“Less than forty-eight hours ago, our town’s fire department welcomed the first female onto the team. While I initially advised against such a move, my advice was ignored. It remains to be seen how things go from here. We can only hope from here on out that it was the right decision for this town.”
I turned up the volume on the TV, eyes narrowed as Mayor Jensen spoke in front of the camera, seeming to look directly at me.
“Bullshit,” I said, willing myself not to throw the remote at the TV. “He hates that I’m there. The whole town does.”
“How do you feel about a female being in the men’s department?” a nosey, small-town reporter asked. There was hesitation from the mayor, and my hands automatically clenched around the remote.
“That’s to be determined,” he said finally. “I can’t say for sure so soon. I guess we’ll see how it goes. That’s all we can do, right?”
“What a douche.” I muted the TV and plopped down next to Jeremy on the couch. “If Mayor Jensen doesn’t approve of me, neither will his narrow-minded, small-town cult followers.”
“Did you expect anything less?” Jeremy asked. He didn’t look up from his laptop but continued to type away, keys clacking beneath his fingers as he typed lecture notes for his next class at ESU.
“I had hoped for a little respect.” I tossed the remote aside and scowled at the TV, itching to reach my hand through the screen so I could strangle the mayor. Raising the glass of red wine to my lips, I took a sip and leaned my head back to stare at the ceiling.
“We live in a small town, baby,” said Jeremy. “You knew you didn’t have support even before you applied.”
My head lolled to the side to look at him, and suddenly it was my fiancé I wanted to strangle instead. That seemed to be a common occurrence recently.
“We live in Colorado, Jer! This isn’t Alabama. I guess I hoped that making it would change people’s minds. Empower the women in this shitty town to go for what they want, despite the media telling them otherwise.”
“These people are stuck in their beliefs. We’re living in the 18thcentury here, Paisley. If you wanted so badly to be a fireman—”
“Firefighter.”
“—then you should have applied for Denver EMS instead.”
“Right.” I reached for the remote again, clicked off the TV, and closed my eyes, trying to eliminate the incoming headache. I’d been so quick to get away from the department after my first shift, but I realized that being home wasn’t much better. “These people need to get the hell over it. I’m still me. I’m still the girl they all know and love. That hasn’t changed.”
“Yeah, but now you’re a hussy.” I scowled at him, fingers twitching with the desire to wrap around his neck and throttle him. He finally looked up from his computer, pushing his glasses back in place. “According to them, anyway,” he added quickly, but the damage was already done.
“Thanks, Jer.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. I’m a whore for wanting to do my job.”
“P.” Jeremy shook his head and removed his glasses, rubbing his eyelids with the tips of his fingers. When he opened them again, he looked at me, and I could see the evident disappointment in his eyes. “You can do whatever you want to do, sweetheart. Just don’t expect to change people’s morals or beliefs along with it.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, as always, but Jeremy cut me off before I could speak.
“Your mom called here earlier looking for you. Maybe you should give her a callback?” he said, and I glared at him.
“What a great idea. I can’t wait to hear how much of a disappointment she thinks I am. Maybe if I’m lucky, my father will also put his two cents in.” I pulled out my cell phone and went to the kitchen to pour another glass of wine, holding up the near-empty bottle. “We have more of this, right?”
Jeremy ignored me as I filled a glass halfway and dialed my parent’s number, holding the phone steady between my ear and shoulder, readying myself for whatever shit storm was about to come next.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Mama.” I took a long swig of the wine, wishing I’d started drinking earlier than this. There was a long sigh on the other end of the line, and I could almost see my mother rolling her eyes in shame.
“It’s good to hear your voice, sweetie,” she said, her sugary voice sweet.Toosweet. “I’m glad you finally called.”
“You have my number.” I corked the wine bottle and sat back on the couch, propping my feet on the coffee table. Jeremy shifted on the couch, annoyed that I’d interrupted his laptop scrolling. I heard my dad’s voice in the background on the other end of the line, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying, which was probably a good thing.
“Your father sends his love,” Mom said, and I knew she was full of shit right away.
“Does he?” I asked. “Then put him on the phone, so he can tell me himself.”
