Marine Firefighter

by M K Dwyer

  She pulled up to her condominium and parked. He got out of his car as she got out of hers and started walking towards her. She wondered how she put up with the weasel for so long. Just looking at his Ken-doll haircut and his fake Ken-doll smile made her want to retch. In the beginning, she considered him handsome, charming, and out of her league. But his true colors came out slowly over the course of their relationship. He changed so gradually that it was easy to turn a blind eye. He still wore the same sunny, plastic mask, but his insides perfectly matched his dark hair and dark eyes.

  “What do you want Aiden?”

  “Is that any way to greet your husband?”

  “Ex-husband. What do you want?”

  “Where have you been all day? School hasn’t started, so I know you weren’t there.”

  She just looked at him for a second, unable to believe her ears. He stopped caring about her so long ago, even before he walked out on her, that she couldn’t remember the last time he cared where she was. Why now?

  “What does it matter to you? I was out. I’ll say it one last time, Aiden. What. Do. You. Want?”

  “I wanted to see you.” He reached out to touch her arm.

  “Excuse me?” She pulled away just in time. “You drove down from Berkeley just to see me? Why? To flaunt your happiness in my face? To make me jealous? To see the look on my face when you give me some incredible news like Brandy is pregnant?”

  He flinched, but before he could answer, she put her hand in the air like a stop sign and cut him off. “No. It doesn’t matter. Go home Aiden. Go home to your wife.” She didn’t bother to hide the disgust in her voice as she unlocked the gate that led to her complex, and let it slam behind her, effectively locking him out.

  Once safely inside her condo, she gave herself permission to break down. They’d been divorced for over a year, and she moved eight hours away from everything she knew so she would never accidentally run into him and the woman he left her for.

  Two years ago

  Dinner was almost ready, and Aiden was due home any minute. Nikki prepared a special dinner to celebrate the positive result on her ovulation test that morning. They were about to start a family, and everything was going to be okay. Though she knew Aiden had some reservations, he had agreed with her that they were finally financially stable enough.

  Right out of college, at the beginning of their marriage, Aiden had wanted to have children immediately, but she wanted to enjoy just being married first. By the time she was ready though, he kept coming up with excuses to put it off. Months ago, when she first brought it up, he’d outright said no. He was so uncharacteristically adamant about not having a baby that she thought he was joking at first, but laughter quickly turned to tears when she realized he wasn’t. He’d tried to placate her by saying he just needed a little more time, but she really didn’t understand why. After years of struggling to stay afloat on her teacher’s salary while he grew his commercial real estate business, he had just had his first truly profitable year, and things were looking up.

  Shortly after their first fight on the baby subject, he went out and bought a new Mercedes which started a new fight and blew his stability argument out of the water. Then the late nights at the office increased, and she felt like every time she saw him they fought about having kids, so she backed off the subject. All the hours he’d poured into his business had been good for the bottom line but had been hard on their marriage. He was a workaholic, and something had happened to them during that time, but she was ready for things to slow down. To finally enjoy life a little bit.

  While the lasagna, Aiden’s favorite meal, baked in the oven, Nikki ran upstairs to shower. She plucked and shaved and trimmed to be ready for the night ahead. She spritzed herself with the perfume Aiden bought her last Christmas even though it made her smell like a hooker. She put on the lingerie he liked most even though it pinched and left marks across her body. Finally, she put on the dress she knew he loved, but would never wear in public because it had vast potential for a wardrobe malfunction.

  When she emerged from her bedroom, the entire house smelled divine, and the oven chimed just as she reached the bottom of the staircase. She pulled the lasagna out of the oven and placed it on a trivet in the middle of the dining room table along with the salad, garlic bread, a bottle of wine, two place settings, and a few candles. She lit the candles and sat down at the table to wait. She timed everything perfectly to be ready just moments before he walked in the door. After fifteen minutes, she put foil over the lasagna to trap in what little heat remained. He’d promised he wouldn’t work late, but she assumed the traffic was bad. After thirty minutes, she blew out the candles, poured herself another glass of wine and moved to the couch. She was disappointed in him because he didn’t stick to his word, but she was more disappointed in herself for falling for his lies again. For getting her hopes up again. For not acknowledging that nothing was as it once was in their marriage.

  She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, the front door was squeaking closed, and she heard Aiden mutter a curse at it. Then she heard him mutter another curse as he passed the dining room. By that time, she was wide awake and angry. He reached the stairs and looked over into the living room to see her staring back at him. He let out a heavy sigh, looked to the top of the stairs, then back at her as if he was contemplating which direction to go.

  In utter disbelief at his behavior, she just sat there waiting for him to make up his mind. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something had changed between them. It happened so gradually that she didn’t notice it as it was happening. But the Aiden she once knew would never stand her up, then try to sneak in the house, and then try to pretend she didn’t exist once he was caught.

  Finally turning towards the living room, he approached her with his head down and sat down on the opposite end of the couch from her.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Okay. That’s a start. Sorry for what? Standing me up? Lying? Sneaking around? Ignoring me?”

  “Yes. All of it. And I’m sorry…” His voice trailed off like he had more to say but didn’t have the nerve to say it.

  “Spit it out, Aiden. Might as well. I couldn’t get any angrier with you.”

  “I’m sorry…” He paused again, and she was about to lose her patience with him. “I’m sorry, but I want a divorce.”

  Stunned silent, she just sat there staring at him, wondering if she’d heard him correctly. A divorce? He could not have shocked her more if he’d told her he was having a sex-change operation. As the fog cleared, she began to ask herself why. What could she have done to prevent everything from falling apart? What made him want a divorce now? Was it because she wanted a baby?

  He must have seen the questions on her face because he said, “It not you…”

  Before he could finish, she screamed, “If you are about to say, ‘it’s me’, don’t even bother! Don’t you dare start throwing clichés at me, Aiden Eric Malone. Tell me the truth. To end things now, you’d better have a darn good reason.”

  That’s when it hit her. “Who is she?” Her voice was calmer than she felt, and the look in his eyes told her she was right on the money.

  “For how long?”

  “What?”

  “How long have you been screwing someone else? Must be pretty serious to throw away our marriage like it’s nothing!” Now she was screaming again.

  “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.” He got up and walked towards the stairs.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” She was hot on his heels.

  “To pack a bag. I’m giving you the house. I’ll be out of your hair in a minute.”

  “Out of my hair?” She was incredulous. “Like you’re doing me a favor by running away from this conversation like a coward too afraid to face the music?”

  “I’m doing myself a favor,” he muttered under his breath.

  “All right, asshole. Have it your way. Grab what you want and get out, bu
t don’t expect to come back. Leave your side-bitch’s address, and I might send what I don’t burn.”

  She glared at him while he packed a suitcase, and then followed him until he was out the front door. When the deadbolt was firmly in place, she sank to the floor and cried until there was nothing left in her. For at least an hour in a ball on the floor, she mourned her marriage, and the unfairness of it all. She questioned her whole life with him and their whole relationship. She didn’t know how long Aiden had been cheating, but she knew their once happy marriage had been far from “happy” for a while. She woke up that morning with a clear view of where her life was headed, but Aiden’s treacherous acts flipped her world on its axis.

  Finally done wallowing in her self-pity, she made a promise to herself to live every day with only one goal in mind: To be happy. She got up, found a pad and a pencil, and wrote “to do list” at the top. Then she crossed that out and wrote “to be happy list” in its place. “Change the locks” was at the top of her list. She was serious that she wouldn’t allow Aiden back in her home or her life. He’d betrayed her in the worst way possible, and there would be no coming back from that for them, ever.

  Present

  Her phone started to ring, but she took her time searching for it in her purse. She found it just as it stopped, and it chimed with a missed call from Joyce. Before she could decide whether to call her back, it rang again.

  She took a few deep breaths, so she wouldn’t sound like she’d been crying. “Hello.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Don’t give me that shit.”

  “Why are you calling, Joyce?”

  “Nice subject change. I was going to talk you into coming to karaoke, but I’m coming over instead.”

  “That’s not necessary. I’m fine.”

  “No. You’re not. I’ll be there in ten.”

  “Thanks Joyce.”

  “You’re welcome sweetie.”

  When Joyce got there she finally poured her heart out about what brought her to San Diego. About how her husband left her unexpectedly after cheating on her for months with his assistant, Brandy. Looking back, she supposed there were red flags that she missed, but she had no reason to suspect that the late nights at the office were anything more than that. She told Joyce about the divorce that seemed to last forever, but at the same time was over too quick for all the years they’d been together. About how her ex had married his mistress before the ink was even dry on their divorce. About how she looked for a teaching position far away from Berkeley to get away from the heartache. And finally, about the unexpected visitor that was waiting for her when she got home.

  “I almost wish I’d let him explain what he was doing here,” Nikki said through sniffles.

  “No. Whatever his reason, I guarantee he was up to no good.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “Of course, I’m right. Now, let’s open a bottle of wine, turn on a chick flick, and fantasize about that hunk at the bar earlier. What was his name?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  Chapter Five

  Will

  Will and Adam pulled into Theresa’s driveway at 8 P.M. on the dot. As if she was in a hurry to for them to leave as soon as possible, she intercepted them before they could reach the door. She called for Joe to hurry up and get in Will’s truck. Then turned back to the two men standing in front of her and said, “So Will, who’s this piece of man candy?”

  “Theresa, this is Adam. Adam, Theresa. He’s my new roommate.”

  “Roommate? You need roommates? But you must make a ton of money as a model.” She winked at Adam.

  “I’m not a model.”

  “Shame. You could be. So, what do you do? You’re not some dumb firefighter, like this one, are you?” She pointed to Will. “Dumb shit will probably burn half his pretty face off one day.”

  Will just rolled his eyes. He’d heard it all before. It was no secret that he and Theresa didn’t get along, and they’d even stopped being civil towards each other when Joe wasn’t around to overhear their animosity towards each other.

  “I’m an accountant.” Adam answered as Joe came running out of the house, stopped to give Will a hug, and got in his truck.

  “Ooooo. Smart and sexy. You can do my taxes any time.”

  “Bye, Theresa. We’ll be back by dinner on Sunday.” They got in the truck effectively squashing the awkward exchange.

  “Fine. Make sure to bring ‘man candy’ with you!” She waved as they pulled away from the house.

  Will and Adam exchanged looks that said everything they could while Joe was in the truck. Out of respect, neither man wanted to speak ill of Theresa in front him, but it was nice for someone else to see what he’d put up with for the last nine years. During the drive out there, Will warned Adam what he’d gotten himself into, but either Adam didn’t take him seriously or he downplayed in his head the level of “crazy” Will described. It was no surprise to Will that Theresa flirted unabashedly with Adam, but Adam sure did seem surprised. And a little queasy.

  Will and Adam didn’t stop to eat on the way into Arizona, and Joe didn’t like what his mom fed him for dinner, so they pulled into a drive thru and ate their weight in tacos on the way back to San Diego. Since he hadn’t moved anything into his new room yet, Will dropped Adam off at the house on Melrose Lane and rented a hotel room for him and Joe for the night. He was able to trade some shifts to be off until Monday, so he figured he’d be able to move the essentials the next day and at least sleep in the new place that night.

  He fell asleep thinking about the girl at the pub. He wished for the hundredth time that he’d stopped to get her name and number, if he was reading the signs right that she was interested in him. After years with Theresa, he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to take the matrimonial plunge again, but he’d never know if he didn’t get back out there.

  Since his divorce, the few nameless faces who’d kept his bed warm for a night here and there didn’t count. He might’ve only been in her presence for a minute or two, but there was something about her that called to him. Even while dealing with Theresa’s change of plans and the move, she was at the forefront of his mind. One way or another, he was determined to find her again.

  The next morning, Adam texted Will and offered to help him move. He told him the address of his old apartment and thought Adam might drop by after work to help him. However, to his surprise, Adam, War and Jesus were waiting for him and Joe when they got there. Adam had called in sick and the other two just so happened to be off that Thursday. He hadn’t accumulated much since separating from the Marine Corps, but he appreciated their help nonetheless. Thanks to all the extra hands, Will had his things packed up in under an hour. They even offered to load what wouldn’t fit into his truck in their cars and managed to move everything in one trip.

  That night, Will wanted to cook the guys a steak dinner to thank them for their help.

  “Joe. Put your shoes on. I need to go to the store.”

  “But me and War just started playing Call of Duty!”

  “It won’t take long. You can play when you get back.”

  “Leave him here. We’ll watch him. He and War will be zoned out to that Xbox the whole time you’re gone anyway,” Adam interjected as he walked into the room.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’m sure. Quit asking.” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t offer if he was still in diapers, but an eight-year-old fits right in around here. We’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll be half an hour at the most. Call if you need anything.”

  “Go.”

  A brief time later, Will had grabbed everything he needed and was practically sprinting to the register when he turned a corner and collided with another cart. He looked up to apologize, but the beauty standing there stunned him into silence.

  It was her.

  ∞∞∞

  Nikki

  It was him.

  Instead of la
ying into the inconsiderate boob that needed to slow down in the grocery store, she suddenly found her tongue plastered to the roof of her mouth. The man she couldn’t get out of her mind was standing right in front of her; their carts tangled in a kiss like she wanted to have with him. He was wearing a dark blue shirt that darkened his eyes as well. They were still a clear, light blue; just darker than the day before. Again, she wondered what his sandy blonde hair felt like because it looked like strands of silk.

  “Hi,” she managed to squeak out as her raging hormones increased her core temperature.

  “Hello again.”

  “What are you doing here?” She paused. “No. Sorry. That came out wrong. I’ve never seen you here before. Come here often?” She blushed uncontrollably. “That came out wrong too. I’m going to shut up now.” She couldn’t believe the crap that was flying out of her mouth completely unchecked.

  He laughed a deep, sexy laugh. “I just moved in the neighborhood.”

  “Oh?”

  What was wrong with her? She was either babbling word-vomit or grunting out single syllable words. She stood there staring at him for Lord-knows how long, before her brain kicked in again. It was time to take the bull by the horns. Her unwelcome, uninvited visitor the day before reminded her of the “to be happy” rule she’d sworn to herself and made her see that she was letting life pass her by instead of living it to its fullest. Fate had put this handsome man in her path twice in two days, and she was not going to let him slip through her fingers again. He was the first man since her divorce with Aiden to make her hormones stand up and take notice. That had to mean something. Right? Here goes nothing.