Chapter Three
Phil
“Hey,” I greeted as Matt and the boys filed in.
They were in their fire safety uniforms, but there was no sign that they had been near a fire. They just looked tired and slightly drawn.
“What happened?”
“Accident on the interstate,” Tanner replied. “Two cars had collided and one toppled over. There were two men trapped inside.”
“You go them out?”
“Yes.” Tanner nodded tiredly. “But one was severely injured.”
“Driver?” I asked.
“Passenger,” Tanner replied. “He was unconscious when we pulled him out. The paramedics took over from there.”
I nodded and stood up. “Good job, guys,” I said, as I made my way to the day room.
My group was sitting at a table in the dining area. Kendrick was snacking on a bag of chips, Mel was eating a sandwich, and Ryan was having his usual salad. I sat down beside them, and Kendrick pushed a second bag of chips towards me.
“No thanks,” I replied. “I’m not hungry.”
“More for me,” he said, with a shrug as he pulled back the bag of chips.
“You look…well rested,” I observed, looking at Kendrick.
He smiled. “I spent the night here in my bunk,” he said. “You get more sleep. I don’t lose time going all the way back home.”
“You can afford to do that,” Mel said. “You don’t have a family.”
“How is the family, by the way?” I asked Mel.
“Janine is fine,” Mel nodded. “Running around with the kids most days. And in her free time, she’s usually nagging me for some reason or the other.”
I smiled. “Do you deserve it?” I asked as Ryan and Kendrick laughed.
Mel smirked at me. “Most days I do,” he admitted. “It’s just hard to make every piano recital, play, and ball game with this job. I miss a lot.”
Kendrick smacked him on the back. “Which is why I won’t ever get married.”
“You say that now,” Mel said. “Just means you haven’t met the right girl yet.”
As the boys went back and forth about the merits of a committed relationship versus the single life, I found my mind wandering.
I had really liked meeting Megan the other night at Brent’s apartment. She was nothing like her brother. She had a certain quiet confidence about her, combined with obvious maturity and a soft-spoken nature. She also happened to be beautiful.
She had blonde hair that looked like spun gold, but her roots were a soft, earthy brown. Her eyes were a light and piercing hazel that held little flecks of gold that matched the color of her hair. She had a heart-shaped face, a small nose, and lips that reminded me of a bow. I had been strangely obsessed with those lips when I had met her that night. Every time she spoke, my eyes focused in on how her lips moved. I wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips.
Instantly, I shook off the thought. She was Brent’s sister, and I needed to be respectful of that. But more importantly, I had a full-time job that was demanding at the best of times. I had no room in my life to accommodate a new relationship.
And yet… I couldn’t get my mind off her. It was nice to have someone to talk to outside of the fire station. I loved Ryan, Mel, and Kendrick but somehow talking to them just wasn’t the same as talking to Megan.
“Earth to Phil,” Ryan said, waving his hand in my face.
“Oh…sorry.”
“Zoned out, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“What were you thinking about?”
Before I could come up with a plausible lie, the alarm went off and the four of us jumped to our feet. “Let’s go,” Mel said, in a completely different tone. “Apparatus bay in two minutes.”
Putting my game face on, I pushed all distractions from my mind and headed out.
That night when I got home, tired but satisfied with what we’d accomplished during the day, I headed straight for the shower. Once I was clean, I walked to my room and collapsed onto my bed. I was tired, but I wasn’t ready to go to sleep just yet. What I really wanted to do was speak to Megan again.
I had casually mentioned spending some time with her as friends. She’d seemed up for it, so I figured it wouldn’t be the worst thing to just call her up for a chat. I had taken her number just before leaving Brent’s the other night.
I pulled up my phone and scrolled through my contact list. When I found her name, I paused for a moment, wondering whether I was getting myself into a situation that would complicate my life in the future.
In the end, my need to speak to Megan overpowered any reservations, so I hit her name and waited for her to answer.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Megan,” I replied, hoping to sound casual and friendly. “It’s Phil.”
“Phil,” she said, and she sounded happy to hear from me. “How are you?”
“I’m good.”
“You sound tired,” she said immediately.
“I am.” I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “It’s been a long day. There was an accident near Blue Marsh Lake; my team and I were the first responders.”
“An accident?”
“A car had driven into the lake. The driver was intoxicated.”
“Wow,” she said. “I wasn’t really aware that vehicular accidents were part of a firefighter’s job description.”
“Oh sure,” I replied. “Fires aren’t the only emergency situation we deal with. We deal with car crashes, flooding, chemical spills, water rescue, and general rescue.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“Just for the record, I think it’s amazing what you do.” There was awe in her tone that was clearly not feigned. “It takes a certain amount of selflessness to do what you do every day.”
“Oh, I don’t know about selflessness…”
“Are you kidding? You’re risking your life every day.”
I smiled. “Thanks, that’s nice of you to say.”
“I was thinking of you this morning,” Megan said unexpectedly.
“Oh?” I asked. “What were you thinking about?”
“About how you’re the first person I’ve met since getting here who I’ve actually been able to have a real conversation with—and that includes my brother.”
“You know what?” I said. “Same here.”
“Did you know anyone at Brent’s party?” she asked.
“I’ve met a couple of the guys before,” I replied. “But just in passing. Brent introduced me to two girls that night. Five minutes talking to them, and I knew I needed to get the hell out of there.”
She laughed. “Are you referring to Melanie and Tracy?”
“Were those their names?” I asked. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Oh, but they were paying attention to you,” Megan told me.
“Is that why the blonde one made it a point of telling me she could do amazing things with her tongue?”
Megan burst out laughing. “She didn’t!”
“She most certainly did,” I said. “And the other one kept touching my arms and telling me how she could cut rocks on them.”
“To be fair, I thought the same thing,” Megan said, but I could tell she was teasing.
I laughed. “So, what made you decide to come to Philly?”
“Uh… I suppose I had no place else to go,” she replied. “And since Brent lived here, I thought it might be nice to have a familiar face around.”
“Where were you studying again?”
“Virginia,” she replied.
“Right,” I nodded. “Did you like it there?”
“I liked the university I was enrolled in.”
“You did?” I asked, frowning a little. “Then why did you drop out?”
There was a second of silence on the phone, and I sensed that she was uncomfortable with my question. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to,” I said quickly. “I was just being nosy.”
“I’m sorry,” Megan said, and I was glad that she didn’t sound upset. “I just… I’m not really ready to talk about that yet. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” I said.
“You know what I haven’t done in ages?” I knew she was trying to change the subject and gloss over the nearly awkward moment between us, but I didn’t mind. I was just grateful she wanted to keep talking to me.
“Tell me?”
“Seen a movie in the theater,” Megan replied.
I smiled. “Same here.” I nodded. “I love watching movies; my idea of a perfect day is sitting at home with a bunch of junk food and about ten movies ready to play.”
“You just described my perfect day,” she said. “When was the last time you had a movie marathon?”
“Geez… I can’t even remember,” I replied. “I must have been a teenager. I was over at a friend’s house for the day. We stayed in his parent’s basement and watched all three Godfather movies. Then we started on the Die Hard franchise.”
“Whoa…how many movies was that?”
“I think the fourth movie in the franchise had just come out,” I replied.
“So…seven movies.”
“Yup,” I nodded. “We were quite proud of ourselves. It was almost an accomplishment.”
Megan laughed. “I love the old movies…Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Casablanca… There’s nothing like watching old movie stars on screen.”
“Do you have a favorite?”
“Audrey Hepburn,” Megan replied immediately. “But Elizabeth Taylor was pretty amazing, too.”
“Hmm… I’ve never watched their movies.”
“What!” Megan asked, and she sounded scandalized.
I laughed. “Am I missing out on something?”
“Only the best performances you will ever see,” she insisted.
“Well, I’m ready to be converted.”
“You’ll watch Casablanca with me?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Oh my God, I’m so excited.”
I laughed. “But I expect some quid pro quo.”
“Seems fair,” she replied. “What would you like me to watch with you?”
“Have you watched Fight Club?”
“I haven’t, actually,” Megan replied. “But I’ve always heard good things, so it’s been on my list.”
“Never got around to actually watching it?”
“Life got busy,” she replied. “It got stressful, too, and when I’m stressed…”
“What?” I asked when she trailed off slightly.
“Nothing.”
“Come on,” I encouraged. “Tell me.”
“I tend to watch animated movies to relieve my stress,” Megan admitted. “Disney and Pixar got me through some hard days.”
I smiled.
“You think I’m weird, don’t you?”
I laughed. “On the contrary, I find that…endearing.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“I assure you, I’m not,” I said. “I’ve never really watched animated films, to be honest.”
“Not even growing up?”
“No, but there has to be a reason they’re so damn popular.”
“Because they’re inspirational and transformative.”
“Wow,” I laughed. “That’s quite the recommendation.”
“I have to add a few more movie titles to the list I’m going to introduce you to,” Megan said.
“Feel free,” I smiled.
We ended up talking for almost two hours. Every time I glanced at the clock, another fifteen minutes had passed, and I couldn’t quite believe it. She was extraordinarily easy to talk to, and I felt myself relax the more we spoke. We could have kept talking for another two hours, but when eleven o’clock drew to a close, I knew I needed to get some sleep, or I’d be useless tomorrow for work.
“I’m sorry, Megan,” I told her. “I really hate to say goodnight, but I have an early shift tomorrow.”
“Of course,” she agreed. “I should have realized… I’m sorry to have kept you up.”
“Please don’t apologize, I had a blast.”
I don’t know how I knew it, but I knew she was smiling on the other line. “Can I call you again in a few days?” I asked.
“Call me anytime you want,” Megan replied. “Goodnight, Phil.”
“Goodnight, Megan.”
I hung up and stared at my ceiling for a long time, wondering how on earth I was going to be able to sleep when I felt so wired. I could feel excitement coursing through my veins, and it amazed me that a conversation with a girl could have that effect on me.
Forty minutes later, when I finally managed to calm down enough to go to sleep, dreams filled my consciousness like back-to-back movies. And, all of them featured Megan.