Taking A Bite Out Of The Holiday

By

Audrey W.

~*~*~

July 1, 1973

The crew of A-shift filed into the dayroom after returning from a call to a structure fire. Luckily everyone at the scene had gotten out of the small pawnshop before the fire department arrived. That made the job just a matter of putting out the flames without having to take the added risk of entering into the building. It also gave them two extra hands to fight the fire since the paramedics didn’t have any victims to treat.

Johnny pulled a chair over near the television and turned on the set. Chet and Marco each grabbed a chair to join the paramedic. Captain Stanley grabbed a glass of water and headed for his office.Roy and Mike were in the process of getting drinks when a visitor walked in the room.

“Hi, guys!”

All eyes flew to the female voice at the doorway.

“Nita!” Marco was on his feet in no time, wondering what brought his younger sister to the station. “What are you doing here?”

“I was shopping in the area and thought I’d stop in. Have you asked them yet?”

Johnny and Chet exchanged glances, then were right behind Marco, the television forgotten.

“Ask us what?” Johnny questioned, his eyes locked on Nita.

“Yeah, Marco. What are you supposed to ask us?” Chet wondered out loud, as he stepped in front of Gage.

“The Fourth of July,” Nita answered. “We’re having a get-together at our Aunt Lolita’s house and Marco was supposed to invite all of you.”

“Oo-oh,” Johnny’s voice rose an octave. “No, he didn’t say anything.”

“I was going to. I just didn’t get around to it, yet,” Lopez defended. “We’ve been busy, you know. . .fighting fires.”

“Why don’t you have a seat at the table, Nita,” Chet offered, pushing his chair across the floor for the woman to sit in.

Noticing Kelly’s actions, Marco shook his head slightly. The game was starting again. It was only a matter of time before Johnny made his move.

“Well, only for a few minutes. I really have to get going.” Marco’s sister smiled as Chet stood near the chair. “Thank you.”

Just as expected, Gage entered the picture next. Not wanting to be outdone by Chet, Johnny offered Nita a drink. She cordially accepted a glass of water.

As Johnny handed the glass of water to Nita, Marco eyed him suspiciously. Not thrilled with the attention Gage and Kelly always gave his sister when she stopped by the station, he had been reluctant to invite the two men. But Nita had put him on the spot. Resigned to the task, Marco explained the holiday plans.

“Aunt Lolita has a house up in the foothills and she wants to have a cookout. You know, do some hamburgers on the grill, and just have a day of everyone celebrating together.”

“She considers you guys as extended family,” Nita added, cutting in. “Since Marco spends so much time with you on duty and she knows fire fighters take care of each other like family.”

“Yeah?” Johnny sat on the edge of the table. “Sounds like it’ll be fun! I’ll be there.”

Not wanting Gage to have any advantage over him, Chet quickly chimed in, “I’ve got no plans. I’ll go.”

The dark-haired paramedic glared at the stocky fireman. Yeah, I know why you’re so anxious to go, Chester B. . . .

At the same time, Chet was thinking about Johnny’s eagerness. Oh, yeah, I know why you really want to go. . .

Both men’s thoughts came to one conclusion . . . Nita!

Mike and Roy noticed the expressions on Gage’s and Kelly’s faces, and knew what was going on. Every time Nita came to the station, it was always the same story. Those two vying for her attention. No one could blame them. She was a beautiful twenty-one-year-old woman, with shoulder length silky black hair and a build like a model. But, nonetheless, the competition between Johnny and Chet made for some amusement for DeSoto and Stoker. Marco rolled his eyes at the two men.

“How about you, Roy?”

The blonde paramedic changed his attention from his partner to Marco. “I’ll have to check with Joanne, but I think it’ll work out.”

“Count me in,” Mike offered.

Lopez clapped his hands together. “Great! Now all I have to do is check with Cap.”

Nita finished her glass of water, then started to push her chair from the table when Johnny and Chet both reached to pull it out for her. The two men stopped and scowled at each other while Marco’s sister got her own chair back far enough to where she could stand up.

“Well, I’ve got to be going. I guess I’ll see you guys on July Fourth.”

“That’s right,” Gage and Kelly answered in unison. The two men once again glared at each other as Marco walked out with his sister, once again shaking his head slightly at the antics of Gage and Kelly.

“What are you doin’, Chet?” Johnny asked. “You’re gonna make us look like fools.”

“Me? What about you?”

As the argument continued, Roy looked beside him at Mike.

“It’s gonna be interesting, huh?”

“You mean with the two Romeos?”

DeSoto nodded.

“Could be the most fun I’ve had on the Fourth of July in awhile,” Mike admitted.

Roy sighed. “I just wonder if ‘fun’ is the right word.”

~*~*~

July 4, 1973

The DeSotos were the last to arrive at Lolita Lopez’s house. Having two young children to get moving added an extra challenge to the outing. After a relaxing drive down the miles of secluded paved road that was lined by pine trees, Joanne looked in awe at the large house that sat alone on several acres of land. The only other house in sight was quite a ways in the distance farther down the road.

“Oh, this is wonderful, Roy! I’ll bet it’s great at night . . .quiet, and she can probably see the stars better with no city lights.”

Roy nodded in agreement. “Marco said his aunt plans on raising horses. But she just had the house built and there’s a lot more work to do before she can have the animals on her property.”

“Where are we going to do the fireworks at?”

“There’s a cement pad way out in the back yard that’s going to be a storage shed eventually. Marco said we can set off the fountains and other fireworks out there. That way there’s no fire danger. And the kids can do sparklers on the patio.”

“Oh boy!” Chris squealed, overhearing the discussion.

“Just remember, that’s not until it starts getting dark, Chris,” Roy reminded. “It’s not even lunch time yet, so it’ll be awhile.”

“Okay,” the young boy pouted.

~*~*~

As they walked around to the back yard, the kids took off running in the grass. Roy laughed out loud. “Now there’s a sight I had a feeling we’d see.”

“What?” Joanne looked around, wondering what she wasn’t noticing.

“Johnny and Chet. They’re both hanging around Marco’s sister.”

Joanne saw the two men sitting on the covered patio, their chairs on either side of Nita Lopez. The young woman didn’t seem to mind the attention, but Jo figured it could be that she was just being polite.

“She looks like she’s enjoying the company.”

“Yeah, but look at Marco,” Roy pointed to Lopez, who was trying to talk to Hank and Mike, but his head kept turning towards the threesome. “He’s not enjoying it.”

“I see what you mean. Well, he is her older brother after all. I’m sure Chris will be the same way with Jennifer.”

The paramedic shot a look at his wife. “Never mind Chris. I’ll be keeping an eye on the guys with her.”

Joanne giggled. “I’ve got no doubt you will, dear. None at all.”

“Roy!” Marco waved as he noticed the couple approaching. “Glad you could make it!”

DeSoto headed towards the men talking as Joanne walked in the direction of Nita. Maybe she could rescue the young woman from the admirers.

Nita stood up, excusing herself as she left to greet Roy’s wife. The two men frowned.

“You know, Chet, maybe we aren’t each other’s worst enemy after all.”

“Whataya mean?”

“Well, we’re still sitting here with an empty chair between us. Joanne, on the other hand, is over there having a conversation with Nita.”

The stocky fireman slowly nodded. “You know, you’ve got a point, Gage.”

“Shall we?” Johnny asked, gesturing towards the group of men standing out in the yard talking.

“Sure. Why not? There’s always later for. . .”

“For what?” Johnny asked as he stood up.

“Nothin’” Chet was on his feet and walking away. Gage followed.

“Chet, if you think you’re gonna get anywhere with Nita,” Johnny said in a hushed tone, “you’re dreamin’.”

“I’m dreaming? You’re the one holding my progress up.”

The dark-haired paramedic stopped, his mouth hanging open, as Kelly continued on towards the other men. Johnny glanced over his shoulder at Nita. She was still involved in a conversation with Joanne, and Eleanor Stanley had joined them. He returned his gaze to the guys.

No way she would go for anyone like Chet. No way.

~*~*~

The day went smoothly, with the children playing together and the adults having discussions on everything from work to the latest blockbuster movies to hit the theaters. After having burgers for lunch and allowing the food to settle in their stomachs, the men and younger boys decided to play a game of flag football in the huge back yard. The little girls at the gathering were busy playing their own games, while the women relaxed on the patio.

Nita couldn’t help but chance a few glances at Johnny. Out of all the single guys on A-shift, he was the one she was most attracted to. The only problem with him was that he was never without Chet when she was around.

Nita’s attention was suddenly drawn to her aunt at the cooler on the patio.

“Oh dear,” Lolita was saying. “We’re getting low on beverages. I guess I didn’t buy enough.”

“Do you want Roy and I to go get more for you?” Joanne offered.

“Or Hank and I can,” Eleanor Stanley spoke up.

“You’re guests,” Nita reminded them. “I’ll go.” She looked out at the guys in the yard. This could be her chance to get Gage alone since Chet was way out in the field with her cousins Pepi and Juan; hopefully they were somewhat out of earshot. “Hey, one of you guys want to go with me to get more drinks? We’re getting low.”

“Sure!” Johnny shouted, immediately jumping on the opportunity before anyone else could reply. He gave a wave to the others as he trotted towards the house. Marco shook his head.

Just what I needed. . . Gage going off with my sister. At least it’s just to get more drinks.

~*~*~

Nita and Johnny pulled up at a small convenience store fifteen miles from Lolita’s house. As they got out of the car, Nita smiled at her passenger. They had finally gotten a chance to talk without any interruptions. The only downside was that they discovered they didn’t have enough in common. Johnny loved to bowl; Nita hated it. The paramedic was into photography; Marco’s sister couldn’t care less about taking pictures of anything. She was more into dance clubs and the beach. The one thing they did have in common was that they both enjoyed the outdoors.

Once inside the store, the two gathered up several six packs of canned pop and headed for the register. Johnny made sure to grab a few of six packs of beer as well.

“I appreciate the help, Johnny,” Nita said as she paid the cashier.

“Sure, no problem.” Gage was relieved he wasn’t the one paying for the drinks. He picked up the majority of the six packs and carried them out to the car.

~*~*~

On the way back, Nita and Johnny talked more about the outlook for them as far as dating. When they couldn’t come up with enough places to go together to cover more than three dates at the most, the two decided they would just go out on occasion as friends and leave it at that.

Nita glanced at the dark-haired man and smiled. “You want to take a short walk before we go back? I know a really nice place . . .I’ve been going there quite a bit since Aunt Lolita started building her house up this way.”

“Is it very far from here?”

“No, in fact we’ll be going right by it anyway. It’s about seven miles before you get to her house,” the young woman explained. “It used to be a park, but I guess being so far up here, not enough people used it and they closed it down years ago. The only sign I’ve seen to remind me that’s what it was is the parking area and a few pieces of broken up picnic tables here and there. Aunt Lolita said it’s been about fifteen years since its been used.”

“Okay.”

“So you’re game for it?” Nita asked, somewhat surprised.

“Sure,” Johnny shrugged. “Why not? But just for a short time, or the guys’ll have my head for bailing out of the game for so long.”

“Right! We won’t stay long.” The young woman smiled.

After driving a short distance more, she turned right onto a dirt road. A couple of miles down the road and around a bend, there was an open graveled area that used to serve as a parking lot. As expected, they were the only vehicle in sight.

Once out of the parked car, Johnny walked beside Nita as they made their way down an old path, weeds and grass grown over much of it. They both had to duck a few times as they walked through a wooded section. As the path narrowed, Johnny took the lead, glancing over his shoulder as they talked.

“I haven’t gone this way before,” Nita commented. “There’s another path farther over I always take.”

“New scenery for both of us then,” Johnny grinned. He looked around at the green field that the wooded area had opened up to. “It’s really neat here. I see why you like it.”

When he didn’t get an answer, Johnny turned around. Marco’s sister was staring at him.

“What is it?”

“You must have a lot of girlfriends.”

What brought this up? “I have a . . .a few,” Gage answered awkwardly. “I do alright. What. . .what makes you say that?”

“You’re cute,” Nita blushed when she saw a surprised expression come over the paramedic’s face. “It’s too bad we don’t have more in common.”

Gage turned on his heel at the comment, walking forward again. The man grinned sheepishly at Nita’s comment. Shouldn’t these be my lines? he wondered.

“Maybe we can--” Johnny heard a crack and felt the ground go out from under him as he found himself suddenly free-falling.

Nita stood rooted to the ground as the man who had just been in front of her disappeared into a hole. Neither one of them had noticed the rotted and warped boards that had been lying in their path. The tall grass and weeds that had grown around the wood provided a camouflage. Those boards were now gone, except for a few broken pieces near the opening.

“Johnny!” Nita screamed. She quickly kneeled on the edge of the hole and peered in.

~*~*~

The drop was a quick, but long one. Gage had no time to register exactly what was going on until he reached the bottom. He started to land on his feet, but the slippery mud at the bottom caused him to lose his balance as one foot started to touch the ground; the paramedic fell onto this right hip and forearm with a thud. Rain that had fallen the night before and leaked in had made for a damp floor to the hole. Johnny didn’t notice the black spider that had come down with him, its web that was attached to the underside of the wood coming apart as the boards broke.

The paramedic started to shift his position in the wet muck, slowly and carefully bringing himself to a sitting position. The movement startled the spider that had landed near his right hand. Feeling threatened by the current upset to its habitat, the critter charged the offending object nearby, biting Johnny ‘s right hand between the index and middle finger. Normally the paramedic might have felt the spider crawl partially on his hand, but at the moment, he had bigger problems stealing his attention. Chunks of loose dirt and a few small pieces of wood continued to rain on him from above. Looking up, he could see Nita peering over the edge.

“Nita, get back!”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes!” He hoped he was right. “Just get away from the edge! It’s not stable!”

She gasped and started to bring her hands up off the end of the broken boards she had been resting on, when the portion supporting her let go, causing Nita to tumble into the four foot diameter hole head first.

~*~*~

Johnny barely had time to react. Suddenly more loose dirt was raining down, but he still tried to scramble to his feet to catch the falling woman. Unable to move quick enough, he was knocked onto his back, as Nita fell onto him, her left knee striking him on the left side, just barely catching his rib cage. The splintered piece of board that had given way from her weight followed, hitting the paramedic on the left shoulder. The wind knocked out of him, Gage lay on his back, stunned.

Nita landed partially on Johnny, her right arm taking the brunt of the blow to the ground underneath her.

“Ah. . ow!”

“Nita . . . are you. . . okay?” Johnny asked, trying to catch his breath as he struggled to get to a sitting position. He ignored the pain in his hip the movement caused.

“I think I broke my arm,” she groaned between clenched teeth.

“Okay, hold on.” Gage turned towards the left and pushed up with one arm bracing him. But he couldn’t get fully upright until Nita moved off of him, and, in turn, he wasn’t going to be able to help her until then. “Listen, can you. . .” He panted, still feeling winded. “Can you slide over?”

“Yeah,” Marco’s sister said as she looked curiously at her companion. It was then it dawned on her she had landed on him. “Oh! I’m sorry, Johnny! Are you okay?”

“Never mind . . . me,” the paramedic said, as he slowly recovered from the blow to his midsection. “Your arm . . . might be broke. I need to look at it, . . . but I can’t until I can sit up.”

“But if I’m hurt,” Nita grimaced as she slowly moved off of Johnny’s hip and legs, being careful not to move her injured arm. “You must be, too.”

Gage didn’t want his current problems to overshadow the young woman’s. His right hip was throbbing, his right elbow was skinned up, his left shoulder had a dull ache where the piece of board had hit it, and he had a feeling Nita may have inadvertently cracked his ribs. “Let’s worry about you first.”

Nita had made her way off of the paramedic and sat beside his muddy legs. Johnny slowly moved until he was on his hands and knees. He crawled over and kneeled to the side of the young woman.

“How come you’re moving so slow if you’re okay?” The dark-haired woman asked hesitantly.

“I’m a mess,” Johnny said holding out his arms to show his mud-covered shirt and jeans. “It feels awkward.” He forced a grin, then frowned as he looked at her already bruised limb. “Your right arm, huh?”

“Yeah.”

She cringed, as he reached forward and touched it.

“It’s okay. I’ll be gentle.” Neither one of them noticed the two tiny puncture marks on Johnny’s hand with the dirt that now helped to cover the bite.

Nita couldn’t help but get tears in her eyes even though Johnny did just as he said he would. . . gently felt her arm, concern on his face. The fact was, her arm hurt and as much as she tried to play tough, the pain was too much.

“Yeah, I’d say it’s probably fractured.” When he didn’t get a comment, Johnny looked up to see Marco’s sister on the brink of crying. “Here, this’ll help.” He started to unbutton his shirt and take it off.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna make a sling for you.”

Nita shook her head. “Huh uh. You . . .you need your shirt.”

“But--”

“No.”

Johnny sighed, pulling his shirt back on. “Okay, then let me help you slide your arm inside your shirt so it stays immobile.”

Nita nodded. She grinned at Johnny’s awkwardness at loosening a few of the buttons on her shirt. As much as her brother referred to Gage as ‘girl crazy’, she always got the impression there was more to the paramedic than that. She grimaced as Johnny carefully slid her right arm into the opening of her shirt, keeping it bent.

“There,” Johnny said, sitting back. “Try not to move it at all. You hurt anywhere else?”

“Me? What about you?” She asked. Looking in his brown eyes, something didn’t seem quite right. Gage had a look of pain in them. She also took note of how every time he moved, he either bit on his lower lip or gritted his teeth. “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah,” the dark-haired man answered. “Just bruised a bit. I wonder how we’re gonna get outta here, though,” he said, as he looked up at the opening fifteen feet above them. He brought his gaze back to Nita. “Who all knows this area is your favorite place to go walking?”

The woman gave an apologetic look. “You.”

An overwhelming feeling of dread came over Johnny. More than likely, they were going to spend the rest of July Fourth right where they were.

~*~*~

The party atmosphere continued at the Lopez house. The women were looking at pictures Lolita had taken on a recent trip to Florida, while the men still played flag football with the boys. The little girls were busy playing Barbies inside the house. Although he was enjoying the game, Chet couldn’t help but look at his watch. Gage and Nita would be back anytime, and he still needed to think of a way to get her attention.

“You got a hot date later or something, Chet?” Mike asked as he wandered up to the fireman between plays.

Kelly gave the engineer a disgusted look. “No, I don’t have a hot date. Well, not yet, anyway.”

“Marco’s sister?”

Chet nodded. “If Gage hasn’t already ruined it for me.”

“You two are playing with fire, you know. Marco’s pretty protective of Nita. She may be an adult, but I’ll bet he sees her as just his little sister.”

“Stoker, it’s not me he has to worry about. Gage is the - - ” His words were cut off, as the football came flying directly at him. A crowd of bodies coming at him after he caught it had the stocky fireman running, his girl problems forgotten for the moment.

Mike sighed, shaking his head. Cupping his hands over his mouth his shouted, “Chet, you’re going the wrong way!”

Hank Stanley trotted over to Stoker. “The twit. I was all set to block for him, but forget it if he’s not even going to the right end zone.”

“Cap, he’s a good candidate for the Twilight Zone. He and Gage.”

“Marco’s sister?”

Mike nodded.

They both looked over toward the field of play at the sound of a distressed yell for help. Chet was now running the other way, waving wildly for his teammates to get back in the game.

“The twit can really run,” Stanley said, surprised.

“Maybe Marco figured out just how much he likes Nita.”

The two men snickered as they ran over to help their teammate.

~*~*~

Nita eyed Johnny as he placed his left hand on the side of the hole and gingerly stood up, trying not to jostle his sore ribs. The shoring inside the hole managed to keep the sides stable despite its worn condition. Cracks between the wood planks revealed moist dirt. Johnny slowly limped, keeping weight off his right leg as he moved along the sides.

“Johnny? What happened to your leg?”

“Huh?”

“You’re limping.”

The paramedic sighed. “I hit my right hip when I fell. It’s just sore.”

“It’s not broke?”

He shook his head, a slight grin on his face at the young woman’s concern. “Nah, I wouldn’t be up like this period, if it was.” He gave a long look at Nita before continuing. “I’m okay, so don’t worry. I’ll let you know if you need to.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah.”

Nita gave a wan smile. Somehow she got the feeling from Johnny that, in the long run, everything was going to be okay.

~*~*~

Roy took a break from the football game and walked over towards his wife on the patio.

“Any more cold soft drinks for a star receiver?” He asked, grinning.

“You don’t think much of yourself, do you?” Joanne teased back. She pointed at the cooler near the back door. “There were a couple, but the new batch hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Johnny and Nita aren’t back yet?” Roy glanced at his watch. He wasn’t sure exactly when they had left, but it seemed to be quite a while ago.

“Nope. And before you say anything more, I’m sure everything is fine. They’re probably in no hurry to get back.”

Roy grinned. Joanne was right. He made his way over to the cooler and took out the next to last can of pop that was left.

But, they’d better get back soon. I hope they knew the drinks were this low.

~*~*~

While Nita and Johnny sat on the mud floor, he thought about climbing up the shoring of the hole. His feet and hands could fit between some of the cracks. But Gage knew with his sore hip and ribs, he’d never make it. And if any of the siding broke, it could do a lot more harm than good.

“At least we didn’t get hurt too bad,” Nita said, breaking the silence.

Johnny gave a slight grin. “Guess there are a few things to be thankful for, huh?”

“Yeah.” Nita bit her lower lip as she shifted her position on the ground again. She looked at the opening above them. “A few.”