Kate begins
Kate was 15 years old when her father died, it was a day she would never forget. It was a day that shaped her future.
"Mam, the lamp is sparking" David called out from the living room, it was a lamp they had gotten years ago, it was at least 7 years old and on the brink, but no one ever paid attention to the odd flicker.
"Plug it out"
Kate came bouncing down the stairs, she was always so happy on a Saturday morning, of course she would be, no school, no 7am Alarm, no sleeping before midnight. Saturdays were her favorite day of the week.
Every Saturday morning she woke up to the sound of the radio playing her dads favorite song, there was a rare chance it wasn't the first thing she heard every morning.
"Morning sweetie"
"There's my rosemary" her dad grinned, the song love grows played in the background. Kate was forever known as his rosemary
"Did you get all your homework done?" Bridget asked, setting down a plate of breakfast in front of Kate
"I have English to finish, but don't worry I will" Kate said, biting into her Toast.
"You better, or you mam will give you the stern look" Patrick - her dad - warned, mocking his wife's stern face.
This received a whip of the tea towel in Bridget's hand, "you are on thin ice" she glared at her husband, holding back a smile
"Ohhh, mams gonna lecture you" Kate sang
"What is the homework?" Her mam asked, not buying into her daughters skills at changing the subject
"I have to write about my future career, but I' don't know yet. I'm 14, how am I suppose to know what I want to do 4 years from now" Kate ranted
"You could run the business with your old man"
He was a mechanic, fixed cars from Monday to Friday and took the weekend for himself.
"No offense dad, but I want to do more than fixing a car. I wanna be big and bright and change peoples lives" she envisioned
"I'll have you know, when you were a little girl coming to work with me used to be all you ever wanted. You used to play pretend in the cars"
"I'm 15 now dad, I've changed. I'm growing to be a Mature young woman"
Patrick held his heart, he winced at the sound of the words leaving her mouth, he reached his hand over to the radio and hired the volume.
"never to old to share a dance"
Kate rolled her eyes, she took a hold of her fathers offered hand and stood from the table. She was never too old to share a dance
"So what is it you want to be then?" He asked, playing with her arms.
"I want to help People, I want to impact their lives" she explained, spinning around to the Song
"You could be a doctor or a nurse or a firefighter" he listed
"Please" David scoffed, walking to sink "Kate gets scared of a spark, Nevermind a real fire"
"You're just jealous that I know what I want, unlike some" she teased, her chin in the air
"Kids" Bridget said in a warning tone
"You ready Katie - kat"
"Always" Kate nodded
They both took in a breath and sang along loudly
Oh but love grows where my rosemary goes and nobody knows like meeeee!
"Alright you two, the auditions for X factor closed" Bridget joked
"I think my wife is jealous" Patrick teased, he pulled her from her seat and started to dance her around the kitchen.
Bridget could barley get a word in through her laughter, she wasn't to protest the dancing but gave in to it,
"Youse are weird" David remarked
"This is love son. Sometimes you gotta Dance your wife around the kitchen"
"I think it's cute" Kate commented
"You're too young" both parents said in unison
Kate rolled her eyes, she continued to eat her breakfast.
...
Kate landed on the couch next to her dad, she grabbed the remote from him and flicked through the channels.
"Hey, I was watching that"
"And now you're not" Kate grinned, "I'm bored, so you are my first victim"
"You just chose to annoy me when you're bored"
"Yup" Kate popped the P
"Why don't you go be a teenager, go outside and play or something" he guessed
Kate chucked "cause I'm 15 not 8. Besides it's cold out and Molly's not home."
"You should be glad, most teenagers my age despise their parents and here I am spending time with you" Kate lectured
"Ooh, footloose" she beamed,
"You know I can do that dance" Patrick told her
"Yeah and I'm the pope" Kate snorted
"I'm serious" he stood up, he kicked off his slippers and began to (horribly) do the signature dance as footloose played in the background.
"Oh my god" Kate laughed, she couldn't contain herself, she was In physical pain with laughter.
Bridget walked in with bags of food and some plates, Kate didn't even hear the door, probably because she was laughing so much.
"Chinese!" David cheered, joining his family
"Here" Bridget passed her daughter a fortune cookies
Kate broke it open, she pulled out the little slip of paper "your future will be defined sooner than to think" she read allowed
"Mine says good things are soon to be expected" Patrick read
"Lame" Kate dropped the paper, she took the plate of food from her mam and shoveled a spoonful into her mouth "it's good" she nodded
Dinner was over soon, as per every weekend, leftovers were boxed up and left in the fridge for a few days.
Kate was back on the couch, watching another movie with her parents, they were sitting on the two seater, Kate heard her mam giggle a few times. She always loved their relationship, it was nothing but pure love and devotion. It was she wanted some day.
"I'm gonna go to bed, I'm pretty tired after dinner" Kate announced
"Night sweetie, sleep tight"
"Night Katie-kat"
"Love you" Kate said before leaving the room, she wasn't that tired but she figured they use the alone time, so she put on a dvd in the background and started to read a new book.
...
Kate didn't remember falling asleep that might, she just remembered being woken up to the strong stench of smoke.
Kate jumped from her bed, she opened her door and her eyes grew wide at the flames that she met with "mam, dad!" She yelled out, tears now filling her eyes
"It's okay sweetie, Just stay calm" her mam tried to reassure.
"Helps on the way Katie - kat, I can't get to you so you have to listen very carefully" her dad explained
"Okay" she nodded,
"I want you to try and Thrown your mattress out the window, and then make a rope with your blankets and climb out" he explained
"What if I fall?"
"We can fix a broken bone honey" her mam chimed.
Kate nodded, she stripped her bed and pushed her mattress on the ground, trying to lift it was the harder part, it weight a ton and she wasn't very athletic
With a struggle, she managed to get it to the window. Trying to get it out of the window was the real challenge
"It's too heavy!" Kate shouted
"Kate you gotta try sweetie" her dad said, it was taking every fiber of his Being to not run through the fire
"Where's David!"
"He's out, and I need you to be as strong as you can"
"What about you, where will you go" Kate cried out
"I'll be okay, I promise"
"No" she cried "I'm not leaving you"
"Kate. You need to, it's not a choice"
"But-
"Just do it" he yelled
Kate nodded, she hoisted her mattress against the ledge of her window and pushed it out, it landed flat on the ground below her window. She grabbed her sheets and tied them up, Tying the end to her bed post.
"Dad!"
"I'm okay, go Katie kat. I'll be right behind you"
"But-.. how will I know"
"I just will. I love you my little rosemary"
Kate cried quietly, "I love you dad"
She climbed onto the window and looked down below, her mother held Her brother as they looked up with red Teary eyes
Kate was met with a firefighter, he took her in his arms and held her tightly
"My dad!" She yelled, pointing to the house "go get him" she cried
He never made it out of the house that night. The roof collapsed and even if it didn't, the smoke would have killed him. All because they forgot about an old Lamp and it set a spark
Kate didn't leave her room for weeks, she barely ate or slept. She just stared at the same spot on the wall, wishing her father would appear. She never did get that essay done, but of course none of her teachers were bothered
Kate had never seen her mam so upset, she was eaten up with grief, sometimes Kate was worried she'd do something.
David bounced back quickly, but he was never good at grieving someone, he didn't like to wither in his grief, he wanted to get up and do something.
It was a month since he had died, Kate was feeling somewhat better, she was back at school and being around her friends helped the pain, but there was one thing she still needed
"This is milo, he came in last week. Found in the street" the lady pointed,
Kate stared at the kitten, he was black with white splotches of color, his eyes were a vibrant green, Kate feel In love with him instantly
"I'll take him" she nodded
When Kate got home, she let milo roam around and he took to her pretty quickly, she had spent weeks catching up on work and finally felt ready to write the essay on her future career and she knew exactly what she wanted to be
A firefighter.