Cinders

~92~ Plan

Mom and Taylor are getting married next month. They've been engaged the last two, but they decided that they wanted a short engagement.

The only reason that they even waited this long was because of me. Taylor wants me to be his best man, but where we live you have to be 18 to do it—I'm turning 18 in two weeks. Having him ask me was one of the best moments of my life—Out of everyone, he wants me to be his best man. He was even willing to wait to get married so I could.

How cool is that?!?

We still haven't moved into the house. Taylor wanted to remodel the kitchen, and fix the deck in the backyard. We will not move in until after they get back from their honeymoon.

I'm actually really nervous today—I'm headed over to mom and Taylor's. I have called my very first "family meeting." I want to talk to mom, dad, and Taylor all at the same time.

I'm such an adult

I get there and dad is already over. Like I said, everyone is anxious...because who even am I? This is completely unlike me. I get in, and everyone is already in the living room.

"Hey bud! How was school?" Mom asks, coming over for a kiss.

"Good," I say as I take off my book bag and get a soda from the fridge.

I go and sit down, meeting everyone's anxious gaze.

"What's going on, kid?" Dad asks. He apparently can't take the suspense any longer—It's nice to be on this side of things for a change.

I put my soda down on the coaster and sigh. I look at Taylor, and he's as concerned as mom and dad.

"I wanted to tell all of you at the same time, but I want to talk to dad first," I say, looking around the room. Everyone nods and looks even more concerned than before.

"You know how much I love you, right?" I ask, pausing to look at my dad hard.

"Of course I do," dad says, his voice mixed with both surprise and apprehension.

"Well, I need to tell you something, and I don't know how to."

"You can tell me anything, kid," he says, with fear in his voice.

I nod and take another deep breath, looking hard at my dad.

"I love and respect you, and I admire the job that you have. It's dangerous, and you put your life on the line every day to save people—I've always admired you for that," I say, pausing a minute to calm my hammering heart.

He's still concerned, but he relaxes slightly as my words soak in.

"But, I don't want to be a cop. It's nothing against you, but I have no desire in doing that," I rush out quickly before I can chicken out and clam up.

Confusion flickers in his eyes. "I never," he starts, but stops when I put my hand up.

"Please just let me get this all out," I sigh, and Dad nods silently as he waits for me to continue.

I take another deep breath and then start again, still looking at only dad. "When I say this next part, I want you to hear me out before you get your feelings hurt."

At his tiny nod, I feel like I'm gonna puke. Please don't be hurt...Please don't be hurt.

"I want to be a firefighter," I say, and brace for the pain.

But as I'm watching, I'm only seeing understanding wash over his features.

"I don't want to be a firefighter because I'm trying to be like Taylor—It has nothing to do with that. I love it all! I have ever since I first went to the firehouse. Actually, every time I went with mom to whichever house she was at when I was a kid, I have loved it. I hope you know that I'm not trying to insult you. I've known that this is what I've wanted to do for a long time now, I've just been too scared to tell you."

I'm still just looking at dad—I haven't turned to face Taylor at all yet.

Dad stands up and pulls me into a huge, love-filled hug. "I think that's wonderful, Liam," he says, with tears in his eyes.

"You do?"

Dad nods. "I never wanted you to be a cop—Everyday you're on high alert, wondering if somebody will shoot at you. People avoid making eye contact and just look down at the ground. People hate you, solely because of your job...I never wanted that life for you, champ. I'm relieved that you don't want that life either....Even if you were doing it because you wanted to be like Taylor, I would be 100 percent ok with that. He's an extraordinary man."

"You sure you're not upset?" I ask with tears in my eyes.

I've been dreading this day for months.

"Look into my eyes, Liam Alexander. Do I look upset?" He asks, emotion thick in his voice. After looking at him for a moment, I see it. Only love is shining through.

When I shake my head he smiles

"No," he says "I'm only proud. You make me proud, every single day." He kisses me again and pulls me into another hug, and I'm so happy. I literally have the best dad in the world.

Once we break the hug, I finally look at mom and Taylor. They are sitting there, with tears streaming down both of their faces.

"Are you guys ok with this?" I ask. Mom doesn't say anything quite yet. Instead, Taylor gets up and pulls me into his arms. He hugs me tight for a minute, saying nothing. When he finally pulls away, he stares at me hard.

"You're going to make one helluva firefighter, Liam. We are behind you every step of the way."

I simply nod and hug him again.

"Momma?" I ask, wondering why she hasn't said anything yet. Is she mad?

We all just stare at her, waiting for her to say something. She finally wipes her eyes and then gets up and looks at me, staring straight into my soul.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't hoped you would get a desk job somewhere. Or a teaching job. Then I wouldn't have to worry about you all day, every day. But I sure am proud of you, kid. Because of you, there will be a whole lot of people who will be saved. So, I'll suck it up and I'll stand behind you with these two," she says, pointing at Taylor and dad.

I start crying and hug her tight. I'm so happy I have their blessing. Taylor and dad come over then, and join mom and me in our hug.

I'm going to be a firefighter, and I have a whole entourage of people behind me.

"So what's the plan?" Taylor asks after a while.

"Well, eventually I want to become a Lieutenant. Or a Captain. So I want to go to college first and get my degree in Fire Science. I want to stay around here, and live with you guys and dad, until I get my degree. Then I'll go into the fire academy."

Taylor just smiles and nods. "That's exactly what I did, too. You work hard, and you can be graduated in 4 years, kid."

Four years...Could I really be a firefighter in four years?

Gosh that's a cool thought