“And, you can talk to her, right?”
“Yes.”
“And, she’s got a banging body?”
I stopped short and narrowed my eyes at him.
“What?” Kendrick said. “I’m curious. What does she look like?”
“None of your business.”
“Don’t worry; you don’t have to worry about competition or anything. I wouldn’t move in on a girl that my bro’s after. Well?”
I smiled. “You are such a child.”
“Tell me.”
“She’s beautiful,” I said. “Blonde hair, hazel eyes, medium height—”
“Body?”
“She’s got a good body.”
“Have you pictured her naked yet?”
“Okay,” I said, standing up. “I think I’m going to head to AB support now.”
“Aw, come on… We were bonding.”
“Is that what we were doing?”
“Fuck you, Phil,” Kendrick yelled at my retreating back. “I don’t even know why I’m friends with you.”
Laughing, I headed to Apparatus Bay Support to clean out my supplies and make sure all the equipment was ready for the next emergency call. I was sorting through my equipment when Sergeant Green walked in. He was a tall, impressive man with a thick silver mustache that matched his silver hair. I had a huge amount of respect for the kind of man he was, but more importantly, I had gratitude for him taking a chance on me when no one else would.
“Phil,” Sarge said, coming forward when he spotted me.
“Evening, Sarge,” I greeted. “How’s your wife?”
“She’s nagging me to retire,” he said in his deep, clear voice.
“Retire?” I said. “You’re much too young.”
Sarge narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m pushing sixty and don’t pretend you didn’t know that.”
“You’re not actually thinking about it, are you?” I asked.
“I’ve been doing this job for thirty-six years,” Sarge said, and he sounded tired. “Retiring doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I have grandkids I want to see grow up.”
I looked at Sarge, and I saw the kind of man I wanted to be. Seeing as how I didn’t have any real role models growing up, he was the first person I had to look up to and learn from. He was strong, brave, and decisive. He had fought in the thick of things for twenty-eight years before being promoted to chief. And with everything he did around the fire station, he had still done his best for his wife and their two children, both of whom were older than I was.
“Sarge,” I said, looking at him as my mentor for more than just the job. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
He looked a little surprised, but he nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Well… I was wondering if you ever found it difficult to balance this job with your family?”
Sarge listened intently and then nodded. “You met a girl, didn’t you?”