The Widow

Passion in James County XII

The Widow

By D.C. Roi

Chapter nine

"Joanne, I...I need to talk with you about something," Fran told her friend at breakfast. After spending the night at Brian's house, she got up early and drove home to get a change of clothes. She had a feeling her relationship with Brian could develop into something more serious than she anticipated and felt she should tell Joanne what was going on.

"What's up?" Joanne asked. "You look tired. Does this conversation have anything to do with the fact that you seem to have spent last night somewhere other than here?"

"Ah...yeah..." Fran replied. "That is what I need to talk with you about. I...I met someone."

"That's nice," Joanne said.

"I...well, I think I may have started something last night and..." Fran said. She wasn't sure exactly what words to use to explain what was happening, mainly because she really wasn't sure what was happening with her and Brian.

Joanne grinned at her friend's obvious discomfiture. "Are you trying to tell me I'm going to be sleeping alone in the guest bedroom for the rest of my stay?" she asked, stifling a giggle. She wasn't sure whether she should tell her friend that she was developing a relationship, too. Mostly because she wasn't sure she was.

Fran nodded. "Does...does that upset you?" she asked.

Joanne smiled and shook her head. "No, Fran, it doesn't upset me, not in the least," she said. Actually, she was relieved to hear the news. Making love with Fran had been a wonderful experience, but she wasn't sure she wanted their sexual relationship to continue. And, on top of that, she knew she'd feel guilty if she slept with Fran now that she'd begun a relationship with Larry. She'd been trying to figure out how to tell Fran that. Her friend had solved the problem for her. "I understand completely. If I were in your place, I'd feel exactly the same way you do."

"Joanne, you really are a good friend," Fran said. She was happy her friend had taken the news so well. She stood up. "I've got to get going," she said. "I have a ton of things to do at work."

"You going to be late again tonight?" Joanne asked, grinning.

Fran felt herself blushing. "Probably," she said, nodding. She was supposed to meet Brian after work. She planned to take a change of clothes with her today, just in case.

After Fran left, Joanne felt a little at loose ends. Knowing she wouldn't be seeing Larry made the day ahead look a little less bright, but she figured she could manage.

As had become her habit since she arrived at Fran's house, she took a walk after finishing the breakfast dishes. While she walked along the road behind the cabins, she found herself thinking about Larry. The more she thought about him, the more she realized she was thinking about the young man as if they might have a future together.

"Joanne Williams, you're being a fool," she chided herself. "You've known Larry two days, and most of that time you've been having sex with him. What do you really know about him?"

Joanne did know there was a fifteen-year difference in their ages and that did bother her. She didn't know what he did for a living, either. She knew he had a job other than doing odd jobs for Fran, but she had no idea what that job was. Maybe he had a girlfriend and was just using her for sex.

"Joanne, you ought to know better," she scolded herself as she walked along the road, "they say there's no fool like an old fool and, judging from the way you're acting lately, they just maybe right."

She began to convince herself that the best thing she could do was break off her relationship with Larry and do it before she got hurt. The problem was, she wasn't sure she could do that...or wanted to.

Greg Atkinson pulled his patrol unit into the driveway in front of James County Fire-Rescue Station 20 and parked next to a white sport utility vehicle that looked very much like the one he drove, except this one was white and had red striping and lettering on it where his was brown with gold markings. The letters on the front fender of the white vehicle said "Paramedic." Those on Greg's said "Sheriff's Deputy."

Greg signed off with his dispatcher, got out of his patrol unit and started for the fire station. The door opened and a uniformed man around Greg's age walked out.

"Hi, Larry," Greg said, greeting his friend, Firefighter/Paramedic Larry Brewster. "I saw the medic unit sitting here and thought I'd stop and see if you had time for a cup of coffee."

"I just stopped in to drop off some replacement supplies for Station 20's ambulance," Larry replied. "I was headed back to base, but as long as I'm on the air and in my district, I don't think the department would begrudge me a cup of coffee."

"I'll meet you down at the truck stop," Greg said.

A few minutes later, the two friends were sitting in a booth in the truck stop's diner. Big porcelain mugs full of steaming black coffee sat on the table in front of them.

"I saw you working over at Fran Martin's place the other day," Greg said. "You still doing odd jobs on your days off?"

"I'm only doing them for Fran," Larry replied. "I managed to find someone else to take over the other jobs I had." He could feel his face getting a little hot and wondered why. "I mean, I've been doing stuff for Fran ever since I was old enough to hold a rake, you know?"

"You ever think about making a move on Fran?" Greg asked. "I mean, you're a bachelor and all, and I know you don't have anyone special in your life right now. Fran's a pretty hot number, too."

Larry drank some of his coffee and shook his head. "Fran's nice and all," he said, "and you're right, she is damn good-looking, but she isn't my type."

"Who is your type?" Greg asked his friend. "You know, buddy, you aren't getting any younger."

"What's this, now that you're married, you figure there's something wrong with me because I'm not?" Larry retorted.

"No, that's not it," Greg said. "I was just talking, you know?"

"Have you met the woman who's staying with Fran?" Larry asked.

"Joanne Williams?" Greg said. "Yeah, she and Fran had dinner at our place the other night. She seems nice." He looked at Larry and grinned. "What's this, buddy, you thinking about making a move on Joanne?"

Larry was staring into his cup. His face felt really warm and he knew he was blushing. "Well, she really is attractive, you know?" he said softly. "And..."

Larry was interrupted by a series of beeps coming from the portable radio sitting on the table. "James County Emergency Operations Center dispatching Engine 19, Ambulance 20, and Medic 15," the radio said. "Report of a man experiencing chest pains, the Gotwell Residence, Arlington Road, one mile from the intersection with Route 19."

"Gotta go," Larry said. "Sounds like Mr. Gotwell's vapor-locking again." He grabbed his portable radio, slid out of the booth, and headed for the door. "Medic 15 to Control," he said into the radio as he walked toward the door, "Show this unit responding."

Greg sat in the booth, watching his friend leave, and smiled. "Well, now," he thought. "It looks like Larry might be interested in Joanne Williams. Isn't that interesting? Abby will be tickled to find this out." He finished his coffee, then he got up and walked out to his patrol unit.

The rescue call Larry was assigned to wasn't that serious. It was someone he'd seen before, one of the older people who had a vacation home in the area. The man had chronic heart trouble and was experiencing angina. He treated the man at the scene and accompanied him to the hospital in the ambulance. When he finished at the hospital, he rode back to his medic unit with the ambulance crew. The call didn't take long, so he spent the rest of his morning delivering supplies to the other two fire stations in his paramedic response district. By the time his deliveries were done, it was almost lunch time and he was only a few miles from the lake, and Joanne Williams.

"I wonder if Joanne would mind if I stopped by for a few minutes?" he wondered as he drove back toward base. He was near the lake anyhow, so stopping to see her wouldn't be a problem. He advised his dispatcher where he'd be, then turned onto the road that led to the lake.

Joanne was making lunch when she heard a vehicle pull up outside the house. She looked out the window and saw what looked like some kind of fire apparatus and wondered who it was and why the fire department was stopping at Fran's house.

She was startled when the door opened and Larry Brewster, wearing a dark blue uniform and badge, got out and started toward the house. As she watched him approach the house, her heart began to race.

Larry started to knock on the door, but before he could, it opened. Joanne, smiling, stood there. "Hi," she said.

"Hi, Joanne. I...I hope you don't mind that I stopped by unnanounced," Larry said.

"I'm glad you did, I was just getting lunch together," she said. "You want to join me?"

Larry grinned and nodded. "I'd love to," he said. "That's why I stopped in the first place."

A little later, they were seated at the kitchen table, eating.

"I didn't know you were a fireman," Joanne said. "How long have you been doing that?"

"Actually, I'm a paramedic," Larry explained. "I'm also a firefighter, but my primary assignment is medical calls. My dad's a doctor and he wanted me to go to medical school, but when I got out of high school, I wanted to do something different. I started out with the fire department as an emergency medical technician and firefighter. When they put the paramedic program together three years ago, I got into that."

"Do you like it?" Joanne asked, intrigued.

"It's interesting," Larry said. "No two days are the same, that's for sure. It gets pretty crazy sometimes, but I do like it."

"Isn't it dangerous?" Joanne asked.

"Not really," Larry said. "The firefighters, they have to go into burning buildings. Now that I'm a paramedic, I mostly stand around outside and wait for one of them to get hurt. Their job is a lot more dangerous than what I do."

"I'm glad you stopped by," Joanne said. "I...I was thinking about you this morning."

"You were?" Larry asked. "I...I was thinking about you, too. I bumped into Greg Atkinson earlier. We had coffee and we were talking about you."

"You...you were?" Joanne replied. "What were you saying about me?"

"Actually, we didn't get to talk about you all that much," Larry said. "About the time your name came up, I got a call and had to leave."

"Oh," Joanne replied.

"Greg's always bugging me about getting married," Larry said. "At least he has ever since he got married."

"And...and what does your friend's wanting you to get married have to do with me?" Joanne inquired.

Larry smiled at her. "Well, Greg was kind of getting on me because there's nobody special in my life," he said. "And...well, I...you know..."

Joanne studied the young man and could see he was uncomfortable. "Are you between girlfriends right now, Larry?" she asked.

Larry shook his head. "That's not it, exactly," he replied, his face reddening, "I've never dated all that much, I..."

Joanne was surprised by his admission and wondered what the reason for his not dating much was. "Why is that?" she asked.

Larry was bright red now. "Well, you know, I work a pretty weird schedule and...well...asking someone out isn't easy," he replied. "And, ah, I haven't met a lot of women I wanted to, you know, ask out anyhow."

Joanne had a question she needed to have him answer. "Larry, what...what am I...to...to you?" she inquired.

Larry looked puzzled. "What...what are you...to me?" he responded. "I...I'm not sure. I...I never met anybody like you before. I...I think you're the most gorgeous woman I ever saw and..." A series of loud beeps came from his portable radio.

"James County Emergency Operations Center dispatching Engine and Ambulance 18, and Medic 15," the radio said. "Report of a woman with chest pains, the Brenner residence, Bellingham Road, one-half mile from the intersection with the old Jamestown Road."

Larry stood up and grabbed his radio. "Thanks for lunch, Joanne, I have to go," he said. "It sounds like Mrs. Brenner's having another gall-bladder attack. I'll see you tomorrow." Then he was out the door.

Joanne watched Larry rush out the kitchen door, then she heard his vehicle start. Moments later, she heard a siren begin wailing. She wondered what he was about to say when the radio interrupted him. He had said he'd never met anyone like her, and that she was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen. It certainly was a good start. She would just have to wait until tomorrow to hear the rest of Larry's statement.

Two men who worked for a tree-pruning company were clearing tree branches away from power lines on the road where Fran's and Greg's cabins were located. They had been working in the private club all week. They were sitting on the ground leaning against their truck, eating lunch, and saw Larry leave.

"Did you see that, Bruno?" one of the men, a bulky, bearded, dirty man with sandy brown hair asked his companion.

"Yeah," Bruno, a short, slim man with scraggly black beard and moustache, said. "Damn, Jimmy, it looks like she's servicin' the fire department today. I wonder if that kid she was screwin' yesterday knows she's fuckin' a fireman, too. Or vice-versa."

His friend Jimmy laughed. He worked up in the bucket, cutting branches from high up in trees. He saw Larry go into the house two days earlier and, when the kid still hadn't come out when he and Bruno finished for the day, he had a pretty good idea what was going on. Over their after-work beers, he mentioned it to Bruno, who thought the same thing he did.

Today, having seen Larry's fire department unit at the house, the two men made an assumption that wasn't correct.

"You know," Jimmy said, "if that chick in there's that hot for screwin', maybe she wouldn't mind takin' on a couple of guys like us, too. Whadda ya think, Bruno?"

"Yeah, Jimmy, you could be right," Bruno replied, his eyes bright. "You think we oughta go and ask her?"

"Maybe we will before we're done with this job here," Jimmy said, "maybe we will."