The Fire Blog

Bitter Secrets Snippets

Roth set a stack of photos beside the prenup she had requested.

“For the newspaper,” he said shortly as he poured himself a glass of wine.

The first photo looked like a painting. Beneath a sky that looked like a bleeding water color, she and Roth faced one another, their faces close, seemingly absorbed in one another. She fanned the pictures out and paused on one of her family surrounding them. For some reason, the photo looked like it had been taken fifty years ago. Maybe it was her sister’s classic outfits, the fact that none of them were smiling, or that her niece and nephew’s attention was elsewhere. The candid shots taken inside their family home after they said their vows were unsettlingly intimate.

“What do you think?”

She looked up to find him watching her from across the island. He wore sweats and a long sleeve shirt that hugged his body a little too well.

“The photographer took a lot of pictures,” she said quietly.

He lined up the photos she had been shuffling around like cards. She didn’t want to see them in their entirety. Just the glimpse she was getting was bad enough. Tuxedo Park as a backdrop turned the photos into something magical. Between the sunset, lake, and autumn setting, everything looked dramatic and romantic. If she hadn’t been there, she would have thought these photos had been doctored or digitally enhanced. The photographer had some shots in black and white. Those seemed the least offensive.

(second half of this scene coming next week!)

Draft of Bitter Secrets © 2021 Mia Knight

FIRE!

At around 9:30pm last night, we noticed the back pasture was on fire. I called 911. Thankfully, someone else had already called it in. Firefighters and police were on the way. I ran upstairs and grabbed the suitcases I haven't touched in 2 years and started gathering everything I thought we would need. Cops knocked on the door to make sure we were awake and ready to evacuate if necessary. I ran in and out of the house, loading up 2 cars as the sky turned orange and fire raced across the mountain. The wind was fierce and blowing the fire straight at our neighborhood. I could see the silhouettes of cows trying to escape the blaze. It was horrifying. 

After we finished loading up the cars, we waited, watching the glow brighten as fire crept over the ridge. At 2am, just as I was ready to leave, a bulldozer saved the day, creating a fire wall/trench to stop the fire from coming down any further. I fell into an exhausted, restless sleep and woke to this:

I don't see any flames, which is good, but there's still smoke and we hear the fire still isn't contained in the valley a little ways down from where we are. Helicopters are landing in the pasture right behind our home to refuel. Firetrucks, ambulance, police, and ranchers on ATVs are everywhere. We're still on high alert and may be asked to evacuate at any time. Hopefully, the worst is behind us, but with this wind and how dry it is, we know we have to be ready at a moment's notice. 

I guess it's moments like this that really show you what you're made of. I had no idea how much time we had. I grabbed the essentials while peeking out the back to monitor the fire's progress, loaded up the car, and then went back for the other stuff--hard drives, birth certificate, tax papers, dog food... all the shit you talk about but never know if you'll remember in the moment. I'm so grateful for the advance notice we had. Our neighbor knocked on our door before the cops did and we started making calls to make sure others were awake as well.

I know there are fires in California and Canada and probably a few other places as well. Stay safe everyone! I keep thinking that things can't get any worse, but they really can, and so fucking fast. I'm so grateful that we're okay and that so far, no one's been hurt. We have a fire hydrant across the street from us. I was watching these guys hustle--hopping out of the trucks to fill the tanks and then jumping back in to beat back the fire. I have an all new appreciation for first responders and volunteer firefighters. Seeing those flames grow, hearing that crackle made me sweat. And I will never get annoyed at construction workers again. The guy who drove that bulldozer is a damn hero. I listened to him move what sounded like a mountain of rocks back and forth, back and forth, tirelessly creating a barrier to save our homes. You have no idea how relieved I was to see that scary orange glow get pushed back behind the ridge.

It's been 24 hours and the fire is still ongoing. We still have our bags packed and are ready to go in case it flares up behind our property again. I decided to pop on here while I had a chance and post this week's snippet. I hope you all are doing well. Kelly said in Canada people are evacuating left, right, and center and sent me this emergency evacuation check list that may help someone in future.

I'll be in touch. ❤️