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Poor Colleen slumped in her chair. Every time she tried to open her mouth, someone else talked over her.
“When’s the wedding?” … “Where are we gonna do it?” … “My wife makes upcycled wedding dresses, I’ll give her your number…” Until finally Jason planted both of his hands on his desk and rose to his feet.
“Enough. Colleen and I are not getting married.”
Quiet fell over the group, but only for a moment. Then cacophony broke out again. Erwin Brown had the most powerful voice, so his won out over the others. “Then who lost the bet? I knew it wasn’t Jason. My money was on Lisa.”
“I said Lisa too,” said Donnie. “Put a hundred dollars on it.”
“A hundred? How do you have a hundred extra dollars, don’t you have like, ten kids?”
“Four, but I get your point. That’s why I cut myself off at a hundred. But I knew it was a sure bet, the way those two look at each other. I could have won even bigger.”
Jason met Colleen’s gaze, and watched her eyes slowly fill with tears. The other firefighters weren’t rejecting her; they were betting on her love life in typical firehouse style.
Donnie’s hand settled onto her shoulder. He was a former truck driver who’d quit his job to stay home with his kids and help his wife sell candles on Etsy. He’d joined the volunteer fire department to get out of the house more.
“Well, what do you say, Colleen-girl? Did I lose my shirt again?”
Colleen tilted her head to look back at him. Then she bolted to her feet and threw her arms around the pot-bellied older man. “You didn’t. You’re right. Me and Lisa are getting married.”
Donnie patted her back and let out a long whoop. “Three-to-one odds, bay-beee!”
Colleen pulled away, rapidly blinking back those tears. “You guys were betting on me this whole time?”
“You know how we roll,” said Erwin. “Anything worthy of a bet, gets a bet. You’re going to have some pissed-off firefighters around here, I’ll tell you what.”
“Not because you’re getting married,” said Donnie quickly. “Congratulations on that. Some people had Annie Ryan on their bingo card.”
“Annie Ryan? We never even dated.”
“I know, but you know how some guys are. She’s hot, and so are you, and that’s about where it ended. Lisa’s hot too,” Erwin added. “Don’t get me wrong.”
“Wait wait wait.” Colleen waved her hands in the air. “Are you guys telling me no one put a man on their bingo card?”
Donnie frowned. “Dick Spoon might have, just because no one was taking those odds. Everyone else kind of saw it coming. Seemed like you were done with men.”
“So done,” Colleen agreed. “Except for all of you here. You’re the best.” She blew kisses to every man in the room. “And you’re all invited to the wedding, which will be conducted by our very own fire chief, Jason Mosedale.”
Jason sketched a bow as the crew broke out into applause. Then he motioned for everyone to pipe down. “I know it’s a big day, but is there any chance we could try to get some work done? Maybe restock the paramedic van? Polish up the ladder truck? Clean the kitchen? Who’s up on that chore list? Wait, where’s everyone going?”
They were all backing out of his office, bumping into each other, clearly trying to avoid getting their name called. “I guess I know how to clear my office,” he called after them. “Donnie, don’t act like I don’t know you’re on kitchen duty!”
Then he sank back down into his chair and picked up his phone.
Kendra had texted him. Just heard some hot gossip at the bar. Hint: wedding bells.
Way ahead of you, he texted back. Hint: how can I acquire an online minister’s license?
A moment later, a link popped onto his phone.
He skipped past it. He’d deal with that later.
Kendra texted, I still can’t believe the firehouse gets more gossip than the bar. That’s all kinds of messed up.
Life event, not gossip. *Scoldy-face emoji*
Are you making up emojis now?
