Through The Fire And The Flames (WR Book 3, Pt. 2)

Chapter 1 ~ The Good Life

"Hailey! If you don't come down to eat your breakfast now, you won't have enough time to eat before the bus comes!" I yelled to my five year old daughter from the bottom of the stairs, and I hear her bedroom door open. 

"I'm coming, Momma!" Hailey's little voice calls back, and I can hear her footsteps quickly moving toward the end of the hall to the stairs. 

With that being a good sign of her coming downstairs, I returned to the kitchen to get her usual breakfast of pancakes and bacon onto a plate. I placed it at her favorite spot at the table, along with a glass of grape juice -- her favorite.

By now, I could hear her footsteps reach the bottom of the stairs and the light thud as she bounced off the last step and into the hall. She soon rounded the corner with a big grin on her face at the sight of her food already at the table. I couldn't help but grin at her outfit, she had wanted to dress herself this morning and that was why she was a little late coming down for breakfast. 

She had chosen to wear a pair of light jeans with a Mountain Dew shirt, her little leather jacket on over that, which had Finding The Void's logo on the back of it. Hailey wanted to wear her hair down today, so I had helped her brush out all the knots which she flinched and whined at. 

Beaming up at me as she seated herself at the table she said, "Look, Momma! I look just like you today!" 

My grin widened a little. "Yes, you do. My own little mini me." I replied affectionately, bending down and kissing the side of her head. 

I grabbed some breakfast for myself and sat down next to her, and we talked about what she planned to do with her friends at recess later and how much she hates doing the reading groups in class. She likes reading in general, but she feels the reading groups slow her down and are extremely boring. It was funny to hear the attitude in her voice as she complained. I can't imagine where she gets that from. 

All of a sudden she got real quiet while she was eating and then looked up at me. "Momma?"

"Yes, princess?"

"Is Daddy coming home today?"

"Yes he is. He'll be home later this morning."

Hailey's bottom lip extended into a small pout. "Why does he always have to come home after I leave for school? It's not fair." 

"I know, baby, but he has to stay until the next crew comes in. But I think he might be picking you up from school today." 

Her face lit up. "Really!? I hope so! I've missed him lots." 

I chuckled a little and she went back to stuffing the rest of her food in her mouth happily. When she was done, I took her plate and put it in the sink, sending her into the entryway to get her shoes on. I helped her tie them, as she's still learning to tie them herself. She wiggled her little arms through the straps of her Star Wars backpack and then looked up at me expectantly.

Kneeling on one knee to be on her level, I said, "I'll see you when you get home, princess. Have a good day, I love you." 

As I pulled her into a tight hug, she replied, "I love you too, Momma." 

I let go of her and opened the front door, watching her run to the end of the driveway to meet the bus, scrambling up onto the steps and finding her way down the aisle to seat. The bus pulled away and I shut the door, going back to finish the rest of my breakfast. Now to wait for Dustin.

Dustin was still doing what he loved, being the fireman he always dreamed of being. He had moved up through the ranks fairly quickly in the last few years, now working on becoming Captain of the department. He says he still has a long way to go before that'll ever happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened sooner than he thought it would. For being 27 years old, that's pretty good if you ask me.