Sweet and Sassy Baby Love

by Alicia Street

  “She was huge,” Connie said, laughing. “But she wore it well. I looked like a swollen tick when I was pregnant. So what do you guys think?”

  “She’s cute,” Rick said. “I don’t know if I want a kid though. What about you, Tony?”

  “I’m engaged, remember. At least for now. Patty keeps me on a short leash.”

  “Patty’s worth it,” Rick said, walking away with his plate of cake. “She’s gorgeous.”

  “How’s that working for you?” Connie asked after Rick left. Tony and Patty’s fights were legendary among the firehouse staff after witnessing many of them over the years.

  “It is what it is. We fight, she tells me what to do, and I usually do it until I can’t stand it anymore.”

  “Honey, that doesn’t sound like the way to a happy marriage.”

  Tony looked behind him and then got up close to Connie. “I have my doubts about our chances,” he whispered. “It’s okay as long as we’re engaged, but marriage? I doubt that will even happen.”

  “Do Big Mike and Roberta know?”

  “Oh hell no. My father would kill me if I broke our engagement.”

  “Honey, I’ve known your father since before he was married. He would be upset to think you would marry the wrong woman to please him.”

  “Don’t say anything, okay?”

  “I’d never. But please think about what I’ve said. Marriage magnifies every flaw in a relationship ten times. Maybe more.”

  “I don’t want to hear that.”

  “Trust me, Tony. If you think Patty’s jealous and miserable now when you aren’t even living together, wait. You won’t have any personal freedom once you’re under the same roof.”

  “I love her. I think.”

  “Of course you do. You’ve been together since high school. How old are you? Twenty-six?”

  “Almost. I’m two years older than Mike, six years younger than Joey.”

  “Set a goal. If you don’t think you’re going to marry her by next Christmas, bring it to an end.”

  “I hope she ends it first.”

  “That’s always a possibility! Keep acting like a schmuck and she’ll get sick of it soon enough.”

  “Aw, Connie, I haven’t done anything wrong in a long time.”

  “Okay, well, I take that back. That’s the problem when you work with people you’ve known since they were three.”

  “Ha! Just ’cause I took my dad’s car on a Friday night when I was thirteen. Nothing happened.”

  “Yeah, you’re lucky nothing happened!” She put down her knife and called out, “Cake,” to the room; then the alarm went off.

  “Oh, fudge,” she said, running to slide down the pole to her office.

  Chapter Two

  Traffic was horrible on Bridget’s commute home, but she made the most of it, singing along with the radio and eating a donut she’d taken from the lounge from the daily gift to the station by the local donut shop. The after-work routine was one she’d devised while in school. She said goodbye to her sister and kissed Flynn. After placing the parts of the breast pump that could be washed in the dishwasher, she’d jump in the shower, put on her comfy clothes, make a cup of tea if it was cold out, or a glass of iced tea if it was hot, and get into her recliner with baby Flynn, who would be more than ready to nurse for the next hour.

  She thought about the calls they’d gotten, the rhythm of the station, and she had a little bit of pride that she’d gotten through the day without making any big mistakes. The only touchy thing was the encounter with Charlie Saint regarding having to pump, who’d afterward avoided her for the rest of the day. But when she left her office after lunch to wash up, she saw that he’d placed a Do Not Disturb sign on her door handle, and that pleased her. It wasn’t ideal, pumping in the office. There wasn’t water to wash up with, and she’d made do with disinfectant wipes and then smuggled her pump into the bathroom to rinse it out.

  The next day, after caving in to her parents and dropping Flynn off at their house in the morning instead of daycare, there was a surprise for her when she got to work. First of all, Tony Saint had waited for her in his gigantic white pickup truck so they could walk in together.

  “I thought you slept here at night?”

  “I came out so we could walk in together.”

  “Okay,” she replied, her heart skipping a beat. Desire radiated between them, and she tried with all her might to ignore it. But it wasn’t going to happen. He was interested and he made sure she knew it.

  “On my three-day shift I sometimes come out to my truck in the morning for a break,” he said, defusing the interest a little bit.

  “Oh! Okay, gotcha,” she said. “It must be hard to be away from home for three days straight.”

  “Not really. Mike Junior and I still live at home with mommy and daddy and our younger brothers,” he said, sputtering as he laughed. “Joey will be on his own soon, at age thirty-two.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. “I moved out because it was too difficult for my parents after I had the baby.”

  He looked at her with compassion. “Were they upset?”

  “You could say that. But they wanted to take over. I thought it was better if I moved out then. I caved in today and allowed them to babysit for me instead of taking the little guy to the daycare center.”

  “It’s better for him to be with his grandparents. Not that I know a thing about kids, mind you. But if he were mine, I’d choose family over daycare.”

  “Well, okay then. Thank you. That actually makes me feel a little better.”

  Looking down at her again, he smiled, showing a row of even white teeth. He had a hint of five-o’clock shadow—it was only seven in the morning—and dark, thick curly hair that fell over his forehead. Tony Saint might be a problem.

  Inside the station garage, Charlie Saint waited for her. “Bridget, could I talk to you?”

  A hot flash passed through her, wondering what she’d done wrong.

  “Of course,” she said, looking over at Tony, who winked at her. She felt a little weird with the attention.

  “Come back outside with me,” Charlie said.

  She followed him out the door, and he led her to a fancy camper van. She could see the hookup to the water faucet and electricity and could hear the air-conditioning running. Right away, she knew why he’d done it, and it was so touching, she had to take in a slow, deep breath so she didn’t start crying.

  “It’s my brother Big Mike’s,” he explained. “They don’t use it now that the kids are grown. We thought it would be more comfortable in here for you to do your…” And here he made the swirling motion around his chest with his hands, and she burst out laughing again, putting him immediately at ease.

  “Thank you so much,” she said, grinning. “This will be perfect. Please tell your brother I appreciate it.”

  “He’s here today. I’ll introduce you later,” Charlie said, pleased with himself. “You can leave your things inside if you want. Here are the keys.”

  She took the keys and thanked him again. He waited until she got the door open and then excused himself. Stepping up into the cool, dark RV, she set her backpack down and opened her little cooler, placing the ice block inside the freezer. The pump itself she’d leave in the backpack to keep it clean in case anyone came in.

  As she locked it up on her way out, Tony was waiting at the door. “I’m being a pest,” he said. “I apologize. We were excited that old Betsy here was going to be useful again.”

  “Right! This is your family’s RV. Please tell your father thank you so much. I hope to meet him today and I can tell him myself.”

  “He just got in. Because he’s old, he doesn’t need to stay overnight anymore.”

  “Who’s old?”

  Big Mike Saint was well named, at least six six and close to two fifty, he looked foreboding, but she’d find out quickly that he was a gentle giant. When Charlie had told him about finding a solution for Bridget’s bre
ast-pumping problem, Big Mike and his wife, Roberta, came up with the camper van idea.

  He put out his hand for Bridget, and she eagerly took it, repeating her gratitude. “I can’t thank you enough,” she said. “It didn’t occur to me that I’d have a problem, but you solved it.”

  “We’ll leave it here as long as you need it,” he said. “It’s the advantage to having my little brother as the battalion chief.”

  “How many family members are here?” Bridget asked.

  “It started with our dad, Leonardo. Then I joined, Charlie next, my three boys, and if the next three want to join, they will.”

  “Wow, I like that. The Saints of San Diego Fire Company #34.”

  “That’s us,” he said, his chest out, with a big grin. “Only I’m retiring soon. I can’t climb the ladder anymore because I need a knee replacement, but my doctor wants me to lose fifty pounds, and that ain’t happening.”

  “Dad,” Mike Junior called over the intercom, “breakfast is ready.”

  “Yes! Joey’s cooking today. Young lady, you don’t want to miss this, I’m telling you. He does pancakes that are to die for.”

  She grinned at him as he scurried off to the elevator. Making her way back to the office, she didn’t realize until she was at the door that Tony had walked along with her.

  “Oh! You startled me.”

  “Sorry. Will you have lunch with me today?”

  There was no getting around it; Tony Saint stirred something within her she didn’t want to deal with. She didn’t answer for a moment; this was her second day on the job. As far as she knew, there wasn’t a no-fraternization clause at #34. But because his invitation had roused uncomfortable feelings, she decided it was better to nip it in the bud, say no, and move on, rather than start something with the possibility that it might end badly.

  “Tony, thank you, but no. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “It’s only lunch,” he said, disappointed.

  “It’s never just lunch,” she replied, turning to him. “You have to trust me on this. Unless it’s for a single lunch, and I have your word you’ll never invite me again, I have to refuse.”

  She didn’t say that just standing next to him raised her blood pressure, that her body had responded to his touch and even his smell. No.

  “I can’t do that,” he mumbled. About to say something, he caught himself, turned away, and left for the stairwell.

  “Great,” she said, a mix of disgust and remorse flooding over her. Evidently, #34 hadn’t had a workplace discussion on sexual harassment so she wouldn’t have to deal with any man.

  She debated calling after him, but restrained herself. The office was as she’d left it the day before. It was clear Connie was a neat freak, too, with messages in her tight, small printing, as if it had been typed out, thumbtacked to a white paper-covered bulletin board. There was a message for Bridget in a sealed envelope.

  Dear Bridget, welcome to #34. Thank you for tiding up our office. It was nice coming in and not having to clean up after another like I have had to in the past. See you at four.

  So although she’d passed the test of Connie, she’d failed at keeping male colleagues at bay. Trying to put it out of her mind, she sat at the desk and went through her checklist for the morning, all the while the image of Tony Saint and his broad shoulders shimmered in her field of vision.

  At nine she got up for a cup of coffee, and there was a tap on her door. It was Tony.

  “I have to apologize to you.”

  “No, you don’t,” she said, anxiety building as she pushed past him. “No apologies necessary.”

  “Now there’s going to be weirdness between us.”

  “No, there’s none, at least from me. I need coffee.”

  He followed her out into the garage. The men were polishing trucks and stocking supplies like on any quiet day.

  “Can I explain why I don’t want to have lunch? I mean, my ego must seem huge to you, and for that I’m embarrassed.”

  “I totally get it,” he said. “I wouldn’t ask you to lunch at work if I didn’t want to get to know you better.”

  “And if we did go that route and dated, maybe even got serious, and then we broke up, how uncomfortable would that be? I have to work.”

  “You don’t live with mommy and daddy.”

  She giggled, shaking her head. “No, please God, no.”

  “Why would that be so bad?”

  “Well, my parents are strict Irish Catholics.”

  “Ah, gotcha. Mine are strict Italian Catholics. We have a bust of Pope Pious in our dining room.”

  “Like Buca Di Beppo?” she asked, slapping her leg.

  “Exactly, only Roberta is serious about it.”

  “Roberta is your mom, correct?”

  “Right. She was worried about you using your breast pump in the bathroom. She made us clean the camper van again before Big Mike could drive it in even though it was already clean.”

  Bridget giggled, touched that they’d gone to so much trouble for her. She’d have to write Mrs. Saint a thank-you note.

  Stirring creamer into her cup, she glanced over at Tony, who was watching her. “I guess we’re having coffee together,” she said, resigned.

  “I’m here for no reason, okay? No threat of coffee.”

  “Do you want a cup?”

  “If it will make you uncomfortable, I’d better not.”

  “You can have coffee, Tony. I’m sorry I’m overly cautious. I need my job.”

  “I’ll leave you alone at work. Is that a deal?”

  Contemplating what he’d said, she realized she didn’t really want him to leave her alone, but maybe if he did so at work, it would be a good thing.

  “Deal,” she said, holding out her hand.

  He looked down at it, aware of what touching her might unleash, and as though in slow motion, moved his hand toward hers, reaching out for it, and almost like it was out of his control, he took it gently and brought it to his lips to kiss.

  Chapter Three

  Thursday morning, almost at the end of his three-day stint, Tony Saint sat at the edge of his bunk, scratching and yawning, happy to be going home after a hellish night. He heard the scratching of the intercom being turned on, and looked over at his brother Mike.

  “No friggin’ way.”

  “Escondido dispatch reporting a brush fire spreading to a structure,” a disembodied voice said. Before dispatch could call out assignments, the men were down the pole, pulling on turnout gear.

  “Attention: engine 4, engine 6, wagon 2, ladder 17, squad 1, squad 2, rescue 1, fire chief C-1, duty chief 1, fire mechanic. All hands working,” a voice said.

  “I’m on my way,” Charlie answered over his radio.

  “Escondido 15 on scene,” Connie replied. “Requesting a water tender.”

  When Bridget arrived, the organized exodus from the garage as the sun peeked over the horizon had begun, with Devon and Mike in the rescue vehicle. She wouldn’t need to go on this one.

  “Yikes,” she said, getting out of the way of the trucks as they exited. Tony saw her and waved, mouthing call me with his hand to his ear, then laughing. It was already their private joke.

  “Call me when you can tonight. You know I’ll be up,” he’d told her as she left each night.

  “I don’t think I will. You need your sleep, and I have to take care of baby Flynn.”

  “Can’t blame a guy for tryin’,” he’d reply.

  The first night she laughed, the next she winked, and by the fourth night, she called. Well, she returned his call.

  “I can’t wait for Saturday, so I couldn’t wait to talk to you again,” he explained.

  “Ha! Is that right? You know I didn’t come there for romance, don’t you?”

  “Of course you did. You were sent here for me,” he said seriously.

  “Tony, the only problem is that today I heard you have a girlfriend.”

  The news had shocked her because he seemed so
genuine, and if he had a girlfriend, it was news he was hiding from her. Rick Jackson had told her. It had happened in a roundabout way, but later she could tell it was his motive to make sure she knew, maybe so he could home in like a pigeon. She stood at the counter, absentmindedly stirring a cup of coffee; Tony had left for the day. He’d be back the following Sunday for another three-day stint, and he didn’t think he’d last that long without seeing her. He’d have to take a chance and approach her, his heart thumping.

  “I have a pass for SeaWorld,” he’d said, standing behind her. She could feel him there and smell the soap he’d used to shower after they came in from the fire. “Let me take you and Flynn on a date Saturday.”

  “Tony, he’s only two months old,” she said, nervously moving away. As warmth spread through her, the impulse to put her arms around his neck was powerful, and she would do everything she could to resist him. “I don’t think SeaWorld would be interesting to him.”

  Thinking, he brightened up. “How about lunch, then? We’ll have a picnic, and we can walk around the park. Do you have a stroller? My mother will help me make a killer picnic lunch.”

  Relaxing a little bit, she’d given in; that actually appealed to her. “I’d like that. I don’t have a stroller, but I have a baby backpack. Thank you.”

  “We’ll talk again soon,” he said, and left for the day.

  Not thirty seconds later, Rick Jackson entered the little lounge area off the garage. “Sounds like Saint beat me to the punch.”

  She turned around, stunned. “I guess it’s okay to eavesdrop here at #34.”

  “Only when important issues are at stake, and asking you out was important to me.”

  Speechless, Bridget wanted to laugh. Out of nowhere, two eligible men were interested in her. She never dated much, and the few guys who bothered with her had swept her off her feet right away. Facing that she was a little needy, it had already gotten her into trouble with lifetime consequences once. After that, she was extra careful about whom she let into her life.