“Okay. I’m sorry I asked. You’re obviously fine.” She turned back to look out across the open ocean.
“I want to be a firefighter.”
Rory craned her necked to the side to look up at Trey, waiting for him to continue.
“I want to be a firefighter, but my dad wants me to get a college degree.” His shoulders rose and fell as he sagged against the bench.
Her head slowly bobbed in thought. “How old are you?”
“I’m nineteen. Old enough to join the department, old enough to become an officer or even a soldier,” he listed, the frustration in his voice telling.
“I totally get that. I wasn’t implying that you couldn’t. I’m just trying to understand your father’s reasoning,” she explained.
“He thinks that if I go to college, it’ll give me a fairer shot in life, but…” He brought his palms up and ran them down his face before resting his elbows on his thighs and leaning forward. He clasped his hands under his chin, his fingers intertwining to support its weight.After a few more seconds of him not saying anything, he finally released his hands and straightened up.
“I’ve wanted to be a firefighter since I was a little boy. But more than anything, I’ve always wanted to be like my dad. He loves his job and the people that he gets to call his work family and the respect that they have for him, not to mention the community…I remember when I was a kid, maybe five or six, the first time I saw my dad on the news, I was just so blown away by the gears he was wearing, the soot on his face and just how he spoke with confidence and assurance after he and his team rescued a whole apartment building of people.” Trey paused to look over at Rory, a smile on his lips, his eyes twinkling in reminiscence. “The reporter asked him how it felt to be a hero in his own right…his reply was that he didn’t see himself as a hero but rather one who has the privilege of serving his community and saving lives in the process. Then the reporter said that the world needed more men who were willing to serve as well as he did, and, at that moment, I knew I wanted to be a firefighter.”
Rory smiled back at him with understanding and admiration. “I can tell that you’re going to make a great firefighter,” she complimented.
A noticeable red hue ran up the sides of his neck. Trey ducked his head even as his smile broadened.
“I’m going to say something, and I don’t want you to take it the wrong way,” Rory continued to say, still staring at the young man to gauge his reaction.
Trey’s blue eyes cut to her.
After drawing in a small breath and releasing it, she explained, “I think your father is fine with you becoming a firefighter, but he might feel that just being that is limiting your ability to function outside of that space. Being a firefighter is a dangerous job Trey, and that makes it very unpredictable. I think Donny wants you to do the degree so that in case anything happens, you’ll still have a fair shot at life. Look at it this way. Being a firefighter has been your dream, your passion for all these years you’ve not wavered. What’s a couple more years of waiting and a college degree?”
Trey nodded his head in understanding.
“Your father will have no choice but to see you as a smart and responsible young man and respect your choices.”
He continued to nod as he cast his eyes down in thought. Finally, he looked over at her, his blue eyes warm with mirth. “You know, you’re kinda cool. If I had a big sister, I’d like to imagine that she would have been just like you— smart, take no nonsense, sensitive, caring, and I think I already said smart.”
Rory felt the heat creep up her neck before it settled in her cheeks. Her lips broadened involuntarily. It was her turn to duck her head. She leaned into him, bumping their shoulders. “You’re not so bad yourself. I suppose if I had a little brother, I would imagine him being just like you too— stubborn, rude—”
“Hey!” Trey called out in offense.
Rory held up her hand as laughter bubbled in her chest. “Let me finish,” she implored. “He’d be passionate, and he’d have a big heart that he tries to hide on occasions but can’t.” She smiled brightly at him, letting him see how sincere she was.
Trey happily returned her smile.
If she had a brother, she definitely would have wanted him to be like him. It was humbling how far their relationship had come since their first meeting. On the two occasions that they got to be alone, he’d shown her his vulnerable side, and she’d come to understand him more, and now she really did appreciate their budding brother-sister relationship, especially with him trying to get along with her mother. But just then her mood soured at the thought of her mother.
“What about you?”
Rory looked over at him from the corner of her eye, her head tilting with the action in his direction.
“What about me?” she asked skeptically.
Trey turned fully to stare at her side profile. “Why did you come to the boardwalk Rory?” he asked, all the humor gone from his tone.
This time she turned, looking over at him. His eyes seemed much older and wiser than his years as they peered at her.
She sighed. He’d confided so much about his own struggles to her that she owed him the courtesy of some explanation.
She drew in a deep gulp of air, expanding her lungs to twice their capacity before releasing it. “I got in an argument with my mom earlier this morning,” she revealed.
He nodded in encouragement for her to explain.
