It was time. How many hours she had been thinking about this was a mystery to Linda, but now it was really time. Nicky, Shari and Danitra had all arrived an hour ago, safe and sound. In about 15 minutes, Mike and Jackie would arrive, along with Katie, David and their kids. Shari had helped her set the table and everything was ready. Now Linda was a little nervous. The last thing she wanted was to burst out into tears, or run out of things to say.
" Well well well! Linda! How are you?" boomed out a loud, deep voice.
" Great! What about you, Mike? Jackie? It's been so long," said Linda, letting Mike wrap her in a big hug.
" Oh, we're both just fine. Mmmm, dinner smells delicious."
" Oh, yes, go ahead and take a seat. I see Katie's here."
After everyone had eaten, the group proceeded to the living room. Linda had lighted it with a few candles. Once everyone was settled with mugs of coffee or tea, silence followed. Linda grew tense. She realized that only her and three other people in this room actually knew Jack. Maybe this had been a bit of a mistake.
" Jack was such a good man, wasn't he? I guess we would be saying that about anyone who was dead. But it's absolutely true about Jack. He had the true firefighter spirit in him," started Mike. "And I would know. I remember the first day he came in. We did the usual prank. I helped him with his first real fire. I even remember which street that building was on. Granger East."
Everyone listened intently to Mike's voice, filled with authority. Then Linda brought up some stories of how they had met, and their wedding. She talked about the excitement of finding out she was pregnant. Mike recalled that one of his men died a few months after the announcement.
"…and he told me that he wanted to transfer jobs. He wanted to join the search and rescue team. He said it wasn't any more dangerous than his previous position. And I remember what must have been the first day of his new job, he had a pretty serious mission of rescuing a man out of a tall building, from his window," told a now relaxed Linda
" Ah yes, I remember now. That poor man was terrified, and made Jack's job all that much more difficult. But he still rescued that guy," interrupted Mike.
"I was furious when he came home. Of course they had plastered the entire thing over the news. I was so mad at him for putting himself in such danger. And all he wanted was for me to feel proud of him. After I cooled down, I came to forgive him," continued Linda.
They talked some more of Jack's memorable fires, the day Nicky was born. All of the experiences Jack shared with Nicky.
" One time while you were gone out with Lisa, he called me up and asked me to help him change Nicky' diaper because he called your mother and she wasn't home," remembered Mike, laughing at the shocked face of Linda.
"I had no knowledge of this," she said, laughing.
They talked about Jack's joy as he found out he had a daughter.
" That sounds very familiar," remarked Shari, one of the few words she said all evening. She looked at Nicky and grinned.
Nicky remembered the day when his father had taken him out to the ball pits for his 6th birthday, teaching him and the small Katie how to bat the ball. They talked about Jack's little pet peeves, like parking his car even a little bit crookedly. Or chewing fingernails. They talked about his accomplishments.
"Remember that time when he had to work on Christmas? And he saved that girl's life, and got off early. And then he met us during Midnight Mass? That is one of my favourite memories of him," said Katie softly.
" Mine too," spoke Nicky.
" You know, that night Jack put his life in great danger. It was worth it for sure; he saved that little girl's life. But he could have easily been seriously hurt or even died that night. But I like to believe in fate and destiny. Jack was meant to survive that fire, and meant to die in the other one. That's just what I think."
"It's very possible," Linda quietly.
The evening ended later on. Mike and Jackie left. Linda couldn't thank him enough for all his contribution tonight.
" You sure were the star of the show tonight, Mike," joked Linda.
" Nope. Jack was. I don't know about you, but I could feel his presence."
" Yeah, I did. Thanks again."
" Anytime."
Katie and her family left shortly afterwards.