Page 13 of Spark
“Agreed. Cold ones are fun when it’s ninety degrees outside, but I missed bubble baths. Now if only we could get internet back up and running.”
I try not to think about Avery naked and covered in bubbles. I try and fail. “They still haven’t gotten yours fixed?”
Avery smiles sadly. “No, and they said it could be months, but I guess that’s to be expected. Data is working faster on our phones and tablets, but they throttle it in the evenings, so everything runs as slow as a turtle.”
“You know you can always come to my place. Mine is back up.” And maybe I like the thought of her, the baby and even Grandma Rosie with me doing things like the dishes and watching her grandma’s trash T.V.
At this, she pauses gathering the dishes from lunch. “Thank you. That’s nice of you to offer.”
“It’s no problem. I’m hardly ever there anyway.”
“Is the fire department still going door to door?”
That’s not the reason I’m never there. It’s because I can’t stand the quiet. It’s why I’m always here when I’m not working or training. “Not so much anymore.” Gracie coos and gnaws on a teether in my lap. Avery says I’m crazy, but I’m almost positive she’s going to be popping out some teeth soon. “We’re mostly working on a volunteer basis to get more roads cleared out. When do you go back to work?”
“Monday, unfortunately. I’ve been enjoying the time off to spend with Gracie and Grandma Rosie, but with the restaurant opening back up—finally—I can’t put it off anymore. They won’t hold off on demanding payment on bills forever. I just hate that I have to send Gracie girl back to daycare.”
Studying the baby in my arms, I find myself saying, “Why don’t you let me watch her?”
Avery pauses in drying a plate. “Really? You want to do that?”
“If you don’t mind. I think it’d probably be a good idea for us to spend some more time together. You work the evenings, right?” At her nod, I say, “That’s perfect. I can switch around for the day shift and watch Gracie at night when you work.”
At her look, I say, “What?”
“Are you sure? I can’t imagine you dealing with diapers and bottles all day.”
“And you know me so well,” I say and she pauses for a minute before realizing I’m teasing.
“Ha, ha, very funny,” she says and flings a handful of soap bubbles at me. “I mean you do know infant CPR, so that’s a plus.”
“Then what is it?” I ask.
“I guess I’m realizing that you were serious when you said you wanted to make this work. I figured you’d get bored after a while and need some action.” At my lifted brow, she says, “Not that kind of action. I mean like a burning building or a pileup or something.”
“You make me out to be more of a daredevil than I am.”
“Right so jumping out of planes isn’t because you like the adrenaline. Then why do you do it?”
I lift a shoulder. “Why do people do anything? I guess it started with a morbid fascination after my brother was killed in a fire and grew from there. Fighting fires is something I can control, believe it or not. It’s the rest of the world that goes a little mad sometimes.”
“You don’t miss it?”
“You mean to imply that a category five hurricane isn’t enough action for me?”
She leans against the counter, all hips and dark hair that tumbles down her shoulders. “Touché I guess. What time works for you?”
* * *
Babies aren’t as easy as they look. Sure, they sleep most of the time, but they spend a good portion of the rest of it crying. Give me a fire any day and I can take charge and get it put out, but a crying baby? May as well be the world’s most complicated Sudoku.
“C’mon, girl. What’s wrong?” I check her diaper. Still clean and dry. She just had a bottle not five minutes ago and I’ve bounced and rocked her so much my arms ache—and I’m used to carrying rucksacks that weigh upward of fifty pounds on a light day. “You can’t be hungry. You aren’t sick, are you?”
That would go over well with Avery, I’m sure. The first day back at work and I tap out because the baby has a cold. I press my hand against Gracie’s forehead. She’s warm, but not hot. She drools on my hand and I wipe it away.
“Don’t worry, girl. I won’t take offense.”
Her gummy smile reminds me of my thought about her teething. I grab a piece of ice and put it in a clean rag for her to suck on. It’s like magic. In an instant, she stops crying and goes to town gnawing on the cold rag. Avery is going to flip her shit.Babies aren’t supposed to get teeth this earlymy ass.