he stared into the water. “My name is Richard Hawley. I lost my wife and baby girl that day.”
Oh, fuck no.
Tony wished Rafe were still here. He’d know what to say to the man. Tony drew a deep breath, hoping the right words would come to him, but his mind was a blank. “I’m so sorry,” was all he could say. Sorry he couldn’t rescue them? Sorry they had died? Probably both, but he didn’t elaborate.
The man nodded, not looking at Tony. “Me too. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to move on, but I just needed to come back here today to the last place they were known to have breathed on this earth.”
Tears stung Tony’s eyes as he stood there silently beside the grieving man. After several minutes, the stranger turned to him. “Thank you for all you and your crew did that day to help save them. For giving them hope. For not letting them go through the terror of that day alone. I should have been there, but I’m glad someone else was with them.”
Tony hadn’t thought about the event in that way. He was the last person to speak to the woman and the little girl. Had he given them a sense that all would be okay? He wasn’t sure. It sure hadn’t been, but at least they hadn’t gone through it alone.
Suddenly, Tony knew what he wanted to do with the flowers. He handed them to the man to let him decide what was right. Mr. Hawley stared at them for a moment, then at the road that crossed the bridge. Without saying a word, he took the flowers, got into his SUV, and left…
Carm had expected Tony to be back by now. He’d texted that he was on his way almost two hours ago. She hoped he was doing okay. This would be a tough day for him. She’d left work early so that she could be here to greet him with a bottle of wine and takeout from their favorite Greek restaurant. Given that this was the anniversary of his first bad call, she wanted him to relax with her in their private hot tub after dinner and to not lift a finger on preparing their meal.
She even planned to surprise him with an appetizer Angelina had taught her how to make—prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe. No cooking involved, which was her speed in the kitchen, unless he was supervising.
The sale of her condo during the peak of ski season had gone more quickly than she’d expected and at top dollar, so Tony and Carm hadn’t been saddled with a mortgage. They’d even had a small nest egg left over after purchasing their four-bedroom corner condo with a huge wraparound deck. They’d moved in on the first of February and had enjoyed the gorgeous view of the northern Sawatch Range ever since. Tony also had scored his five-burner gas stove. This place was perfect for their lifestyle.
The front door opened, and she quickly arranged the last of the appetizers on the platter.
“I’m home! What smells so good?”
Carm left the kitchen and met him in the living room with a hug and a kiss.
“Ah, you’re what smells so good,” he said.
She laughed. “I think you probably smelled the lamb kebabs first.”
“You smell better.” He held onto her tightly. “Thanks for picking up dinner. I’m beat
.”
She squeezed him a little harder. “I even made an appetizer to start us off—all by myself.”
He pulled away to search her eyes. “You’re getting more and more adventurous in the kitchen. I can’t wait to try it.”
“That room is still your domain, but…I figured tonight you wouldn’t be up to cooking.”
Tony smiled his appreciation. “It’s good to be home. With you. Glad you could get off early.” He looked tired, but in some ways as if he’d found some kind of peace too. “The strangest thing happened today.”
Tony told her that he’d gone to the spot along the river where the mother and child had been swept away almost at the precise time the incident had happened last year.
“You went back?” She rubbed his arm wondering if that was a good idea.
He nodded. “Lisa thought it might be a good way for me to find closure and make my peace with it as much as I can.”
“I wish I’d known so I could have gone with you.” She stroked the side of his face, hating that he’d faced that alone.
His smile returned. “I had no shortage of people there with me.” When she cocked her head for an explanation, he continued. “Rafe stopped by first. I guess it’s a thing firefighters do—we go back to the site of our first bad call, at least on the one-year anniversary.”
She guessed it made some kind of sense. Did Tony find any closure? She still wished she’d been there with him, but maybe he’d needed to do this alone—or to try anyway. Thank goodness Rafe was there with him.
“Shortly after Rafe left, though, the widower of the woman who’d drowned drove up.”
Carm’s heart rate picked up as she waited to hear about the confrontation. Only Tony didn’t sound as if there’d been one.
“He’d flown into Denver then drove out to the place where her car had gone into the river.”
“That had to be hard for him.”
Tony swallowed hard and nodded. “He’s still dealing with his grief, but actually thanked me and the other firefighters for all we’d done that day.” Tears welled in his eyes, and Carmella pulled him to her, stroking his back in comfort.
TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1) Page 43