Chapter 28 Wes
Heading into work feels harder today. I know that I’m overtired from barely sleeping the past two nights, and all the energy I felt from my time with Rose is being slowly overpowered by my body’s desperate need for rest. It’s all turning into a blur. A joyful blur that I’d like to relive again and again. I smile just thinking of her and the way she looked sleeping in the lantern light in the tent snuggled up next to me. The way her hair moved as she danced with me at the restaurant. The way the firelight made her eyes shine in the moonlight.
I wonder if she’s already seen the gift I left for her at the shop and check my phone to see if I have any missed messages. I hope that she likes it, but I can’t help the nervous feeling I get at the idea that she might be overwhelmed by it too. Reminding myself that I’ll see her soon, I start to grab my things for the day.
I blink and feel a little dizzy as I get out of the car so I grab onto the door to steady myself. I’m probably a little dehydrated with all my running around this morning and being overtired too. I grab a water bottle from my backseat and down it as I grab my pack. It helps that the sun is still shining, the air is warm and trees are blowing gently in the wind as I get out of my car. The familiar scent of bonfires and coffee greets me as I start the walk down our path from the parking lot.
I see Tonya has already been here and set up a triage station. Everyone has been called in to help with the clean-up from the storms today. But now that everything has been assessed for safety, I spot Erick through the crowd of people. I wave and he starts to make his way through the group toward me.
“Hey, were you on call last night? I didn’t hear you come home.”
“Yeah, I stayed down at Site 12, just in case anything came up.” I pause, unsure after his last reaction how he’ll take what I have to say next. “Rose actually ended up staying there with me, too.” I attempt to say it nonchalantly but it comes out a little faster and higher pitched than I intended. His eyes widen.
“So the date went well, I take it?” Erick, always the gentleman.
“It did, well not at first, but then she came back here and we had a nice time. Also, we’re going to need to talk about Joe, I think there’s some things you need to fill me in on.” Thinking back to how Joe acted last night still gives me pause. I haven’t had too many people take a go at me before, but it was a little unnerving. Even now, picturing his face and his tone as he told me I shouldn’t come back to the restaurant anymore gives me a shiver up my spine. Who does that?
As we get closer to the triage station, we can hear Tonya talking loudly, likely going over the assignments for the day. It’s going to be a busy one.
“Uh oh, did something happen? You guys went to Dan’s for dinner, right?” Erick reaches into his back pocket and shows me a granola bar. “You look like you could use it,” he says, handing it to me. I unwrap it as fast as I can and down it in two bites. I was hungrier than I thought.
“Thanks. Yes, he got sort of physical with me and seemed quite unhappy that I was there with Rose. Rose told me they dated not too long ago and that it had ended badly, but do you think he’s still hung up on her?” We walk towards the table with Tonya and she hands us an assignment, cleaning up a downed tree that’s lodged over one of the trails.
Before we head out, Tonya gives me a look up and down. “Be careful out there, newbie. We don’t do hero things here. Take it careful, take it slow.”
I nod. I hate when she calls me “newbie,” but it doesn’t change the fact that I am. This is my first big storm at the park and I know to take every precaution. While I want to say so many other things, I, instead, nod at her and add, “Got it, boss.” Even adding a little salute at the end which she rolls her eyes at before shooing us away.
After we’re a ways away, I glance towards Erick. “So, Joe. Do you think he’s still hung up on Rose?”
“Still hung up on Rose? Says the guy who has been hung up on her since he was fifteen.” Erick laughs and gives me a little punch to the arm. I suppose that’s fair.
“I know, I know. I can’t blame the guy, I mean, it’s Rose, but do you think it’s going to be an issue?”
“I’ll talk to him and see what’s going on. He’s usually pretty level-headed so I’m not sure what the issue is. I’m glad to hear about you and Rose, though, that’s great man. We should go out for a drink tonight to celebrate.” Erick claps me on the back and we start to head to the ranger cabin to grab some gear and items we’ll need for the assignment.
“That sounds perfect, now let’s go take a look at this tree.”