Rhett by Margaret McHeyzer
I lean my head against the wall of the fire truck while Hugo drives back to the station. “Hey, you okay?” Pen slaps my leg to get my attention.
“Yeah, why?”
“You seem like something’s eating away at you.” Other than the fact that I saved a man’s life yesterday, and all I can think about is how I loved every moment of it. “Nah. Nothing.”
“How’s Dani?” She waggles her brows at me.
“She’s good. We had pizza last night.” I feel myself smiling when I think of Dani.
“You did not!” she shrieks. Pen angles her body toward mine. “Tell me everything.”
“Nothing to tell. We had pizza, then I took her home.”
“Did you...?” She makes her hands into fists and semi-thrusts. I arch a brow and roll my eyes. “You’re no fun. You never give me the gruesome details. Well, thanks for asking, yes, Dane and I have been having sex like we’re never going to see each other again.”
I small shudder rips through me. “I didn’t ask,” I remind her.
“Oh, I know. But I’ve been busting to tell you. We’ve had sex all over the place.” I hold my hand up to her face. “What?”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I exhale. “Pen, I really don’t want to know what you and Dane do.”
She rolls her head back and groans. “Fine.” She huffs then looks to me again. “Is it serious?”
I rub at the back of my neck, tired and confused. “What are we talking about?”
“Oh my God. You’re such a boy. You and Dani, is it serious?”
I pull back slightly, uncertain about how to respond to her question. “I think so,” I reply as honestly as I can. “I like her.”
“In all the years we’ve been friends, I’ve never seen you like this over a woman.” She waves her hand around my body.
I don’t want to tell her that I’ve been losing sleep over so many things happening in my head. Especially since yesterday, which I haven’t told anyone about. Well, Mom knows, but that’s it. “I know we’ve got some kind of connection. I’m hoping she feels what I do. If not, then.” I shrug. “I don’t know.”
“When we get back to the station, message her and tell her you’re thinking about her.”
“What?”
“Trust me, we women like to know you’re thinking about us. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant. Actually, I know I’d like to get a message like that from Dane. Just three little words. I miss you. I’d melt if he did that, but he hasn’t. I suppose that’s okay, because he’s not overly romantic.” She clears her throat and straightens her shoulders. “Wanna see who can do the most sit-ups when we get back to the station?”
Deflection. Pen does that when she’s suppressing some kind hurtful emotion. “Hell no. You kick my ass when it comes to sit-ups. I’m not a fool, Pen.”
She lays her head back and chuckles. “Damn straight I will.”
A call comes in over the radio, and just like a well-oiled unit, we’re ready to roll in less than thirty seconds. Our headsets are on, and now we’re all communicating via the radio. “Multi-car pileup on the highway. Three trapped in the first car, one trapped in the second. There are reports of gas all over the road, and the first car is on its roof.”
“Any casualties?” Pen asks.
“No reports. Listen up, we’ve got a metal cutter on the truck. We’ll assess who needs them first. Pen and Rhett, get to the car with one trapped, Alec, Hugo and I will get to the car with three trapped. Paramedics are on their way, and two more trucks are on their way too. Truck sixty-five has a metal cutter, but they’re ten minutes out,” Dean relays.
“On it,” I respond.
“On it,” Pen agrees.
Alec and Hugo both echo their agreement.
“ETA two minutes,” Dean calls.
I have a look out the windshield, trying to see what we’re actually facing. Have any of the cars gone up in flames? How many cars have been affected? Is there anyone else who needs our help?
With our sirens blaring, everyone is moving out of our way. “Get out of the fucking way!” Hugo yells to one persistent car that’s refusing to pull over. He blares the horn, and the car drifts out of our way.
“Here we go, thirty seconds.” Hugo powers through and slows down when we’re close to what’s happening. “Alright, let’s get to work, guys,” Dean says when Hugo stops the truck.
Pen and I are out of the truck, rushing toward the second car. Dean, Alec and Hugo are on the first car. “What’s your name?” Pen asks the woman in the car who’s trapped behind the steering wheel.
I notice her incredibly pregnant belly. “Pen.”
“I’m Christy,” she says. “My baby, will my baby be okay? I can’t get my legs out.”
“Gas on the road, we need them out ASAP,” Dean says through the headset.
“Pregnant woman with us,” I say over the microphone.
“All three are conscious, but the front passenger’s legs are caught under the dash. We’re going to have to cut these guys out,” Dean says. “Your victim’s pregnant?”
“Heavily,” Pen responds.
“Hugo, get the cutters.”
“On it.” Hugo runs past us.
“Car one has gas leaking, we’re going to have to get them out first, and start a clean-up.”
I’m trying to move the dash back so we can get Christy out of this car. The airbags have all been deployed, and her face is bleeding from the nose. She’s in complete distress. “I need you to stay as still as possible.”
“My baby, please, my baby,” she begs as she rubs at her belly.
“Christy, my name’s Penelope and this is my partner, Rhett.” On a quick inspection, she’s moving her upper body freely. Her legs appear trapped, but not crushed.
“Cervical collar,” I instruct Pen who’s closer to the first aid kit we’ve brought out with us.
Christy looks to us, tears streaming down her face as she sits completely vulnerable and unable to protect her unborn child. “Please, I can’t lose my baby. I can’t.”
Pen returns with the collar, and hands it to me. I attach it around Christy’s neck, stabilizing her to the best of my ability. But we need to get her out, now.
“I need you to listen to us so we can get you out of here, okay?” I say.
She’s hyperventilating, but listening. “Okay.”
“I need you to close your eyes, and take some deep breaths, can you do that?” She nods again, closes her eyes and takes deep breaths. “Pen.” I indicate for her to get in the car and push on the dash while I pull it. We only need to get it off her enough so we can move her. “One, two, three.” Pen uses everything possible to push with her feet hard up against the mangled dash. I pull, and we manage to inch it back.
I look at the woman’s legs and see there might be enough room to try and get her out. “Let me check,” Pen says. She wedges her head down so she can assess what’s going on under the dash. “Not enough. We need to move the dashboard back about three more inches.”
“Okay, you ready?”
Penelope is slim and she can easily maneuver in such a tight spot. “Christy, I need you to keep your eyes closed, and keep breathing. Okay?” Penelope instructs the woman who’s still clearly distraught. She needs to calm herself because her stress isn’t good for her baby.
“You’re doing really well, Christy.” I try to ease her by rubbing my gloved hand over her shoulder. “Fantastic. Keep your eyes closed, and breathing nice and deep.”
“I will,” she says in a shaky and tiny voice. This must be be killing her. Feeling so helpless and unable to protect her unborn child.
As difficult as this moment is, I’m alive with adrenaline and the absolute determination to ensure she and her baby are both safe. “Pen.”
“Nearly there.” She compresses herself in the tight space. “One, two, three.”
I pull with everything I have, and Pen pushes with her entire body weight. The dash moves only another inch or two. Pen swings around, and checks out the space we’re working with. “What have we got?” I glance over to the first car, and see Dean is using the cutter to slice through the car.
“Enough, we’re good. Okay, Christy, we need to get you out. But you’re going to have to help us, okay?” Penelope asks.
“What do you need me to do?” she asks between sobs.
“Try to keep your head straight. I’m going to lift you, while Penelope guides your legs. We’re going to do it slowly, and if you feel pain or pressure anywhere at all, we’ll stop.” I’ve got my eyes focused on Christy, while I see Pen checking out anything that could stop us from doing this.
“We’re good,” Penelope says, meaning there’s no bleeding coming from her stomach, or her vagina. I hear commotion and quickly look to see the paramedics are here. But I don’t see the other fire trucks yet. We have no more time to wait. She needs to get out now, and get to the hospital.
“Ready?”
“Ready,” Pen says.
“Christy, I need you to keep your eyes on me, and only on me. Understand?”
“I understand.” I look to Pen. Inch by inch I pull her out, while Pen guides her legs, holding back the dash so it doesn’t collapse on the woman again.
The moment we pull her out, I scoop her up and place her on the gurney, where the paramedics take over.
Pen’s out of Christy’s car, and runs to the first car, where Dean is taking it apart piece by piece. I keep an eye on the gas, while Alec, Hugo and now Pen are all working on getting the passenger in the front out of the car. The one in the back is already out and being attended to by another paramedic.
Now I’m watching the gas, ready to extinguish anything that may light. One spark from the cutter, someone driving past throwing a lighted cigarette out their window, anything might ignite the gas and set us all ablaze. “Driver’s out,” Dean says.
I head to the front of the car, and spray the foam over what’s left of the engine, cautious. I have no idea how these two cars ended up in a head-on collision. Judging by the fact the front car is on its roof, I suspect speed was a factor. My job isn’t to make an assumption on what happened, though. It’s to help people without fear or judgement. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.
The driver is placed on a waiting gurney, and wheeled away while the paramedics do what they have to. A pang of jealousy runs through my mind, because I’d love to be able to do what they do. But I know, coming from a long line of firefighters means my fate is already sealed.
“Rhett, we need you up here,” Alec says. I run up, ready for whatever they need.
“I’m cutting through here. We need you and Hugo to hose this down. We’re too close to the gas leak,” Dean instructs. “One spark and we could all go up.”
“On it,” both Hugo and I say.
Time is always the major factor in whatever situation we’re in. “Can you hear me, buddy?” Dean yells toward the last passenger. “Okay, I need you to stay perfectly still.” Dean looks over to the paramedics, and gestures for them to be ready to go.
As Dean works on the last passenger, I keep an eye on the gas, while triaging anyone else who may be injured. By some miracle, only these two cars are involved in this accident.
“You with me, buddy?” Some exchange of words happen, before Dean says, “The paramedics have to place a brace around your neck, then we’ll be ready to get you out of here.”
I take a step back, watching as the paramedics work on the guy, getting ready to take over once our crew manages to get him out. It happens in less than a minute. Dean cuts the rest of the car away; the paramedics step forward and carefully lower the guy straight onto a gurney.
“Sanding down the inside lane,” I say as Hugo, Pen, and I all run back to the truck to get the sandbags needed to soak up the grease and oil from the cars. Alec and Dean take photos of the wrecks, while the tow trucks line up to begin clearing the road so we can open it to the traffic that’s built up.
We work together, knowing what our responsibilities are. No person on the crew has done anything less or more than the other.
Once we’re done, we head back to the truck while the police take over from here. Hugo starts the truck, while Pen, Alec, and myself all sit in the back, ready to end this crazy ass day.
“Job well done,” Dean says to all of us.
“Is it me, or has today been nuts?” Pen verbalizes what I’m thinking.
“Just think, we still have eleven hours left on shift,” Dean says.
We’re heading back to Mulberry Point, when we get another call. What the fuck, man? “What’s going on?” I say to Pen.
“I’m over today. I just want to go home.”
“Listen up, house fire all the way over at Hudson Heights. Another crew is already on site, and we’re being sent in to back them up,” Dean says.
We’ve barely had time to take our helmets off before we have to put them back on again. Hudson Heights is a good twenty minutes out of Mulberry Point, but thankfully it only takes us roughly ten minutes to get there thanks to Hugo’s driving and the general public cooperating by moving out of our way. When we arrive at the house fire, there are already two other trucks on the ground getting it under control. Hugo parks, and we all jump out, ready to go. We may be exhausted, but we know we need to be here for the people who need us.
The battalion chief from another fire department is there, coordinating the trucks. Dean approaches him to see where we’re needed. Dean gathers us together, and starts shouting out our jobs. “One and a half line on the west side. They’ve got the rest under control. Nice, and easy.”
“On it.” Alec and Pen both run back to the truck to get a line around the side of the house. Pen’s on a knee running the front of the line, while Alec supports her five feet behind.
Hugo and I keep an eye on where the fire is going, in case it changes direction. “It’s good,” Hugo says.
“Yeah. Those houses are fine,” I reply looking at the neighbors’ houses. The street is strewn with people and the fire is out within only a few moments of us getting there. We were there for backup. Dean and the battalion chief exchange a few brief words before we’re back in the truck and heading toward Mulberry Point.
“Is today over yet?” Pen asks loudly.
Dean chuckles and shakes his head. “Not yet.”
I reach over and grab my phone, and type out a text to Dani. I miss you so much. I know Pen said women like this kind of message, but in reality, I really do miss Dani. If I could, I’d wrap her in my arms and fall asleep the moment I get home in the morning.
I keep looking at my phone, waiting for her to reply, but I know tonight she’s working at The Narrow Table after having worked at the café all day. I wish I could go see her tonight, but I know that’s impossible. I’m looking forward to seeing her at family dinner tomorrow night.
“Alright boys and girl, inventory of the truck,” Dean calls as Hugo backs it up in the firehouse.
“Drills!” Pen calls playfully.
“I have no problems shoving my foot up your ass, Pen,” I say to her.
She chuckles as we get out of the truck, strips out of her turnout gear before starting on the inventory of what we’ve used and what we need. Dean heads into the office and begins the necessary paperwork, while the four of us get to work.
My phone vibrates and when I look at it, there’s a message from Dani. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that. I miss you too.
What a day.
