by Unknown
Lincoln’s gentle moan of enjoying the massage should have been her reaction, but she couldn’t get the pain on Orlando’s face off her mind. The silence in the house due to the power outage would not let her sleep a wink the whole night. Her mind had insisted and won on hashing and rehashing the situation with Orlando. When she closed her eyes, she dreamed of them making love on the living room floor but when she fell asleep, the argument and pain in his voice woke her.
The masseuse kneaded a spot on her lower back invoking a whimper. “Ouch,” she said lifting her head from her folded arms. She knew the ache derived from last night’s activity on the hard floor. Her whole backside from the small of her back to the heels of her feet ached.
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Richards.”
“It’s okay. My back is little tender so be careful.”
“Sure. You have a little redness in that area. Would you like a hot towel treatment?” The masseuse asked.
Regan released a gratifying sigh. “That would be wonderful.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Lincoln sat up on the table tightening the towel around her breasts. “So hanging wallpaper last night was a bit strenuous, huh?”
Regan kept her head down not looking at her sister. “It was harder than I thought. That’s what happens when you don’t do manual labor in years.”
“Is that the story you’re sticking with, Regan?”
She turned her head to face her sister. She was physically and emotionally exhausted and not in the mood to challenge her sister’s psychic abilities. “It’s the truth.”
“And, I was not born yesterday. You cannot lie there and tell me you and Orlando only hung wallpaper last night. The freaking lights were out for hours. So, Regan, what happened last night that has you in pain and a foul mood?”
“Nothing happened, Lincoln,” she said putting an emphasis on her sister’s name.
Lincoln’s demanding eye stare would not relinquish no matter how long Regan kept the charade going. Lincoln had a way of flushing out the truth and had that skill since they were kids. Whenever Carter and Regan tried to keep information from Lincoln, she had a way of questioning or directing a question to make them fold and reveal the truth. It was no wonder she excelled at her job as an IRS agent. No tax offender ever got a lie over on her.
Regan sat up huffing. “What do you want me to say? Do you want me to say Orlando and I spent the night making wild monkey love?”
“I only want the truth. If you didn’t do anything with him, then why are you being defensive?”
Her hands covered her face and her voice softened to a whisper. “I screwed up, Lincoln.”
“Hey, Regan,” Lincoln said hopping off her table to comfort her sister. “What happened?”
Regan fought for the tears to stay in her eyes but lost. “Orlando wanted to heat things up between us and I kinda blew him off.”
“You did what? After laying the trap for him, you blew him off! What is wrong with you, girl?”
“Don’t yell at me; I feel badly enough for what I did to him.”
“I don’t believe you, Regan. What was your excuse for doing that? Is Mark back in the picture?”
“No, Mark has nothing to do with this,” she said adjusting the towel around her body. “I have my reasons for what I did and in the end Orlando will see it was best we didn’t get involved.”
Lincoln slapped her hand across Regan’s bare skin causing her to yelp. “Ouch! Beating me will not make me feel any worse than I do.”
“You’re right; you need to have your damn head examined! I can’t believe you dumped him. You wanted a good man and he handed himself to you. Knowing Orlando and what he has been through in the past, he’s probably devastated.”
Regan frowned. “Cut it out, Lincoln. You and Orlando aren’t close, so don’t pretend you are hurting because he is hurting. I had to end it and I have my reasons why.”
Lincoln crossed her arms taking a stance. “Are you hoping Jon’s brother will be a better choice for you? What is it, Regan, are you craving the high-society lifestyle again, and know a firefighter’s salary won’t provide that for you? You are just like Mark—everything boils down to money. For a poor ass kid from Cleveland, who didn’t have a damn thing growing up, you sure have grown to be prissy.”
“Lincoln, you don’t understand,” she said in a calm voice.
“You’re damn right I don’t understand! Get rid of the expensive jewelry and designer clothing, Regan; you are still one of us—a Hathaway. Our mother worked her ass off to keep what little we had once dad walked out on us.
Lincoln’s figure grew wavy from the black spots floating in front of Regan’s eyes. The blood rushing through her veins reached epic and sent her blood pressure to potentially hazardous levels. She burned internally as Lincoln debased her without knowing the facts. She was well aware how hard their mother worked to keep a roof over their head. She also was aware of her role living under their mother’s roof.
Regan and her two sisters were not sheltered but latchkey kids. Their mother worked two jobs to stay off welfare. Lynette Hathaway depended on her daughters to come straight home from school, do their homework and chores, and not get in any trouble along the way.
For the most part, they obeyed the rules and came home after school. However, there were days they would stay after school for functions or go on group dates with other friends. Lynette allowed her girls to date boys just as long as it was with a group of friends. However, she had one rule the girls had to abide by or risk losing every privilege they had; boys were never, under any circumstance, allowed inside the house without her supervision.
As they grew older and less dependent on their mother, Carter was the first to leave Cleveland. After graduating, she attended college in Chicago where she met her husband. Twenty years later, Carter is an award-winning journalist with the Chicago Tribune. Carter convinced Regan to pursue a career in journalism—a career Regan had put on hold far too long. At thirty-two years of age, she may finally be getting a chance for that opportunity.
Taking a few deep breaths, she opened her mouth to defend herself, “Lincoln…”
“You will have a chance to speak when I’m done! Regan, get off your high-horse and put your feet back on the ground where they belong. Jon’s brother may be a successful doctor, but you will never find any man as heartwarming and gentle as Orlando.”
Regan slid off the table looking behind at the door to make sure the masseuse was not coming. Walking over to her sister, she dotted her in the arm with a pointed finger. “What you said about me is bullshit! I have never been ashamed of who I am or where I came from. Yes, I married a successful man that provided me a great life until I got tired of it. However, that does not give you the right to criticize me.” Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she realized the majority of her emotional upset was not with Lincoln, but with how she had handled Orlando.
“Well, if what I said is bullshit…”
She shut her sister down cold. “I believe I am talking since you had your turn!” Lincoln shut up and crossed her arms. Regan resumed her rant. “Now as I was saying, I did not expect Orlando to want more than friendship. I stopped flirting because you told me not to appear desperate and I settled for just being his friend. Last night after we made love, he surprised me by saying he wanted more.”
“Oh man, you did sleep with him. Regan, he gave himself to you; why are you throwing him away?”
“It’s complicated, Lincoln, but I may be leaving Cleveland again. Orlando is a firefighter for life and an integral part of Station 30. I would never ask him to leave that for me.”
“Hold on a minute,” Lincoln said forming her perfectly shaped eyebrows into a V formation. “We’ll come back to Orlando in a minute. But what do you mean you are leaving again? Where are you going?”
Regan dropped into a chair, propped her elbows on her knee and let her hands fall loosely between her bare legs. “I have an interview scheduled next
month with a small cable news show. If I get the position, I’ll be moving to South Carolina.”
Lincoln paced, pulling the plush towel from around her wet hair. “I’ll be damned. When were you planning on saying something?”
“I didn’t want to jinx myself by assuming I got the job. Lincoln, I don’t want to hurt Orlando by starting something with him and then leaving him. It’s best I stay away from him now that he is upset with me.”
“You should just tell him. He will understand why you’re hesitant.”
“I wanted to tell him last night, but we got into an argument and he left.” She shook her head. “Lincoln, he was wrong what he said about me. I do have feelings for him. If I were sure about staying in Cleveland, I would be with him in a heartbeat.”
“You lied to him and said you didn’t care about him?”
“No, I said I haven’t been on my own long enough to get bogged down again. Why did I do that, Lincoln?” Tears drained from her eyes as pain filled her chest.
“I don’t know. You have to talk to him and straighten this mess out. Regan, what if you are not offered the job, are you going to let him go just like that?”
Her eyebrows rose with doubt. “What if I am? I do not expect him to wait around for me or we do the long-distance relationship thing. He deserves to be happy and after last night, any woman will be freaking happy as hell to get with him.”
Lincoln knelt down in front of her sister. “Not to make light of the seriousness of this, but he was that good?”
Regan cracked a smile through her tears. “Why do you think I need a massage? Girl, he threw my spine out of whack!”
“Holy sweet Jesus, Regan. Call those interview people and tell them you aren’t interested. How can you leave a man that delivers that kind of pleasure?”
She stared down at the bright white tile on the floor, returning to a docile state. “I can’t. I have to do this for me. For once in my life, I have to accomplish a goal I’ve set for myself. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Lincoln sighed. “As much as I don’t want to agree with you, I do understand what you’re saying. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
“It’s okay. However, don’t let it happen again. I am the older sister and will spank your ass.”
Lincoln snapped the towel at Regan’s bare legs. “Girl, please. You are older by eleven months and can’t beat your own ass.”
“Doesn’t matter, I’m still older,” she said hugging her sister.
*****
Orlando jumped from the truck, shedding his turnout and stepped out of his boots. He leaned his against the door of the truck coughing. The dry hack produced nothing, but the tightening in his chest was from inhaling the thick smoke from a two-alarm apartment building fire.
Anthony handed him a bottle of water. “Here drink this.”
Orlando took the water keeping his back against the door thinking he hadn’t swallowed that much smoke in years. “Thanks,” he said coughing so hard tears ran down his face.
“Damn, Orlando, you’re not looking good. Why don’t you have the medics take a look at you?”
Using his hands, he shook off Anthony’s idea. “Gimme a minute to catch my breath.”
“You know the Chief is going to send you to Metro for a checkup. Save yourself the lecture and let me take you there.”
He opened his mouth letting air fill his lungs slowly. “I’m starting to feel better. I’ll be in my quarters if anyone needs me.” He said slowly walking away.
He closed the door and flopped on the twin-sized bed. The scent from the heavy smoke stuck in his nostrils making him nauseous. He loved his job but hated making mistakes. He diligently checked the air tanks to make sure each one was full and ready for use. How an empty tank managed to get on the shelf with the serviced apparatus and, he grabbed it, was inexcusable on his part.
The cell phone rang in his pocket. He flushed the phone and answered rudely. “Yeah?”
“Orlando?”
“Yeah, what do you want, Maggie?”
“What’s wrong, you sound funny?”
He started to cough again. “Look if you don’t want anything, I gotta go.”
“Please don’t hang up on me. Just tell if you are hurt and I promise to leave you alone.”
For once, he heard actual concern in her voice. He fiddled the phone against his ear. “I’m fine. I took in a little smoke on the last run. Did you need something?”
“Oh yes. If you’re still interested in renting our house, I think I might have a tenant for you.”
“The house is rented and if it weren’t I wouldn’t take anyone you’d recommend.”
“Damn, Orlando, I was only trying to help you. So who did you rent it to?”
“It was rented to a person who needed a place to stay. If you are done questioning me, I wanna take a nap; it’s been a busy day.”
“Our phone calls won’t continue to be this way. I’m going to get you to see I have changed, Orlando. You get some rest and feel better.”
He disconnected the call and headed for a much need shower to rid the overpowering stench residing on him. Standing under the pulsating spray of warm water his nose opened to smell the fresh woodsy scent of the body wash he used to scrub away the day. Three working fires in one day exhausted his crew and the night was still young.
After his rejuvenating shower, he joined Anthony outside to enjoy the night. The heat wave had broken allowing for a pleasant summer night outside to people watching. He crossed one leg over the other and laced his fingers across his belly. “I think I'm human again.”
“You sound a lot better.”
“I have to make sure this doesn’t happen again. In the morning, I want the guys to pull all the tanks and check the pressure. We can’t afford mistakes if we have another run of fires like tonight.”
“Sure, but this is my last shift with your guys. Colby will be back next shift.”
“Anthony, I wish I had space for you to stay on my shift.”
“You gotta good team of guys working with you and I’m set in my ways with Murad. I wouldn’t want to upset the applecart by disrupting the balance of supermen,” he laughed.
A young couple walking with their dog passed by the firehouse and waved to them. Orlando nodded feeling pangs of jealousy as they strolled along holding hands apparently in love. He shifted his weight in the chair. Uncrossing his legs, he leaned with his arms on his knees.
He had not spoken to Regan about their argument and resigned himself to keep their contact to issues concerning the house. The house—renting her the house was a bad decision coming back to kick him the ass. Once at the beginning of every month he would see her to collect rent.
The living room would be a constant reminder of where they had made love. His worst scenario was what if she met another man and he would visit her while he was there repairing something in the house. He would wonder if she and the new man made love in the same spot they had or if she had served him shrimp etouffee from those same expensive bowls she had served him.
Suddenly his knee began to bounce. He regretted he had allowed himself to fall for her and seeing her with another man would be hard for him to accept. He made a mental note to send her an email asking if she would mail her rental payments instead of him personally collecting it.
Lost in his own self-pity, he stirred in his chair after hearing Jon’s voice. “Hey, Jon,” he said shaking the haze of his thoughts away. “What brings you to the firehouse tonight?”
“Lieutenant, I was out with my brother Doug for a drink and thought we’d drop by before heading home.”
So this is Doug. Even in his head, it sounded snide. Orlando got up from the chair sizing the man who’d be entertaining his woman on a date. His woman—Not! Regan was not his woman and made it clear she didn’t want to be.
Trying to be polite, Orlando extended his hand to the distinguished-looking man with silver strands weaving though dark brown wavy hair but very gray at the temple
s. He wasn’t as tall or fit as Jon was. He had a round stomach that pressed tightly against the expensive button down shirt tucked inside dark colored trousers. Italian leather shoes covered his feet and a thick Rolex watch graced his wrist; the man spelled wealth.
Orlando grinned inside mentally believing Regan would reject him the same as she’d did the science guy regardless of his wealth. “Orlando Torres, he greeted and feeling confident this man was not a threat.
“Doug,” he said shaking Orlando’s hand.
“So you’re Jon’s brother the doctor?” He was terrible making small talk with people he had no interest in knowing. But Anthony was no help with a rescue since he obviously was getting pleasure watching him perspire.
“That I am. I’m also the oldest DeMinico brother of the family.”
“Two heroes in the same family; Jon rescues victims and you patch them up. Your parents must be proud.” He didn’t mean for it to sound as sarcastic as it did coming from his mouth.
Finally, Anthony opened to say something. “Jon, I tried to get Torres to join us on Friday.”
Jon shoved his hands in his pocket. “You should, Orlando. It will be like old times with us hanging together.”
He sucked his teeth. “Can’t do, buddy; I’m on duty. We can do it some other time. It’ll be great to see Gabby again.”
Jon eyed him. “We’ll make it soon. Ant tells me there is a new woman in your life and I’m anxious to meet the woman that replaced Maggie.”
“You know Anthony runs his mouth too much,” Orlando teased.
“Everybody knows that about Anthony. But since Lincoln is going to introduce Doug to Regan, it would’ve been nice to meet your new lady.”
Doug’s high cheekbone grin lifted the glasses resting on his face. “I’m looking forward to meeting Regan. I’ve heard only good things about her.”
Orlando cringed but managed to stay in control. “Well, have a drink for me knowing I’m here slaving away while you all are out partying and having fun.”
The alarm sounded Ladder 30, Engine 30, and Medic 15 respond to a call of a house on fire at 3200 Mandy Road.
Orlando rubbed his hands together. “That’s us,” he said running to the truck putting on his gear. He would deal with Anthony later. Right now, he had to thank the fire gods for saving his butt from another awkward situation.