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19
“The horizon is orange,” Gretchen said, unable to stop herself.
“The trucks are ahead of us,” Will said beside her. She couldn’t see him, though the glow from the dashboard illuminated his features. All Gretchen could feel or see was darkness. Darkness everywhere—except where the horizon glowed orange.
She’d never get Jon’s frantic voice out of her head, and she’d never forgive herself for taking a day off if she lost the candy shop completely.
Will pushed the truck faster, and the orange on the skyline decreased. When they finally arrived, the fire engines had the whole building illuminated with strong spotlights, and smoke rose from the back of it.
Will turned, seemingly on two wheels, and he’d barely stopped in front of the shop before she jumped from the truck.
Jon stood on the front sidewalk with Jewel-Li, the woman who’d been working the front of the shop that afternoon.
Evening, Gretchen thought, surprised she had room for the thought in her mind.
“Jon,” she said, and he turned. His eyes widened, and he released Jewel-Li and grabbed onto her.
“I called as soon as I hung up with nine-one-one,” he said. “It was a sugar fire. I’m so sorry, Gretchen.”
“It’s fine,” she said automatically. “Were there any customers in the shop?”
“Just one,” Jewel-Li said, and Gretchen stepped away from Jon. “They left already. We’ve been out here maybe fifteen minutes. They got here really fast.”
Will came up beside Gretchen, and she moved further from Jon to take his hand.
“The fire is out,” Jon said. “But it’s still smoking.”
“Will someone come talk to me?” Gretchen asked. She’d never been involved in a fire.
“We should go around back,” Will suggested, and Gretchen stepped with him, because she didn’t have the gumption or strength to resist.
Thankfully, Will possessed the courage and ability to get her around to the back of the building, where the candy kitchen looked like someone had smeared dusty tar all over the clawed-out walls and roof.
She gasped, and her feet froze.
“Come on,” Will said, tugging on her hand. “We have to talk to someone.”
Gretchen let herself cry, because she’d only been at the helm of Sweet Water Taffy for eight months, and it had caught fire on the one day she hadn’t come into work.
What would she tell Aunt Patty? How could she reclaim this and start over? It felt impossible and utterly overwhelming and like the very universe itself was pressing down on her with all of its galactic weight.
She let Will lead her toward a woman standing near the fire engine, barking commands at a couple of firefighters.
She let him ask her if the fire was out now. Yes, it seemed to be, but they were still checking for hot spots.
If they could go inside yet.
No, not yet.
What to do once the fire was out and the sun rose tomorrow.
The fire chief looked at Gretchen then, but she could only grip Will’s hand and wait for the answer.
“I’d call a restoration company,” she said. “Your landlord, if you don’t own the building. Find out what’s still structurally sound, and what is lost. Then, you can decide from there.” She turned as someone yelled, and Will backed Gretchen out of the way.
They stayed until the last of the smoke wisped into the sky, until the fire engines left, and until Gretchen felt sure she couldn’t cry another tear. Will never left her side, and he took care of Jon and Jewel-Li too.
He put her in the passenger seat, and Gretchen stared out her window and into darkness as he drove back to her house. They hadn’t gotten dinner, and her stomach felt as empty as her heart.
