Chapter 6: Dear Janey
Johnny had been working as a captain for almost two weeks now. "Good morning," Johnny said to no one in particular as he bounced into the station kitchen to start the shift. He pulled a coffee mug out of the cabinet and poured himself a cup of coffee.
He got a variety of responses from "Hey" to only a grunt from his engineer, Eric.
'What puts you in such a good mood Captain?" asked Ted, a lineman sourly.
"Nothing in particular, can't a guy just be in a good mood"? Johnny replied.
As Ted started to answer the klaxon sounded. "Station 110, traffic accident with injuries, 751 Baker, cross street Weston, time out 6:49. Captain Gage answered dispatch and handed the address to Al in the squad. He handed it off to Richard, the other paramedic. The vehicles pulled out with sirens and lights.
Johnny saw the flashing lights of a police car in the distance. Al pulled the squad up to one side so the engine could get in closer to deal with any fire risk. Al and Richard exited the truck and grabbed the O2, bio-phone and drug box on their way to the wrecked vehicle. A car had left the roadway, creased its side on a pole and rolled into an empty lot. One passenger was in the car and the driver had been ejected and was pinned under the vehicle. Captain Gage gave orders to his men. Richard checked the victim in the car and Al went to the pinned victim. He sent Ted with the port a power to free the pinned victim. Eric and Eddie washed down the area where gasoline had leaked out to prevent a fire. Captain Gage conferred with the police officer on the scene to get any information the officer might have about the wreck. Johnny liked his new position. Keeping track of all that was happening and needed to be done was challenging. Keeping the men safe and getting help to the victims was ultimately his responsibility now. He did miss the personal side of being a paramedic, the direct contact with those being helped. However, the department didn't allow paramedics to be captains. That part of his career was over, at least for now. The ambulance raced off with the two stablized victims. Johnny, Eric, Ted and Eddie stayed to be sure the scene was secure and pack up the equipment. They beat the squad back to the station. Johnny went into his office to complete some paperwork while the others checked and cleaned the engine. He heard Al and Richard drive in. "Hey, fellas, how are the victims?" he asked as they passed by his office door.
"Well Cap, the one in the car is doing pretty well. The driver is in really rough shape. Only time will tell for him," Al said.
Richard added, "The driver's in surgery, lots of internal injuries. A seat belt would have prevented it too." He sighed in frustration.
Johnny nodded. "Yeah, that happens a lot." Johnny grimaced knowing he had had the same thought many times. He put on his captain face. "Fellas, you have a fire prevention demonstration at the elementary school this afternoon." They nodded and walked toward the kitchen in search of coffee.
JJ found herself with too much time on her hands after her dad's death, too much time to think. She found a local church to attend. Through them she was able to connect with thrift shop. She volunteered twice a week sort and fold/hang clothes at the shop and tutored kids at a local grade school. JJ also occasionally worked to fill in for sick or vacationing nurses for in home care. Between that and her writing she stayed busy enough.
Station 110 answered several calls for traffic accidents, two house fires and a trapped construction worker. One of the house fires had been a bit of a strange one. Arriving on scene, they were greeted by two young men in their early 20's. They had seemed strangely laid back in light of their house being in flames. The blaze was quickly put out. While Johnny was near the house, he smelled an odd odor that reminded him of another run when he was a paramedic. They had found an injured man and a truck on fire. Chet had started to wander away during the fire and had seemed confused after inhaling the smoke. John smirked and quickly moved to consult the police officer on scene. When the fire was out, the cause of the fire was quickly found. Large grow lights had overheated the outlets. Even with the fire, about 1/3 of the marijuana plants growing in the basement were unburned. Johnny had smelled the other 2/3 burning in the fire. No wonder those young men were not freaking out he thought. They were as high as kites. The two 'farmers' were still feeling pretty good even as they were led off in handcuffs. They probably wouldn't be in a few hours thought John thought to himself with a snort.
During his days off, Johnny had often dates, usually one shot ones. Other times he spent time outside, helped friends or took photos. Johnny found himself spending quite a bit of time at JJ's ranch of fifteen acres. She was gone more often than not, but when she was there, she usually stopped to visit for a while. She showed him all the better spots on the pond and a couple good ones along the creek for fishing. Twice she had stayed to fish. Strangely, she had been almost completely quiet while they fished only remarking if he caught one or if she did. Johnny tended to talk while he fished. JJ didn't seem bothered by it, but answered with brief direct replies. She wasn't rude, just restrained. Sometimes he wondered if she was perhaps irritated by his talking, but he didn't ask.
JJ found Johnny easy to be with. He was gregarious, but not fake. He asked her things, but accepted her pithy answers. Because he didn't persist, JJ found it easier to add particulars. Spending time with him was comfortable and straightforward. It was pleasant to have a friend that you didn't have to be on guard with. He laughed when she teased him and was quick to tease her back. Time with him reminded her of time with Max and that soothed the ache her dad's death had left.
Johnny found her easy to talk to. She was a buddy to him, more like a "Roy" than a 'girl', at least in his experience. Probably the first woman friend he'd spent any length of time with as a grown man. Of course he knew she was a female, but well their time together was not at all like any of the dates he spent with women. Johnny didn't feel pressured, by whatever drove him when he was on a date, to impress JJ. She teased him like the guys at work, took his comments at face value and could take a humorous poke at herself as well. If she was unsure what he meant, she asked. Most women read things into what he said and almost seemed to twist them into something he didn't mean. They would get upset if he didn't offer to open doors and then incensed at him if he did. It was all just so maddening. JJ called him on any crap he pulled, well like a guy might. So that's why he kinda forgot she was a woman at times.
It wasn't long until JJ discovered John liked riding. She was thrilled to find someone to ride with. Since the death of her dad, she had ridden alone. Although she liked solitude, riding with another person was more enjoyable. Johnny was more than willing to ride. Hobo was JJ's horse so she let him ride Spirit, the buckskin. Spirit had been her father's horse. Although he was gentle, she had noticed he was out of sorts since her dad's death. He appeared to respond better to males and it seemed he took to Johnny quickly. They had several short rides before they were able to plan a day long outing. He had brought his camera along. They had driven the horses in a trailer to a public site and ridden the trails. The trail was narrow, so most of the day was spent without conversation. JJ had enjoyed the companionship and so had Johnny.
It was on a second day long ride about two months after they had met on the emergency call to her dad's ranch he found himself talking to her about his dating woes. They had stopped to allow the horses to browse and get a drink at a small stream along a trail. They both sat on a boulder. John had been talking about a movie he had gone to see and as he told JJ about it mentioned that his date had hated "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". It was obvious he was irritated about it. "I read the list of movies currently showing out of the paper. She picked it and then bellyached about it the rest of the night like it was my fault. I felt guilty I'd let her pick it and mad because she blamed me for her decision. Why do women do that? I wish I knew." He had let his guard down and talked to her more like he would have to Roy.
JJ looked at him with a serious look on her face and John was jolted with the thought he had probably just screwed up royally. "Great," he thought, "Just peachy. I guess it was a matter of time," he mused, "Women!"
"Well, that is a good question," she replied. "I have had girlfriends that do that too. It annoys the tar out of me. They pick at the littlest thing and talk trash about all guys. Some women are like that, I guess," she said with a shrug, "I don't get the pettiness." JJ looked at him, "Was she excited about going to this movie, John?"
"Yeah, I thought so. We'd planned for a few days to go out. I was hoping to impress her so I let her choose. You know women's lib and all that. It's hard to figure because some girls want you to take charge and others resent you making any decisions. I guess my idea flopped." He hung his head slightly looking dejected. Then he ran his hand through his hair and looked towards the horses.
JJ sat thoughtful for a while. "John, may I ask you something? You don't have to if you don't want to answer."
"K, shoot, I guess." He shrugged.
"Why is it so important you impress your date? "
"What? Why wouldn't I want to?" he answered annoyed, his voice volume rising. "That's part of it, right? These days women want to be wined and dined and fussed over AND then treated like an equal. So it is a guy's job to figure out how to make the woman happy," He looked at her incredulously.
JJ laughed. "Now that you put it that way, I can see what you mean. Things are more complicated these days." There was a bit of silence. "Well, it seems to me it shouldn't need to be that way," she said pausing. "I guess I go out with someone not to be impressed, but to spend time with them. I mean fussing is nice, but only if it is more personal in nature. Like remembering a preference or being helpful in a crisis—stuff like that. I mean if the dating leads to anything, wouldn't you want to be able to enjoy time with them? Not feel on edge all the time to make the perfect decision or choice? Maybe I am way off." She gave a wry laugh. "It's not like I am on the dating hit parade or anything. Not sure why you'd listen to my advice." She made a deprecating face.
John lightly punched her on the upper arm. "Cuz that's what pals are for? It is something to think on." He gave her a smile. She punched him back on the arm, smiling back. They swung up onto the horses and rode for another hour stopping only for John to snap pictures or just to enjoy a view before racing against each other back to the trailer
Patricia was the newest receptionist at headquarters. Her suntanned skin and blonde hair got her a lot of attention from single males and any firefighter that had business there. Not only was she pretty, her outgoing personality made for stimulating flirting. Of course Johnny spotted her immediately when he attended a mandatory meeting for captains. Roy saw Johnny almost give himself whiplash with a double take and rolled his eyes. He figured all breaks from the meeting would find John at her desk. He was quite surprised that John only stopped twice to talk to Patricia. The first stop was on a break to introduce himself and welcome her to the fire department. As they left for the day Johnny thanked her for making the coffee for the meeting.
What Roy didn't know was John had been asking Janey for more advice on approaching women. She had suggested he take it a bit slower by not asking a woman out right away. So he decided Patricia would be the first lady on which he would try out the new approach. About three days later, he found a legitimate reason to stop by headquarters and as he passed Patricia's desk, he stopped to say hello and then complimented her on her pantsuit. She blushed and thanked him. About a week later, he sent a small bouquet of flowers with a card inviting her out for coffee. He was pleased that she called the same day and accepted; they set a date and place. JJ's advice was to ask a lot of questions about her, and answer any questions she had for him keeping his answers friendly, but brief. When he took her home if he wanted to still see her to NOT kiss her, but to take both her hands in his and ask her out for another date. By then he should have enough information about her likes to make a good suggestion of what they might want to do. John wasn't too sure about the no kiss part and he'd argued a bit about needing to use the 'ole Gage charm'. JJ assured him that his charm would naturally come out. She also reminded him that the 'ole Gage charm' gambit hadn't been working quite like he wanted. John smarted at the comment but had to admit she was right. He smiled as he left Patricia's place after coffee with a plan to go out again on his next day off.
Johnny reported to JJ that their first 'official' date had gone quite well and punctuated his report with the 'now we're cooking' hand rub. He didn't give details to her, and she didn't ask for any. John and Patricia had attended a local wine tasting festival and then eaten at a small nearby bistro. By already knowing Patricia a bit, the normal strain of his first dates was lessened. He even got to first base, because Patricia had kissed him. Maybe JJ has something here, he thought. After a few weeks Patricia had stopped accepting invites to go out. Johnny wasn't too upset since he'd figured out Patricia was high maintenance, and he'd had his fill of that type of woman.
Once he asked JJ, "How in heck did you ever figure all this out?"
JJ sat quietly for a bit. "Well, mostly from observing others who are happily married, a little from reading and the rest from what I think I'd want in a relationship. I suppose by writing and developing characters in a novel, you kinda notice what works and what doesn't."
Johnny replied, "You must be some sort of genius."
"I have my moments," answered Janey with a snarky grin. John laughed and rolled his eyes.
JJ had to admit it was pretty funny Johnny was asking her for dating advice. She hadn't been on a date in well over a year. She'd gotten a lot of information from the reading she had been assigned by the group leader in New York two years ago and then here right after she came to California. Even so she found it hard to move from casual dating to a more serious relationship. Of course, she knew why that was. She just didn't know how to fix it.