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“I’m sorry. I’m trying to be quiet, but I think it will be a week or two before I’m really used to having another person around this early in the morning,” I replied. “I’m up this early because I have to be at the fire station by six this morning. You can go back to bed. I’m sorry for waking you up.”
She rubbed her eyes, still clearly half-asleep. She was wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants with a gray T-shirt to match thepattern’s secondary colors. Her hair was pulled back into a large French braid, which I assumed was to keep it from knotting up in her sleep from what my own mother did to keep her hair from getting tangled.
“Do you always have to get up so early?”
“Only when I’m here between my work at the ranch and at the fire station,” I replied as I headed back towards my room. “I’ll be quieter.”
I heard her footsteps trailing back to the stairs and then up the stairs. Once I didn’t hear her any longer, I made the decision that I could wash and re-wear the stuff that was left in my bag from the last time I was up at the ranch and call it good. The I could leave immediately after my shift and I wouldn’t need to come home again or make any more noise this morning.
If she wanted to get good sleep, it was imperative that I left the house. And quietly. Thankfully, the door didn’t stick or anything. The only noise it would make when I shut it would be to lock it, but that wouldn’t be loud enough for her to hear from upstairs. I didn’t think so, at least.
I left the house, locking the door behind me to make sure that Jade would at least be safe. But also out of habit. For so many years, I had been the only one here. I’d have to make sure to adjust some of my habits to make sure that I didn’t wake Jade up again. Wasn’t the hallmark of a good roommate who got up so early the ability for them to get up without waking the others up?
I shook my head. Whatever the case, I could leave now.
After the short drive to the fire station, I parked in one of the spots designated for firefighters on duty. Thankfully, it appeared that despite arriving at least a half hour early, I was going to be able to get a good parking spot. One of the men from the last shift must have had to leave early.
I walked in, and to my surprise, I was immediately ribbed about the woman who had moved in with me.
I bit my tongue. If this shift already knew since I had been here the night before last, then my shift certainly knew by now. Firefighters could be gossipy when they didn’t have anything else to do, and it wasn’t unusual for the other crews to stop by and make sure those on duty were doing well. If they needed help because someone was out, that was usually how the spot got filled.
In fact, I had been the one to fill the spot simply by asking if they needed help before because I hadn’t found a rhythm early in my career here.
***
After a long, overnight shift at the fire station, I was ready to head out to the ranch. I got in my truck and let my muscles relax for a moment. We’d had a horrific fire break out in one of the smaller, newer neighborhoods near Lantana, and it had been just… just awful. I was ready to head out to the ranch and forget about the heat and the screams.
The injured people had been rushed to the hospital. I hoped they were okay. I knew from experience that bad burns were some of the most painful injuries you could have.
I turned to see what was in the back of my truck. To my utter shock, the bag I took to the ranch was not in the back. When Jade had come down early yesterday, I must have forgotten to grab my bag from where it sat in my closet. I had just wanted to get away from the awkwardness of having awoken my new roommate and keep her from getting mad at me.
Then again, I supposed I was a little curt with her. Hadn’t meant to be, but it was just my nature. Just because she got the best deal on rent in Lantana didn’t mean I had to be happy about the way she conducted herself around me. Simply because welived in the same house did not mean that we had to be friends, as much as it appeared she wished that was the case.
Groaning, I let my head hit the top of my steering wheel for a moment. If my bag was not in my truck, it was at home. And I’d have to brave whatever Jade had decided to do to make sure that I could get what I needed before going to the ranch.
I took a deep breath. Silently, I prayed that she would be upstairs the entire time I was home so that I could grab what I needed and go before she even realized I had returned.
Unfortunately, since it was now dinner time, there was traffic from everyone going home. The streets were absolutely crowded. Instead of taking just twenty or thirty minutes to get home so that I could grab my bag and head to the ranch tonight, I ended up arriving home about an hour later. A full hour. I made a mental note to text my dad to let him know I’d be delayed tonight.
As I parked in the driveway, I noticed that the second story was completely dark. Instead, the lights from the first floor were on which meant Jade was somewhere downstairs in the common areas. My muscles tensed as I realized there was no way Jade would allow me to leave without conversation now. She was probably making dinner. The mere thought of dinner made my stomach growl, despite a quiet promise to myself to pick something up on the way out to the ranch.
I walked up to the front door and found it unlocked. Not entirely surprising, considering Jade probably ran errands or went out or something. When I walked in, however, I found myself listening to the same kind of pop music that always made me to turn off the radio in the truck. I usually tuned it to a rock station, but there were days it wasn’t playing anything I liked, and I sat silently.
The roar of the stand mixer in the kitchen could be heard over the thumping music, and I simply followed the sounds into the kitchen.
There, I found Jade making cookies, it looked like. She had flour, sugar, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, and more out on the counter with my lonely cookie sheet.
“Jesse! I didn’t think you’d be home until next week.” She washed her hands off quickly and then turned the music down. “Did you forget something? I didn’t think you’d be back until…” she trailed off as if she’d forgotten exactly when I said I’d be back.
“Yes.” I walked out of the kitchen and into my room.
The bag I wanted was sitting on my bed, exactly where I had left it. I could smell the dirty clothes. Driving with those would be awful. I glanced at the clock beside my bed.
It was now just past seven in the evening, and I had a feeling that it would be too difficult to get anyone to stay up to open the gate for me now. Everyone at home was winding down for the night, and there was a slim chance they would even hear their phones ring over the conversation had at dinner.
I had to be honest with myself. I should just wait to go to the ranch until tomorrow morning.
With a sigh of defeat, I dumped the clothes into the laundry hamper that sat mainly for show in my room. I took a quick shower to wash the smell of smoke and fire off my skin, and then threw in the clothes I had been wearing underneath my firefighter gear.
