6. Lucinda

6

LUCINDA

L ucinda had liked that kiss too much for comfort. She paced in circles in her apartment, repeatedly replaying her time on Becky's desk in her head.

Say my name, Lucinda.

She had snogged the fire chief with her legs spread in a fucking place of business. Lucinda wanted to scream into her pillows from the embarrassment. She couldn't be in her apartment anymore. The nervous energy in her was going to make her explode.

She slipped on her black heels and rode the elevator to the lobby, stopping the doorman.

"Where's the nearest bar?" she asked.

"Battle Cattle. One block over, ma'am. "

Lucinda tried her best not to gasp at the funky restaurant. It was like the 70s and millennial farm core vomited across the restaurant. It was full of bright memorabilia and different farm-themed decor. One wall was painted white with vinyls scattered across the walls. She wondered if it was supposed to look like cow spots. All the tables had papier-maché TV Guides and magazines pressed underneath the glass tops. “ Battle Cattle” was written in chalk on another black wall in between two giant fork and spoon hangings.

Lucinda wanted to die from the vulgarity, but she wanted to drink more. She brought herself to the bar and sat in one of the lime-green bar chairs.

A man with bleached silver-blond hair rolled up to her with a blue neon name tag that read "Artie." Wait, was he wearing roller skates?

"Welcome to Battle Catt—oh. You look like you need a drink, baby," he said, his silver earrings jangling as he turned toward the liquor. "What's your poison?"

"Martini, please. Or just a shot. I couldn't care either way." Lucinda sighed.

He laughed as he went to grab the gin on the medium shelf. "Hard day, Ms. England?"

"Top shelf, Mr. America." She was not about to drown her sorrows with shitty gin. "More like a disastrous day."

"I can tell. You're in here trying to take a shot at 3:30 in the afternoon." He measured out the gin before pouring it into a shaker. "You want to talk about it?"

"Isn't that a bit of a cliché? Telling the bartender all of your problems instead of a therapist?"

Artie smiled. "If it helps, I'm just really fucking nosy and want to know everyone's business. I'm not about to help ya or anything."

Lucinda laughed. "Before we talk about me, can you tell me why this place is themed like this?"

Artie looked around, confused. "Like what?"

"Uh, well…"

"I'm just screwin' with you. The owners couldn't decide what theme they wanted." He poured the shaker into a pink martini glass. "The missus wanted 70s; Fred wanted farmhouse. Yada-yada." He pushed the drink over to her. "Your turn."

Lucinda wouldn't usually tell her personal business to any stranger off the street, but who was she supposed to tell? Her colleagues? Her parents?

Hey, Mum, I might have snogged my bloody peer just two days living here. And we probably would have fucked on her desk if we hadn't been interrupted!

Yeah, that would go well. She downed the martini in two gulps and tapped its base.

"I'll need another one of these."

Artie chuckled and turned to make her a second drink.

Lucinda proceeded to tell this poor bartender everything that had been happening to her: London, the breakup, the job, Becky. Everything poured from her mouth as steadily as Artie kept pouring the gin. He even took a shot after hearing about her steamy office session with Becky.

"That's kinda hot," Artie said after the liquor went down. "The fact that she wouldn't kiss you until you said her name."

Lucinda raised an eyebrow. "Are you supposed to be drinking on the job?"

"No, but my shift is over, and I decided I gotta catch up to you. Wait here." He roller-skated through the kitchen doors, and when he returned, he was wearing normal sneakers.

"You like pizza, Dr. England?"

"Lucinda," she corrected. "Yes, I do. Why?"

"You aren't done with your story yet, and I'm starving. My treat." Artie walked through the bar, leading her out.

Lucinda shuffled behind him, the gin making her steps wobbly. "Do you normally befriend and kidnap your customers, sir?"

"Call me Artie." He smirked. "You can leave whenever you want. It just sounded like you needed a friend."

"It's really not wise to befriend random men you just met who also know you just moved here with no one."

Artie scoffed. "I am not interested in you, doll. I'm gayer than a pink leather pinata."

Lucinda snorted, the alcohol making her feel bold.

Artie led them to a hole-in-the-wall pizza shop called Tony's. This place was a regular place with no theme, and Lucinda relaxed when she saw chipped yellow paint and absolutely no indicator of farm decor.

The two sat down after ordering their pizza at the counter.

Artie ran his hand through his silver hair. "So, Chief Sexy made out with you on her desk. Then what happened? "

Lucinda blushed. "Her daughter and a colleague knocked on the door."

Artie's mouth dropped open. "No! Did they catch you?"

"No, Becky cleaned me up, and I sat on the other side of the desk. I don't think they realized what was happening."

"Oh, they definitely knew."

Lucinda dropped her head in her hands and whined. "Don't say that."

"I'm just telling you the truth." He sipped his soda. "They walk in there to find you disheveled and the whole office smelling like sex?"

"We did not have sex!" Lucinda hissed.

At the same time, the waitress came to set their large pepperoni pizza down.

Artie shrugged. "Dating troubles."

"Shut up ." Lucinda smacked his arm.

The waitress smiled politely and left them to eat.

Artie grabbed the biggest slice and folded it to fit in his mouth. "I'm juf fayin'," he said around the pizza. "It had to have seemed obvious."

"I'm going to have to leave town forever." Lucinda groaned. "I can't ever show my face back there. "

"Wait, do you not want to see her again?" Artie asked.

"Who, Becky?"

"Yeah, you seem all distraught and embarrassed, as if you didn't enjoy what happened. Did you just get caught up in the moment?" He shook some red pepper flakes on his slice and continued to eat.

"I..." Lucinda thought back.

She had thought Becky was going to kiss her in the living quarters. In fact, Lucinda wanted her to. The chief was even more alluring in the daytime. Her wit, her demeanor, the way she had gone straight into leader mode when the alarm sounded. Lucinda didn't need to sit on Becky's desk, but she did. She wanted to be close to her. She didn’t need to open her legs, but she had.

Desire had ensnared her and pulled Lucinda to Becky. She was honestly surprised she didn't end up in her lap.

The drifting kisses up her neck. Rough, calloused hands on her thighs. Experienced fingers on her?—

Nope. She couldn't think about that here with Artie sitting across from her.

"I did enjoy what happened," she said finally .

"Then why are you freaking out?"

"What if she's just playing with me?" Lucinda blurted out. "I can't get a bloody read on her."

Artie raised an eyebrow. "Would it be bad if she was? If she was just interested in sex?"

"I...I don't know. I hardly even know her, but I feel drawn to her."

"I say"—Artie put a slice of pizza on Lucinda's plate—"you see where this goes. You guys are obviously into each other."

"But what about our work? We have to be on a team together." Lucinda took a bite and thought that she could eat this pizza every day for the rest of her life.

"Hot," Artie said, making Lucinda laugh.

After dinner, Artie and Lucinda traded numbers to keep in touch.

The next few days, Lucinda threw herself into preparing for next week's wildfire drill. She began organizing her efforts, making sure the medical teams would be absolutely perfect. She stayed up late so she wouldn't dream about what happened in Becky's office. Lunch with the chief was postponed because of the cold Lucinda had "developed." They both knew it was a lie. She was sure of it.

Becky: No worries. Let's touch base after the drill. Feel better!

The text glared at Lucinda, who was very much not sick but hiding away in her office.

Still no mention of the kiss. Lucinda was going to pull her hair out. At this point, she wondered if she had just imagined the whole thing. Becky didn't text her, call her, or stop by her office. Why would Becky stop by the hospital? It wasn't like they were dating or anything.

The day of the drill came upon her with no warning. She was utterly exhausted, but she was satisfied with her work. She sat in the back of the firehouse's briefing room with the rest of her medical team, waiting for the firefighters to start streaming in.

"Dr. Everett?"

She looked up from her files to see Becky holding two drinks in her hands. She was wearing the red firefighter shirtsleeves instead of her standard chief uniform. The woman looked strong in the more relaxed fit, causing Lucinda's pulse to skyrocket .

"Good morning, Chief Thompson," Lucinda said simply.

Becky shifted awkwardly on her feet. "Got you this." She set down a frappuccino in front of Lucinda. Caramel was drizzled on the side of the cup, and it was topped with a heaping mound of whipped cream. "The coffee shop was having a buy-one-get-one-free thing, ya know?"

Lucinda tried to stifle the broad smile that wanted to break across her face. "This is exactly what I needed this morning. Thank you."

Becky licked her lips and smiled. "Sure, Doctor." She walked to the front of the briefing hall like she hadn't just given Lucinda such a sweet gesture.

Lucinda sipped from the sweet drink, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"Alright, Dr. Everett's team has already been briefed on the medical side. My team"—she pointed at the firefighters and motioned toward the map on the back wall—"there will be a controlled area where we start our wildfire and a place where we set up the med tent. Actors will be pretending to be pedestrians with casualties. They will be away from the controlled fire but must still be transported to our med centers. Once we get the alarm, we need to act like this is a real situation. So, planning our attack, getting to the area, and setting up our lines. Understood?"

"Understood."

Becky smiled at her crew. "Then let's get started."

Once they got the call, Lucinda flew into action. She got her team to the parking lot next to the control field. It only took them twenty minutes to get the tent fully set up.

"Move oxygen tanks to location 1F," Lucinda barked.

The few residents and nurses moved easily to get everything in place before the first casualty was brought in.

Lucinda's radio buzzed on her hip. " Ready, Doctor? Over. " Becky's voice cut through.

"Yes, Chief, over," Lucinda said, handing over a clipboard to a nurse.

"Alright, people!" Lucinda clipped her radio back on her hip. "The drill is live! Let's keep this as smooth as possible."

Ember hauled in their first patient, who had realistic burns made out of tissue and makeup stuck to his arm .

"Third-degree burn," Ember said as she set the man on the cot, her full gear clunking.

The man was wailing and crying, a true Tony-worthy performance. "My wife!"

"She's right behind us, sir," Ember said.

"Thank you, Thompson," Lucinda said. "Let's get this man some help!"

A nurse and resident immediately went to the man to patch up his fake wounds. Ember nodded at Lucinda before leaving the tent. Curious.

She thought Ember would be making jokes or not taking this procedure seriously, but the firefighter was focused and steady, probably a result of Becky's parenting and leadership.

Focus, Lucinda. The next thirty minutes were full of endless work, bandages, and shouting, but it was going smoothly. Lucinda's procedures were going off without a hitch.

"Attention!" Lucinda's radio blared as she was wrapping a civilian's leg. " This is not part of the drill. We have an uncontained live fire in the southeast parking lot! One of our hoses is down. "

What?

"Clear all civilians! All non-essential personnel, evacuate now!" Lucinda yelled over the commotion .

She pushed out of the tent, looking to the south forest where two plumes of smoke erupted.

"Doctor!" Becky's voice bellowed from behind her. "We have a situation?—"

"I'm caught up. My team is evacuating the civilians now."

Becky nodded, her radio buzzing with commands from her captains. "I'm going to send the drill team over now."

Lucinda placed her hand over Becky's radio before she could send the order. "Wait, you need to split your team up. Half to contain the drill and the other half to put out the live fire."

"The drill is in a controlled area."

"But one of the hoses isn't working. We need to ensure it stays under control." Lucinda looked into Becky's eyes, pleading. "Trust me. Please."

A thought crossed Becky's face before she lifted her radio. "Squad 1, stay at the drill site. Put out the controlled fire as quickly as possible. Squad 2, head to the live fire and set up a firebreak. I'll meet you there. Over!" Becky peeled off, jumping onto the back of one of the fire trucks, speeding toward the live fire.

Lucinda went back into the med tent, noticing anxiety simmering beneath everyone's breath. " Start prepping for real injuries now! This is not a part of a drill. A live fire is raging southeast, and we need to be ready to treat casualties."

A few pedestrians who happened to be near the scene hobbled in. Their injuries were not too bad, just a few scrapes, light burns, and a concussion. That was until Ember was wheeled in.

Leilani Silva put Ember on a cot. "We had an explosion. Ember was hit!"

No, not Ember.

I'm fucking terrified every day. The memory of Becky's voice wafted in her mind.

Lucinda pushed the resident who received Ember out of the way. "Report, Firefighter Silva.”

Leilani's brown eyes were wide with fear under her helmet. "A rack of fuel canisters got caught in the flames. They exploded, and Ember pushed me down but the shrapnel got her."

Ember's helmet and outer gear had already been pulled off. Her face was paler than the white sheets she was laying on. Her eyes drifted open lazily. A dark splotch darkened the side of her shirt.

"Thompson," Lucinda said as she lifted Ember's shirt to find a piece of metal embedded in her side. "Ember, can you hear me? "

"Hiya, Doc. Have you seen Josephine anywhere? I gotta tell her something." Ember coughed.

"She's in shock." Lucinda checked her ribs, seeing that the metal had not gone in too deep. It wasn’t serious. Thank god for that. "I can remove this now. Nurse, put her on oxygen."

Lucinda numbed the area and worked to ensure that all of the metal had been removed. She stitched up Ember's skin, and Ember passed out momentarily. Lucinda then moved on to treat a few minor burns before having her moved.

The radios pinged. " Fire has been cleared. Repeat: Controlled and live fires have been cleared ."Lucinda's shoulders relaxed. "Let's get Firefighter Thompson and any other serious injuries moved to the hospital."

"Where is she?!" Becky tore through the tent flaps, looking wildly around. "Where's my daughter?"

"Here!" Lucinda waved her hand.

Becky ran over to her, pushing Leilani away from Ember's bedside. "Is she—?" Her hands shook over her sleeping daughter. The blood stains, the white sheets.

"She's okay, Becky," Lucinda said softly. "She'll need to be out for a little bit so her stitches can heal, and she’ll need a tetanus shot, but she's okay."

Becky nodded, her eyes red and her skin blotchy.

Lucinda put a hand on Becky's shoulder. Becky's muscles released slightly under Lucinda's touch. "Why don't you call Dr. Mars? She'll want to know once Ember gets transported. She'll be able to go home tomorrow, I promise."

Becky sighed. "I trust you," she said quietly holding Lucinda’s arm before grabbing her cell phone and calling Dr. Mars.

When Becky left the tent, her words reverberated in Lucinda’s head.

I trust you.