The Fighter

Chapter 49

I woke up late in the afternoon. I literally only slept for 4-5 hours. I had too much on my mind to sleep. I was thinking about Greg as always. I was thinking about my future. And, I was thinking about the fire academy. I got up and got dressed. I decided to go for a ride to clear my head. I parked in a pull off in the gorge. I sat there and watched the water flowing in the creek. How could someone voluntarily leave this world? I have never ever understood that, until now. No I wasn't thinking about doing it. I was just finally understanding. I've spent the last almost 20 years fighting my own demons, fighting through all the tough times, because I thought that the only way out was through.I couldn't imagine the pain I'd leave behind. But now, I could. I've seen it. I've felt it. It's time for things to change. It's time for me to go through again. It's time for me to do what I've always done best; survive.
My phone started ringing. I dug through my center console to find it. "Hello?" I answered. "Hey, what are you doing right now?" It was Kyle. "Absolutely nothing. I thought you'd be sleeping?" "I could say the same about you. We have a new member down here, and I think that you'd like to meet them." "Okay. I'll be there in 5." "Good, because I think you're going to like her." He hung up and I sat there for a second. Her? Another interior her?
I parked my truck in front of the door and walked in. They weren't in the office or the meeting area, so I walked into the truck bay. "Finally! There you are! I was beginning to think that you finally went back to bed." Kyle laughed when he saw me. "Of course not. I don't sleep, remember?" I laughed too. "Mickie, this is our newest. Her name is Emily. Emily, this is Mickie." Kyle introduced. "Hi, it's nice to meet you." She smiled. She was small like me, and she had short red hair. "Nice to meet you too." I smiled back. "She wants to do firefighter one, and be an interior attack firefighter." Kyle explained.
I was a little intimidated at first. I'm the only interior girl we have right now. But, then it hit me. I was going to take her under my wing. I was going to teach her. "Hey, Ky. I have an idea.." I spoke up and smiled. "I know that look. You're up to something." He laughed. "Yes, you could say that. I'm going to teach her. There is no one better to show her the ropes like someone small like her. What do you think?" I asked looking at Kyle and then at Emily. "It wouldn't be a bad idea." Ky agreed. "I'm game." Emily agreed too. "Good. Let's do this." I nodded.
Kyle ended up leaving and going to work, so Emily and I had some time to go over the trucks, the tools, and everything else. We ended up ordering a pizza for lunch. We sat on the floor in the meeting area and ate. "So, what made you want to become a firefighter?" I asked taking a bite. "I've always thought it was cool. And, I want to give back." She smiled. "Its pretty awesome." I agreed. "What about you?" She asked. "Well, it was a mix of things. My grandfather, the chief has been in the fire service as long as I can remember. My uncle was in for a while, and then there's me. I left my parents house at 16 with my sister and moved in with my grandparents. In my every changing world, this place and all the people have always been there for me. So, I joined and made something of myself." I had to think about it. "That's amazing. How many siblings do you have?" She was so positive and she was likable. "Two, an older brother who's 21, and a way younger sister who's 6. What about you?" I asked. "I have 2 sisters, and 3 brothers." "Wow, girl. God bless you! The boys here are enough for me." I laughed.
"You and Kyle seem pretty close." "We are. He's been my best friend for the longest time. He's been there through everything. He's like the brother I've always wanted." "I could see that. He mentioned that you dated a couple guys from here." She laughed. "I did, and we're all friends now. Here we're family no matter what. And you're my sister now. You'll soon see why this is the best damn brotherhood in the world. It's incredible believe me." I thought back to the funeral for Greg, and then our station fire. "You have a boyfriend now?" "No. He passed away." I forced a smile. "Oh, I'm sorry." "No, it's fine. It was almost a couple months ago. I'm starting to move on with my life. It was really complicated." "Is that the funeral that Bill went down to?" She asked. "Yes. That was him." I nodded in pain.
"Mickie, do you have a minute?" My grandfather came into the truck bay. "Yeah sure what's up?" I asked taking my mind off Greg. "A little birdie told me that you want to apply to the fire academy. How serious are you?" He asked. "Dead, serious sir." "Go fill out the application on my computer. We'll give you a recommendation." He smiled. "Thank you." I hugged him. "You know you'll be gone for 14 weeks. Right?" "Yes, I know." I smiled too. "Go, before I change my mind." He laughed and I went into the office to submit my online application.
"You're welcome." P.J. came in the office while I was filling out my application. "Thank you. I knew you were the "little birdie." You couldn't wait to tell him huh?" I asked with a laugh. "No, because I knew that you'd take that chance if he knew. He's excited." He sat next to me. "I'm excited. I think this is what I want to do. So, again thank you." "So, the next time I'm up here, you'll be graduating from the academy?" "Hopefully. I thought you were staying for a while?" I asked confused. "I was supposed to. But, then something came up back home. I'll be back as soon as I can." He sighed. "Well hurry up." "Like, I said, the next time I come back here you better be graduating. It's time to move forward." "And, I said hopefully." "You've got this. I'll see you later, okay?" "Yeah, of course. I'll see you soon. Hey, thank you." I said, then I got up and hugged him. "No problem. Take care of yourself."