When I was a firefighter 6 Chapter 8 part 4 of 4

When I was a firefighter 6
Chapter 8 part 4 of 4

She replied, “Merci! If that is all, I will see vous next time?”

I said, “Yes; and I certainly look forward to it!”

Cha-rie said, “I as well; Au revoir!”

Cha-rie walked back into the bedroom and I watched her until the door closed behind her. I marveled at how I never got tired or bored of looking at her, how sexy she was, and the way she kept things interesting. I was lost in thought about my Cherry when, a few minutes later, she came back out from the bedroom wearing what she had on before ‘Cha-rie’ came to visit. Cherry sat on my lap and she was clearly no longer in character.

She said, “I’m so sorry, Babe…”

Confused, I asked, “Sorry? For what?”

She explained, “I laid down for a minute back there and passed out. I guess I just needed a nap.”

I smiled and said, “That’s ok.”

She asked, “Anything interesting happen while I was out?”

Still smiling, I said, “Nothing much; the cleaning lady was here—a new girl; who had a bit of a French accent.”

Cherry looked around and asked, “Did she do a good job? Was she thorough?”

I answered, “Yeah, she was great. She even wore a nice uniform; it made her look more professional.”

“Was she cute?” Cherry ‘wondered’.

I slowly nodded my head and said, “I have to admit she was attractive.”

We both started to laugh and neither one of us could be declared a ‘loser’ for being the first to laugh. We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the couch together. Sometimes we were just spending quality time in silence; other times we were trying to decide on baby names or going over the millions of other things we needed to get done in the next seven months before the baby arrived.

The next morning, Olivia called to thank us again for helping her and Amanda as we did. They decided to go back home early so they could get a head start on making arrangements for moving back. We asked them to stay in touch and to let us know if there were any ‘developments’; they promised that they would, of course.

Olivia said to Cherry, “I can’t believe I’m going to have a baby before you! I always thought you’d have one first.”

Cherry said, “Hey: you don’t even know if you’re pregnant yet. I still might beat you to it!”

Olivia thought for a few seconds and said, “Oh, my god…”

Cherry simply asked her, “What?”

Olivia replied, “You’re pregnant.”

Cherry tried to keep the secret a little longer, but her stammering for a story told the truth.

Olivia became excited and said, “You ARE! You’re pregnant! How far along?”

Cherry admitted, “I’m at eight weeks.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Olivia asked.

Cherry said, “I don’t know; I guess I wanted to surprise you later.”

The two lifelong friends began chatting with excitement about babies and all that comes with them; it was too adorable to watch. They talked for at least an hour before Olivia had to end the call because of a low battery. Several weeks later, we got a card from Olivia and Amanda announcing Olivia’s pregnancy. The card was ‘classy’, reading: “Morning sickness blows chunks! But I wouldn’t trade it for anything!” and there was a printed picture of two positive home pregnancy testers.

Cherry called to congratulate Olivia (and Amanda, too) on the baby. She asked why she took two tests and Olivia said the box came with two and they just wanted to be sure there wasn’t a mistake. It would also have been a waste to just throw the second one away, so getting the ‘second positive’ made sense.

Between doctor’s appointments and ultrasounds, buying things for the baby, and work, the next several months flew by in a flash! But once a week Cherry would put on one particular outfit and I took a full-length profile picture of her to document the progress of her pregnancy. We knew this was not exactly an original idea, but we both liked the simple photo documentary. We elected to be surprised and not find out the sex of the baby during the ultrasounds. This drove both of our families nuts, but we found it more exciting to wait. Olivia and Amanda decided not to wait and discovered she was having a little boy. They asked if I could help with ‘boy stuff’ as he got older; neither Olivia nor Amanda knew much about things like fishing, camping, or making tree forts… I, of course, told them I would love to help; to spend time with him as frequently as possible.

It wasn’t until seven months after helping Olivia and Amanda that they were able to finally find work and make their move to our area. Cherry was ready to deliver any day and, other than her full, round stomach and now larger breasts, she looked like she hadn’t gained a pound. She and Olivia wanted to get together before Cherry delivered so they could spend some time together while they were both pregnant and to get a few pictures since the occasion would never happen again (Olivia was only having one baby, after all). We made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner.

Olivia called Cherry and me from the restaurant to tell us they were already there and waiting for us. Normally we would have been there already, but clearly, when you are nine months pregnant, you don’t move as quickly as you once did. Olivia understood and said to ask the hostess to be seated with the ‘Hart party’.

We arrived a few minutes later and the hostess sat us with Olivia right away. Amanda was not there. Olivia struggled slightly to get up when she saw Cherry and the two friends hugged while holding their swollen bellies to the side. They were talking before they even took their seats, remaking how great the other looked. I helped push Cherry’s chair in for her before taking my own seat.

Cherry asked, “Where is Amanda? I thought she was joining us?”

Olivia said, “Oh, she’s here! She just had to use the ladies’ room.”

Cherry whispered, “Your boobs are getting big!”

Olivia said, “I know, almost a C cup now. But look who’s talking!”

The conversation quickly turned back to all things ‘baby’ and I more-or-less just listened to them carry on. A few minutes later, Olivia saw

Amanda came up from behind me and said, ‘oh, here she comes now’. As I turned to look, I was reminded of the first time I ever saw Amanda and how she was not at all what I had been expecting (I had been expecting a man…). Ironically, Amanda was once again not at all what I was expecting to see. She was still Amanda, of course. However, her stomach was bigger than Olivia’s.

When she saw Amanda, Cherry’s face seemed to match my reaction: complete and utter shock. Amanda just smiled and sat next to her wife while they both said in unison, ‘surprise’.

Cherry was unable to speak with her mouth hanging open; I just stammered until I agreed, “Yeah: very surprised!”

They just smiled and Amanda said, “You have some pretty strong swimmers there, David.”

I recalled our ‘procreation session’ and how my orgasm began while pushing into Amanda before I pulled back out and released the rest of it inside of Olivia. I didn’t think it likely (or even possible) that Amanda would become pregnant from one partial load, but in hindsight, everyone knows it only takes one sperm cell to get there and do the job.

Cherry finally gathered herself and said, “We…did not see that coming. Why didn’t you tell us?”

Olivia said, “We wanted to see the looks on your faces—priceless, by the way!”

Amanda said, “And you haven’t even heard the best part yet!”

Cherry and I asked, “There’s more?”

Olivia nodded while Amanda held up her hand and said, “Twins!”

I said, “Holy crap. Are you serious?!”

They both nodded and confirmed that they weren’t joking. Cherry and I sat in stunned silence. Amanda said that she was having two girls and that they weren’t even identical—she started out with two.

I said, “I actually feel bad about this! I mean: you only wanted one to start and then you wanted to wait to see if another was a good idea. And now you have three-all at once!”

Olivia said, “No! Don’t feel bad. It’s actually been great for us! The entire experience has been nearly exactly the same for both of us and that is really what we wanted.”

Amanda agreed but added, “We probably could have done without the morning sickness, though… You ever watch two pregnant women throwing up at the same time in one toilet?”

Cherry and I shook our heads while she said, “I can’t imagine. I don’t know if that would make it better or worse—better because you aren’t alone; but then there are two people vomiting!”

Olivia offered, “Isn’t being pregnant glamorous?!”

All three of them laughed before coming up with a lot of privileges that come along with being pregnant: courtesy parking up close at the grocery store; people waiting to hold the door for you—even if you aren’t carrying anything; and the unanimous favorite (and probably most necessary) front of the line privileges in the ladies’ room.

We had a very nice dinner while we discussed all that the coming months would bring, along with our plans for the future. Amanda and Olivia liked the idea of the four of us staying close and we considered them as an extended family; they were like our sisters, and we were like their sister and brother. For the time being at least, I would be ‘Uncle David’ to their three kids; we’d figure out later if or when we would tell them the truth about me being the biological father. But that was completely up to Amanda and Olivia to figure out.

Two days later, Cherry was having an unusually difficult time getting comfortable. I was doing everything I could to help her, but nothing would do the trick. Sitting down was not an option for her; she just walked around the apartment while holding her stomach.

I asked her, “Is it time?”

Cherry thought for a few seconds and replied, “I don’t know.”

I kept my eye on her and by the way, she was acting, I had a feeling she was getting ready to deliver. Her overnight bag had been packed for at least a month by that point; I grabbed it and took it out to the car. When I came back inside, Cherry was standing in the hallway with one hand on her stomach and the other on the wall for support. She looked like she was struggling just to remain standing.

Before I could say anything, she said, “NOW I know: It’s the time!”

Being a well-trained firefighter and completely at ease during emergency situations, I was naturally in borderline panic mode! Perhaps it’s easier to stay calm when it is someone you don’t know as opposed to the Love of your life… At any rate, I had to concentrate on keeping calm to avoid stressing her or our arriving baby. Cherry made her way to the car and I was with her to help steady her.

We elected to go to the hospital where she worked because she liked the maternity ward and knew a few of the nurses there. I pulled up to the ER entrance and ran inside to get a wheelchair. When I came out, Cherry was heaving herself out of the car and trying to get her bag out of the back seat. I told her she was nuts and to take a seat… She conceded and sat down while I took the bag from her before wheeling her inside. As she started her check-in process, I went and parked the car. By the time I returned, they had already moved her to maternity. She was having her vitals taken and getting hooked up to all kinds of machines when I walked through the door.

Cherry’s doctor came to check on her not long after I caught up with her and said that, although she was in labor, the baby wasn’t coming immediately. He offered her an epidural and she turned it down without hesitation.

I said, “Babe, you realize it’s going to be extremely painful without one. I don’t want you to go through that kind of pain…”

Cherry said, “I know. But that’s part of it—part of the experience. I don’t want to cheat myself out of that.”

The doctor said some women try that and change their minds at the last minute. He told her that she can change her mind if she wants, but after a certain point, it would be too late. Cherry said she understood but assured us that she would not change her mind. She was right.

After 15 unbelievably long hours of labor, my wife—the most beautiful girl in the world—had to start sharing her title with our daughter, Nicole Olivia Mann. Nicole was a tiny angel and it was clear she had good lungs! To others, she was crying; but to me, she was singing. Her hair was red, just like her Mommy’s; perhaps a few shades lighter (but would likely darken a bit over time). Once the nurses weighed her and recorded all of the other vital information they needed for their paperwork, Nicole was handed to Cherry and almost immediately stopped crying. We took turns counting fingers and toes and enjoying that ‘new baby smell’. As new parents, we could not have been prouder!

After Cherry rested for a while, we began letting family and then friends come in to greet the newest member of the family; first our parents and then Amanda and Olivia. Even several of the guys from the station house came by to see the baby.

Cherry only stayed in the hospital for one night before she was ready to go home. Perhaps typical of all first-time fathers, I drove 10 miles an hour UNDER the posted speed limit (at the most)!

Prior to becoming a father, if anyone had told me that it would change things between my wife and me, I would have told them they were certifiably crazy. Surprisingly, however, they would have been one hundred percent correct. The dynamic between us changed dramatically.

Perhaps more precisely, the dynamic was built upon: we still had the same Love and passion for each other, but now we had our daughter to show for it and Nicole opened up an entirely new level of Love in us that neither of us could have imagined before!

But the most dramatic change was in my outlook on life in general. My priorities in life shifted a bit and that took me by surprise. I no longer saw firefighting as my passion; it became nothing more than a job. My passion was my family. And the longer I thought about that, the more I realized that my inherently dangerous job put them at risk. It didn’t take long for me to start looking for new work.

Chief noticed the change in me and, when he asked about it, I told him what I was thinking. He wasn’t exactly taken aback. In fact, he said he didn’t blame me. I told him about a job that I heard about opening as an assistant to the arson investigator. It was basically in the same line of work, a lot safer, and it would even afford me a pay raise. But the best part was that it offered regular working hours! Chief helped me tailor my résumé and I submitted my application. When I went for the interview, I was told that my experience level was perfect for the job; enough experience to have a solid understanding of how and why a fire moves, but not so much that I thought I knew everything (meaning I was still trainable). It came as a little shock and a huge relief when I was officially offered the job.

Six weeks after Nicole’s arrival, Amanda went into labor and gave birth to the twins. The firstborn had brown hair like mine while the second had golden blonde hair; taking after her mother. When Amanda and Olivia announced the girls’ names, the first one took me a little by surprise.

They named her Katelyn. But her name had nothing to do with Katie; it was just a coincidence that they picked that name for her. Her twin sister was named Ericka. A short two weeks passed, and Olivia delivered the first boy: Ryan—who looked exactly like me.

We were all very satisfied in our lives; both personal and professional. Amanda and Olivia were done having kids, of course, but Cherry and I wanted at least a few more. The new job was working out great and the larger paychecks combined with Cherry’s salary allowed our savings account to grow enough to buy a small home. And as soon as we were settled into the new home and knew we could afford it, Cherry and I decided to have another baby. Nichole was almost two when Cherry and I gave her a little brother—who, once again, looked just like me. Cherry insisted on naming him David after me. I didn’t want to be a ‘senior’ or have people call my son ‘junior’, so we also gave him a middle name (Allen).

Over the course of the next several years, we had two more kids; first another boy (Chris—who looked a lot like Cherry) and then a beautiful baby girl (Elizabeth—she looked like both of us). Life could get a bit chaotic at times with four kids in the house, but we loved every second of it.

And with the help of Amanda and Olivia, Cherry and I still managed to find time for ‘alone time’. The unspoken arrangement was we would take the kids for a day once in a while (usually at least every other week) so they could have some private time and they would do the same for us in return. The understanding was perfect for all four of us and worked perfectly for many years.

One Summer Saturday When the oldest four were nearly 8 years old, Amanda called to ask if I could take the kids for a few hours to the playground nearby. I told her that I was more than glad to take them and I loaded up the minivan (an ugly necessity for large families on a tight budget) with the seven kids and headed for the playground.

En route to our destination, we stopped at the ‘infamous’ intersection. It had been changed years ago and, to my knowledge, there had not been an accident there since they fixed it; certainly not one with any serious injuries. While waiting for the light to change, I reflected on the events from what seemed another lifetime yet, not that long ago. I remembered Katie and realized that she had not ‘visited’ my dreams in years—before Nichole was even born. I missed her at that moment and wondered ‘where she was’ and ‘how she was doing’. I barely noticed the light turned green but began driving as if on autopilot. The sound of tires passing quickly over rumple strips snapped me out of my semi-trance and I saw a large bus coming to a rapid halt. Fortunately, the driver of the bus managed to stop before the light. I continued driving, shaking my head at the other driver’s inattention (while chastising myself for almost doing the same thing).

We got to the park and the kids were so excited that they poured out of the van as soon as I put it in park. The seven of them had the park all to themselves and I took a seat on a bench to soak up some sun and watch them play. A short time later, I saw Katelyn on the swings but she wasn’t really swinging; she just sat there. A feeling of severe déjà vu came over me; I went to see if she was ok.

“Katelyn, sweetie? Is everything ok?” I asked.

She nodded her head while looking at the ground and replied, “I think so.”

I asked, “Why aren’t you playing with your sister, brother, and cousins?”

With a look of confusion, she said, “I’m trying to remember something—a dream I had, I think.”

I waited for her to continue, and she said, “I dreamed of today before…a long time ago. I remember you were here. And we sat on the swings here—like we are now. And, I could hear them playing, but they weren’t there. What do you think that means?”

The End