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“Thank you for your service,” the bus driver tells Lieutenant Commander Evan Buckley-Nash as he steps up to the door to get off at his stop.
“Thank you, sir,” Evan says, forcing a small smile out before he steps off and takes in the street he’s on.
Man, LA is busier than I expected. This is going to take some getting used to, Evan thinks to himself as he heads towards a large brick building situated down the block from the bus stop. As he walks, he shuffles the strap of his rucksack. No matter where he has it on either of his shoulders, the strap presses into some painful bruises, but his left shoulder has a large gash on the back that he has to be mindful of. As Evan draws near his destination, he picks up on the smell of freshly baked pastries.
“I should stop in and pick up something for everyone to enjoy,” Evan says to himself as he stops in front of a small bakery. Evan walks in and begins looking over what is on display in the cases. Some of the items are classics that he knows just by looking at them, but he also notices some items he has never seen before.
“Can I help you, sir?” the cashier asks behind the counter, drawing Evan’s attention.
“I am trying to figure out what would be best to bring with me to surprise my dad,” Evan says, getting a bright smile from the cashier. “He’s the fire captain at the station down the street, so I thought I would surprise him and maybe bring something for everyone to enjoy, but I have not met any of them yet.”
“Oh, you mean Captain Bobby Nash of the 118. He comes in here from time to time for pastries for the crew. I can fix up a mixed box that would be perfect for everyone,” the cashier says, looking over what is in the display and beginning to pull out a variety of pastries.
“Thank you,” Evan says, smiling as he continues to look over the pastries. He stops when he notices a small child on crutches standing outside the bakery. When the little boy sees him, he waves, so Evan waves back. Evan watches as the little boy turns to a woman standing next to him and asks her something. After she gives a small response, the little boy makes his way inside.
“Well, good afternoon, Christopher,” the cashier says as the boy sits down at an empty table right beside the display cases.
“Good afternoon, Miss Susie,” Christopher says as he keeps peeking over at Evan. “Are you a soldier?” Susie gasps when Christopher suddenly blurts that out, but Evan holds up his hand before she can say anything.
“In a way, you could say that. I am, well, was a Navy SEAL,” Evan says as he carefully kneels in front of Christopher to be more at his height.
“Was?” Christopher asks as the woman from outside comes in and walks over to them.
“Oh, I am so sorry, sir, if he is bothering you,” the woman says, stopping to stand behind Christopher.
“No, he is alright,” Evan says as he goes to stand back up, but his left leg buckles under him, causing him to almost face-plant into the table. He manages to stop his fall in time by using the table as a stable surface to lean against.
“Sir? Are you ok?” the woman says as she grabs hold of Evan’s arm and begins to maneuver him into an empty chair at the table, just like a nurse would.
“Yes, I am ok. Just got some injuries, still healing up. Shouldn’t have kneeled like that, just yet it would seem. To answer your question, Christopher, I am finally home for good,” Evan answers, smiling at the little boy and trying to wipe the look of worry off his face.
“Like my daddy?” Christopher asks, looking up at the woman.
“His dad was an army medic who got a medical discharge,” the woman says, smiling at Christopher as Susie walks over with a pastry box.
“He’s now one of the men working under your dad,” Susie says, handing Evan the box of mixed pastries.
“Are you headed to the station? My name is Carla, by the way. I take care of little Christopher here for his dad, Eddie, while he is at work,” Carla says, sticking her hand out for Evan to grasp and shake.
“Yes, I am. I want to surprise my dad,” Evan says, grabbing his wallet to pay for the pastries, but Susie stops him.
“They are on the house,” Susie says, walking away to help another customer before Evan can say anything.
“We just came from the station. The crew is currently out on an accident call, so they probably won’t be there when you get there. The kitchen area is up the stairs at the back,” Carla says, watching as Christopher gets up and walks over to the display cases to look at what is in them.
“Thank you for telling me that. I should get going. Maybe I can make them all some lunch before they get back,” Evan says, carefully standing up. He then carefully grabs his bag and the pastries before waving bye to Christopher.
Man, he is a cute kid. Hopefully, I will get to see him again, Evan thinks to himself as he walks the final stretch to the firehouse. Carla was right, and the firehouse was empty when Evan arrived. He climbs the stairs in the back of the station and takes in the little living room and kitchen area.
“Well, let’s see what there might be that I can fix for lunch,” Evan says as he places the pastries on the island located in the kitchen. He then opens the fridge and sees it is well stocked. “Looks like there is everything I need to make Dad’s famous lasagna.”
Evan makes quick work of putting together the lasagna and getting it into the oven. He then works to clean up the mess he made while cooking so that none of the firefighters have to worry about it. He is just finishing the dishes when he hears the trucks backing in downstairs. He takes a quick look down at them before moving to take the lasagna out of the oven.
“Hey, cap, did you put something in the oven before we got called out?” Evan hears someone hollering from downstairs, which makes him smile as he gets out plates and forks for people to serve themselves up some food. Evan can hear his dad reply, but at a lower volume, so he isn’t able to make out what is being said. He decides to stay in the kitchen and wait for his dad to come upstairs.
“Are you sure you didn’t put anything in the oven before we left? It sure smells good in here for you to have not, cap,” a male voice says as Evan hears multiple sets of feet on the stairs.
“I am sure, Eddie,” Evan hears his dad say as the people on the stairs get to the top. The man in the front freezes when he sees Evan standing there, and Evan feels his heart beating a little faster.
Man, he sure is good looking, Evan thinks as he takes in the slightly Hispanic man with great arms.
“Who are you?” the man asks as he gets shoved from behind by a smaller Asian man. An African American woman is right behind the Asian man, and they both pause as well when they see Evan standing in the kitchen.
“What in the world are you guys doing? Why are you blocking the stairs?” Evan hears his dad say as he sees him push through the three, only to freeze when he sees Evan. “Evan?”
“Hey, Dad,” Evan says, giving a pathetic little wave. That seems to break Bobby Nash out of his daze, and he quickly makes his way over to Evan before pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.
“What are you doing here? You never told me you would be coming home for a visit,” Bobby says, as he pulls back just enough to see Evan’s face, but not letting him go.
“I’m home for good,” Evan says, smiling at his Dad as he steps back.
“For good? I thought you still had several years left?” Bobby asks, taking in the sight of his son. Evan clocks the minute his dad sees the bruises creeping up the side of his neck from under his uniform. “You’re hurt.”
“I am alright, Dad,” Evan says as Bobby pulls the uniform to the side some to see the bruising more. “I just got a little banged up in the last mission.”
“If you were only injured a little, why would you be home for good?” Bobby asks, grabbing Evan’s arm and leading him over to the table before making him sit down.
“I didn’t say I was only injured a little, I said I got a little banged up. The worst is my knee. The higher-ups are afraid it won’t be the same, so they put me in for being released early,” Evan said, smiling up at his dad. “Now, why don’t we let everyone enjoy the lunch I made for you all before it gets cold?”
“I will bring it over,” Eddie says while Bobby introduces Evan to everyone as they sit down at the table.
“You must be Christopher’s Dad,” Evan says as Eddie sits down in the seat next to him. Eddie tenses up as he looks at Evan. “I ran into him and Carla at the bakery when I was headed here. Carla said you guys had just been called out, which is why I decided to make you lunch.”
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Eddie says. Evan notices how uneasy Eddie is now that he brought up Christopher.
“He seems like a wonderful kid,” Evan says, trying to get Eddie to relax.
“Christopher is the best. Reminds me a lot of you, Evan,” Bobby says as everyone starts eating.
“Damn, this is as good as yours, cap,” Chimney says before stuffing his mouth with more food.
“I learned from the best,” Evan says, smiling at his Dad.
“Why have you never told us about having a son, cap?” Hen asks as she eats at a much calmer speed.
“I guess it just never came up,” Bobby says, looking over at Evan.
“We decided it would be easier for Dad not to mention me since he can’t really tell people about what I do, well, did, for a living,” Evan says, pulling slightly at his uniform.
“You needed to keep it secret that you were in the Navy?” Chimney asks, looking confused.
“I would say he wasn’t a normal Navy man. SEAL?” Eddie says, drawing a chuckle from Evan.
“That would be correct, grunt,” Evan says, drawing a laugh from Eddie.
“Aren’t SEALs like the toughest of the toughest?” Chimney tries to whisper to Hen, but he has never been good at whispering.
“SEALs are in charge of missions that basically no one is allowed to know about. That is why we decided I wouldn’t say anything when I moved here,” Bobby says, looking around at everyone as he begins to clean up all of their dirty dishes.
“What are you going to do now that you are out?” Eddie asks, drawing Evan’s attention to him.
“Right now? Get used to being back. I also got some therapy I need to complete on my leg to see if it will impede any future job opportunities,” Evan says, giving a soft smile to everyone as they are all now looking at him.
“If you ever need to talk to someone who understands how it feels, I am here,” Eddie says, getting a small bashful smile out of Evan.
It would be nice to get to know him and his son better, so I may have to take him up on that, Evan thinks to himself as he watches everyone split up to complete their chores or just to talk before their next call comes in. Maybe I will look into becoming a firefighter.