Page 55 of It's a Brewtiful Day
“We’re going to be rescued!” No doubt my voice was loud enough to be heard outside.
Chad turned to the driver who pulled down the radio and started talking into it all the while scanning our side of the street.
He walked over to the window, half dressed in firefighter gear, and shielding his eyes, peered inside, his gaze enlarging when he spotted me. “Sage?”
“Hey!” I waved harder, knocking over my chocolate milk. As I righted it, Elliot was already at the counter and returning with a couple of the towels we’d used for pillows, cleaning up my mess.
He moved the cup out of the way as a sneer rolled off his tongue. “A former boyfriend?”
“No.” I twisted my face into a disbelieving expression. “That’s my brother-in-law. That’s Chad.”
There was a lot of commotion outside as the firefighters gathered around. They were pointing at things I couldn’t see and conferring about what to do.
Nina came running into view breathlessly, stopping to put her hands on her knees.
A couple of the firefighters walked over to the door and tried to free the tree from its stuck position, and when it didn’t budge, they headed back to the truck.
“They must be getting saws or something.” I was practically jumping up and down. Soon, so soon, we’d be free!
Whereas Elliot had plastered on a fake smile—the kind that didn’t tug on the corners of his eyes—allowing the dark cloud hanging over him to grow and fester, and I knew why.
Me.
We’d not even had an official first date, and I’d already hurt him. I’d taken our start of a friendship and stomped it out. But in all fairness, I had warned him I sucked at relationships.
So while he kept his distance from me, I kept a focus on the firefighters.
They made three cuts, sending sawdust all over the front of the door and part of the window. The breeze didn’t help at all, but within a few minutes, it was unwedged from the railing and the door was free.
Aside from Chad, who was leaning against it. Through the tiny crack of fresh air I was inhaling, he spoke. “They’re just checking to make sure there’s no downed power lines or anything that could hurt you.”
“Butyou’restanding there.” I was pacing back and forth, just waiting for the moment when the door would fully open, and we’d be free.
Nina stood near the firetruck, arms waving all about as if she was talking to someone.
“Oh! The list,” I said and finding it, rolled it into a scroll. I was prepared to hand it to Nina whenI blasted out of there.
Elliot sat on the stool, a deepening sadness rolling his shoulders inward like he had the weight of the world upon them.
From beyond the window and through the crack in the door, I heard Chad yell out, “All clear?”
Someone bellowed out an affirmative, and Chad pulled open the door. The whoosh of fresh air was mesmerizing and was a gentle slap to the face.
I took a step outside and popped my head back in. “Are you coming?”
He shook his head. “I’ll need to see Nina and discuss a few things.”
I waved the curled-up list, wondering why he still wasn’t getting off the stool. “I’m going to pay for everything. I promise. You won’t get in trouble.”
“It’s not that. Go. Your family is waiting.”
“It’s just Chad.” I didn’t consider the rest of the firemen family per se.
“What about that brunette over there biting her nails?”
I tossed my gaze in the direction he pointed and sure enough, there was Cassie, pacing back and forth and chewing her fingernails down to the quick. “My sister, yeah.”
“Go. You’ve gotten the all-clear.”