“I guess we’re not getting any rest today. So much for a quiet shift.” I shrugged and walked over to put on my equipment.
It was pretty rare for us to actually have a fire in Andalusia, but we responded to calls all over the county. Most of the really small towns didn’t even have an engine, so if they had a fire that a bucket of water couldn’t put out, we got the call. I didn’t mind since it kept us busy, and it was good to actually earn our paycheck. The chief filled us in while we got dressed. We were dealing with a fire at a farmhouse several miles outside of Andalusia city limits. That wasn’t going to be an easy call since we couldn’t do much more than contain the fire and wait for it to burn down. They didn’t have any hydrants that far out. It was always difficult to watch someone’s house go up the smoke, especially when we didn’t have any way to really intervene. The family was safe though, and that was all the truly mattered. Their things could be replaced, and if we were able to keep it from spreading, his crops would be safe from everything but the heat.
“Alright, let’s go.” I grabbed the keys to the fire engine and motioned for Hudson to follow me.
“Nah, I’m driving.” He took the keys out of my hand. “You drove last time.”
“I drove the truck to fucking Starbucks. That doesn’t count.” I grunted and walked around the passenger side—it wasn’t worth the fight because my brother was stubborn when he wanted to be.
Although neither of us had talked about it since we got back to the station, I knew that both of us were thinking about the woman we saw earlier that morning. Eliza Abner. It had been five years since she left Andalusia, and things didn’t end well. My brother had a crush on her in high school, but he was too much of a chicken shit to ask her out. Everyone said she was a slut, but I had my doubts. All of the guys that cracked jokes about her in the locker room couldn’t name a single guy she had actually fucked. I decided to see if the rumors were true when I saw her go upstairs alone at the graduation party. Hudson didn’t have the balls to try and get in her panties, but I certainly did. Unfortunately, he walked in before I got a chance and I was forced to improvise. Hudson got to go balls deep in his crush and I got to fuck a hot girl on graduation night. That should have been the end of it, but it wasn’t. My stupid brother had to fall in love.
“It’s just a few miles up the road.” Hudson leaned forward. “Yeah, I can see the smoke.”
“Hopefully we can get it contained before it spreads.” I nodded and sighed.
We got to the farmhouse, and it was clear that there was no saving it. We hooked our hose up to the tank on the back of the engine and did our best to saturate the ground around the perimeter. Even if we called for the chief to send out the tanker with the rest of our water reserves, we would drain it dry without putting out the fire. If we had several engines and hoses, we might have been able to get it out if the tanker was there, but rural Alabama wasn’t prepared for that kind of endeavor. I worked the hose and kept the water flowing while Hudson consoled the family. He was good at that sort of shit. The sheriff arrived not long after we did and gave the family a ride into town. There was no reason for them to stand there and watch their house burn to the ground. It would be painful enough to sift through the wreckage once the fire was out.
“I hate this.” Hudson walked over and took the hose from me. “We should be able to do more.”
“Run for mayor.” I shrugged and walked back to the truck. “Nobody else gets to decide where the tax dollars are spent.”
“I bet Mayor Watson would have a different opinion if it was his house on fire.” Hudson turned the hose to the other side of the house when a beam broke and some embers spewed through the roof.
“I’m sure he would.” I grabbed a bottle of water and took
a sip. “But unless you plan on becoming an arsonist, that’s not going to happen.”
“Arsonist or mayor…” He grunted and shook his head. “What a fucking choice.”
“Not one I’d want to make.” I put down the bottle and walked over to take the hose from him.
Not that I ever thought I’d be a firefighter either…
I left Andalusia with a lot of hope and a bunch of dreams. I was going to be the starting quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and then I was going to be the first guy from Andalusia to make it in the NFL. All of those hopes and dreams died on the football field when a linebacker slammed into my knee the first time I took a snap. That sickening crunch put me on a surgeon’s table and effectively ended my football career. I tried to get back on the field again after I recovered, but I was just a big guy with muscles—I was no longer an athlete. All of the feats I used to be able to perform weren’t going to be seen again unless someone watched some old film footage of me in high school. I dropped out of college, moved back home to Andalusia, and lost myself in the bottle for a couple of years. My brother pulled me back from rock bottom and convinced me to go to the fire academy.
I didn’t deserve redemption, especially from him—not after what I did.
* * *
Five years ago
“Come on, bro. Give me one more rep.” Hudson leaned over with his hands underneath the barbell to make sure I didn’t drop it on my chest. “You can do it.”
“Ugh!” I brought the weight down and grunted as I pushed it back overhead. “Okay, I’m done.”
“One more…” Hudson grinned. “You don’t want to be bench pressing less than three hundred when you get to college.”
“Okay—fuck.” I grimaced and lowered the weight again.
The two-hundred and fifty pounds on the barbell was heavy as fuck for reps, but Hudson was right. I needed to be as strong as possible when I walked into the weight room at the University of Alabama. I’d never bench press as much as a linebacker, but those were the guys I was going to have to stop with a stiff-arm if I had to run the ball. It wasn’t going to be anything like high school. I would be facing down elite athletes and guys that had years of college experience on me—and they would be pressing the barbell in my hands like it was nothing. I pushed the weight overhead one more time and then felt my muscles giving out. I nodded towards Hudson and he quickly helped me guide the barbell back to the rack. I sat up and grabbed a towel to wipe away some of the sweat that was tried to run into my eyes.
“I’m going to miss having you around to spot me when I get to college.” I gave Hudson a playful jab. “You could still be a walk-on.”
“Nah.” He shook his head back and forth as he handed me a water. “I’ll never be good enough to go to the NFL, and I don’t want to sit on the fucking bench.”
“I still can’t believe you’d rather stay here and become a firefighter than go to college.” I took a drink of water as soon as my hand wrapped around the bottle. “Think about all the pussy you’re going to miss out on.”
“There’s more to life than that, man.” He sighed and took a seat on the bench beside me.