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twenty stories up with thick smoke and huge flames busting through windows right beside him.
    “Get in the window. Damn it, Jack, get in the window!”
    She felt the tears fall and a whimper escaped her. He kicked out against the bricks and finally, the window shattered and they were able to swing him and the victim inside of a fire free room. She couldn’t see anymore. Grabbing the remote, she turned the TV off and sat in silence, attempting to process what she had just witnessed. Jack appeared to be safe and Alice wasn’t sure what emotions she was feeling. She was angry. She was scared. She was proud. So many things happened at once and it was too much for her to even comprehend.
    He had mentioned getting off around four, but with the fire, Alice wasn’t sure if he’d get home at that time. She had learned it wasn’t uncommon for him to work long past his shift, following up on calls and writing paperwork, but she needed to talk to him.
    What would she say?
    The last thing she wanted to do was lecture him about his job. Did he tell her she was crazy for wanting to work with kids?
    After a long run at the park and a soothing shower, she noticed she had a missed call and text from him, asking her if he could come over. She replied, stating it was a good idea and that they needed to talk. She still had no idea what she was going to say. The mixed feelings she experienced during the news report hadn’t faded, and everything was still jumbled up in her head.
    The rumble of his truck engine pulled her from her confusion, and she opened the front door just as he was about to knock. His fist was raised and he slowly lowered it when she revealed herself on the other side. He wasn’t smiling. He looked exhausted, like something was bugging him.
    “Hey Jack.”
    “Hey Alice.”
    She moved aside to let him in and followed him to the couch. Sitting beside him, neither spoke. She couldn’t even look at him, though she had noticed a bruise near his eyebrow and a gash on his cheek.
    “Tough day.” She didn’t ask it. It was a statement, and it held multiple meaning, referring to both of them.
    “Yeah. You too?” His voice cracked.
    Nodding, she went to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers, offering him one, which he gladly accepted. Twisting the cap off, he took a long pull before setting it on a coaster.
    “I saw the news today, Jack.”
    He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “You saw the fire?”
    “News crews were all over it.”
    Jack ducked his head and let out a deep breath. “I thought you said you stay away from that stuff. Why’d you watch?”
    “Mandy told me. I usually don’t, but it’s like when you drive up to a car wreck. You just have to look. I’ve tried to let it go. I’ve tried not to get upset. It was damn scary seeing you thrown over the side of a building with fire all around you.”
    Jack finished the beer and scooted it across the table. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”
    “I know it’s your job. I know it was something that happens all the time for you. It’s just made me think. With what your mom said and all of this happening all at once, it just hit me hard.”
    Jack stood up and began to pace. It wasn’t Alice’s intention to upset him and she probably should’ve stopped while she was ahead, but she couldn’t keep it bottled in.
    “What do you want me to do, Alice? You want us to drive up on scene of a huge fire and think, oh hell, Alice could be watching the news, I better not run in and grab the kid up on the fifth floor? Or damn, my mom doesn’t want me to be a fireman because of my father? It’s who I am. They needed a guy to swing down on a rope because the ladder wasn’t going that high. Guess what? I did it without blinking, and I’d do it again without blinking. Wanna know why?” He stopped, his eyes red, his stare sharp.
    “Why, Jack?”
    “Because I saved that man today. There were several casualties today, but at least one walked away