She watched as the orange arms breached her bedroom window. The reality of her situation hadn't registered in her numb mind and as a dark smoke plume gathered up and drifted into the night sky, she wondered if the wood of her bedframe smelled nice while it was consumed by the fire.
Actually, it wouldn't be just her bedframe. As she thought about it, she realized it would also be her mattress and her dresser and her phone charger and her dresses and silk blouses and the forty or so pairs of shoes she had stuffed in her closet.
It was her whole life burning down.
A small drip of reality built in the corner of her eye. She sniffled and tried to keep it back but it slid down her cheek. A moment later she wiped at it, the saltiness making it feel crusty on her skin.
She suddenly felt like she was being watched.
Her house was burning down so the whole neighborhood was outside pointing at her, but she felt an odd shiver down her spine as she felt an intent behind their gaze that called to her sixth sense.
She searched the crowd and made eye contact with a firefighter. He had just removed his head gear and she noticed his dark, damp hair and the sweat dripping down his face to the small cleft in his chin.
As he walked past, she stopped him, "Thank you for trying to save my house."
He paused, "This is your house?"
Kelly nodded and was suddenly aware she was standing in the middle of her street in her fuzzy robe and pink slippers.
"You should follow me. We'll get you a blanket and take your information for the report."
She swallowed. A report? Of course. She would need to file insurance paperwork and...
All her insurance documents had been in her house.
She nibbled on her bottom lip and she barely noticed as a second tear slid down her cheek.
Amber, dressed for a night out in a tight black dress and pink pumps, giggled and deposited a second round of lemonade and vodka on their table. The first round had loosened them up enough that Kelly could feel the stress draining from her body. Ever since the fire, she had felt like a tightly wound ball of rubber bands but now the alcohol made her feel as if someone had pulled the ball apart, freeing the tension.
The second drink was to get the night started.
Halfway through their drinks, a waitress brought over two more. The two women looked at each other, confused.
Amber said, "Um, we didn't order these."
The waitress smiled and bobbed her head, her shiny brown hair swishing in her ponytail. "I know. The gentleman over at the bar bought this round for you."
The ladies looked over as a tall man in tight blue jeans gave a brief wave and offered a soft smile.
Kelly and Amber waved back and Kelly said, "He looks really familiar."
Amber giggled. "Does he? That's good because he also looks really delicious."
The man walked over and smiled at Kelly. "Hi."
"Um, hi."
The table sat in awkward silence for a moment.
The man cleared his throat then said, "I guess it was a pretty crazy night so you might not remember me, but I'm Mike. I was the firefighter that brought you over to give a report that night."
"Oh? ... Oh! I do remember you! I ..." Kelly cleared her throat and a flush crept into her cheeks, "I am so sorry about that night. I was such a mess. I can't believe you even recognized me now that I'm not sobbing my eyes out."
He laughed then said, "You kept saying you had no more clothes so I imagined you going to work in those pink fuzzy slippers for a while." He slid into a seat next to her and pointed down at her shoes under the table. "I'm glad you found some regular shoes even though these are at least as sexy as the fuzzy slippers."
Kelly glanced down at her black heels as Amber leaned over the table, purposefully pushing her cleavage together, and clarified, "So, you are a firefighter?"
His attention was off in the distance as a group behind them got up to leave. Mike smiled at the ladies and excused himself.
Amber scooted her stool closer to Kelly and scoffed while adjusting her breasts, "He didn't even notice these babies. What is wrong with him?"
Kelly shrugged, "Maybe he wasn't here to flirt with us. Maybe he was just genuinely interested in seeing that I was okay after the fire."
Amber rolled her eyes and mocked what he said earlier, " '...these are at least as sexy as the fuzzy slippers.' Kelly, honey, he practically winked when he said that! He so wants you. And I think that after all the crazy you've been through during the past few weeks, you should totally hit that."
Amber finished her drink and made annoying sounds with her straw. Mike returned to his seat next to Kelly and Amber shot over a pointed look. She suddenly jumped up from the table and announced, "I'm all out of my drink. Kelly, I'm going to go grab another, do you want another?"
Kelly shook her head. She had only just started her free drink.
Mike's leg rested against hers under the table as he asked her how she was doing after the fire.