Page 7 of Embers of Love

They eventually ended their call. Josephine went back to her normal routine, but her friend’s words never left her mind. It snuck up on her in moments she didn’t expect, right in the middle of work, on her way home, early in the morning when she got up. The thought was like an insistent child that didn’t know when to stop. Even though Becky never spoke about it again since that day, she never stopped considering it. Eventually, Josephine found herself applying for Head of Hospital at Phoenix Ridge and tendering her resignation letter at the exclusive hospital she worked at.

It had all happened so fast. She quit her job at the hospital, packed up her things, and had them safely kept in a storage unit.

She gave Becky Thompson a call while she was at the airport, minutes away from boarding the plane to Phoenix Ridge.

“What?!”

It sounded like she had caught the chief at a bad time.

“I’m getting on a flight to Phoenix Ridge,” Josephine squeaked. She knew it was on short notice, but she wanted to do it before she got the chance to talk herself out of it.

“I should be there in six hours. Can you pick me up at the airport?”

“Well…uh…wow! Screw it! I’ll be there!” Becky sounded equally exasperated and excited. Josephine had that effect on people.

True to her word, Becky was at the airport to pick her up. She was still dressed in her fire chief uniform, looking sharp and businesslike, but her rigid face broke into a wide smile the moment Josephine walked into her view. Josephine found herself smiling too, the knot in her stomach unraveled. Perhaps this wasn’t such a bad move after all.

“Sorry for bothering you,” Josephine apologized. “I didn’t want to give myself time to chicken out.”

“I understand,” Becky smiled. It was a nice contrast to the severe bun in her reddish blonde hair. “But how does your partner feel about all of this?”

“Oh,” Josephine looked away, staring out at the rugged expanse outside the window. That was a rare sight in New York. The city was so densely packed, even though she got to travel from time to time, it was often from city to city. The outskirts of Phoenix Ridge looked unforgiving but there was a certain beauty to it.

“Eva and I broke up. Sorry I didn’t tell you.”

The last time Josephine and Becky met in person was at the summit. She was with Eva at the time. Things had ended pretty recently, but in reality, their relationship had been dead for years. So, although a big change, there had been nothing dramatic or heart wrenching about their break-up.

Becky cocked her head. “How long has it been since you…?”

“Well, only a month since the official break up, but honestly, we had been living separate lives for a couple of years at least.”

“Wow.”

Josephine sighed and slinked down her seat, trying to hide from the world.

“Hey, hey, don’t get like that. It’s fine. We just need to get you back into the dating pool again. It’ll be easier now that you’re in Phoenix Ridge. A new start and all that!”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to get in another relationship just yet.”

“Fair enough.” Becky nodded. “Well, then you can at least have some fun. A couple of years is a very long time for a dead relationship.”

“Fun?”

“Yeah, dating, just for the fun of it. I know it’s not normally your thing but, well, packing up and leaving New York wouldn’t have been your thing either. Since you’re out here, have some fun!”

“Oh god, I would love to get laid! It has been so long,” Josephine laughed after a brief pause. “But I’m not sure I know how to do that. It’s been so long.”

“That’s why we have dating apps, my dear.” Becky laughed. “The girls at the fire station are always messing around on them. Let’s get one downloaded.”

A couple of days later, Josephine found herself scrolling through a dating website. She’d created a profile using a fake name and an ambiguous photo of herself. For some reason, the thought of somebody she knew stumbling upon her on a dating website terrified her. At least with a different name, she could always deny all knowledge.

“Suzanne is such an obviously fake name,” Becky had jested the day she set up her account.

“Yeah,” Josephine shrugged. “Doctor Josephine Mars sounds even more fake, though. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

Josephine ignored most of the matches she got. Some of them looked like men hiding under women’s profiles. Even she could spot these types in spite of her relative inexperience. In the end, only one person caught her attention. Emma 35. Emma had tousled reddish blonde hair and a wild look in her strong brown eyes. Emma was fiercely attractive.

And before she could stop herself, her fingers were dropping Emma a message.

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