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“Me.” Mavis winced, then heaved out a heavy sigh. The three of us stood shoulder to shoulder, watching as the firefighters struggled to contain the fire that had grown larger since the collapse of the wall. “Normally, I wouldn’t have been home. I was supposed to be at a friend’s house…a baby shower. But I wasn’t feeling well, so I... well...” Her words trailed off and she shot James a look.
“Anyway, I was in my kitchen and I thought I saw smoke inyourkitchen.” Mavis tried to laugh. It came out sounding more like a sob. “If it wasmykitchen full of smoke, that’d make sense, but you aren’t the kind who ruins a pot just by boiling water.”
Tears spilled as I reached for her. She shook her head and held up a hand.
“No. No hugs or I’ll start bawling, for real.” She swiped at the tears running down her cheeks. “I ran over there—pounded on the door. It was already hot. From the front porch, I could see in…I could see the fire, Tina!”
She sniffed, then her voice settled. “I broke the glass on the window next to the door, and reached in…” As she spoke, she rubbed her arm.
I looked down and saw the bandage. “Oh, Mavis. You hurt yourself.”
“Just a little,” she said. “I’ll have my boss look at it this week, so don’t fuss.”
She bit her lip and looked away.
“Mavis?”
“The fire got worse soon as I broke that window.” She swiped at the tears again. “Tony is talking to the cops…he’s not on shift now. He pulled into the driveway about the time I broke the window and came running up—saw the smoke pouring out. He grabbed me before I could do anything else. But I was so scared you might be inside…”
I hugged her. “Thank you.”
“Tina!”
Dina’s voice rang out in my ears, and I turned. She pushed through the people gathered at the edge of the cordoned area, but an officer stopped her from lifting the tape to get to me.
I ran to her, James following close behind.
As I caught her in my arms, James spoke to the cop, his tone low.
“I was so scared,” Dina said, her voice a whisper in my ear. “Tina, I called and called and you never answered…I don’t know what I would have done if you’d been inside…I’m so sorry, I’ve been a bitch. I’m so sorry…”
“Shhhh…” Hugging her as tightly as she hugged me, I closed my eyes. “It’s okay. It’s okay…”
The heat of the fire reached us even from yards away and we trembled, clinging to the other.
Finally, we peeled apart, and I met Dina’s eyes, so similar to my own. Offering a weak smile, I said, “Not the way I wanted for us to make up, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.” She sniffed and made another attempt to dry her mascara-stained eyes.
“Tina.”
Hearing Ned’s soft voice, I turned to hug my brother-in-law.
“Thank God you’re safe,” he said as we broke apart. He glanced past me and I turned to see James standing there, eyes on the fire and arms crossed over his chest as he left me to my family.
“James.”
He looked at me and came over only after I nodded toward my family.
I made brief introductions, shooting a glance toward the fire every few seconds. Then Dina surprised me and gave James a fierce hug. He looked stunned, although he hid the emotion quickly.
“Thank you, James,” Dina said. She stepped back and looked him in the eye. “If Tina hadn’t been with you tonight…” Her voice broke on the last words and she tucked her chin to her chest.
“No thanks needed.” James put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, then stepped away so Ned could pull her into his arms.
James came to me and did the same, but he tugged me against him with my back to his chest, so I could look at my home.
“How could this have happened?” I asked softly.