Maybe they’d had a difficult call.
That happened.
Tyler had told me before that sometimes the station stayed quiet afterward. Everyone processed things differently.
I told myself that was all this was.
Then I noticed one firefighter glance at the balloons and immediately lower his eyes.
Another man cleared his throat and walked toward the far side of the bay.
My excitement started slipping.
Not disappearing.
Just changing.
A small nervous feeling began forming in my stomach.
I looked around for Tyler.
I didn’t see him.
Maybe he was in the kitchen.
Maybe he was showering.
Maybe they were planning to mess with me.
That last possibility actually made me feel better.
Tyler’s crew loved making people uncomfortable before revealing a joke.
