Page 49 of Fire

I sit on the edge of one of the beds. “What’s wrong, Mom? What did I do?”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong. You’re a father. And I’m a grandmother. And your dad? He’s a grandpa. And all of that is enough of a surprise, just out of the blue, but then I find out that Ivy and this little angel are living with you. And you didn’t think that was something your dad and I should know?”

Fuck. Of course I forgot to call my parents. And of course someone else decided to open their big mouth and tell them before I did.

I’m going to kill Nathan for blabbing. Or Angela. Or both for good measure.

“It all happened really fast, Mom. I didn’t intentionally keep this from you. I promise.”

“I should hope not! We’re not the kind of family who keeps secrets, Mi. At least I didn’t think we were.”

“We’re not. Like I said, it all happened super fast.” I fill her in on the last several days, shaking my head in disbelief even though I lived the story.

“Wow,” she says when I’m done. “Just…wow.”

“Nell’s really sweet. You’re gonna love her.”

“Nell.” Mom says the name with so much love, I regret not calling her sooner.

“Short for Penelope Michaela Cole.”

“Michaela!” Mom immediately catches the meaning. “Oh, Micah. It’s like a fairy tale. When true love knocks, it keeps knocking until you answer the door.”

“I don’t know, Mom. Ivy’s been through a lot. I’m still adjusting to being a dad. I’m not sure love has anything to do with us anymore. A lot’s changed since we were together.”

For example, we’re just friends now even though I’ve been in love with her for years.

And we agree to one-time things that will forever haunt my fantasies.

“Sure, sure.” Mom says, hearing me and brushing me off in the same breath. “Time is funny, Mi. Sometimes days feel like years and years feel like days. You and Ivy will get to know each other again and I bet it’ll feel like no time has passed for you two.”

“That’s kind of already true.”

“See. True love is knocking.” She’s grinning, I can hear it. Certain Ivy and I will have a whirlwind romance like she did with Dad. “When do we get to meet little Nell? Oh! What’s her favorite dessert? I’ll bake it up and hand deliver it tonight!”

“It might be too soon for that kind of stuff.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, shaking my head. “We haven’t even told her I’m her dad yet.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah. Oh. Like I said, there’s a lot going on. I can’t wait for you to meet Nell, but I want to wait until I can introduce you as her grandma, rather than just my mom.”

“Pshh. Just your mom. It’s been an honor being your mother even when we got called into the principal’s office because you were pole dancing on the playground.”

“Hey. What can I say? I looked up to Dad a lot, okay?”

* * *

Carson pulls the fire truck into the parking lot at Oceanview Elementary like the pro he is, navigating the tight space better than I ever could.

“Man. I hate doing this community outreach bullshit.” He turns to Probie. “Prepare yourself for a shitshow, my friend.”

“What are you talking about?” I turn in my seat, genuinely surprised. “This is one of my favorite parts of the job. How can you think it’s a shitshow?”

“Easy.” Carson slides his sunglasses onto his head. “It smells like cafeteria. The kids are shitty and loud. The seats are small. Everything is questionably sticky, and you have to act like whatever they say is gold or you might accidentally traumatize someone. What’s there to like?”

“The energy. The honesty. The fact that they think we’re fucking superheroes and want high fives and actually care enough to ask questions, stupid or not. I love watching them get enthused because of the lights and the sirens.”

Carson throws an arm on the back of his seat. “Do you love having to scrape the sticky off everything once they’ve toured the truck?”

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