I still can’t believe it, I thought while falling asleep with Taylor.I’m being shared by two firemen. I was the luckiest woman in the world. I never would have believed that this would be my future when I first returned to Riverville a year ago.
But I still wondered about Derek, who showed almost no interest in me. He was polite and cordial, but nothing beyond that.
What was he waiting for?
By Wednesday, the guysstillhadn’t received a single call on their shift. Not even a normal 9-1-1 call that they could respond to for assistance. All was well in Riverville.
“It’s a good problem to have,” Derek said.
“I guess,” Jordan replied.
Derek looked at his watch. “It’s almost time to order Chinese. Why don’t we run out and pick it up, rather than having it delivered?”
“Count me in,” Jordan said, hopping up from the couch. “I’ll take any excuse to get out and dosomething.”
The guys gathered their gear, in case they received a call while they were out and had to respond to it without coming back to the station. While holding his helmet, Derek gave me a long look.
“Want to come with us?” he asked. “On a ride-along.”
I grunted. “You’re joking.”
“You can sit in the second row of the cab, with the baby seat strapped in,” he replied. “We’ll put protective headgear on the baby. It’ll be fun.”
I shifted Anthony in my arms. “You were super overprotective with him when I was driving three miles in my car. But you’ll let him go on a ride-along?”
“As long as he’s strapped securely into the baby seat, I’m fine with anything. The fire engines have good shock absorbers. It’ll be a smooth ride. But if you would rather stay here and do nothing…”
I was just as bored as they were, so I agreed to go along. The fire engine had a big cab: two front seats, and then a second row that was about the size of a passenger van. I strapped the baby carrier into one seat securely, and took the seat next to it. Taylor sat in one of the two jump seats that faced backwards, while the other two sat in the front.
Baby Anthony looked confused about his surroundings, especially when we put the protective headphones over his little ears. But as the fire engine got moving, he looked around with big eyes, and his little mouth pursed with concentration. I could practically see the gears turning in his baby brain.
“This is fun!” I said over the roar of the engine. “I never got to ride in one of these when I was a kid.”
Taylor grinned at me from his jump seat. “I first rode in one on a field trip in fourth grade.”
Jordan twisted to look back at us. “So three years ago?”
Taylor flipped him off. “It wastwelveyears ago. And I still never get sick of riding in it.”
“You’re young at heart!” I replied.
Derek grunted from the driver’s seat. “Young of heart, and body, and mind…”
Taylor rolled his eyes.
We stopped at the Chinese restaurant and Jordan ran inside to pick up our food. Before he could return, the radio on the dashboard let out a siren-like burst of sound.
“Riverville engine, come in,” said the person who I assumed was the dispatcher.
“This is Riverville engine two, go ahead,” Derek replied.
They spoke back and forth in radio lingo that I didn’t understand. The only phrase I recognized was “non-emergency line.” Jordan returned from inside with the food, and climbed up into the passenger seat.
“What’s going on?”
“Ten-four, we’re en route.” Derek put the radio receiver down and turned to Jordan. “We’ve got a stop to make on the way back.”
“Murphy’s Law,” Jordan said while hastily strapping himself in. “Of course we get our only call of the weeknow.”