Chapter Seventeen
Eric
I pulled out my phone from my back pocket, checking to see if I had any messages. Frowning when I saw I had none, I stuffed it back into my jeans.
Maybe she’s busy, I told myself, then I told myself I was ridiculous for harping on this. I was gearing up to walk into my lieutenant's exam—the same one I’ve been studying for, for three months now with the help of my own personal Angel. And here it was the morning of, and I haven’t gotten a call or text message wishing me luck. Sure, we spoke the night before, and she was her usual encouraging self, but something felt off during our conversation.
“Okay, we’re getting ready to begin. You may enter the room, sitting at the assigned desk numbers you were given…” The female proctor of the exams began giving out instructions. I pushed my thoughts of Angela aside and mentally prepared to focus for the next two hours. The exam was given at the Fire Department’s Headquarters in downtown Williamsport. Making my way down the hall toward the room, I took glances at the faces of former fire department chiefs who’ve served over the decades.
You’re going to be captain one day, Eric. Maybe even chief. Captain Waverly’s words all those months ago rang in my ears. That reminded me of the conversation I had with Angela two days ago about the exam.
“I’m so proud of you already,” she said.
“I haven’t passed the test yet,” I retorted.
She shrugged, leaning over the bar. “The test is just a formality. You’ve already passed the test every day at your fire station. It’s obvious the way your crew looks at you, respects you. You already are their lieutenant.”
We were in public, but that didn’t stop me from taking her face between my hands, pulling her to me, and possessing her lips. I conveyed the impact her words had on me through that kiss. Forgetting where we were, I didn’t let up until I heard the applause and chants from the guys. When I finally pulled back, I grinned at the dazed expression on her face, her kiss-swollen lips. Her eyes dipped then glanced over my shoulder to where the guys were still whooping. I tossed them a glare over my shoulder, along with a middle finger.
I turned back to Angela, staring into those tawny eyes. “With inspiration like that, I have no choice but to pass the test and interview.”
She waved a dainty hand. “Interview, sminterview. While your communication skills could use some work in the personal life department, you’ve got the professional communication skills down.” The laughter she let out when I grabbed her by the arms, pulling her closer to me, had my cock stirring in my jeans.
“I’m going to marry you.”
“I love you, too.”
I pressed another quick kiss to her lips, knowing she needed to get back to tending to the bar but hating to let her go. I planned on hanging around until she closed and then taking her home to show her the exact effect her words had on me.
Pulling myself out of that memory, I sat down at the computer station I was assigned and punched in the log-in information that was emailed to be the day before.
“All right, you have one-hundred and twenty minutes to complete the multiple choice and essay sections of the exam. Remember, you cannot go back and check over a section once you have completed it, so I advise you to check, and double check before you hit submit. You will find out your score on the multiple choice section as soon as you complete the exam. Your essay scores will be emailed to you within fourteen business days, at which time you will also find out if you’ve been invited for an interview. Are there any questions?”
I grew irritated when a couple of hands went up for questions. I had none and was just ready to get this shit over with. As soon as the proctor was finished answering questions, she took a seat at her desk and let us do our thing. I began answering questions, remembering not to second guess my answers on a few of them, reminding myself that in a real-life situation there’s no time for second-guessing and your first instinct is usually the correct one. Second guessing led to time wasted. If your decisions were wrong, there would be plenty of time afterward—if you made it out―to analyze where you fucked up. In the moment was not the time for that analyzation.
Feeling confident, I breezed through the multiple choice section in about forty-five minutes. Next, I started in on the first of three essays. I knew this was the section that tripped most people up, but I’ve written essays since I was in elementary school all the way through college. Communicating my thoughts and analysis in written form didn’t intimidate me thanks to my formal education. I finished the three essays with about fifteen minutes to spare, according to the timer on my computer screen. Reading over my essays, I made a few revisions until I was finally satisfied, and then hit “submit.” An immediate weight lifted off my shoulders. The pop-up on the screen instructed that I wait while it scored the multiple choice section of my exam. When the final number came up, I blew out a heavy breath and finally stood, stretching the kinks that’d developed in my muscles over the last two hours.
I headed over to the proctor to give her my name and ID to let her know I finished and then headed straight to the only person I wanted to see.
****
“Harvard, what’re you doing here? I thought you had your exam this morning?” Captain Waverly questioned, glancing at his wristwatch.
“I did. I finished not too long ago. I came by to pick up the uniform I left the other day to take it home for a cleaning,” I explained.
Captain gave me a funny look. “Well?”
I lifted my eyebrows as if to say ‘well what’ while I stuffed my uniform pants and shirt in my duffle bag.
“How’d it go?”
“It went well,” I answered, distracted.
He gave a short snort. “You really are the conversationalist,” he chuckled.
I returned his laugh. “I’m waiting to tell someone about my exam first before I let anyone else know.”
He gave me a nod. “That’s understandable. Well, happy ghost and goblins day!”
I paused, standing in front of the captain, giving him a look.
“So focused on the exam you forgot today’s Halloween? We’ll be pretty busy tonight. Lucky you have off. Or not so lucky. What type of firefighter wants to be off on the busy nights?” he mused to himself.
“October thirty-first,” I mumbled.
“That’s usually the day Halloween falls on.”
I blinked. “Hey, Cap, sorry, I gotta go.” I didn’t even give him a backward glance. I slammed my locker closed and hitched my duffle bag over my shoulder, rushing down the stairs and out the back entrance of the station to avoid running into anyone. I wasn’t in the mood to be held up by talk or questions of the exam.
I felt like a complete and total heel as I drove. Having checked my messages after the exam and only having one from my mother and father wishing me luck on the test, I became slightly agitated. Seeing my parents make more of an effort to support my career felt good, but I’ve grown not to need it. The one voice I did want to hear wasn’t in my voicemail. I drove to Angela’s home but got no answer when I knocked on the door. Next, I stopped by the bar but was even more surprised when she wasn’t there either. Stephanie, one of her employees, stopped by at that exact moment to prepare for this evening, and informed me that Angela had taken the night off. I tried calling more than once, but my calls went straight to voicemail. It took the captain reminding me that it was Halloween to realize what I forgot.
I pounded on the horn as drivers in front of me seemed to be taking their sweet ass time. With each passing second, my impatience grew. I’ve been so focused on my test that I completely shut out thoughts or the lives of those around me. I wouldn’t let that happen again. Not when it came to her.
I stopped at a local flower shop and picked out a small colorful bouquet, with a huge sunflower in the middle. I remember Angela told me her mother loved sunflowers. Taking the bouquet from the cashier, I made it back to my car and was once again on the road that led to the Williamsport Cemetery in record time. Ten minutes later, I parked in the lot off the cemetery and climbed out of my car. I had to ask one of the groundskeepers where the plots for Angela and Theodore Moore―Angela’s parents―were. I thanked him once he pointed me in the right direction.
The Williamsport Cemetery was divided into three sections because it was so huge, and Angela’s parents were buried about a quarter of a mile from where I parked. When I came up over a small hill, that’s when I saw her. From behind it looked as if she was sitting, cross-legged. As I grew nearer, I could see her shoulders shaking, in the telltale sign that she was crying, but doing her best to hold it together. I picked up the pace to make it to her, stopping just behind her, not wanting to intrude on her private time with her parents but also wanting to be there for her; to be her comfort just as she was mine all those late nights of studying.
Before I could announce myself, her head popped up, and she turned, looking over her shoulder. My heart slammed into my chest when I saw how red and puffy her eyes were from crying. Instinctively, I widened my arms, opening them to her, and she leapt up into them, shudders wracking her body as she cried into my chest. I squeezed her to me, holding her through her tears and pain. I only loosened my grip when her shuddering reduced to a slight tremble, and she pulled back.
“How did you know?” she asked through watery eyes.
I swiped her soft cheek with my thumb, wiping away tears. “October thirty-first. You told me.” The day her parents died on the trip they took to celebrate thirty years of marriage.
“You remembered.” Her lips trembled as she gave me a small smile. “Even with the test this morning.”
“I’d forgotten, but when the captain reminded me of the date, it came back to me.”
She dipped her head, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “Thank you for coming.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Of course.” I honestly didn’t know if it was the right decision or not. I thought maybe she might’ve wanted to be alone in her grief. But the idea of her grieving all alone didn’t sit well with me. I would’ve left if she wanted me to, or at least, gone back to my car to give her some privacy. But not showing up at all was totally out of the question.
“Sean usually works on this day. Says it makes him feel closer to Dad. I guess that makes sense.” Her shoulders lifted and dropped. “I come to their grave and talk to them and usually go home to bake and then eat my feelings.” Her voice hitched on the last word. She looked back at the grave, her arms still surrounding me. “Want to meet them?”
I gave her a nod when her eyes returned to me. Removing the arm holding the flowers from her waist, I held the bouquet in front of her. “I brought these for them.”
A small gasp escaped her lips. “A sunflower.” Surprise filled her tone. “Mama would’ve loved this.” She squeezed me around the neck, kissing my lips before taking my hand and walking us closer to the two graves.
Twin grey headstones stood side-by-side, both of them inscribed with the names of each of Angela’s parents. Underneath her father’s name read “Psalm 66:12.”
“God will bring you through the fire,” I stated.
Angela turned to me, forehead wrinkled. I jutted my head at her father’s headstone. “Psalm sixty-six, verse twelve. Guys around the department translate it as God will bring us through the fire.” I wasn’t a religious guy, but some things you pick up being in my line of work.
Angela leaned into me. “He used to repeat that to my mom whenever she got worried. He’d say, ‘just remember, Psalm sixty-six, twelve.’ Sean insisted we include it on his headstone.”
I placed the flowers down in between the two graves and stood back, wrapping my arm around Angela’s shoulders. She turned, nuzzling her face into my side, inhaling deeply. A minute later, her head popped up, her eyes peering at me.
“How’d the test go?”
I blinked, having forgotten all about the exam I took just that morning. A grin spread over my lips.
“Ninety-five.”
She gasped, jumping into my arms. “I knew it!”
The passing requirement for the multiple choice section was a score of seventy-five.
“Hear that? I snagged a genius!” she blurted out, turning back to her parents’ headstones.
“My daddy always said don’t bring no dummies home, Angie,” she laughed a little.
I laughed, too, at the fake deep voice she put on imitating her father.
“Glad I could fill that requirement for you.” I pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose just because, before wiping away remaining moisture from her tears under her eyes. Turning away from her, I crouched low in front of her parents.
“Mr. and Mrs. Moore, I want you both to know I love your daughter very much. She’s going to be my wife one day soon. One day we’ll bring your grandchildren here to meet you. I promise to keep her safe in the meantime.” I took a moment, letting my words settle. They felt so right leaving my mouth, there was no question as to whether or not I meant them. I felt Angela’s hand on my shoulder. I grasped it with my opposite hand and brought it to my lips, standing. Another sheen of wetness coated her eyes, but this time there was a mixture of happiness with the sadness.
I moved her in front of me, wrapping my arms around her slender waist, and resting my chin on her shoulder. She pressed her head into my chest, and our breathing grew in unison. She squeezed my hands and then turned in my arms. We stood that way for I don’t know how long, a peace settling over me.