Alana nodded, her eyes moving around. She puts her finger over her lips as if thinking before she speaks.
“What was your favorite part?” I asked.
Her eyes lit up. “Going on the big red truck!” She looked over my shoulder at the truck. She held her arms out wide behind me. “It is so big!” she yelled happily.
I laughed. “I am glad you liked it!”
I could see Alana’s teacher glancing at her watch and I knew I needed to wrap this up.
“Well, Miss Alana, I think it’s time for you to go back to your classroom now, okay?”
Alana nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Bye bye, Mr. Fireman.”
“Bye, Alana,” I said, setting her on her feet and waving as she ran back to the rest of her classmates.
Her teacher mouthed a grateful ‘thank you’ as she went back to her class, and I felt a strange tug in my chest, watching them walk away. A reminder of something lost and found in fleeting moments.
Greg shouted from the side of the truck, breaking me out of my reverie. “Hey, Jackson! Are you cleaning up or daydreaming?” He gave a mock salute, smirking.
“Both,” I shot back, shaking off the feeling and grabbing a rag to wipe down the truck steps. The chatter of the children blended into the rustle of leaves and the distant hum of traffic.
I climbed onto the side of the truck, feeling the metal cool under my palm. The weight of the day pressed on my back and shoulders, a familiar ache that whispered of hard work and a need for rest. Just as I finished, I felt the sudden awareness of being watched.
Turning, I was startled to see Savannah standing there, framed by the sunlight filtering through the branches of a nearby tree.
“Oh!” I feigned a dramatic clutch at my chest. “You scared me to death.”
A soft chuckle escaped her, her eyes narrowing slightly in amusement. “It’s nice that you did this for the kids,” she said, glancing at the fire truck.
Her voice was a blend of surprise and something deeper, as if she hadn’t expected to feel so at ease around me.
I leaned against the truck, crossing my arms as casually as I could manage. “Didn’t see you in the crowd,” I admitted, letting my gaze sweep over her as subtly as possible.
She wore a simple blouse and jeans, but the way she held herself made her look elegant, almost regal.
She raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at her lips. “I didn’t expect you to stop and do a dance just because I was there.”
I laughed, the sound carried away by the wind. “Not today,” I said, shaking my head.
I instantly loved her sense of humor.
“Are you here to get your girl?”
She nodded. “I am.”
“She’s a sweetheart,” I said, my voice dropping to a quieter tone. “She ran up to me like she’d known me forever.”
“I’m... glad you didn’t mind. I wouldn’t have thought Alana would do that. She is a very shy little girl, usually.”
I nodded. “That’s what her teacher said but she was very easy going with me. Not worried at all. I like to think that says something good about me.” I grinned wide.
She smiled too and let a short pause pass by before going to another subject. I was beginning to realize how easy it was to talk to her. It was almost like talking to Marcus.
“I’m so glad I found out about this today. If I’d showed up and saw this firetruck here or even just driven past, I might have been a little freaked out.” Savannah said.
“Oh, I’m sure!” I nodded. “Didn’t they give you notice that we were going to be here?”
“They did,” she answered, smiling sheepishly. “They send home a newsletter at the beginning of every month, too, with a calendar of events and I’m that mom that puts the calendar on the fridge with a magnet. I’m just saying if I had driven by without knowing, I might be worried.”
