nothing but butterflies went through the door open. The office was empty, though, and the butterflies turned into a heavy stone.
I walked inside the near empty office. It had the same layout as mine, minus all of my decorations. I knew Jonah had a fair share, far more than me, but I wondered if he'd bother bringing them in. My helmet reminded me of good times and bad, and I suspected his was no different. With my arms crossed over my chest, I tried to think of the good times and calm myself down.
I didn't hear him behind me until he was directly behind me. Jonah’s voice was just above a whisper, as strong and soft as love, "It's all good. I'm back, and I’m safe."
I spun around, and as tears came from nowhere, I threw my arms around him. I sobbed and held on to him with everything I had.
"Hey, hey. It's okay." His voice was a whisper now, and I heard the door shut. He must've kicked it close, because his arms encircled me, holding me close to his warmth.
I knew it was silly to cry, but there was no stopping it. Between the close call, our fight, and seeing him on the news, I just couldn't help it. I wanted to go back in time a day. I wanted to go back and make sure things had ended so messy at my door.
"If something had happened to you…" I couldn't finish the sentence; I could only Berry my face into his shoulder.
My head kept trying to tell me that it wasn't so bad. Overall, it was a small fire, and Jonah was in very little danger. I knew that, or at least my logical brain did. It also knew that the chance of him being in a dangerous situation was virtually gone. His new job was to prevent fires, not walk into them. I knew all about, but the tears kept flowing.
One of his hands drifted to the small of my back. He squeezed, "If something had happened to me, they would have pulled me out. It wasn't bad, really. I was in the right place at the right time. Or maybe it was the right place at the wrong time, I don't know. Abbey, it's all right. We’re going to be all right."
"You really meant what you said about kids, didn't you?" I felt Jonah nodding. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. After what you said… I don't know. I started thinking, and I think I excel at worrying myself into a spiral."
Jonah didn't reply. He just kept stroking my back and holding me to him. It was what I needed. He was right; we were going to be all right. Whether we had kids are not—hell, whether we even really wanted kids or not, we’d be all right.
The last hour of the day made me wonder if time had stopped. Jonah was called into office after office all the way up to the executive fire commissioner. I knew he was tired, but he was the type of man who did what he had to do. Jonah was the type of man who put other people first, even when that meant his own safety and comfort went out the window. He was the kind of man who didn't take care of himself because he was too busy taking care of others.
I had a feeling the fire department would make him into the voice of Detroit Fire. He was a local celebrity, handsome, and a hero. He would do it, even though what Jonah really wanted was to be out of the public eye. He would do it because he cared about Detroit and the people that lived here.
We both guessed that he would be at work late between paperwork and phone interviews, so we agreed that he would come over as soon as he was free. I cleared my desk and rushed home to clean the place. Jonah was going to be stressed, and I wanted to give him a nice, relaxing evening. The kind of night that he had earned. The kind of night that he deserved.
"… Once again, Jonah, I can't thank you enough for your service today. Even as a former firefighter, you went above and beyond. I think it goes without saying that if you want the day off tomorrow, you are more than welcome to it."
Even though he was more of a politician than a firefighter, the commissioner was a decent man. He didn't bullshit with me about what I had done. He
I walked inside the near empty office. It had the same layout as mine, minus all of my decorations. I knew Jonah had a fair share, far more than me, but I wondered if he'd bother bringing them in. My helmet reminded me of good times and bad, and I suspected his was no different. With my arms crossed over my chest, I tried to think of the good times and calm myself down.
I didn't hear him behind me until he was directly behind me. Jonah’s voice was just above a whisper, as strong and soft as love, "It's all good. I'm back, and I’m safe."
I spun around, and as tears came from nowhere, I threw my arms around him. I sobbed and held on to him with everything I had.
"Hey, hey. It's okay." His voice was a whisper now, and I heard the door shut. He must've kicked it close, because his arms encircled me, holding me close to his warmth.
I knew it was silly to cry, but there was no stopping it. Between the close call, our fight, and seeing him on the news, I just couldn't help it. I wanted to go back in time a day. I wanted to go back and make sure things had ended so messy at my door.
"If something had happened to you…" I couldn't finish the sentence; I could only Berry my face into his shoulder.
My head kept trying to tell me that it wasn't so bad. Overall, it was a small fire, and Jonah was in very little danger. I knew that, or at least my logical brain did. It also knew that the chance of him being in a dangerous situation was virtually gone. His new job was to prevent fires, not walk into them. I knew all about, but the tears kept flowing.
One of his hands drifted to the small of my back. He squeezed, "If something had happened to me, they would have pulled me out. It wasn't bad, really. I was in the right place at the right time. Or maybe it was the right place at the wrong time, I don't know. Abbey, it's all right. We’re going to be all right."
"You really meant what you said about kids, didn't you?" I felt Jonah nodding. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. After what you said… I don't know. I started thinking, and I think I excel at worrying myself into a spiral."
Jonah didn't reply. He just kept stroking my back and holding me to him. It was what I needed. He was right; we were going to be all right. Whether we had kids are not—hell, whether we even really wanted kids or not, we’d be all right.
The last hour of the day made me wonder if time had stopped. Jonah was called into office after office all the way up to the executive fire commissioner. I knew he was tired, but he was the type of man who did what he had to do. Jonah was the type of man who put other people first, even when that meant his own safety and comfort went out the window. He was the kind of man who didn't take care of himself because he was too busy taking care of others.
I had a feeling the fire department would make him into the voice of Detroit Fire. He was a local celebrity, handsome, and a hero. He would do it, even though what Jonah really wanted was to be out of the public eye. He would do it because he cared about Detroit and the people that lived here.
We both guessed that he would be at work late between paperwork and phone interviews, so we agreed that he would come over as soon as he was free. I cleared my desk and rushed home to clean the place. Jonah was going to be stressed, and I wanted to give him a nice, relaxing evening. The kind of night that he had earned. The kind of night that he deserved.
"… Once again, Jonah, I can't thank you enough for your service today. Even as a former firefighter, you went above and beyond. I think it goes without saying that if you want the day off tomorrow, you are more than welcome to it."
Even though he was more of a politician than a firefighter, the commissioner was a decent man. He didn't bullshit with me about what I had done. He
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