I was thrilled when she broke up with him, as he seemed to have no ambition and also put her own plans and goals down, but I’d tried to hold my tongue as much as possible. I hadn’t always been successful and for a while, we hadn’t been as close.Then I’d been vocal about not thinking her moving here was a good idea.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I was clearly wrong about moving here.”
“Yes,” she said, setting the flowers on a table in front of her comfortable couch. “But you were right about Jared. I know you and Mom and Dad were worried about me investing in a diner in a small town. But I know what I’m doing. Just like I know you know what you’re doing dating two guys at once.”
“Thank you,” I said. “And I’m not sure I do know what I’m doing. But I like them.”
She nodded. “They seem like nice guys. Greg is harder to know, as he seems quiet and kind of intimidating. But I know they do a lot of good in the town. I haven’t heard bad things about either of them.”
I thought about Greg losing his mother when he was 12, and wondered if that was why he was quiet.
“I won’t even ask too much about what making out with two guys is like,” she said.
I shook my head. “Good. Because it was so hot I wouldn’t even know how to describe it.”
***
The smell of flowers permeated the entire first floor of Carolina’s townhome as I hurried to get ready for my first shift the next day. Both men had sent me good luck texts, which I appreciated. We’d made a plan to see each other the next night, but I wanted to focus on the job first.
Being a proby was usually the domain of firefighters, but no one ever really knew how new team members would be treated in a station.
“Conshon.” By the time my name was called in roll, I’d said hi or exchanged smiles with most of the team members there. I’d been pleasantly surprised by the diverse group, in age and appearance.
One of the paramedics had shown me where my uniform was, and where I could order spare gear. The polyester outfit was familiar from ride alongs in school, but this time I wasn’t wearing a “student” tag.
“Here.”
“You’ll be shadowing the team on the medic tonight.”
Even before the Captain who’d interviewed me, Rhonda’s cousin finished speaking, the siren sounded.
“Let’s roll.”
I grinned as I raced after the paramedics.
***
Four hours later, we’d gone on three calls and were back at the station eating hastily heated lasagna one of the fireman prepared. It was amazing, and I said so.
“Cooking schedule is on the board,” the older man who had cooked said with a smile.
I would have to get Carolina to give me lessons, or maybe to help me cater, I thought, at least at first.
I’d barely swallowed my portion when the siren rang again.
“We are usually quiet on Fridays, newbie,” O’Fallon, the Paramedic Supervisor said to me.
“Really?”
“No,” he said with a grin. “Let’s roll.”
That call took three hours as we dealt with the aftermath of a bar fight with glass injuries. It was a multi unit call, and police officers had been injured as well.
By the time we finally got time in our bunks, I lay fully clothed, aching and wondering if I could do this. Four hours of sleep gave me enough energy to go to the next call.
***
“Still happy your boyfriends helped you get this job?” An older man with a thicker build said as he came in for the next shift said as I sat on the bench, trying to remember if I had all my gear to go home.
