One Bride for Three Firemen

Chapter 10

Olivia

After the firemen leave again, I am basically walking on air.

Well, not exactly walking. My legs feel kind of shaky and my lower spine feels like it is made out of Lego blocks. Shuffling. I am shuffling on air.

But it feels good. It feels delicious from the top of my head to the very bottom of my little pinky toe. I shiver with delight every time I think about it. Crazy? Absolutely. I mean, I am sure that people used to be hospitalized for this kind of crazy. But it felt amazing.

After the fire… Well I guess calling it a fire is kind of an exaggeration. After the slightly burnt cookie incident in the morning, I guess I thought the excitement triggered something in me. I really needed to relieve some stress, and there they were, like something out of a dirty movie. One made just for me, just when I needed it.

But when they came back, that was something different. I knew I had to make a choice. And I wasn’t sure, at first, what I should do.

Until Pete started talking. Something about that bossy dad voice just made me want to do the very naughtiest thing I could think of. Was he trying to talk me out of it? No way! The more he tried to talk me into backing out, the more stubborn I got. I would show him!

And I am so glad that I did. So very glad that I—

There is a knock at the door. I twist on the couch and stare at the doorknob in surprise and wonder. Are they back again? For real?

I’m not sure I can take it, but…

I guess I am willing to try!

I tiptoe over to the door, excited and nervous. But when I open the door, it’s Roger, standing there glaring at me.

Without saying anything, he pushes past me into my living room and looks around. He’s got a fire extinguisher in one hand and holds it out toward me accusingly.

“This,” he grunts. “You’re supposed to keep it under the sink.”

“Um, okay,” I murmur nervously as I walk toward him.

He hands it to me and I just take it quickly toward the kitchen, but when he turns around to watch me, I hear him suck his breath through his teeth. Startled, I glance back and see the other fire extinguisher, the one Trigger left on the dining room table.

“You already got one!” he barks accusingly.

“Yeah, well, so what?” I counter.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had one?” he accuses.

“I didn’t have one,” I say. “You were here… You know I didn’t have one.”

Instantly he starts to get red in the face and walk back and forth.

“You know what, you are always like this,” I hear him muttering to himself.

Automatically, I wrap my arms around my middle. Every time he gets like this, I wish I could just get smaller.

“So fucking stupid,” he continues.

I wrap my arms tighter.

“It’s just ridiculous!”

As he stomps back and forth, I’m not sure if I’m supposed to answer him, or if he is just talking to himself. For right now, I guess I will just assume that he’s talking to himself.

“Hello!” Betty announces loudly as she comes through the open door. “Helloooo!”

“Goddammit!” Roger blurts out.

Betty is just as sweet as can be. She plants her fists on her hips and stands there with her feet, shoulder-width apart.

“Oh, hey, I didn’t see you there!” she lies. “How’s it going, Roger? I was just dropping in to see Olivia.”

“Hi, Betty!” I yell across the room, suddenly emboldened.

He looks at me accusingly, then looks at Betty. I know he hates it when we support each other, because he feels like we are ganging up on him.

“You know what, you can just go,” he tells me, pointing into the air.

My stomach drops. “What?”

“Just go,” he repeats, grinning triumphantly. “Just move out.”

I take a step toward him tentatively. My hands fly up in front of me.

“No, wait!” I object. “I wanted to talk to you about that… I know I’m late, but—”

“You’ve been late before!” he bellows.

“Yes, I know that,” I say calmly, hoping it will calm him down. “But this has just been a really bad week for me… I just got fired, and—”

“You what?” he yells, incredulous. “Oh, wow! Are you serious? You are! Olivia… You are a mess. A goddamn fucking mess.”

Hot tears spring into my eyes. I’m a mess? What am I supposed to say to that?

Betty strides forward, instantly furious. She pokes him right in the middle of his chest.

“You! Get out!”

“This is my house!” he yells back incredulously, towering over her.

But though he is a foot taller than her, Betty is not afraid of anybody. She glares right back up at him, daring him to do anything. He stares at her, then seems to figure out where he is and what’s going on. With a huff, he storms out of my apartment and slams the door behind him.