Page 35 of Fire

I can see it in her eyes. In her mind, Micah’s fully outfitted in a costume, and she’s found a new superhero to idolize. My imagination happily jumps on the suggestion and does the same, painting him in a skintight outfit that hugs his muscular chest and shoulders, carving out the ridges of his abs and cupping his goods. The image is breathtaking. Grandma would be proud.

“I was just doing my job.” Micah folds his arms over his chest, which only makes his pecs look bigger. “There were two other firefighters who stayed in your room and fought the fire plus the EMTs who gave you oxygen and made sure you weren’t hurt. They’re all pretty special too. Way more than me.”

Nell’s not having it. “Yeah, but you carried her out in your arms, then went right back inside, just like a movie! I even drew pictures of it and everyone in my class said you’re a hero, even Giuseppe DiSanto and he thinks he’s cooler than anyone, no matter what.”

Micah shoots me a smile as he reaches into the trunk and swings our bags onto his shoulder, Nell’s energy brightening his mood the way it does mine. She chatters happily with him as he leads us up the steps and into the house. The first floor is an open space, with a cook’s kitchen, a man’s entertainment system, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the water.

“Woah…” Nell runs to the windows, pressing both hands and her whole face to the glass.

I whisper an apology to Micah, but he waves it away as his smile grows. “She’s pretty awesome,” he whispers in return.

“There’s a big deck thing out there! And a pool!” Nell turns, hopping and skipping in excitement. “I can’t wait to see my room.”

Micah grimaces. “Now see, the room might be more of a letdown. I thought you’d have more…” He runs a hand through his hair. “More girly stuff to decorate with.”

Well, hell. I probably should have warned him that “girly” is synonymous with “stupid” when it comes to Nell.

She gives him a scathing look. “What, like pink and rainbows and unicorns?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Sensing danger, Micah turns to me for help. “Or, you know, whatever you like.”

“Nell’s more about the superheroes and less about the ballerinas,” I say while Micah bobs his head, as serious as if he’s taking notes for the biggest test of his life.

“I’m all about the action.” Nell peers up a staircase. “Is my bedroom up there?”

“My room’s down here on the first floor,” he points to a door off the kitchen, “but your room’s up—” Nell dashes off while he finishes his sentence. “—stairs.” He turns to me. “She gets cooler the more I know her,” he says, before chasing after her, his feet thundering up the stairs while I’m left wondering what I got myself into.

Nell’s room is a barely decorated guest room with a gorgeous view of the ocean. The walls are bare and the comforter’s white. There’s a dresser and a nightstand and that’s it. It’s miles better than where she’s been sleeping the last week, but nowhere near what she’s used to back in Seattle. As I enter the room behind Micah, I brace for her special brand of honesty.

We find her happily plopped on a queen-sized bed, staring at the ceiling. “It’s like laying on a bed of clouds,” she says with a sigh.

“Yeah, but there’s nothing in here that says ‘Nell.’” Micah drops her bag onto the floor and crosses his arms, studying the bare walls like it’s the first time he’s seen them.

“What if you color some pictures?” I ask. “We can put them on the wall and then boom. Problem solved. It’ll be a Nell explosion.”

“Do the pictures hafta be pink?” Julian hated Nell’s love of bold colors and forced her into pastels, things he considered appropriate for a little girl.

“They can be whatever you want.” I fight the urge to double-check with Micah. It’s not up to him.

Nell’s grin grows and she leaps to her feet, punching her fists to the ceiling with an exuberant, “Yes!”

Micah turns to me, grinning from ear to ear, obviously falling in love with his daughter. “I might have a better idea,” he says. “What if, and I’m just putting this out there, but what if we went shopping and you could pick out anything you wanted for your room? Toys. Stuff to hang on the wall. Clothes. Obviously, nothing pink or covered in something stupid like bows.” While Nell giggles, he glances at me, actually checking if I’m okay with the idea, but continues before I can get a word in edgewise. “We could even get some ice cream when we’re done.”

I want to tell him it’s not necessary, that we’ve taken advantage of him enough as it is, but Nell is his daughter, and this is the first chance he’s had to take care of her. What right do I have to tell him no?

“Can we, Mama?” She bounces off the bed, doing a funny little dance as she clasps her hands under her chin. “The man did say ice cream.”

Micah turns to me with an almost identical look of wicked excitement. “I did say ice cream.”

Seeing the two of them together is almost more than I can take. I always said Nell is just like her dad, but having it proved right in front of me brings tears to my eyes, warming my heart and making me regret every bad thing I’ve said about him. Thank goodness I never said any of it for Nell to hear.

“I don’t have anything to contribute…”

“Consider it a housewarming gift.”

“Says the man basically giving us his house.”

“Yeah.” Nell hits Micah with a look that says I wasn’t wrong to brace for her special brand of honesty. “You’re not scary like I thought you were. You’re funny. And nice.”

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