Page 16 of Things You Save in a Fire

“You’re wrong,” I said.

“I’m right,” he said. “Because you were raised to do the right thing. And she’s the one who raised you.”

Four

THE NEXT MORNING,I was on shift by 6:30A.M., the cut on my hand bandaged, ready to keep plowing forward with my life.

But the captain must have been watching for me, because as soon as I walked through the doors, she said, over the loudspeaker, “Hanwell. In my office. Now.”

I was passing Hernandez right then, and he crossed himself at the tone of her voice.

I walked to her office all chastened, with my head tilted slightly down, but just as I stepped through her door, my phone went off.

My mother. Again. And it turned out, the guys on shift had changed my ringtone to “Big Bottom” fromSpinal Tap. Because that’s what firemen do.

Captain Harris watched me like,Really?as I scrambled to silence it.

“Close the door,” she said.

I closed the door.

“Take a seat.”

I took a seat.

She shuffled through some files on her desk and let me wait. Captain Harris had been one of the first women to join the Austin Fire Department, back in the eighties. She was also the first-ever African American female captain. I idolized her, and admired her, and feared her, too. She’d seen everything and then some, and then some more.

She was about as close as a regular human could get to a superhero. And guess what? She really didn’t put up with nonsense.

I waited for her to light into me. I waited for her to tell me in unflinching detail how much I’d humiliated the department last night with my behavior. I waited for her to punish me somehow—a suspension or a demotion. Something.

She just kept her eyes on her paperwork and let me wait.

Finally, she looked up. “How long have you worked here, Hanwell?”

“Four years last month.”

She studied me a little. “You’re a good fit here, aren’t you?”

“I think so,” I said.

“The guys like you. Even after you raised Big Tom’s underwear up the flagpole.”

“I suspect they like mebecauseI raised Big Tom’s underwear up the flagpole.”

“You seem to be very admired. For a woman.”

I blinked. “Thank you.”

“I called you in here for several reasons—not just your temporary insanity last night. But don’t worry, we’ll get to that.”

I waited.

“First, we need to discuss your performance on the Lieutenant’s Exam. The scores are in. This was your first time taking it, correct?”

I held very still. “That’s correct, Captain.”

“You realize most people don’t pass that exam the first time?”

---