I let out a little yelp at the interruption, not having realized that I left my door cracked open. Twisting around from where I’m hunched on the linoleum floor, my first thought is that I’vejumped right off the deep end into psychosis because… did they shrink one of the firefighters?
Except, no, that’s definitely a child.
A little boy, maybe six or seven years old. He has big blue eyes and hair so light blond that it’s practically white. When all I can do is gape at him in surprise, he shuffles his feet, and I look down to see he’s wearing Spiderman sneakers with light-up soles.
He’s adorable, of course, but what on earth is a kid doing at a fire station?
“Hi there.” I quickly fix my deranged expression into a smile. “You startled me!”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I just wasn’t expecting visitors.”
He gazes around the room as the door drifts open a few more inches, then points to the disaster zone around me. “What’s all that stuff?”
“Homework. Really complicated homework.”
“Oh. I have homework sometimes, too. I didn’t know adults had homework, though.”
“I know, right? So annoying.”
“My daddy doesn’t get homework. He must have nice teachers.”
“Totally. Um, and who might your daddy be?”
The little boy smiles. “He works here. He’s a paralegal.”
“A what?”
“A paralegal. He fixes the hurt people.”
“A paramedic, you mean.”
He furrows his brow. “No, it’s called a paralegal.”
“Totally.”
“My daddy made spaghetti for dinner last night.”
I laugh at the random change in topic. “Was it yummy?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Spaghetti must be a paralegal specialty.”
“No, I don’t think so.” The little boy gives me a very serious look. “Rosa makes spaghetti better than him and she’s not a paralegal. She’s just a lady. She puts hot dogs in it.”
“Hot dogs, huh?”
“Hot dogs and sliced carrots,” he confirms. “She thinks I can’t tell, but it’s still good.”
“Oh, I see.” Where is this cutie’s father? “Hey, by the way, what’s your name?”
Before he can answer, there’s a small commotion outside in the hallway, followed by a familiar voice calling out, “Leo?”
The little boy turns to smile at someone I can’t see. “Daddy!”
“Leo, buddy, you can’t wander off like that. Remember how I told you that the fire station is a very serious place?”
