Christian
Iplanned to chill in the house all day and sleep the day away, but Angel invited me over. The twenty-four-hour shift that I just finished was one of the most difficult ones, and I had decided to hide away from the world.
Angel had texted me throughout the day yesterday, and she had seen some of it on the news. She called and invited me over early this morning if I was up to it.
I watched as she moved around the kitchen expertly. I always loved the way she managed to make everything look so easy as she cooked and cleaned while she went. It was something most people took for granted, but whenever she and Jeremiah hosted events, she was always busy making sure everyone was taken care of.
I played with Belle in her high chair while feeding her the gourmet baby food that Angel prepared.
“That’s a good baby,” I declared after I pulled the spoon free from her mouth. The roasted carrot and asparagus mixture smelled delicious, and she seemed to like it. Her little chubby cheeks worked up and down as she gummed her food.
I scooped another spoonful and fed her the last little bit as Angel placed my plate before me at the island. “Here you go, babe.”
I turned away from the high chair as Angel cleaned the stove and counters. She sang a few Christmas tunes while she worked, and her beautiful voice soothed my nerves. I tucked into my pecan cinnamon waffles with the baked apple topping as I became lost in my thoughts about my shift.
“Chris? Chris? Chris!”
I pulled my eyes from my plate. I noticed that I had eaten one waffle, and the other one—I was just pushing slices of it around on the plate. “Yeah?”
“I’ve been talking to you and calling your name for the last few seconds. Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Talk to me, babe.”
“No one should have to go through that, Angel. Kids and elderly people are left without homes at Christmas time. All these kids have nothing, let alone any toys, for Christmas Day. Then there’s the elderly and the sick. What are they supposed to do? It’s too cold out here to be trying to figure it all out.”
“I’m sure there are resources to help them.”
“There are, but you can’t get back those memories, babe. Not to mention all the red tape.”
“How did it start?”
“Faulty wiring. Apparently, the man whose house it started in had been reporting issues to the landlord for a while, and they promised they would send someone in to check on it, but they never did. Now, because of the landlord’s negligence, that man and thirty other residents are without homes, and people have suffered injuries needlessly.”
It was hard for me to erase the sad faces from my mind, and the sound of crying children and babies. My last twenty-four hours had been steeped in the hopelessness of those residents.
“Was the man whose house it started in injured badly?” Angel asked, wiping the counter down.
“Luckily, he wasn’t at home at the time. Someone said that he was away with his daughter and her family for dinner. The worst part of all that is the little four-year-old boy who suffered bad injuries in the fire. Angel, this baby was suffering from pain, and all he wanted to know was if his little sister still had all her toys for Christmas. She was just two.”
“Aww, that’s so precious and so heartbreaking. Was she okay?”
“Yeah, she was sleeping in her mother’s bed on the other side of the apartment. His bedroom was closer to the apartment where the fire started. It’s a miracle that he survived. I just pray that he’ll be okay as he goes through countless surgeries.”
She set the dishcloth aside and washed her hands.
“God, that is so devastating. I’ll be praying for them.”
“I swear, I don’t even know why I still do this job sometimes, Angel. It’s hard to do it on a normal day, let alone during the holidays. It doesn’t feel like I’m making a difference.”
Angel sat beside me and swiveled her stool to face me. “Look at me, Chris.” I turned to her, and she grabbed my hands. “You’re making a difference in so many people’s lives. Why did you choose that field, baby?”
“Because my father and uncles were firefighters, and so is Nicholas, and Josh is an ER RN. I wanted to give back, impact the community, and help the victims in a more hands-on approach, so I chose to become a paramedic instead of a firefighter.”
“You are helping people and literally saving lives.” She pointed at Belle asleep in her high chair. “My baby wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”
“I didn’t do all that.”
