by T. K. Chapin
“I’m glad someone appreciates them. They were a fortune.”
Micah nodded as he rose back up to his feet. “Hey –Taylor tells me you were with a girl at the barbeque?”
“Kristen. Yeah, she’s cool.”
“You need to be careful, McCormick. This gal isn’t like Ashley. She has a kid.”
I felt offended at his statement. “What do you mean?” I retorted. “First off, we’re just friends. Second off, I’m good with kids.”
Raising a hand up, Micah replied, “Woah, Kane. I’m not trying to upset you. I’m trying to warn you. A lot comes with a relationship with a woman who has a kid. They aren’t like the single ladies you are accustomed to.”
Without another word, I headed back inside, shutting the door forcefully behind me as I came back into the fire station. I went into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee cup out of the cupboard.
“Morning,” Cole said, startling me as he walked into the kitchen.
Jumping a little, I turned around. “Oh, hey,” I replied quickly as I poured myself a cup of coffee.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You seem on edge.”
Looking over at him, I glared and then went over to the kitchen doorway to check down the hall. Micah wasn’t there. Turning back to Cole, I said, “It’s Freeman. He thinks he needs to lecture me about Kristen. We’re not even together. We’re barely friends.”
Cole looked down as he replied, “Sorry about that, it’s my fault.” He looked up at me as I walked past him to get my coffee. “I mentioned you were with her at the barbeque.”
“Why would you even tell him that?” I asked.
Cole shrugged as he got a coffee cup. “Just came up while we were talking about the barbeque. He knows Justin’s starting preschool there soon.”
“Well, if you could not talk about me with the other guys, that’d be great,” I said sharply.
Cole laughed. “What?”
“I don’t appreciate it,” I replied as I left the kitchen without another word.
Cole followed me as I walked into the dining hall and put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my footsteps. I turned around and asked, “What, Taylor?”
“You didn’t appreciate it when I gave you the cold shoulder when I was going through that stuff with Megan.”
“Yeah, so?” I replied.
“Don’t shut me out because you don’t want to deal with what’s going on in your life. This isn’t high school, McCormick. We’re like brothers here, and that bond we have is forged by the fires we fight. We don’t need drama. Freeman was trying to help you, and you know that.”
“You don’t even know what was said,” I retorted.
“What was it he said?”
“He told me she had a kid and she’s not like the single ladies I’m used to seeing.”
Cole shrugged. “Yeah?”
“I don’t need that…”
“Sorry, bud. This is an overreaction on your part. Micah knows you are used to a different type of woman. And guess what? Kristen is going to pick her kid over you every opportunity that comes up. It’s not a relationship with just her. It’s her and the kid.”
I nodded. Cole was right. I had overreacted. Micah was just trying to help. “I’m not anything but friends with her, but you’re right. I’ll go talk to Micah.”
Cole took a sip of his coffee and nodded.
Leaving the dining hall, I went to go find Micah. He was sitting on the steps that led down to the bay area of the fire station.
“Hey,” I said, sitting down next to him.
“McCormick,” Micah said, looking over at me for a moment.
“I know you were just trying to help… I’m sorry for reacting the way I did.”
He nodded. “Thanks. But I think I might have jumped the gun a little bit. You’re like a son to me, and I was just trying to warn you based on the assumption you were dating that girl. That was my bad. I’m sorry.”
“I get it. Thanks for caring, man.”
“We cool?” Micah asked.
“We’re cool,” I replied.
A call came in just as we were finishing up our lunch later that day. It was a call for a two-story house fire at the corner of Oak and Shannon. Without hesitation, we all rose to our feet and rushed out of the dining hall and down the hallway to the fire pole.
One by one, we slid down the pole and got into our turnouts. My heart raced, and adrenaline shot through me as I suited up. Cole came up to me and patted me on the shoulder.
“You ready to roll again?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” I replied with a quick and confident tone.
“Keep your head in the game out there,” Cole said as he climbed up into the passenger seat in the front of the ladder truck.
“Will do.”
I finished getting my gear on and climbed into the back seat next to Brian. Glancing over at Brian, I could see something was off. As we rolled out of the bay area, I asked, “What’s got you all upset, Gomer?”
“Nothing,” he retorted.
Cole laughed from the front seat as he paused from looking at his laptop to turn around to us. “Gomer, you know my four year old acts like that when he’s upset? All he says is ‘Nuffin.’ ”
Micah began laughing as he turned out of the station. “You’re still the Rookie... We’ll get rid of you if we need to,” Micah said, jokingly.
“Shut it, Freeman,” Brian replied.
“Hey!” Cole snapped at Brian. “You got a problem, you need to speak up.”
I wondered if it had something to do about me not drinking anymore. We weren’t really talking much since I left that night at the bar. “Is this because I’m not going out with you anymore?” I asked.
Brian shook his head. “Nah, man… trouble with the old lady.”
“Well, if you would move out you wouldn’t have a problem with your mom anymore, Gomer,” Cole replied with a chuckle.
“You reading any of that Bible Study I gave you?” Micah asked as he turned onto Shannon Street.
“I’ve glanced at it…” Brian replied, turning his eyes to his window.
“You gotta work on your relationship with God,” Cole said with a nod to Brian. “And move out.”
Brian replied, “I don’t know if she’s ready to be on her own again. She struggles with getting around the house.”
“You’re already gone from the house for twenty-four hour blocks of time,” I said.
Suddenly Micah slammed on the breaks, quickly bringing us to a stop.
“What was that for?” I shouted up to Micah.
“There is a person in the street!” he snapped back as he reached for his door. We all jumped out of the truck and ran to the front to see that a woman was lying on the pavement.
“Did we hit her?” Gomer asked.
“Of course not! I stopped before we ran her over,” Micah replied.
Looking up from the woman in the road, I could see the house fire a couple of homes up ahead. I ran over to the sidewalk and hurried my steps up to the scene.
Finding a young teenage boy standing out by the mailbox, I approached him as I kept looking over at the house that was burning. “Are there any people inside?” I asked.
He had a blank stare as he turned his head to look over at me. “My Grandma. She’s still in there…”
“And who is the woman back there in the street?” I asked, pointing back to where the rest of the guys were and the trucks.
“That was the neighbor. She tried to go in and save my grandma, but couldn’t do it.”
Looking over at the house, I saw the flames growing rapidly. “Okay,” I replied. “I’m going to grab my gear really fast and then go in.”
He nodded and turned back to the house. He pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and began taking a picture. What is wrong with kids these days? I wondered as I jogged back to the truck. The ambulance had arrived and began moving the wounded woman from the street onto a stretcher as I came up to the side of
the truck. Opening up the side, I grabbed my equipment. Cole asked, “What’s going on?”
“There’s a woman inside. I’m going in.”
He nodded. “Okay. We’ll be right behind you.”
Returning to the house, I walked past the teenager and asked, “Where inside is your grandma?”
“She’s near the back side of the house. In the spare bedroom by the kitchen.”
Reaching the house, I peered in through the open doorway. It wasn’t heavily saturated with smoke inside, making it easier on me for visibility. I was able to see through the living room and spotted the kitchen off to the far left. The fire looked to be originating from the kitchen area. Walking through the living room, I could see family pictures in plastic frames melting and being destroyed with every passing moment. Finding the back room where the boy said she was, I kicked open the door and found the grandmother on the bed.
“Ma’am!” I shouted as I rushed over to the bed.
She wasn’t conscious. I shook her and shouted again, “Ma’am!”
There was no response. The flames reached the doorway behind and started wrapping themselves into the room, blocking my exit. Looking around, I spotted a window just on the other side of the bed. I leaped onto the bed and ran over to it. Using my fist, I busted out the glass. I grabbed the bedding, and placed it over the broken shards of glass that remained in the window. Pausing, I got on the radio.
“Taylor. I’m on the north side window. Coming out in just a moment with an unconscious woman.”
“Copy that,” he replied.
Taking a deep breath, I bent down and began pulling the woman over to the window. As I inched her across the bed towards the window, Brian climbed through and helped me get her the rest of the way out. As we brought her out, Brian leaped down first and with the help of Cole, pulled her from the window.
Cole got on his radio. “I need a medic on the north side of the structure.”
As we pulled her away from the burning building and into the grass, the paramedics came around the side of the house with the grandson by their side.
“Is she going to be okay?” the teenager boy asked me as he ran to her and dropped to his knees.
I nodded. “She’ll be alright.”
The paramedics huddled around her as they checked for vitals and one of them put an oxygen mask over her face. Watching as they loaded her on the gurney, I saw the boy crying as he held her hand and I thought of my mother. Reality kicked me in the side of the head right in that moment.
“You alright?” Cole asked, putting his hand on my shoulder as I stared blankly at the teenage boy and his grandmother.
“I’m heading up front to help with the frontal attack on the fire,” Brian said to the two of us before jetting off.
We both nodded to him.
As Brian rounded the corner, I said to Cole, “That kid was broken up about his grandma… and she’s probably going to be okay. My mom’s going to be dead soon… just kind of hit me.”
Cole patted my shoulder and said, “Don’t focus on that bad part, man. Just enjoy the time you have left with her and celebrate her life.”
I nodded as we began walking back to the front of the house.
Back at the fire station, Cole was sitting at the table reading the newspaper as I walked into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. As I walked past him, he set the paper down and asked, “Any updates on your mom?”
After I poured my cup of coffee, I joined him at the table in the dining hall. “She seemed fine yesterday when I was there.”
“Nothing too concerning?” Cole asked.
I shook my head. “No, but Emily sure thinks she’s about to kick the bucket.”
“Why?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know… but that’s why I went up there yesterday. Emily made it sound pretty imminent.”
“Well, I know in the final months of my father’s life, I saw him whenever I could. Every minute that passes is a moment lost.”
“Yeah. I know I got freaked out at the fire… but for the most part it just doesn’t feel real to me…” I shook my head. “My mom won’t be here in a couple months probably. That statement sounds weird and foreign. But the truth is, I could get a phone call today saying she’s gone… I don’t know how to process that.”
“I understand. Even after my dad died, I couldn’t wrap my head around it all. It’s not until I saw his empty chair sitting in the living room that it really began to get real. And you honestly don’t ever get used to someone not being around, you just learn to live without them…” Shaking his head as he paused, he continued, “But, you shouldn’t focus on that. Focus on the time you have left with her. Like I said before.”
I nodded. “I agree.”
Our conversation got quiet as we both stared at the table. Then, Cole suddenly asked, “So are you going to start attending Valley Baptist regularly?”
“I’ll see how I like it on Sunday. I don’t know, though.”
“Yeah… Can I ask you something?” Cole asked.
I looked at him with one eyebrow lowered. “Not if you preface it with that.”
He smiled. “It’s not bad, just serious.”
“Sure.”
“Do you believe?”
I adjusted in my seat. “What do you mean? In what? ...Like God? Yeah.”
“Do you believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ?”
“Sure do,” I replied.
“Then…” Cole paused. “Never mind,” he said, waving a hand.
“Wait a second,” I said, sitting up more in my seat and leaning in. “You can’t do that. What were you going to say?”
Cole sighed. “Nothing, don’t worry about it.”
Shaking my head, I said, “Out with it, Taylor.”
He looked nervous as he continued, “Okay. What are you doing?”
I looked around and laughed. “What?”
“If you believe, why aren’t you in church? If you believe, why are you living like you got it all handled without God?”
Who did this guy think he was? I wondered. My anger began to warm. “Wow…”
Cole sat back and said, “I’m just curious.”
I shook my head and scoffed. “This is coming from the guy who couldn’t get it figured out with his wife and almost lost everything.”
“Yeah. Exactly,” he replied. “I spent a lot of time not relying on God and got nowhere.” My anger was just about to consume me, it was burning hot.
I shrugged. “I guess I just don’t feel like I need God’s help a whole lot.”
“Your mother is dying-”
His comment set my anger a blaze, causing me to lunge across the table, tackling Cole backwards and onto the floor. I slugged him in the face. Raising my fist to punch him again, I was interrupted by a shout that came from the other side of the room.
“McCormick!” Brian shouted.
Stopping, I stood up and looked over at him. Looking back at Cole, I saw the disappointment in his eyes as he began to stand up. He wiped the blood from his lip. Micah came inside from the balcony. Ted and Rick came in from the other room. Each one of them looked at me like I was a stranger. I ducked my head, hurried past Brian to the end of the hallway, and went down the stairs to leave.
CHAPTER 8
On the drive home, I felt sick to my stomach. I had been in fights before, but never like this. Not at work. I betrayed my brotherhood and their trust. How am I ever going to show my face there again? Slamming the steering wheel I screamed in frustration. Why’d Cole have to set me off like that? I wondered as I squealed my wheels around a corner on the way back to my apartment. As I came up the street I saw a woman walking down the sidewalk. As I got closer, I realized it was Kristen, and my frustration over Cole took a backseat in my mind.
Slowing down, I rolled my window down and asked, “What are you doing out here walking?”
She looked over at me and furrowed her eyebrows. “Car troubles. Don’t worry a
bout it.” Her short and agitated tone led me to believe I had done something wrong.
“Hop in. I’ll give you a ride.”
“No thanks,” she replied.
I pulled a u-turn and came right up to her side as she continued walking. “Did I do something to offend you?” I asked, lifting my shades up and setting them on my head.
She stopped and looked at me. “You’re a phony, and I don’t like fake people.” She looked forward and kept walking. I pulled the car over to the side of the road, and caught up to her on the sidewalk by foot.
“Kristen. What are you talking about?” I asked, gently touching her arm to get her to stop.
She swatted my hand away and kept walking.
“C’mon!” I shouted. “I deserve some kind of idea of what I did so wrong.”
She stopped and turned back to face me on the sidewalk. She speedily walked back up to me and got within a few inches of my face. “I know all about you, Kane McCormick. Or should I say Mr. November.” Her words confused me for only a moment and as it sank in, I knew what she was referring to. I had posed for a firefighter calendar four years ago and she must have seen it.
“Where’d you see the calendar?” I asked.
“Does it matter?” she snapped. “I didn’t see it. Your sister told me all about you.” She turned and kept walking down the street.
“My sister? When did you even see her?” I asked. She kept walking without a response. I didn’t appreciate my sister divulging my personal history to her, but Kristen had no right to judge me. “Whatever,” I laughed. “I guess I can’t be better than my past…” I said, shaking my head as I turned and headed back to my car.
Getting back to my apartment, I slammed the door behind me. Cole and now Emily? Who else could betray me today? I pulled my phone out and called Emily.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” I said sharply. “Could we chat? You at work?”
“You sound upset…”
I shook my phone and squeezed it screaming silently. It took everything in me to control myself as I brought it back up to my ear. “I am upset… You talked to Kristen?”
She was silent for a moment and then said, “Come to my work. Meet me in the courtyard out front.”