“First day in town.”
“Well, then. First pizza’s on the house.”
“Oh. You don’t have to do that.”
“Yeah. I do. Or my manager will get on me. Welcome to Waterford, Miss Hallie.”
I arrive back home carrying three pizza boxes and a complimentary box of cinnamon sugar twists the worker threw in at the last minute. I offered to pay for them and he said I ought not look a gift horse in the mouth, so I just stuffed a ten in the tip jar.
“Pizza!” Mia shouts when I step through the front door. Moving paper is still secured to the floor in the living room and down the hallway.
I hand a pizza over to Shep.
“Thank you. We’re ’bout finished here,” he tells me. “Just a few more boxes.”
“Thank you so much,” I tell him.
We devour the pizza in record time, stashing the rest in the fridge. The movers drive away. Mia watches them from the front bay window in Nana’s bedroom. The guest room. It’s a guest room. Not my mom’s.
“Time for your first night in your new home,” I say to Mia. “Let’s brush teeth.”
“And read a story?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say, even though my eyes tug with exhaustion.
Keeping her routine in place trumps my need for sleep.
Once Mia is tucked into bed, her pajamas on and her favorite stuffed bear in her arms, I sit on the edge of her bed, holdingRamona and Beezus. She can read chapter books toherself by now, but we’ve kept our habit of nightly reading anyway.
“Mommy?” Mia’s voice is drowsy and slurred.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“When do we sign up for baseball?”
“Avery’s taking you this week on one of the days I’ll be at work.”
“Don’t let her forget.”
“Never.”
“What will you do at the fire station for a whole day?” she yawns and looks at me through half-lidded eyes.
“I’ll do equipment checks and write a bunch of things down. Then, if there are emergencies or fires, I’ll go with the rest of the crew to put the fire out or to help people.”
“Are you scared?” Her eyes widen just the slightest.
“I’m not scared,” I assure her. “I know how to be really careful. That’s what I learned when I went through training. And a fire crew looks out for one another. I’ll be very safe.” I brush a lock of wavy brown hair off Mia’s forehead and trail my finger down her cheek. “Are you scared?”
“About you being a fire girl?”
I chuckle softly. “A firewoman. And, yes. Does it scare you?”
“No. Because you’re careful. But … I am scared about school.”
“First days can be scary,” I agree. “But you’re going to do great. And I’ll come home on my break to see you after school so you can tell me all about it, okay?”
Mia nods. “Okay.”
