Catering Girl Ch. 05

Sitting next to Madi doing a sudoku on my phone, I heard a knock on my door. It was Whitney, and the smell of dinner started to fill the apartment. She did surprise me, though, but in a good way.

"I got you some flowers, and your favorite dark chocolate. You look like you could use some cheering up." I could see Madison smile at Whit when she gave them to me.

We walked into my kitchen. I think I have an old juice pitcher I could use as a vase. "These are pretty Whitney, thanks." I gave her a peck on the cheek. It was the first time I had kissed her since the day of Madi's birthday party.

The muffled voices from next door started to get louder and more boisterous. I couldn't make out much of what they were saying other than more F bombs than I heard from our deck hands. Whit and I looked at each other, not quite sure what we could do.

"Are they always like this?"

"They moved in a couple of weeks ago. They've been loud, but this is something else." I started to get up from my chair to bang on the wall when I heard gunshots. I instinctively ducked and when I looked up again, I saw a large hole had come through our joint wall. Madison screamed as a shotgun went off and a larger hole appeared right above her head.

I leaped across the room and grabbed Madison. Whitney was opening the door and then slammed it shut. I saw her lock and hurriedly threw the deadbolt.

"Kitchen," she yelled. I pulled Madi from the couch and carried her into the U-shaped kitchen. In her fright she had dropped Nani, and her doll was left on the floor by the couch. I cowered in the corner of the kitchen, clutching Madison, trying to calm her down. Whit was there with us, phone in hand.

I listened to her call the 911 dispatch and tell them what was going on. Apparently, she had seen someone fleeing the apartment next door and saw them gunned down on our sidewalk. She set the phone between us as she flipped it to the speaker phone.

"Ok, are all three of you safe at the moment?"

"We're hiding in the kitchen."

"What have you got between you and the neighbors?"

"There's the kitchen wall, and the fridge and dishwasher."

The dispatcher said we should stay there for the moment until the police arrived and could survey what was going on outside. We heard a few more shots fired and a lot more screaming. I held my baby and Whitney was holding me.

We were there for what felt like an eternity. There was a lot of commotion outside. We could hear police talking to the gunman and some occasional shots being fired out of the neighboring apartment.

"Whitney," the dispatcher said on the phone, "are you still there?"

"Yes,"

"Okay, the situation commander is looking to get you three out. Do not leave your shelter until we say so. The gunman is shooting at anything that moves in front of your apartment. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Ok, stay on the line with me. I'm going to keep this open for you as long as is needed, okay?"

"Okay."

"But I'm going to go silent for a couple minutes. I'm going to try to patch the situation commander into your call. He is going to have some instructions for you."

"Okay." We both looked at each other. Whit smiled at me. "We're going to get out of here."

The phone crackled again. "Whitney?"

"Here."

"This is Sergeant Nicklesen from the SWAT team. You're in the north apartment, right?"

"Yes."

"We see a large window on the north side, looking up the street, but not directly onto the street. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it's next to the kitchen area in the dining room. We're right next to it."

"Great, here is the plan. We are going to back up an armored truck and break the window. We're going to break the window and evacuate you through it."

I looked across the kitchen, out the corner of the window and could see the big navy-blue truck backing up. It was angling in, trying to stay out of the sight line of the neighboring apartment.

"Okay, we have officers in place. Are you clear of the window?"

"Yes."

Moments later we heard glass shattering. A large officer covered with body armor vaulted through the opening. He was a hulk of a man and looked like he could have played for the Seahawks. But the smile and flash of his white teeth against his dark skin was pleasantly reassuring.

"Come on, I got you." I could feel him pull me from the corner and lead us to the window.

"NANI!" Madison screamed as she saw her doll lying on the floor. Her little arms reached out, and she started to wiggle out of my hands.

The officer grabbed Madison from me and got her out the window into the arms of another officer. He helped me out and then helped Whitney. It was two steps, and we were in the back of a big vehicle, looking like something out of a war movie. I tried to hug and calm Madison down, but she kept screaming for her Nani doll. As soon as we were in, the other officers piled in with us.

"GO GO GO!" yelled the black officer as he climbed through the back door of the truck and closed the door. "Is this your Nani?" He had Madison's doll in his hands and was holding it out to her. She took her and hugged her Nani.

The truck swayed a bit as we could feel it drive off the curb. A minute later, the truck came to a stop. The officer opened the door, and we were escorted outside. I stood there in my socks. Both Madison and I had taken off our shoes when we first got home and were now standing in our stocking feet.

Looking around, I realized we had been taken around the block to where the police had set up a command station in a lot under construction. Several officers checked us out to make sure we were physically unhurt and began to ask a lot of questions. Whitney was pulled to the side, as a man in a suit asked her more questions. I think he was from homicide or something. She had seen the man shot on the street. That was my guess, at least.

Someone produced a blanket and wrapped it around me as I sat on a large rock holding Madison. Finally, a few minutes later, Whitney joined us.

"Remind me not to come over for dinner next time you have a crappy day," she joked.

"Yeah, really."

"Are you alright?" I looked at her and shrugged. No, not really. I wanted to cry. But I had to be tough for Madison. Her little body was shaking, and she was clinging to me.

*BOOM*

A loud explosion rocked us. Even around the block we could feel its concussive wave. The sound of shattering glass and people yelling filled the air. Car alarms began to blare. We both stood up and walked to the end of the block. Flames were pouring out of all the windows of our apartment building. The sounds of sirens could be heard getting closer, and one fire truck was already on the scene. I looked over at an officer in disbelief.

"They must have broken open the gas line and lit it. There's not going to be much left I think when it's done. I'm sorry ma'am."

Whitney barely caught me as I collapsed. She and the officer helped me back to the command post and got me to sit back down on the rock. I clung to Madison, who had her head buried in my shoulder, and looked at Whitney. At least the two most important people were still with me. I don't know what I would have done if I lost either of them.

Whit held me. There was nothing more I could do now. I cried for a bit, and Madison did as well. Fire trucks and ambulances filled the street. Several neighbors were being treated for minor injuries. I saw another family I recognized who lived in the building, also in total disbelief.

From the questions asked of me earlier, the police believed the people were running drugs out of the apartment and tonight's fracas was likely caused by a fight between a couple dealers.

Curiosity got the best of me, and we walked back down to the corner of the block and could see the fire was out. The roof was mostly gone, and if anything survived, it was probably not going to be in any useful shape.

"Ms. DeLuca?" an older woman in a red jacket with reflective stripes on it was walking over, a rugged tablet computer in hand.

"Yes?"

"Hi, I'm Emily with the Red Cross. I understand you lived in the apartment building. Is there anything we can do to help you? Do you have a place you can go to tonight?"

I stood with a blank look on my face.

"Jennifer and Madison can stay with me." Whit put her hand on my shoulder as she spoke. "Okay with you?"

My puffy red eyes blinked, and I nodded. My emotions were in overdrive, and I couldn't form words.

"And you are?"

"Whitney Mitchell."

"And what is your relationship?" Emily was busy typing on her tablet. She was filling out some form and wasn't looking at us at the moment.

"Friend," she replied.

"No," I piped up. "Girlfriend."

Whit looked at me. The smile on her face was a ray of joy in all the sadness of the moment.

"Significant other?" Emily looked up at us both.

"Yes." I leaned over to her and gave her a kiss. Just a simple I love you kiss, but that night had helped me realize again she meant the world to me. Emily asked a lot more questions of me. She must have had a database or something she had to fill out to track their disaster response.

She gave both Whit and me a card with her contact info on it and moved over to the Martinezs who were standing nearby. They lived in the apartment at the far end of the building. Fortunately the only other one in our building was empty at the moment. So it was only them and us who were homeless.

"Jenn, don't worry. Anything you need I'm here for you, okay?"

"I know." I began to walk down to what was left of my apartment. The fire department was cleaning up their gear, and the police were swarming all over the place. We stood on the edge of the barricade tape and watched for a bit.

I could look through my kitchen window a bit and saw nothing but black. The remains of the flowers Whit had given me peeked above the charred ceramic thrift store pitcher. I sat on the grass, ignoring the dampness left from the spray of the firefighters. Gone, it was all gone. The realization kept playing through my head. I had been down to hardly any possessions, but never to this depth. There were always a few clothes and personal items for Madison and me. Now we had nothing, just the clothes on our backs. At least Madison still had Nani.

I gently brushed some hair out of Madison's face. Her eyes were as red as mine felt. Arms wrapped around me and I caught a whiff of lavender amongst all the smells of fire and scorched furniture. Somehow, I managed a small smile to my girl.

The SWAT officer who had grabbed Nani walked over to us. He had taken his body armor off and was now in a windbreaker and ball cap.

"I'm glad we got you out when we did. Are you all okay?" Impressively, none of us even had a scratch.

"Is Nani going to be okay?" He brushed a lock of hair out of Madison's face.

"Yeah, but she is scared," Madi mumbled.

"I'm not surprised. This was a scary event. But you have your mommy and friend to take care of you so there's no reason to be scared anymore, okay?"

Madison slowly bobbed her head up and down. We looked around some more. I could see my car parked right in front of the apartment building and, even in the light of the streetlamps, I could see a few bullet holes in the car. It was probably a loss as well. Whitney's Jeep was parked further down the street, and I wondered if it was okay, but I couldn't see from here.

Since there were still a number of emergency vehicles still in the street, there was no way we were getting it out anytime soon. We walked back to the command post and let the officer in charge know we were walking over to Whitney's. Emily checked in with us again to make sure we were good. I assured her I was in good hands.

"Do you have your phone or is it still in the apartment?" Whit asked.

"No, it's gone as well."

Whit texted her parents as we made our way to her townhouse. Moments later, her phone rang.

"Hi Mom--Yes, gone--That's Jenn's place in the news. Yes, they're safe, we all are. We were in her apartment when it started." She looked at me. I knew what Edith was thinking. A mom's job is to worry, even when her baby is almost thirty.

"Everything mom. Literally the only things they have right now is the clothing on their backs and Nani. At least they saved Madi's favorite doll--Oh, that would be lovely mom. They didn't even make it out with any shoes... I'll tell Jenn. Anything will be a big help. Okay, I will see her in a bit."

"What'd she say?" I asked as we reached the house and went inside.

"Mom's going to call my Aunt Helen and see if she still has any of Amber's old clothing that might fit Madison. Hopefully, there's a change of clothing we can put together so we can get her to bed and go shopping tomorrow."

Since this was the queen of all fuckupery, Whit pulled out some ice cream. We never did get to eat the Thai food Whit had brought over. But everyone was too exhausted to even eat ice cream. We took Madison up to the guest room and got her ready for bed. Whit pulled out a tee shirt for Madi, and I got her ready and tucked her into bed. I stayed with her for a few minutes as the doorbell rang.

It was Whit's aunt, with a couple of sacks of clothing. I thanked her for coming over so late. It wasn't much, but it would get us going. I headed upstairs and dumped them into the washing machine. Who knows how long they had been in the closet or boxed away. I was pressing the start button when Whit came over to me.

"Thanks for all your help," I said.

"You know I'm here for you. Anything you need?"

I took her hand. It had been a long time since I gazed into her beautiful brown eyes. "I love you."

"I know."

"Hold me." She did, of course. I felt complete again being held by her. Everything was going to be okay. I let out a yawn and slipped from her arms.

"I think I need to go to bed now," I said. Wandering down the hall to her room, I looked over my shoulder. "You coming? I think I need to be held some more."

To be continued...

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Author's note: Thank you for sticking around to the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please consider providing some feedback. Votes, comments, or PMs are all welcome. I have more chapters of this story in the works, so follow me to be notified when the next part is published.

A special thanks goes to my friends, beta readers and editing crew, AwkwardMD, Bramblethorn, BrokenSpokes, and Rileyworks. They make me look like a competent storyteller, thank you.

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