Chapter 59
59
CONNOR
“So, you’ve written the article about me?” I ask.
Ember looks up at me from across the fire.
“How do you know that I’ve finished that?” she questions fearfully.
“Father told me,” I say. “He said you gave it to him. A final copy.”
Ember rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, I did.”
“He says it’s full of nice words,” I tell her, eyebrow raised.
“Ugh. Yeah.”
“Read it to me,” I say to my girl.
She blinks.
“The article?”
“Yeah, read it to me. I’d like to hear what you have to say about me.”
“No.”
“Are you shy? You’re never shy, Ember. You usually know how to talk my ear off.”
“I don’t want to,” she says defiantly.
“Read it to me or I won’t ever make you dinner again.”
Ember snorts.
“Fine, then. Have it your way. I love your soup way too damn much.”
She gets up from her chair and crosses to the cabin where she gets her phone from her bag. I sit and wait for her patiently.
Yeah, I very much want to hear this...
I pat my legs, beckoning her to sit in my lap. She does so and shows me her phone.
“It’s not going to get published,” she explains to me as one last act of protest.
“I don’t care. I want to hear what you’ve said. I really want to.”
“I will not read it to you like a baby,” she tells me. “I’ll show you it and you can read it yourself.”
“Okay, then. Shoot.”
She thrusts the phone’s screen in my face, and I start to read...
Local Hero: Connor
In a small town in the middle of nowhere, identical to so many small towns across our nation, there is a hero who has deliberately shied away from the spotlight to pursue a purpose that many wouldn’t understand, but many would admire.
He’s a man who was born into a family of untold riches - a Penmayne... like that needs to be described. The darlings of our high society. He was born without want of anything. His family is, quite simply, the very epitome of class and power in modern America.
Yet, despite being offered everything in the world, Connor chose to turn away from a billionaire’s path and decided on something very much different.
When I asked him about his choice, Connor didn’t have anything grand or philosophical to say, but he did tell me what he thinks about his purpose...
“Meaning doesn’t have to be found in material things, it can be found in the simple... like when you help someone else or make a person’s day a little brighter. Sometimes that’s all you need to do to find meaning in this life. It doesn’t have to be anything deeper than that.”
To me, that sums up his outlook on life perfectly. He is a man searching for the simple. He might not admit it, but all he truly wants to be is a good man.
I have spent the last week in the small town of Crystal River, and I have seen this old-fashioned man in action. He’s the first person to run into danger to help whoever needs help. He doesn’t turn away. He doesn’t shirk. He’s risked it all to come to the rescue.
But Connor doesn’t just possess courage. He’s selfless.
“He might seem like a grumpy bastard at first,” says Eric Evans, a fellow firefighter and Connor’s best friend, “but the man’s got a heart of gold. He’s the best man I know.”
And that’s as true as anything. Beneath the rough exterior of the firefighter, Connor is hiding a selfless nature that exists not for fame or wealth but for the simple need to be there for anyone who needs him.
To everyone in Crystal River who has been assisted by the man in any way, Connor is a hero.
My time in the small American town has come to an end, but I can’t help but feel like I have witnessed something extraordinary that renews my love of humanity. A man like Connor can make you realize that there can be some good in this dark world, and for that, I am able to leave Crystal River feeling a tiny bit better than when I arrived.
“Are you crying?” Ember asks me.
I wipe away a tear.
“No, I’m not,” I lie.
“You definitely are,” she replies. “Why?”
I shrug.
“I’ve never had my life laid out like that,” I whisper.
Ember smiles.
“I want to take your photo,” she says.
“You need one for the article?” I ask.
“No,” she replies. “I want one for myself.”
I take a moment to ponder that. It’s good she’s asking for one this time.
“Okay, then. Go ahead. This one is definitely just for you?”
“Yes, Connor. Just for me.”
Ember stands up and takes a photo of me. I don’t know what to do with my hands. My awkwardness makes her laugh.
“You’re cute, Connor.”
I groan.
“Just take the goddamn picture, girl.”
“I’m all done.”
I beckon her to sit in my lap again.
“So,” I whisper. “What’s the plan for you, then? What are you going to do next now that you’re out of the hospital?”
Ember shakes her head.
“I honestly don’t know. I’ve always had my future planned. This has been the one time when I can stop and consider what I do next. This is the one time in my whole entire life where I don’t have a plan.”
“How about we plan a future together?” I suggest.
Ember looks me deep in the eye.
“Our lives are going to be difficult to reconcile,” she remarks. “You are a firefighter, and I am a journalist. They’re pretty damn far apart. I don’t lead a normal life.”
“Neither do I, Ember.”
“Are we even able to plan a future together?”
“I don’t know, but we can try.”
She nods.
“Then let’s be abnormal together,” she says.
And I smile.
“That’s the most romantic thing I have ever heard,” I say before I kiss her.