by T. K. Chapin
A call came into the station only thirty minutes into my shift on Monday morning. Leaping into action, I darted from the dining hall with the guys to the fire pole. Getting on my turnouts in the bay, I leaped onto the ladder truck.
“Bet your adrenaline is soaring like crazy. It’s been a long time,” Micah said as he pulled out of the station and onto the street.
“Like an eagle!” I shouted with glee.
“So your flesh wound is okay?” Brian asked from beside me.
I nodded. “It’s a little sore, but nothing to worry about.”
“Good. Because you're doing the ventilation cuts today,” Brian replied.
I laughed, tilting my head as I looked over at him. “I’m gone for a couple weeks and Rookie gets a little cocky?”
Cole turned in his seat to look back at me. Smiling, he said, “Gomer has been stuck doing ventilation cuts since you’ve been gone.”
“It’s not too bad making the cuts, but it’s annoying when Sherman and Alderman look up as they pass under and ask me if I enjoy watching real fireman work,” Brian said.
I laughed.
“It was funny the first time. I’ll give them that much,” Brian said, laughing. “But after a few times… it gets old.”
“I’ll do the cuts, and gladly do them as I watch them pass under me.” I was just happy to be back with my brotherhood. Looking out the window, I saw Old Man Smiles out my window walking down the sidewalk. I waved to him as we turned onto Riverside Ave.
“You know that guy?” Cole asked, looking back from his window towards me.
“Kind of,” I replied, grinning recalling his rhyming way of talking.
Getting to the fire scene, I leaped out of the truck and came around to the side to retrieve the chainsaw and a ladder. As I unlatched the compartment door, Rick came over to me.
“Do you remember how to do this?” he asked, laughing as he patted my shoulder.
I laughed, looking over at him. “Yeah, yeah… Laugh it up, Alderman.” I smiled. “Maybe after this when we get back to the station I can give you some math lessons?” Ted laughed on his way past us with the hose.
Putting the ladder against the one-story house, I climbed up with the chainsaw in hand. As I walked across the roof, I could see Rick and Ted running the hose to the front of the house. Brian was back near Cole and the trucks talking to the house owners. Thankfully nobody was trapped inside, so search and rescue weren’t going to be needed.
Firing up the chainsaw, I made the cuts needed on the roof and the chunk fell through and into the house. Backing up as I turned off the chainsaw, black smoke billowed out from the opening.
“Careful,” Brian said from behind me on the ladder.
I looked back at him and said, “I don’t remember that much smoke being normal.”
He laughed as he came up on the roof. “Little rusty, aren’t ya?”
“Nah,” I replied, shaking my head.
Suddenly we fell through the roof and into the house. Coughing, I looked around and called out to Brian. “Gomer!” I shouted.
He coughed and made a moan.
“You okay?” I shouted as I began to stand up.
“I think so.”
“Where are you?” I asked, glancing around the living room we had fallen into.
“Over here,” he shouted.
Climbing through the roof debris, following the sound of his voice, I found him on top a burnt up couch. Once I realized he wasn’t badly hurt, I began to laugh.
Cole came in and saw us. “Why you lying down on the job, Gomer?” Cole asked sarcastically.
Rick peeked in beside Cole. “Rookie,” he said, shaking his head.
Brian laughed and began to get up. Limping a little as we began to walk out. I asked, “What hurts?”
“My arm.”
“Stop limping,” I replied, laughing.
He smiled and stood up as we walked out. As we came outside of the house, we both were still coughing some from the smoke exposure.
“Your arm okay?” Cole asked, touching Brian’s shoulder.
He nodded. “I think it just got bruised.”
“Okay.” Cole looked towards the ambulance. “Go get it checked out by one of the paramedics anyways.”
Brian began walking over to the ambulance that was on scene. Coming over to me, Cole asked, “You good?”
I nodded as I glanced back at the remains of the house that were still intact. “Glad there wasn’t a fire billowing below us when we fell through.”
“Thanks to Sherman and me,” Rick said, smacking my shoulder firmly. “Good to have you back, but try to not destroy the houses we are trying to save next time.” He grinned.
I smiled over at Rick and nodded. “I’ll try.”
After getting cleaned up and showered back at the station, I went down to the bay to start swabbing the floors. Mop duty was mine for the week following my return to work.
Halfway through mopping the floors, I heard a woman’s voice come from beyond the bay doors around the corner. It was faint and I wasn’t able to hear what she was saying. Setting my mop back in my bucket, I walked to the bay doors and peeked outside.
It was Kristen and my heart pumped a little harder at the sight of her. She was further down the sidewalk and trying to open the exterior entrance door that was locked. “Hey,” I said, waving to her. She had Blake with her.
“Hi,” she replied, looking my way before she began to walk down the sidewalk. Coming up to me she kissed my cheek and said, “Is it okay I stopped by? I wanted to see you and I have something for Cole.”
I nodded. “That’s fine.”
She looked at my bandaged eyebrow from where I got hurt from my fall. “You okay?” she asked, touching the side of my face. Her touch was so comforting.
“Of course,” I replied. Looking over at Blake, I said, “Did you have a good summer?”
“It was pretty cool in Moses Lake. Ate a lot of fast food and swam a ton.”
“I bet that was cool.”
He nodded. “We played baseball a couple times too.”
I grinned. “Nice.”
“How’s it going, Kristen?” Cole asked as he came out from the bay.
“Good, how are you doing, Cole?” she asked.
“Good, good.”
“Megan and the boys?” she added.
“They’re good too,” he replied.
“Here’s the pamphlet you wanted,” she said, handing Cole a folded piece of paper.
“What is that?” I asked, as I watched her give it to him.
“For the men’s retreat. Remember? At the barbeque you got a pamphlet on it,” Cole said.
I nodded. “Yeah, I remember now.”
Looking over at Kristen, Cole said, “Thanks for this. I think Rick and Brian are just about to give in and come along with us.”
“Really?” I asked. “I knew Alderman had some church background, but Gomer?”
Cole nodded to me. “God is good, man. Gomer started letting me talk to him more about God last week. It’s a work in progress… but it’s a step in the right direction.”
“Wow. I’m impressed,” I replied.
“Well, I gotta get going… but I’m glad I got to see you,” Kristen said, touching my arm.
I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “It was nice to see you too. I’ll see you around.”
Kristen smiled and turned with Blake to leave. As they vanished around the corner up the street, Cole stepped up next to me. “You two together now?”
I nodded as I kept my eyes locked ahead. “Sure am… I think this one is going to stick.”
Cole patted my shoulder and said, “So do I.”
CHAPTER 21
Fall descended on the city of Spokane and for a few of us at Fire station 9, that meant it was time for the men’s retreat in Suncrest. The town was small and located just outside of Spokane in the Nine Mile Falls area. Piling into Cole’s new Tahoe; Cole, Micah, Brian, Rick and myself all journeyed up to the retreat.
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br /> “Wow… Those leaves are pretty,” I said, looking out the window at the tops of the trees along the river road leading up to Suncrest.
“Pretty?” Rick laughed.
I glanced over at him and rolled my eyes. “What’s a better term? Manly?”
“The word ‘awesome’ is good for a guy to say,” Brian chimed in with all seriousness. Looking past me at the trees, he added, “They are awesome looking trees.”
I laughed. “Okay.”
Micah and Cole were in the front seat laughing softly amongst themselves. Micah looked back from the passenger seat up front and said, “Keep it together boys, we’re just about there.”
Cole looked in his rearview mirror at us and grinned.
“What?” I asked, making eye contact with Cole.
“You guys back there are less behaved then my children.”
Rick leaned forward and said, “You put me with a couple of kids in the back seat, I’m going to get a little cranky!”
Cole laughed. “Sit back, Justin. I don’t want to tell you again!” He busted out laughing at the reference to him being his four year old son, and everyone joined in.
Rick sat back and went red in embarrassment.
Coming to the entrance of the retreat, we pulled up to the main office. Cole and Micah headed into the office while the rest of us got out of the car.
Looking across the entire retreat, I marveled at the facilities they had. A large logged cabin sat down by the lake and nestled itself up against a forest.
Coming up behind us all, Micah pointed over to the cabin. “That’s the Fireside Lodge and where we will be staying with a few other churches from Spokane.”
“Wow,” I replied, smiling over at Micah. “That’s huge.”
“It’s nice inside too…” Micah replied.
We all grabbed our suitcases from the back of the car and began making our way across the grounds over to the cabin. As we came near the lake, Rick pointed at the boats and rafts. “Too bad we didn’t get to come here when it was warmer.”
“You can always sign up for a Summer one next year, Alderman,” Micah said.
He nodded as he grumbled and stepped over a log.
Reaching the cabin, we walked inside to the foyer. Micah pointed to a hallway. “This will be our wing of the lodge. Find yourself a room and get your stuff in there. Breakfast will be served in the Dining Hall, which is located further down the lake. Should be available right now.”
“I thought I saw a forest just beyond this lodge though?” I said.
“There’s a path through the trees. You can’t miss it if you head that direction. You go past the Chapel lodge and the Dining Hall is just beyond that.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Micah.”
After getting my suitcase unpacked and my clothing put away in my room, I headed for the dining hall for some breakfast. On the way through the woods, I noticed the sun shining through the tops of the trees just like it did up on the mountain in Colville. I smiled, thinking of my mom and all that she had done for me. I had come so far from the man I once was.
Coming up the steps into the dining hall, I was met by a kind looking older man. He held open the door and said, “Welcome.”
“Thank you,” I replied, shaking his hand.
When I stepped into the hall, I could smell eggs, bacon and hash browns in the air. I felt myself jump a little inside with excitement for the meal ahead of me. I was starving since I had woken up so early to prepare to come up here. Getting through the line and a plate of food, I went and found a seat near the bay windows that overlooked the lake. The peaceful and calm morning water was beautiful.
Grabbing the pepper that was next to the napkin holder on the table, I sprinkled it over my eggs and hash browns before bowing my head to pray. Thanking God for the food and the time I was going to have over the weekend, I was filled with joy. Opening my eyes from my prayer, I was surprised to see Tyson standing in front of me.
“Hi, Tyson,” I said.
“Hey, Kane…” he replied, sitting down directly across from me.
He looked conflicted and after a few minutes of me eating and him not talking, I set my fork down and wiped my mouth with a napkin before asking, “What’s up?”
“I wanted to apologize,” he said, softly.
“For what?” I asked.
“The way I acted with Kristen. I know it wasn’t good for you two. But I’m happy now and when I saw you sitting over here, I wanted to make it right between us.”
I shook my head. “We’re cool. I didn’t hold it against you.”
He laughed. “Come on… I see you at church all the time. You always have that look. Like you’re mad at me.”
Looking out the window at the lake for a moment, I thought about it. He was right. I was holding onto that. Turning my attention back to him, I extended out my hand for him to shake and said, “Okay… Well, thank you for coming over and apologizing. I accept your apology.”
He grabbed my hand and said, “No problem. Are you excited for the guest speaker? He should be taking the stage up front within the next few minutes.”
“Someone is speaking during breakfast?” I replied.
He nodded. “It was a last minute thing, I heard.”
Suddenly I saw Timothy over near the stage. “What’s he doing here?” I asked.
Getting up from my seat, I began walking over until he took to the stage. Stopping, I looked at him, but he didn’t see me.
Getting up to the microphone, he tapped it with his finger. “This thing on?” he said. It boomed his voice across the room. “Yep,” he laughed.
I sat down at a nearby table in the crowd and listened.
“Hi. My name is Timothy Raton and I want to spend a couple minutes sharing my story with you while you eat.” He looked across the room and said, “I want to tell you today about how one person changed my life.”
I thought about my mother and smiled. Another success story about my mom’s unyielding contribution to God’s Kingdom, I thought.
“Kane McCormick,” he began to say. “Is my brother. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, right?” He glanced around the room. “Well, for me, it’s a huge deal. You see, I was given up as a newborn baby. I didn’t know who my parents were or why they gave me up. I just knew I wasn’t wanted. This fact alone set me on a path. Not because I wanted it to, but because I allowed it to dictate the next thirty eight years of my life.”
He sniffed and wiped a tear from his eye. “My mother visited me when I was in a bad spot for the first time ever. I was meth’d out and I hurt her.” He got choked up on his words and paused while he recomposed himself. “I thought that was it for her in my life. That I had ruined it… but she came back into my life, when she got sick with cancer.” His lips pursed as his bottom lip quivered. “Sorry. Anyways… Turns out she left me all this money in her will. She cut her other kids out, entirely. I didn’t understand it and honestly, I didn’t care.” He wiped another runaway tear. “I was just going to spend the money how I pleased at first, and ignore the letter that detailed how she wanted it spent. She gave me that letter one of the last time I saw her. Then, Kane showed up. He was my brother and he wanted to get to know me. He fought for me like my mother could have, but never did.” He paused and said, “I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again, but I do know that God is real. And He loves each and every one of us. I know this truth because I experienced God first hand. I treated Kane, my brother, like garbage and he still came for me, fought to know me. That’s God-sized love that isn’t humanly possible in my eyes.”
I was shocked. I stood up and he noticed me. His eyes widened as we made eye contact. “Kane?” he asked, tilting his head, his eyes began watering as the crowd clapped.
“Yeah,” I replied, smiling up at him on stage. Walking through the crowd, I joined him on stage and gave him a hug.
“I tried calling you to see how everything was going…” I said in his ear.
As we released from the hug,
he shook his head and said, “I got off my uncle’s plan and got a new number.” He smiled at me. “I’m doing everything in the letter.”
“I’m so happy for you, Brother.”
Releasing him, I looked out to the crowd and spotted Emily standing near the back. She was clapping and crying as I made eye contact with her. What was she doing here? I was so overwhelmed that the question didn’t linger long. I wanted her up here with us. Motioning for her to come on stage, she began weaving through the crowd towards us.
Coming up to the stage, she looked at me as she smiled. “You were right all along about having to experience God. And when I found out that Timothy really had changed, I knew everything you said was true, Kane. And I believed right there in that moment,” Emily said, crying as she leaned in and hugged me.
“I’m so glad, Ems!” I shouted over the sound of the crowd as I hugged her and wept.
When we released each other, she hurried over to Timothy and hugged him too. Looking across the dining hall, I saw Cole standing off to the side. He gave me a nod and I knew right then that he had orchestrated the entire thing. As the crowd grew more excited of God’s presence over the retreat, my heart warmed and I thanked God for all that He had done for me.
The curtain behind the stage rose up behind us and Kristen stepped out to the microphone. I was completely floored. She began singing ‘Holy Spirit’ by Francesca Battistelli. Stepping off the stage with Timothy and Emily by my sides, I smiled. My mother’s hope was for others to experience the glory of God’s goodness and she accomplished it. She was affecting lives even though she was gone. Her testimony and love for our Lord and Savior continues to shine through the lives she touched.
My brother, nephew and sister all came to know the Lord within weeks of losing our mother. From out of the ashes, God created beauty and exchanged our pain for hope. Our mother might have passed onto Glory. And we will die someday also, but the truth and the power that is in the Word of God will last forever.
The End.
Up in Smoke
By:
T.K. Chapin