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N I N E
"I come with special gifts!" I exclaimed, balancing half of the big trays of delicious Vietnamese food Cara, my father, and I prepared for the firehouse during this endless blackout taking over the southern state of California.
It was still unknown who was causing this whole chaos, but it was definitely someone with way too much time in their hands. To make matters worse, the state was going through a massive heatwave which made everything a thousand times worse than it should be for everyone.
About an hour ago, my uncle messaged me to see if I wanted to tag in to try and relieve some of the other firefighters who have been working for three straight days and counting. After being capped for the week with hours at the hospital, I couldn't say no to him. I missed being in uniform and with the 118.
"Bless rich people and their solar panels." Chimney walked over to me, taking two of the trays out of the pile in my hands. "I could kiss you right now because Bobby was about to make us eat powdered eggs, but I love Maddie too much, and you are a child."
"I don't want your mouth anywhere near mine anyway, grandpa." I faked shuddered, setting down the trays on the dinner table before I quickly helped Cara, who was trailing right behind me with the other trays.
"I hope all of you enjoy what we made as a thank you. I know you all have been working extremely hard these past couple of days to keep everyone safe during this chaotic time." Cara said as she hugged my uncle.
"We sure will," Uncle Bobby smiled.
Without wasting any time, Chimney started opening the lids of all the trays. I watched him amused as his eyes grew more prominent with every top he opened.
"Bún chả? White rose dumplings? Pho? Ma'am, with all due respect, I must say that I love you and I'm grateful for your dishes. Thank you for saving us tonight." Chimney dramatically put both of his hands against his heart before he grabbed himself a plate. Hen slapped the back of his head as she also grabbed a plate.
"Well, I'm glad we saved the night. I should get going because I left Grant with a mess in the kitchen and a two-year-old running around loose." Cara wrapped me in a quick hug and said goodbye to the others.
"Tell Maia I love her," I told her before she left. Watching my friends and old co-workers serve themselves plates of food as if they had never eaten in their lives before, I leaned against the couch's armchair.
These small moments at the firehouse were some of the things I loved and missed the most about working here. At the hospital, I'm surrounded by people, but I'm either running from side to side to make sure every patient is ready before surgery or stuck in a room helping surgeons perform surgeries while listening to awful music. There wasn't this homey feeling of sitting down together to grab a meal or pass the time before we had to go out and risk our lives.
