A whistle cut through the silence in the Desoto bathroom. Roy was looking at himself in the mirror trying to adjust his tie. "I've always had a thing for a man in uniform," Joanne commented with a wink and a bite to her lower lip. Roy turned to his wife with fire in his cheeks. She took the knot and turned it slightly to the right. Her hand traveled further down on the tie and pulled him in for a peck on the cheek. She then whispered, "but what I think is even sexier than a man in uniform is a great father."
Being a witness to the scene was Chris who had to interrupt the loving moment with "Gross! Uncle Johnny's here dad." Chris casually walked down the hallway to his room to find a suit and tie to wear to the graduation.
Joanne went back to fixing the tie once more. "I'll see you guys over there," Roy called out as he was making his way to the front door.
"Looking good, Pally," Johnny greeted Roy. Roy placed his white captain's hat in his left hand and shook hands with Johnny.
"You too, junior." The pair wore matching Class A uniforms.
In the car ride over to the Fire Academy, Johnny and Roy discussed the plan. Roy would sit in the cadre office for the first ten minutes, as the recruits would be seated and the chief would speak. Johnny would be first to address his platoon and provide the details of their placement, shake hands and pin each recruit of his six man platoon. Johnny explained that there were two father's pinning their sons and that the were seated closest to the platform and would be called up. Roy would stand in the back and wait to come down when Jennifer's name was called.
When Roy arrived to the academy, Hank was already carrying trays of small sandwiches from his truck. "Need a hand?" Roy offered.
"Roy, it's good to see you." Hank replied. He was unable to hid the shock on his face. "If you want to grab these and I can grab the drinks." Marco followed behind with paper products and Johnny grabbed the bags of snacks. Johnny reviewed the plan once more, this time with the rest of the crew so that everyone was on the same page.
Johnny walked Roy to the cadre office. "If you come out at 10:10, you should be good." Roy nodded. Johnny left to finish up with the finishing touches.
Around 9:30 family member started to enter. Johnny and Marco lead the families to the unreserved seats and helped those that were pinning to their special seats up front. Hank and the other cadre met with the recruits in the locker room to line up in alphabetical order and how it would proceed. The group would filter in and sit in the front two rows. Hank would give his speech and introduce the cadre who headed up each platoon who would then call them up one at a time with their certificate, ID card, placement, and then pin their badge. For the last fifteen minutes, the recruits spent time nervously pacing, talking, or checking themselves out in the mirror.
Linda, David, and Jennifer huddled together. "Girl, we did it. We're firefighters!" Linda raised her hand for a high five, which Jennifer enthusiastically high fives her back. They discussed the celebrations after the ceremony. Linda invited David and Jennifer to her grandfather's place. "You two should come. Wear black though."
"Why black?" David asked.
"I'm pretty sure it's going to be like a funeral. My family's been giving me hell. Most of my family wear blue. I figured it was high time to have a little red in the family. They were hoping for another cop."
"You're not really selling your party Linda. I don't think I want to go," Jennifer stated.
"I don't think I want to go either," Linda quipped.
Hank then announced to the recruits to wait in line and that they would follow him and the cadre out. David stood behind Jennifer. She turned around giving him a million dollar smile. She took note of his crooked tie. "Hang on let me fix this." A little turn to the left and it looked perfect.
Before she could turn around, David said, "hang on, let me get this out of your face." He brushed a strand of hair behind her hair. His stare made her heart race as it felt that he could see into her soul.
"God, get a room," Jared piped up. They were just friends and she didn't want anyone insinuating anything more than that, especially not Jared. Jennifer quickly turned around. She didn't see the frown appear on David's face.
Hank and rest of the cadre led the group to the auditorium. Jenny glanced around and spotted Chris and Joanne at the end of the row. She had hoped that her dad would have been there but all that was there was an empty seat. There was hardly a seat left in the small auditorium. She blinked through Polaroid flashes that erupted as the recruits entered. The recruits took their seats in the first two rows as the cadre sat on the platform. Hank stood at the podium, gripping it with all his might. He cleared his throat and began his speech.
"Three short months ago, or long months to these recruits, they chose to answer the call to be LA county's best. Many came with little knowledge of fighting fires, extricating, and first aid. But with the dedication, heart, and hard work, I'm proud of each and every one of them as they join the ranks of firefighters for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Imparting their knowledge to these recruits, were some of the best, brightest, and bravest, in the fire department. Each one will introduce their platoon. I ask for Captain Gage to present the his platoon at this time." Johnny stood up and made his way to the podium. "Captain John Gage is the Captain of 51's B shift. Starting as a firefighter, then becoming one of the first paramedics in the program, he lead six great young men and a woman throughout their journey."
He tugged several times at his tie. Public speaking was a weakness that he continued to struggle with. "I was, uh, fortunate to have, uh, a great platoon. Each one has grown tremendously through the three months and I hope to see each one have a long and fruitful career in the fire service. I would like to first like to introduce Jacob Adams who is being pinned by his father, Firefighter William Adams." Firefighter Adams walked across the stage to Johnny and shook his hands. His father stood next to Hank who handed the shield to William and handed Jacob his certificate and paper with his station assignment. William pinned his sons shirt with his badge with a sense of pride. William then hugged his son. "Firefighter Adams is going to be apart of Station 110's C shift."
David glanced over to Jennifer to check on her. Her head was down and she began picking at her cuticles. David placed his hand over her hand and gave it a squeeze. She placed her other hand on his. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered "I'm sorry." All she could do was give a nod, afraid to cry if she tried to speak.
Roy entered quietly in the auditorium when the next person, Jared, was announced. Then it was Jennifer's turn. "I've had the pleasure of knowing this young woman for many, many years, but it amazed me to see how she has grown in the past three months. She carries a calm strength with her along with persistence and dedication to the service." Jennifer made her way to Johnny and shook his hand. She then walked over to Hank. She stood at attention waiting for Hank to pin her. "Firefighter Desoto will be continuing her training to be a paramedic starting next week and her station will be assigned following graduation of the paramdic program. Her father, Captain Roy Desoto, was the one who helped start the paramedic program many years ago and he will be pinning her today." Jennifer could've sworn that Johnny said that her father was going to pin her. She watched as Hank picked up the badge and handed it to Roy who was standing behind her.
As soon as she turned and saw her father standing there, getting ready to pin her badge to her chest, the tears started to flow. Her hand went to her mouth. He gave her the best hug she could've ever hoped for. "I am proud of you. It's not easy to survive the academy."
"Thank you dad." He walked her off the stage and back to her seat as he took the empty seat next to his wife.
"The next young man to receive his badge is David Dixon. This young man in a quiet, intelligent man who has one of the biggest hearts for this field. In addition to recognizing his graduation from the academy, I am happy to present him with the class leader plaque. The class leader is found to have leadership qualities and have one of the highest grades on the tests. He is often willing to help others in achieving their goals." David made his way to the stage and shook hands with both Johnny and Hank. As he was getting pinned by Hank, he got his station assignment. "I'm excited to bring him on at Station 51 B squad." David's face lit up. Going to a new station and not knowing anyone was difficult, but to have already formed a respectful, working relationship with his new captain would make things better.
As David returned to his seat next to Jennifer, she moved his plaque on his lap so that she could read the inscription. She gave his hand a quick squeeze and leaned in to whisper. "I'm really proud of you."
Hank finished up his speech wishing the recruits a safe journey into the fire department and congratulating them. He also announced the refreshments in the cafeteria. The cadre then lead the recruits to the locker room. Many put their items in the lockers to retrieve after getting refreshments.
David and Jennifer put their items up and made their way from the locker room to the hallway. David and Jennifer took a few steps away from the crowd. Jennifer looked at David's badge and put her hands to her cheeks. "I can't believe we're firefighters. We're firefighters!" Jennifer said with a slight bounce. She put her arms around his neck as he picked her up and swung her in a circle.
"We're firefighters," David exclaimed. He gently placed her back down on the ground. Jennifer looked sheepishly away with rosy cheeks.
It was the sound of snorts that brought her back to reality. There were three very familiar faces: Chris failing miserably at managing his laughter and just turning it into snorts, Joanne holding Roy's arm, smiling as saying "aww", and then there was Roy who was unreadable. As soon as David saw Roy's face, he removed his hand from Jennifer's waist and stood at attention. Jennifer gave Chris a death stare which did little to scare him and more to make him laugh even more. She rolled her eyes at his childish antics. He was now two for two for breaking up romantic moments.
"Congrats you two." Joanne pulled Jennifer in closely. "I'm really proud of you!" Joanne then gave David a big hug and congratulated him as well.
"Thank you ma'am." David answered.
"Please call me Joanne and not ma'am, it makes me feel old."
Jennifer then introduced her father to David. When they shook hands Roy stated "you can call me Mr. Desoto." Jennifer gave him her death stare, which worked on him. David loosened his tie with nervousness. "Just kidding. You can call me Roy. So, where's your family? It would be nice to meet them." Jennifer took a step behind David and face palmed.
David briefly explained they weren't coming. Roy then continued to grill David on topics of his background to fire fighting techniques. Chris did a quick head tilt to signal Jennifer to come over to him. Jennifer slid over watching the show in front of her.
"Shouldn't you save him from Dad?" Chris whispered.
"Um, probably, but David's a man and a firefighter. I think he can rescue himself. Plus, I look at it like a bonding experience" As the exchanges continued, she could see her father's face soften. She knew that was the time to encourage the party to move to the cafeteria for the sandwiches. As soon as they entered the cafeteria, Roy asked about the living conditions and if Jenny was still going to stay at David's.
Joanne nudged rib in the guts to indicate that this was not the time or the place. "I think I'm going to stay with David." Roy's face fell.
David turned to Jennifer. "There is a bigger apartment that's opening up next month in our complex. A two bedroom."
"It would be nice, so you can quit sleeping on that couch and giving me the bed."
"You've been sleeping on the couch?" Roy asked incredulously. He was sure that there was more going on between them, but relieved to hear otherwise.
"Yes sir," David answered.
"Dad, we're just friends," Jennifer validated.
Joanne noticed the disappoint that quickly faded to a forced smile on David's face. Chris also took notice and tried to use his humor to lighten David's mood. "You know three's company with the two girls and a guy. What if we have three's company, me and David in one room and you in the other?" Chris saddled up to David and Jennifer and squeezed himself in the middle while placing his arms around the shoulders. With a goofy, toothy grin he turned to face his sister and then David. "Huh, whadda ya say?" He turned back to his sister, show his enjoyment of every minute.
She lifted his arm off his shoulder and stated, "over my dead body."
His arm remained over David's shoulder. "Fine, so David. We kick her out and I take her room. We'll ship her back to the parents." As he explained as he walked David over to the refreshments. The farther he got the louder he got, making sure she could hear them. "We'll turn it in to a bachelor pad. Have some ladies over. Wild parties and everything." Joanne had no clue what her son was talking about until she saw a quick look of jealousy that crossed Jennifer's face. Jennifer thought of a woman with David and it hurt the thought of losing her best friend to someone else. She shook her head trying to shake the thought loose.
Dear readers,
I appreciate all you reviewers. I know that this story has taken forever to complete. I need some input from all you lovely people. I need some help. I'm debating on this being the final chapter as all is good with the Desoto family or continuing on. I do have some ideas with Jenny being in the paramedic program and insight as to Gage's leadership of 51's B shift. I was wondering if there are people that want to see more into David's relationship with Jenny and her future (with more ups and downs) as well as David's background. I realize that these are becoming my own characters and the focus would be less on the original crew (although they'll still all be weaved in much like this story). Please review and tell me what you want!