Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 45

Joanne's Point of View.

Flipping heck, it is hot in here! Seriously, I am melting, and being a woman of a certain age, that is not good! I already need water wings when I go to bed at night, and the sweats start. Bloody menopause.

Why, oh why, did I agree to bake pies for the Family Fun Day? Don't get me wrong, I don't mind doing it, just not in this heat, the oven only adding to the increasing temperature. I open all of the windows throughout the house, then wiping the sweat from my brow, I continue to mash the corned beef and onion in with the potatoes.

As I look out of my window, I see Lucy walking in the back gate towards my kitchen door, she has the brightest smile on her face. I love this girl, she has brought happiness to my son, and on top of that she is absolutely lovely. I couldn't have asked for more, she is an answered prayer, believe me on that one.

She knocks on the door, then opens it.

"Hi Joanne," she cheerfully greets me.

"Hi Lucy, did you walk over?" I ask.

"Yeah, I got halfway, and wished I hadn't, it is so dammed hot out there." She smiles.

"Get yourself some water." I nod to the fridge, happy I had placed lots of bottles in there, along with some in the freezer, knowing I was going to be baking in the heat.

"Thanks, so... put me to work." Lucy smiles, she must have been thirsty because she drank half the bottle in one go.

"You can make a start on the salad-shit nobody ever eats, if you don't mind. Add lemon juice to it and wrap the bowl with double clingfilm and put it back in the fridge, it should keep okay till tomorrow then," I instruct her.

Lucy turns to the fridge and gets out the salad stuff, then washes her hands and ties her hair back into a ponytail, before she begins to chop up the salad.

"How is your brother?" I ask Lucy. They have both told me that he is newly single, but from what I can gather he is better off without that girl who is a poor excuse for a mother.

"Yeah, he is good. Looking forward to tomorrow with the kids. I reckon he is going to be in the fire engine more than Daunte and Kirstie, playing pretend." Lucy laughs.

I smile at her and nod my head.

"Do you know what he is going to do for work?" I ask.

"Not yet. But thankfully, because he is a single parent now, he gets government help. So... he can work out what he wants to do and fit it in around the kids." Lucy smiles.

I nod my head in understanding, I remember when Ben was little, having to find childcare, and work, it can be a nightmare. However, thankfully we live in England, where we get government help, so that we can work only 20 hours per week, and they will top-up the money, if you are a single parent.

"How are the kids doing?" I ask, knowing it must be confusing for the little ones to suddenly not have their mother about.

"Great, I am sure they will ask about Samantha in time, but as of yet, they have not noticed much difference. Which makes me wonder if she did spend most of her day in bed, even when I was not living there." Lucy sighed out, clearly worried that had happened. "Well, we don't know either way Lucy, but the kids are well cared for now," I reassure her.

"How is my son?" I ask, given Ben has messaged but not called for a few days, but I take that to mean things are going well with Lucy, and that just makes me happy.

"He is great, more than great, amazing." Lucy blushes slightly, looking down.

"Hum, good to know." I laugh and give her a knowing wink.

Lucy looks up at me, shaking her head, her cheeks now bright red, so I hit the nail on the head, there relationship is progressing. Good.

"So, who else is cooking and bringing things?" Lucy changes the subject quickly.

"Josie is baking cakes tonight when she finishes work, Anne, Wayne's mam, she is doing picky bits, that kids will like. Twinkles 'Mrs., is well, doing two things as per: f**k and All." I sigh.

It is unusual for me to dislike people, but I really do not like that woman. Not one bit!

"You really don't like her, do you?" Lucy laughs.

"No, I normally like most people, but she is a b***h, when Ben was injured, she rang me and said, thank God it was him and not William," I growl, anger pulsing through my veins at the memory. "You are joking?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide with shock.

"No, that is what she said. I mean, I tried to like her before that, but once she said that when I was praying for my son's life, I gave in trying, and let the hate take over." I shrugged giving a small laugh to lighten the conversation.

"Not surprised, I think I hate her now as well." Lucy shrugged.

"Finished, what should I do now?" Lucy asked, as she finished off washing and wrapping the salad up, putting it into the fridge.

"Well, these pies are in the oven for twenty minutes or so, so how about a nice cupper?" I say with a smile.

"In this heat?" Lucy laughs at me.

"Yeah, it actually helps you feel cooler after you are finished, trust me." I grin flipping the switch on the kettle.

"So... what is Ben's boss like?" Lucy asks me.

"Whip-me-with-your-willy Webber, oh he is s*x on legs, seriously, the man is hot-to-trot." I smile at her.

He is though, his black skin against his white shirt he always wears as part of his uniform, his swagger, as he walks that lets you know the rumours about black guys is most definitely true in his case, and he is packing a very large fireman's hose in his pants. Damn, if I was ten years younger, I would give him a run for his money. Well, I say that, but the thing with me is, if I like a man, I cannot flirt for toffee, lose my ability to complete a coherent sentence, and refuse to speak with them. However, if I don't fancy them, I can flirt for England, which is why I end up, well used too, with the guys I didn't really like coming on to me.

Plus, after being burnt a couple of times, I have all the banter about men, but none of it amounts to anything, I am hesitant to put myself out there, plus who wants a 50-something-year-old woman, who sweats like a b***h in heat every night, and has to get up around four times for a wee. So, I am resolved to live out my days single, and live vicariously through Ben's young friends at the station.

Lucy laughs at my analogy of Bens' boss, shaking her head.

"You are funny, you don't give a s**t, do you?" Lucy asks laughing.

"Not really, however, I am all talk and no action. It has been so long; I think I have forgotten what to do with a whipping willy." I laugh.

"Hey, he has asked Ben a couple of times if you are going to the Family Fun Fay, so maybe you will find out." Lucy nods at me raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, the chance would be a fine thing. However, I very much doubt it, especially if he caught a glimpse of my very sexy spanks, and bladder control pads, in case I sneeze." I laugh.

Lucy throws her head back laughing, as we continue to drink our tea, and yes, it did work, and I cool down considerably after drinking it.

"Ben is picking me up when he is finished work," Lucy states looking at her phone.

"Oh good, do you want to stay for tea? By that I mean, I am going to order a takeout, because it is too damn hot to cook, and after doing those pies I really cannot be arsed." I smile and shrug.

"Oh, I would love to, but Ben is taking me out tonight. Why don't you come?" Lucy offers.

"No, don't be daft. You enjoy your night; you do not need Ben's mother c**k-blocking you." I wave her off, but grateful for the invite.

"You will not be c**k-blocking, and we would love you to come." Lucy protests.

I have no doubt she would be okay with it, and I know Ben would agree, but I also know, secretly, he will be cursing me to hell and back if he has organised a special date for the pair of them, and given he got the picnic stuff out of the garage last night, that is what he will have planned.

"Honestly, thank you for the invite, but I need a cold shower, then bed, because tomorrow will be a long day at the station." I smile at her.

"Is that cold shower because of the heat, or because I asked you about Whip-you-with-his-willy Webber." Lucy laughs.

See, I knew I liked this girl!

"The heat, well... maybe a little bit of whip-me, but mainly the heat." I laugh.

I wave Ben and Lucy off, after he picks her up, a smile on my face, as happiness floods over me, seeing just how contented my son is. Then I head upstairs and have my cold shower, ready to hit my bed, and get some sleep, before tomorrow.

My 7am alarm goes off, and I jump out of bed, naked from the heat. My wobbly bits, well, wobbling as I jog to the bathroom, and turn the shower on as cold as I can get it, then let out a screech as I stand under the freezing water, before letting out a sigh of utter relief. I get myself washed, then wrapping a towel around myself, head back to my bedroom and get dressed.

Deciding against the spanks as in this heat, well, ... just no! I go for a pair of cotton undies, and my trusted white minimising bra. I pull out a long blue and white stripped summer skirt with split up the leg, added bonus, elasticated waist, because the friendly menopause graciously gifts you with many bellies as well as lack of bladder control, and hot sweats. I pull on a long white V-neck sleeveless top.

Spraying four times as much deodorant than I possibly need, and a long spray of my coco Chanel. I pop some make up on, not sure why, as I am sure it will melt off me by the end of the day, but still, makes me feel a bit more confident. Then scrape my long brown with grey highlights, because I forgot to get a hair dye last week, into a ponytail. I look in the mirror wondering if I could use mascara to hide the small amount, of grey flashes, then decide against it, as I would probably make a mess of it.

I head to the kitchen, grabbing cool packs from the freezer and adding them to the cool bags I bought from Morrisons the other day and pack up the food, when Ben and Lucy walk in the house.

"Hi Mother, you ready?" Ben cheerfully asks, smiling.

See, happy, my boy is very happy, and my heart leaps with joy in my chest, because he deserves it.

"Yeah, just got one more bag to pack." I smile at him, as he takes the two packed bags and takes them out into the car.

"We are going to drop you off first, then go back for Cal and the kids." Lucy smiles at me.

"Cool." I grin, then head out, and get into the back of the car.

We pull up outside the station, and Josie is stood, a rather tall, but not as tall as Ben, good looking man is standing next to her, looking at her as if she is food. Guess that is the arse-hole she pretended to hate. "Hey Joanne." Josie waves at me.

Getting out the car I wave at her, then go round to the boot, Josie and the arse-hole following, both of them grabbing the bags of food. Guess he isn't such a d**k after all.

"Hi Anders." Lucy greets him, oh yeah, I forgot, another gift from the menopause, short term memory loss! He is Lucy's new boss.

"Hi Lucy, Ben." He nods at them both.

"Anders this is Joanne, Ben's mam, she is cool." Josie grins at me.

"Not in this heat." I laugh, it is already sweltering, and it is just 10 am.

"We are going to pick up Cal and the kids, then I will give you a hand." Lucy smiles at me.

"Don't worry, Josie will help." I smile at her, as she gets back into Ben's car, and he speeds away.

"She is lovely." Josie grins at Bens car.

"Yeah, she really is. Fits right in and doesn't seem to mind my crazy." I laugh.

"So, where are we putting the food?" I ask Josie.

"In the fridges, Boss has organised one half of them to be empty for us." Josie smiles, as Anders carries a few bags in each of his hands and walks off towards the station.

We walk into the station together and Josie smiles at me.

"The boss said he wanted to see you." Josie grins at me.

"Wow, I wonder if he is going to prove to me that the saying is true." I laugh, as we round into the common room, to find the guys from 'Blue watch' all sat eating their breakfast, whilst waiting for a shout.

"What saying is that, Joanne?" Anders asks me, as he opens the fridge.

"That once you have had black, you never look back." I grin and wink.

Suddenly I see Josie's eyes widen, and she rolls her lips together, but still manages to giggle, as I feel a presence behind me, then hot tickling breath breathes on my ear, making my cotton granny pants more than a little moist, and not for once, from sneezing. "Well, I prefer to quote the White Chic's Movie 'Once you have black you are going to need a wheelchair"."

Whip...Me...With...Your...Willy!

f**k.

s**t.

Bollocks!