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“Thank you, sir,” he said, nodding.
Within an hour, he was finished polishing the brass. Everyone was upstairs, the smells of dinner wafting down, along with the drone of the television on some popular sitcom.
As directed, he went into Charlie’s office and shut the door. Charlie’s chair was pushed under the desk, foreboding to a rookie even though as a child he’d sat there when preceding chiefs had occupied that office.
The only thing he could think that the summons might stem from was an unpaid parking ticket or two that he’d gotten while partying downtown. But the envelope had an LA county seal, which further confused him. He’d never gotten a parking ticket in Los Angeles that he could remember.
So, standing under the dim ceiling light, he carefully opened the sealed envelope. It made no sense to him at all. Someone was suing him for child support.
“They got the wrong guy,” he mumbled, beginning to read.
When he got to the complainant, not recognizing the name brought a zinger to his head.Christina Marlin.Closing his eyes, he racked his brain, trying to remember who Christina Marlin was. Nothing. Continuing to read, he came to the vital statistics.A baby girl had been born to Christina Marlin and Leonardo Saint on September 15th.
“Huh?”
Scrunching his eyes closed, he tried to think. It took nine months for a baby to be born, right? He wasn’t sure. Then, like a bucket of hot mud had been poured over him, he remembered.San Pedro. Tina Marlin.
“Oh, shit,” he said, looking up at the ceiling.
His oldest brother, Joey, was on duty that night. The wisest of the brothers, he’d ask him for advice. The reality of the baby hadn’t sunk in yet, only the girl, thewoman, in his head. Why was she involving him? They’d barely spoken to each other, at least as far as he could remember.
After showering, he came into the lounge and was greeted by all the firefighters sitting around and resting up in case they had to go out again. A few were reading, and some had disappeared into the bunk room to sleep.
“Your dinner is dished up in the fridge. Just heat it in the microwave,” Joey instructed, looking over his shoulder.
“You got a minute?” Leon asked.
Joey got up and joined him behind the counter. “What’s up?”
“Read this,” he said, looking around furtively. “Not out loud.”
He did so, his lips moving as he read the words. “Whoa, bro.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said. What should I do?”
“Who’s the girl?”
Explaining what he could remember of the situation, Leon didn’t hold back.
“If you’re not sure about being the father, ask for a paternity test,” Joey replied. “I’m surprised they aren’t offering that option. In the meantime, you need a lawyer. Dad will know of someone.”
“I have to tell him? No way.”
“You should, Leon. Ease them into it. If you have a child, you’ll want their help. If it’s a false alarm, you’re an adult man.”
“Ugh.”
“Ha! Tell me about it.”
He filed the summons away until his three-day shift was complete. Joey was right, as usual. Because Leon still lived at home with his mother, Roberta and Big Mike, he needed to be straight up with them. He might have a kid that would have to live there with them from time to time.
“Oh, Lenny,” Roberta cried. “No! What if she’s a crappy parent? You don’t know the girl, correct? Oh God, this is just awful.”
“Give the kid a break,” Big Mike grumbled.
“I will not! If he’s a father, that means we’re grandparents again, and I want to be involved in the kid’s life. You’d better step it up, kiddo,” she cried.
“I will, Ma. Let me find out if he’s really mine first, okay? Pop, do you know a lawyer?”
