Page 25 of Kissing the Beach Town Fire Chief
Sometimes I still look back and wonder how things would have rolled out if I was still there working as a firefighter. I wouldn’t be here, let alone be running in elections. And I wouldn’t live next door to Ami. Life really is unpredictable.
Just as I am lost in my thoughts, I see a familiar figure walking towards me from the shadows. A smile shows up on my face when I realize it is none other than Ami.
“What are you doing here, sitting alone? Tired of your election campaign already?” she smiles and sits next to me.
I chuckle “No, I was just looking around seeing how peaceful everything is at this time. And I was thinking about my life before I came back here.”
“What about it?” She looks at me.
“Well, how things would be if I was still working as a firefighter.”
She takes a deep breath as we both stare at the sky. “You never told me about that time of your life.”
“I didn’t tell anyone much about it. But you might be the first person I actually want to tell.”
She looks over at me and smiles “I’m all ears.”
Her words give me the confidence to finally share things and tell her stuff I never told anyone before.
“Well, it was my passion. I wanted to help people. At first it was interesting and I liked rescuing people and helping them, I made friends with my crew members and we had a good thing going on. I liked rescuing people and helping them, but as time went on things got more intense and very dark.” I pause.
“What do you mean?”
I sigh and begin. “You know when you are playing with fire, things are bound to get heated and dangerous. There was time when the crew and I went to put out fire in an apartment building. We got rid of most of it except the 9thfloor. It was burning a lot and it was getting out of control each passing moment. The people we rescued told us that a woman and her cat were stuck in that floor. My crewmate and friend, Jackson says he would approach the floor and see if he can rescue them somehow. I knew it was a risky thing and not a one man job, so I decide to accompany him.
Using two ladder trucks, we both approach the floor. I use the water to put the fire down, but it doesn’t go down thateasily. More and more flames are igniting, and just then we hear screams from inside. I look over at Jackson, and he nods at me. I thought he meant to increase the water pressure, but instead he goes inside through the window.”
I pause before I say anything else. I look over at Ami and she is attentively listening to everything I am saying. I don’t know how to say the rest of it. I try to gather some courage. Ami places her hands on mine and gives it a gentle squeeze. “It’s okay if you can’t tell.” She gives me a reassuring nod. And that gives me enough strength to finish this story.
“I scream ‘JACKSON!’ but he is already gone inside. I try to see through the flames, but I can’t see anything and then few minutes later, he hands me the woman and her cat. I take a deep breath and scold him a little for risking his life like this. I turn to pass down the woman and the cat and go back to get Jackson. I don’t see him anywhere, I call his name, but he doesn’t respond. I call other men to help me put down the fire and after half an hour we get control. I go inside the 9thfloor to look for him and there is no sign of him. I look around and I come across his necklace that he used to wear; his girlfriend had gifted it to him. All that…” My voice cracks as I try to speak. Ami puts her arm around me. “All that was left of him was the necklace.” I finally say it out loud. “I lost my buddy.”
Just as I say that tears come rolling out of my eyes as Ami hugs me. I feel comfort in her arms, and it feels nice to finally let it all out. I feel so light. “I am so sorry that you had to go through all that. It must have been so hard for you. You are so strong and brave. I can’t believe what you had to bear.” She speaks to me in such a soft comforting voice, and I know I can finally be my true self around her.
“You know as a firefighter you get to see a lot of disturbing things, but that was the thing that broke me. No sign of my friend, just his necklace left behind. Later they found remains,but that’s all.” I wipe my tears and take a deep breath as I tell her this.
“I can’t begin to imagine how hard it must have been for you to deal with that. I don’t even know what to say, I’m just so sorry that you had to deal with such grief,” she says, squeezing my arm gently.
“Trust me, you don’t have to say anything. You listening and comforting me is enough for me. I finally feel so much better now that I have told someone this, especially you.” I tell her.
“I am glad that you trusted me with this,” she answers.
“Are you kidding? I trust you with my life,” I tell her and she smiles at me.
This moment right here with her, a quiet and peaceful night, us sitting on a bench under a streetlamp, this moment is everything to me. I want to stay in it forever.
“That’s a very big risk you take with your life mister,” she teases me.
“Well, it is a risk I’m willing to take because what I get in return is worth every risk.”
“And what is it that you get in return?”
“Taking care of my community, for one. But even better … You. Your support. Your company. That is enough for me.” I tell her what I feel. I want to lay my heart out in front of her, but I control myself because this might not be the right moment. I am already feeling very vulnerable, and I might misjudge things and that can ruin this moment too. So, I hold myself back.
She smiles shyly and looks at me. “I can say the same thing for myself.”
I smile and get close to her. I want to kiss her right here right now.Is she feeling the same way? Was the kiss at the beach a fluke or is it something she wants again? I think she does, but I’m just not sure.
“It’s getting late, Aunt Maggie must be waiting for me. I should head home now, and you should too,” she says as she gets up. And the moment is gone just like that. But I’m just happy that it is forever going to be engraved in my memory.
