Everything Changes
Chapter 7The fireman walked into the diner at about twenty past eight. At this time of day, on a weekday, it was "seat yourself." He chose a booth not too far from the main entrance and seated himself so that he was facing the entryway.
"Hey Sugar, what can I start you off with? Coffee?" said a fifty-ish looking waitress with too much make-up on and obviously dyed auburn hair.
"Ah, please!" he answered, smiling.
The waitress nodded an acknowledgement and smiled back. "I'll bring it back along with a menu." Seemingly on second thought she asked, "Are you expecting anyone else to join you?"
"Not really," he answered. "Unless the girl of my dreams comes walking through the door in the next ten minutes or so." He winked and smiled as he kidded with the waitress.
"Oh, you firemen! You're always joking around! Know any single firemen a bit, uh, more distinguished looking for some company?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows.
He blushed a bit as he answered her. "Well, not on my shift, but if I hear of anyone, you'll be the first to know."
The waitress smiled so big it almost divided her face in two. "Aren't you a sweetie!" She pinched his cheek as she said this and then wandered off to get the coffee and menu. He heard her say as she walked away, "I love firemen!"
He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Why did I have to wear the jacket?" he said quietly. I left the uniform but I wore the jacket. Some people are just nuts!
Looking up he saw one of his shift-mates walk through the door. The two firefighters noticed each other at the same moment and the newcomer thought inwardly, "Oh no!" Standing up from the table, Mike waved his hand in a "come on over" gesture and invited his friend to sit down. "Please, be my guest," he said, gesturing to a chair.
This could get interesting. "Mike, what brings you here?" he asked, surprise obvious in his voice.
"My stomach! I'm hungry. I didn't expect to see you here. Doesn't Jo usually have breakfast ready for you when you get there?" Mike asked.
"Yeah, sure. Sure she does. But today, see, Katie has a field trip and Joanne is going along as a chaperone. They left early for school this morning."
"Well, let's hear it for cheap hole-in-the-wall diners!" Mike said. Roy grinned and nodded in agreement.
"Well, Sugar, who's your friend? I don't really picture him as the girl of your dreams, but…" she winked at him as she set down the coffee. Roy raised one eyebrow at her, puzzled by her comment. As he did so, he noticed Mike Stoker had turned almost as red as the fire engine he drove. "Are you a fireman too?" she asked, cocking her head slightly and batting her mascara'd eyelashes a couple of times.
"Guilty!" Roy answered, raising his left hand. He hoped that she would notice the wedding band as he did so.
The waitress giggled. "Well, you're a cutie too, just like this guy here." She said. "But, I'm old enough to be your mom. I need someone perhaps a little more 'distinguished' than either of you. Coffee?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you."
She turned and walked away to get the coffee and another menu. As she did, Roy noticed that the redness had not dissipated on his friend's face. "What the hell was that?" asked Roy.
"I think that was a lonely fireman buff waitress. Pretty scary, huh?" answered Mike.
"The stuff of nightmares!" agreed Roy. "I've never seen her here before. She must be new."
Sam arrived at the diner at that moment. Stepping through the entryway she noticed the two firemen right away. That's not what I expected. Being seated facing the entryway, Mike saw her right away. Roy had his back to her but he saw Mike's face light up and he turned to see what the reason had been for it.
"Sam," he said, trying to play things off and not draw attention to the fact that he had planned to meet her here. "What a surprise!" He hoped she would take the hint.
"Roy DeSoto, you knew perfectly well I would be here!" she admonished.
So much for diplomacy. Roy felt his face get hot as his cheeks began to redden. He noticed Mike's stunned look towards him and felt even more embarrassed. "Oh," he said. "So you got my message."
Sam nodded, waving the note at him. "Mind if I sit down?" she asked Mike.
Mike immediately slid over to the other end of the seat allowing her to slide in next to him. So she and Roy had planned a secret meeting here. Interesting.
After about two minutes of awkward silence Mike finally broke the ice. "Okay you two. I get the feeling there is something between you two that you didn't want the rest of the guys and me to find out. But seeing as I was here first I guess you're just gonna have to spill the beans. Out with it."
Just then the waitress returned with Roy's coffee and menu. "Oh, so YOU must be the girl of his dreams!" she said to Sam while pointing first to Sam and then to Mike. Roy noticed that both Mike and Sam turned crimson this time.
"Sure. Why not?" Sam responded, not knowing how else to react.
The waitress let out a chuckle then said, "One more coffee and menu, coming right up." She assumed Sam would want coffee and she was right.
The three waited silently for the waitress to return with yet another coffee and menu. Once she had come and gone again Mike was right back to getting to the bottom of things. "Okay, you two. I said, out with it!"
Roy and Sam looked at each other, then at Mike and again at each other. Neither one knew where to begin. Having not addressed things between themselves they hadn't a clue how to start with Mike.
Mike made eye contact with Roy and didn't let up. After a moment he softly drummed his fingers on the table as if to say, "Well? I'm waiting!" Finally, Roy broke the silence.
"Mike, to be honest with you, this is as awkward as hell! I don't even know what to say. I asked Sam to meet me here so she and I could sort some things out… Things I… we don't need the department to get involved in." Sam nodded as Roy spoke, showing her agreement.
"So you're telling me that you two already knew each other, I mean, before the shift?" Mike said. Both nodded in response.
"I see. Well, from where I sit, I think maybe you should allow me to be in on your secret. That way I can help you both keep things objective at work. It will be sticky enough just with the fact that… well… that you're a woman, Sam. Add to that a history with Roy and it has potential to blow up like nothing we've ever seen before." Roy and Sam exchanged glances again. Roy raised one eyebrow slightly as if to say 'what do you think?' Sam let out a long sigh and shrugged her shoulders. Understanding their hesitation Mike said, "Roy, you know me. I'm not a talker. What is said here, stays here. You know I can be trusted."
"Of that, Mike, I have no doubt. You know I trust you with my life."
"Oh, who cares if he knows? As long as it stays right here, who cares?" Sam gave in.
"Are you sure, Sam?" asked Roy. She nodded in response as a tear slid down her cheek.
Roy reached across the table and took her hand, wanting to offer her as much comfort as he could. God he loved her and had missed her so much. The second he took her hand the floodgates opened. She burst out into tears. "Oh Roy, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you so!"
Roy hated when women cried. He stood up quickly and pulled her from her seat, put his arms around her and held her close. Stroking her hair he comforted her. "It's okay, Sammy. Everything's gonna be all right." He kept repeating himself as he held her until she calmed a few minutes later. Then he guided her to sit on his side of the booth and slid in beside her. He put his arm around her shoulder.
A waitress came over with a pot to refill the coffee cups. Mercifully it was not the same waitress from before. "Hi," she said brightly. "I'm Alice. I will be your waitress for the remainder of your visit. Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?"
"A few minutes would be nice, thank you." Answered Mike.
"You got it! Is there anything else I can bring you in the mean time?" she asked.
"No thank you." Sam squeaked out. She didn't mean to squeak but she was having a hard time keeping her emotions under control.
Alice smiled at her and said, "Okay, I'll be back." But before she left she reached in her apron pocket and pulled out a small handful of napkins. "I'm sorry I don't have any tissue, but I thought maybe these would help."
"Thank you, Ma'am," said Roy as Alice turned and walked away.
The three firefighters determined what they were going to eat, waited for Alice to return then placed their orders. When Alice again had left the table, Roy reached across with his free right hand and took hold of Sam's right hand, giving it a squeeze of reassurance and then began to tell Mike about the relationship between him and Sam.
*I know everybody loves to hate a cliff hanger, but I am not ready to let the cat out of the bag yet. I almost have all the details together in my head so I promise I will start to reveal it soon. Please take just a minute and leave me a review. I appreciate your comments and questions and your speculations. It is what makes writing the story fun. Thanks for reading and stay tuned! -Hotflash