“Oh,” he says, drawing out the word. “Okay, then.”
“That’s what I thought.”
The food comes. I pay and leave her another tip.
It takes only a few minutes to drive to the fire station. I park on the street, a short distance from the station, so there is no chance I could be in the way of them having to deal with an emergency. Noah is bouncing out of his skin again.
I pull open his door and say, “We have to be calm, Noah. There are a lot of dangerous things here. Give me your hand.” I offer my free hand once he’s out of the car. He takes it, his eyes big as saucers as he looks up at the building as if he’s never seen the thing before.
The bay doors are up, and there is an open spot, but there are other trucks here. I don’t know much about how a fire station works and what trucks do what or who goes where, but I assume that since some are still here, it means people are still here.
There is a regular door to the left with a sign above it that sayspublic entrance, so we walk across the driveway toward it, but a firefighter pops his head out before we reach it. “Can I help you?”
“Hi, yeah. We’re here to see JJ?”
“Oh, right. Yeah, come this way. He said he was getting some visitors.” He grins, looking down at Noah. “You must be the new truck driver.”
Noah gasps, looking up at me with hearts in his eyes. I can’t help but laugh.
“Up to you, but I can keep him occupied in the truck if you want to head up those stairs to get JJ.”
I look at Noah. “You need to behave and listen to everything that—”
I glance at the firefighter.
“Sorry, name’s Jake. I am CPR certified, and I will take good care of your kid.”
“Oh, he’s my nephew.”
“Still your responsibility. Well, mine now.” He grins as Noah tugs on his hand.
“Excuse me, Mr. Jake, but can wepleasego see the truck now?”
Jake huffs a laugh. “Sure thing, pal. What’s your name?”
“Noah. And Ilovefire trucks.”
They walk across the garage, over to the truck on the far end, as Jake says, “Well, you’re going to be really excited in about thirty seconds.”
He pulls open the door, and Noah jumps up and down, clapping his hands. Jake helps him inside and goes in there after him. I pull my phone from my pocket to snap a few photos, then head up the stairs and into a large space. There’s a living room/lounge area with a couch, TV, and a pool table further back. On the other side is a long dining table with a small kitchen area beyond it.
There are a few firefighters around, and I spot JJ right away, standing by the pool table chatting with someone in similar clothes as him. He’s hard to miss. Definitely the hottest guy here.
“Can I help you?” someone asks.
“Oh, hi. I’m here for—”
“He’s here for me,” JJ says loudly, walking over.
“Hey,” I say with a smile, offering him the takeout container.
“Thank you so much for this,” he says gratefully.
“Getting special treatment now?” the guy who greeted me asks.
“That’s Lewis. Ignore him.”
“Hi, Lewis.” I wave.
