Page 21 of December Wishes
“There.” What a strange thing to proudly proclaim as she tossed the towel containing Meg’s triumph in the trash. “All done. Let her Majesty go.”
Meg trotted halfway across the room before doubling-back toward to the entrance, where she sniffed the shoes of the firehouse’s only human guest. “For real, though,” Siobhan, who stopped by with a bag of groceries, said. “Better way to do that. I’d start with giving her a sanitary trim. Will severely cut back on the number of times you need to do that, anyway.”
Krys opened her arms to wrap her girlfriend up in a big hug, but Siobhan recoiled, her bag nearly dropping from her hand. “Wash your hands!” she cried. “You are not touching me until you wash those nasty poop hands.”
“I didn’t touch it!”
“Wash your hands!”
If Siobhan demanded it, Krys must follow. Not like her girlfriend wasn’t well-acquainted with everyone on duty, anyway. Krys could pop into the kitchen and wash her hands, knowing that Siobhan was only a few yards away, chatting about cat care with Young. And Quimby, who always paid attention. He usually had another cat on his lap, anyway.
“Can I hug you now?” Krys asked, reemerging from the kitchen. “Or should I go get a manicure, first?”
“Very funny.” Siobhan pushed her red hair away from her chest before opening her arms for a hug.Do I detect a faint smile as I come in for a hug?“I brought some fresh vegetables for you guys, by the way.” She said that when they pulled away from one another’s cuddly bodies.Cuddliest body in town. I’m just saying.Krys may have actually been referring to herself. “Last time I peeked into your guys’ fridge, I nearly gagged. So. Many. Eggs. At least put some vegetables in those omelets.”
“Veggies? Sweet!” Young sniffed through the bag on his way back to the kitchen. “This beats pizza again any day.”
“Don’t mind him. He’s on a health food kick before New Year’s starts,” Krys said.
“To be fair, isn’t part of your job staying fit and healthy? I mean, if my house is gonna be on fire, I’d prefer for my local firefighters to not run out of breath by the time they get the hose off the truck.”
Krys could no longer hold back the eyeroll.
This was the usual banter they shared whenever Siobhan stopped by the firehouse on a slow day. Things were a bit different if the crew had returned from a rough call, but on a day like that one, cajoling with biting sarcasm was the only way to entertain one’s self, with or without the girlfriend present.
What a girl I’ve got…
Siobhan would smack her to be called agirl,but that’s what Krys always thought. She called everyone a girl if she could get away with it.I like to remind them that they still have that little girl inside of them that wants to believe in fairy-tales and people being good.Siobhan had a few rough lessons like that recently. They had only been officially together for about four months, but they had been a slow four months that gradually saw Siobhan opening up sides of herself that had remained shut off foryears.Krys was patient, sure, but her girlfriend allowing more giggles on her lips and big smiles on her face was always cause for celebration.
Yet she rarely smiled or giggled when she was in the firehouse. Probably because she watched those kittens like a hawk, convinced that everyone with firefighting training didn’t know two shits about caring for small animals. Joke was on her. Young had more experience with cats under his pinky nail than Krys would ever have in her lifetime.
“Care to have a moment outside?” Krys gestured to the blue sky clearing beyond the windows. “Kinda rare we get sunlight like this right now.”
“All right, but I’m warning you,” Siobhan said, “it’s really cold outside. You better have… never mind.”
Krys knew what she was about to say.“You better have a jacket!”Sure, Krys had a jacket, but did she need one? Nah! She had finished a workout and a shower an hour before Siobhan’s arrival. Young was in there preparing a protein load. All Krys could think about was drinking in some Vitamin D and sharing some quick canoodling with her girlfriend.
They weren’t outside for one minute before Krys saw someone rolling down the street.
“Does your woman know you’re out and about without supervision?” Krys asked Joan, who tore up Main Street in her manual wheelchair.She’s gonna have bigger biceps than me by the end of the year!How far did upper body strength go toward childbirth, anyway? ‘Cause last Krys heard, Joan was giving birth in Wal-Mart. Until she wasn’t.
Joan hit the brakes in front of the firehouse. She drowned in her winter coat and the muffler around her face, which she had to lower with one gloved finger to speak. “Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you, too,” she said. “I’ll have you know that the doctor encourages me rolling around like I’ve got business everywhere I go. Says this baby is clearly thinking about coming out after what happened a few days ago.”
Siobhan looked between the pregnant woman in a wheelchair and Krys, who laughed like it was the craziest thing she ever saw. “I take it you’ve had a few false alarms?”
“Just the one, so far! You ask me, this baby’s a Capricorn. I’ve got until the solstice until I give real birth.”
Siobhan glanced at Krys, as if to ask,“Is she for real?”Krys no longer asked questions. Her line of work led to her crossing paths with many pregnant women, and whatever got them through the day? They could have it. By all means.
“Know what happens at the solstice?” Krys said to her girlfriend. “The tree lightning!”
The look on Siobhan’s face once more said everything.
“It’s done a little late here,” Krys explained.
“Right before Christmas? Yeah. A little late.”
Joan rolled past them with purpose. “This town doesn’t do anything in a hurry!”
