When Jenny opened the door to the apartment, she was face to face with her two favorite people-her brother, Chris, and her best friend and roommate, David,-smiling back at her. "So, you survived the first day of training, sis!" Chris announced. All she could was stand at the entrance of the door and stare at the two of them and mentally prepare herself for whatever shenanigans the two had planned for her. She threw her duffle bag to the floor in the hallway and slowly walked to the couch.
"Did you make any friends?" David knew that that was one of the first concerns of Jennifer's. Not necessarily making friends but not making enemies. David had witnessed how Jennifer and Linda Popp, another female firefighter trainee had to put up with sexual harrassment from the other trainees during their time at the fire academy. Several times, he stood up to the men and their negative comments. Jennifer confided to him that she felt lucky because she had made two best friends in the academy-David and Linda.
"Did you save anyone?" Chris Desoto asked. "Or is that on day two?"
Jennifer could only roll her eyes. She plopped down on the couch between the two men and sighed with exasperation. "The guy you replaced, Jeff Higgins, he said hi to me. He knows dad too. So I'd say it was a successful day. And Chris if you continue on, you might need someone to save you."
Chris decided to change the subject. "So, when are we moving in together. The three musketeers." Chris placed his hand in the air waiting for the two others to put their hands in to break, like football players did. After a brief minute, he lowered his hand. "Party poopers. You do remember from Saturday. I know it was a long two days ago. Two bedroom apartment. Three's company only with two guys and a girl. Or Jenn, did you decide to move out and make it a bachelor pad?" She rolled her eyes once again and shook her head. As her annoyance level rose, so did Chris's delight.
At the graduation, her father accepted that she was still going to live with David instead of moving back home. Although disappointed that she was not coming home, Roy was grateful that David was sleeping on the couch and Jenny had the bed...alone. A two bedroom apartment was opening up in the apartment complex and Chris had threatened to move in with them or kick Jenny to the curb.
David and Jenny quickly stole a quick glance. "I talked to the property manager. She said she can stay late on Wednesday to show us the apartment after you come home. They'll be working on painting it the rest of the week. And we could possibly move in over the weekend."
Without hesitation, she said enthusiastically "It sounds great!" She smiled at the thought of a bigger place with the two of them together. Maybe they would have room for a table to have larger get togethers. Having only a breakfast bar with two stools and a small outdoor table on the patio lead to prayer for good weather or no one showing up.
"Yeah, can't wait to be roomies," Chris chimed in. His smile grew as he knew he was plucking her last nerve. She punched him in the shoulder just to confirm that he was doing a great job annoying her. "Oww, that's roommate abuse!"
"First, just no. It's just me and David. We don't need a third wheel." Chris quickly leaned over to make eye contact with David and mouthed "third wheel" and gave him a wink. Chris could tell that there was more between the two than "just friendship" even if they both refused to admit it. A brief smile flirted on David's face at the dating reference but quickly faded after Jennifer explained. "It's not like that. We're...we're just...never mind. You're just lookin' to cause trouble. When does med school start?" She was tired of using the phrase, "we're just friends." Everyone was assuming that there was more, but she couldn't let there be more. Her focus was the paramedic program now. She couldn't afford any more complication in her life at the moment.
"I've got two weeks to pick on you before you'll never see me again. Oh the late night studying that I'll be doing. The weekend orderly work at Rampart. There goes my social life. Oh woe is me." He place the back of his hand to his forehead and fell into the couch. Although he dramatized the work and damage to his social life, he was excited about starting a new chapter in his own life.
"So then I just have to deal with you for two weeks and then I get a break. Hallelujah!"
David was mesmerized by their exchange. If a person had heard them, they would think that they hated each other. But playfulness and smiles showed that it was all done in jest and that they cared about each other. David thought about his own upbringing and how it was lonely being an only child in a big house. He could only imagine the two of them growing up together and how he never had that. However, he was starting to feel a part of the Desoto family since Chris had starting to make jokes at David's expense. David was starting to feel comfortable at dishing it right back to the both of them. The thought of being a part of the family brought joy and belonging that David hadn't known in a long time.
The first month of the program was uneventful. With lots of studying, she was acing the anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and biology courses. She owed Chris for his help during the first two weeks before he started med school. He helped her study as well as help move boxes into the new two bedroom apartment. He handled the move and disappointment of continuing to live with his parents well.
Then there was David, who still provided that emotional support that she was used to getting from him in the fire academy. Well almost the same level of emotional support, she thought. It was tough when he was at work and she was alone for the entire day. The apartment was quiet, too quiet. Her entire life was spent with living with three other people, one of which was her brother, who was as loud and as outgoing as could be. Then her father, Captain Roy Desoto, who tended to be a quiet man unless prodded. And then her mother, Joanne Desoto, who was full of wisdom and not afraid to share it. Jenny thought back to all those midnight snacks that she had with her father or mother or both of them. Chris was the oddball of the family, in which once he fell asleep he was out, most likely to keep up his energy for when he was awake.
Everything is going well. Well, except for having to practice IV's and injections on each other, Jennifer thought. She was quickly moving into phase two of the paramedic program. At times she felt like a pin cushion, but she realized she'd be inflicting the same pain on others very soon the paramedic program, which included spending most days in the Emergency Department, with the occasional time in OB/GYN, Orthopedic, and Psychiatric departments. Then there was the shadow rotation with a different squad on Fridays. This gave them a chance to see how different teams worked together, meet different people who work closely with them, and see first hand how the paramedic program worked in the real world.