Everything Changes
Chapter 10Sam awoke to the sound of a telephone ringing the next morning. *RING* At first the sound was part of her dream but she gradually become more aware of the sound and realized it was real. *RING* Opening her eyes she was momentarily disoriented. She wasn't sure where she was. *RING* Suddenly she realized she had fallen asleep at her brother's house. Where is everyone, why don't they answer the phone? *RING* Sam got up from the couch where she had apparently crashed and followed the sound of the rings until she found the phone and answered it.
"DeSoto residence," she said.
"Uh, uh," stuttered the voice at the other end. "Joanne?" He was sure it wasn't, but he didn't know who else it would be.
"No, I'm sorry, she uh… I guess she isn't available right now. Can I take a message?" Looking around for something to write on and with she saw a note by the coffee pot, addressed to her.
"Well, actually, I was calling for Roy. This is Mike Sto…"
"Mike! It's me, Sam."
"Oh, Sam, hi!" he said, surprised. "I didn't expect you to be there."
"Surprise." She said. "What's the message you want to leave for Roy?"
"Oh, ah, I was just gonna invite him to watch the game at my place. Some of the guys take turns hosting when the games are on. It's kind of my turn."
"Well, I'll tell him you called. Apparently I'm all alone here."
"You are?" Mike said for lack of anything else to say.
"Yeah, I just found a note. I was asleep when they left. I guess they all went to Johnny's. The kids are taking riding lessons."
"I see. Well, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I mean… um… well, I know you and Roy musta had a lot of catching up to do and I just thought I'd ask if you were okay, since we're on the phone and all." Mike was sure she could see his red face right through the phone. "I mean, I told you if you ever needed to talk, I would listen. I'm sure yesterday musta been kind of rough."
Sam smiled. "Mike, uh, do you feel like some company?"
"Yeah, sure!" he answered. "Can I come pick you up from somewhere?"
"That or I could meet you somewhere." She answered.
"How about breakfast?" Mike suggested. "We could meet at the diner and I'll buy you breakfast."
"I could use some breakfast. Give me say, an hour?"
"Great. I'll see you soon."
"Okay, bye Mike."
"Bye."
Mike couldn't believe his luck. He had thought about feeling Roy out over the phone and maybe asking for Sam's phone number, if Roy even had it yet, but this was even better. He wanted to get to know Sam better and big brothers were not always helpful to have around in situations like that. The best part though, was that this was Sam's idea.
Almost exactly an hour later, Sam pulled into the parking lot at the diner. Mike was parked in his truck, watching for her and he watched her park, then walked over to her. Sam saw him heading her direction and couldn't help the smile that took over her face when she saw the handsome engineer.
"Hi Sam. How was the drive?" Mike asked her.
"Just fine. It is starting out to be a beautiful day."
"Yes, it is." Agreed Mike as he offered her his arm. She took it and the two walked into the diner together. The sign said "seat yourself" so they found a table for two in a back corner and Mike held the chair for Sam before seating himself. A petite redhead who looked as though she had swallowed a volkswagon bug came over and offered the two fresh cups of coffee.
"How soon is your baby due?" asked Sam. She didn't mean to be nosey, the woman just looked uncomfortable and Sam wanted some reassurance that she wasn't going to have to help deliver a baby on the spot. She didn't get it.
"Six days ago," she answered, followed by a long sigh. "But someone forgot to tell the baby that."
"Well, shouldn't you be taking it easy or something?" Mike asked with concern.
"The doctor says that working is okay. She said it might even help bring on labor. I certainly hope she is right," the waitress said as she moved on to the next table.
The two firefighters watched her for a moment as she served the next table of customers. Seeing that she appeared to be just fine they gradually turned their attention back toward each other.
"So, how long have you been a fireman?" asked Sam.
"A little over ten years. How about you?"
"Two years. I joined on my 25th birthday."
"Why?"
"Why on my birthday? Or why did I join?"
"Both, I guess." Mike smiled.
"Well, I joined for several reasons. First, I missed my brother and I knew he was a firefighter, like dad, so I thought it would help me feel closer to both of them; second, I knew someday I would go find him and I wanted him to be proud of me and also I wanted to have some kind of common ground with Roy. And third, everyone said I couldn't do it, especially mother."
"So you decided to prove them wrong." Mike concluded.
"Pretty much. I don't like to be told what I cannot do."
"I see. And why on your birthday?"
"For my Daddy. We shared ours. Daddy always told me I could do anything I wanted to when I grew up. He really loved me and was good to me. It was my birthday present to Daddy, even though he had to see it from Heaven." Mike didn't know what to say next but he was spared from having to figure it out when Alice, the waitress from the day before came to take their breakfast order.
While the two ate their breakfast, Mike did most of the talking, telling Sam about his family, why he joined the fire department, the things he liked to do during his off time and sharing some of his more memorable moments on the job. The usually quiet engineer was actually quite the chatterbox. Before either of them realized it, two and a half hours had passed since they had been seated. They had long since finished breakfast and had been drinking coffee and talking the rest of the time. The lunch rush was well underway and they both realized they were tying up a table for would be lunch eaters.
"Hey Sam, why don't we head out and let them have the table?" Mike suggested.
"But, I'm enjoying your company." She said. She hadn't meant to be so direct.
Mike actually blushed. Then he said, "Well, I didn't say we had to go our separate ways yet. Let's just find somewhere else to go." Cool. I think she likes me.
"Okay, where shall we go?" she asked.
"Do you like the beach?" Mike asked.
"Sure."
"Great! We can leave your car here and I'll drive us to the beach and we can take a walk."
"Deal." Answered Sam. Inside she actually felt giddy. She started to realize she was strongly attracted to this fireman that she barely even knew. Better yet, he seemed to want to spend time with her too. Along with that realization came butterflies. And maybe even a bit of dizziness. After Mike had paid the bill, the two walked out to his truck. Mike had boldly taken her by the hand and as they reached the truck she realized her hand was sweaty. Oh boy. I'm in trouble.
*Thanks for reading. I hope that you are still enjoying this. Please take a minute and make my day. Click on the green button below and send me a message. Let me know what you like/don't like. Point out mistakes if you like. Your feedback fuels my desire to write. Thanks so much! -Hotflash