Page 66 of Sleeping with the Frenemy

“I wasn’t sure if dogs were allowed here, so I left him with my mom and Abuela Fina.” She gave him a look to signify that it was his turn to explain.

“I thought we could have a picnic.” He held up the basket.

“But why?” she asked.

“I’ll explain, but let’s set up first.” He led her to a grassy spot in front of the pavilion and put down the basket.

“I hear that they do different types of workouts here in the mornings,” she said. “I was planning to take advantage when I moved back since my apartment would’ve been close, but now it feels like too much of a trek.”

“We can still do it.” He opened the basket and pulled out the dark blue blanket he’d bought specifically for their picnic.

Together they spread the blanket and sat. Leo began taking everything he’d prepared at Ahmad’s house out of the basket. There were different dried fruits, cheeses, meats, olives, nuts, crackers, jams, a baguette that he’d sliced into thin ovals, and of course chocolate bonbons with caramel filling and sprinkles of sea salt on top.

Sofi looked impressed. “Look at you pulling out the big guns.”

He smiled. “What, you think only the French can do these sharkcoochie boards right?”

Sofi laughed. “First of all, it’scharcuterie.” She emphasized the correct pronunciation. “Secondly, this is too much. You already made me margaritas; you don’t have to ply me with wine too.”

“Hey, I need to use what I have,” he replied with a shrug. “I should have it all set up in a minute.”

Sofi watch him work in silence for a moment. “Okay,” she said when he pulled out a bottle of French wine and two stemmed glasses. “Now you really do need to explain yourself. What is all this?”

“I wanted to celebrate,” he said. He opened the wine and put it to the side to let it breathe.

“Celebrate what?”

Leo took a deep breath and released it.Here we go.“I’ve been training in order to take the CFD physical exam, so that I can be an active firefighter again. Today I blew through the practice drills without any issues, so that means that I’m finally ready to take the real thing.”

“Wow,” she said. “I didn’t know that was even possible. I just figured it was one of those things that when you were done, you were done.”

Leo shook his head. “No way. Firefighters get injured all the time and sometimes it takes them a while to get back in shape, but if they can prove they can still do the job, they’re welcomed back.”

“Is that why you didn’t quit? So you could go back eventually?”

“Yes, but also because I needed the health insurance, so I had to accept the desk job.”

“But you don’t want to keep the desk job,” she concluded.

“Hell no. I hate it.”

“How come you don’t go back as an EMT?”

“I tried,” he confessed. “Being around all the real action and not being able to help the way I used to was too hard. I felt myself shutting down, falling deeper into a dark place. When I started wishing the bullet had just ended it for me, I knew I needed to make a change. I wasn’t going to let myself get worse. So I called my psychiatrist and set up an emergency session. I decided after that to accept the desk job at least until I could go back for real.”

Sofi’s eyes were wide. “You miss it that much?”

“Every day.”

She tilted her head as if trying to figure something out. “Why is being a firefighter so important to you?”

“When I was thirteen, we had a kitchen fire at El Coquí. I don’t remember how it started but I remember being in the office ignoring Eddie as he tutored me in math. All of a sudden we heard shouting and we went running. There were huge flames all over the kitchen and the heat was intense. My mom and Kamilah were dragging my abuela out the back door. My dad and Abuelo Papo were leading people out the front door. Papi saw me and Eddie standing there and told us to get our asses outside, but before we could move the firefighters burst in the front and back doors. It was like watching superheroes descend on a villain. They led us outside, so I didn’t get to actually see them put out the fire, but when we were allowed back in I remember being stunned that the damage wasn’t worse. Abuela and my mom were crying all over them, thanking them for saving the place, and they acted like it was no big deal. ‘We were just doing our job,’ one of them said. After that Abuela told them that they were forever going to eat for free at El Coquí. They took her up on it too. It seemed like there were always firefighters around and they were cool. They answered all of my questions and didn’t make me feel like a dork for basically following them around like an overeager puppy.”

She smiled at his description. “And that was it? You decided to become a firefighter then?”

“Yeah. Pretty much. There was never another path for me.” Until he’d been ripped off that path and dropped in a whole new setting. But he was working his way back and that was what mattered. “When I was younger I worried that I’d never find the right fit for me because I hated school and was shit at remembering to do things. I struggled so much that I couldn’t even imagine a job that I could actually do. But something about being a firefighter has always just worked. It’s like something in my brain just clicks and everything falls into place. The only other time that happens is with music.”

“How come you never pursued that? With Gio’s connections I’m sure you would’ve had some fantastic opportunities.”

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