Dinner With the Chief

We reached the end of the stream. I was extremely grateful for that. My body felt as if it could take no more. I needed a nice long rest. The sleep of a thousand sleeps. All the firefighters were starting to look weary at this point as well. They secured the boat to a little post and we got out. The chief exited last. I watched as the all waved goodbye to one another and walked into their separate homes. Each house facing the water, and each house placed right next to the other one. It was as if they lived in their own village. "Where are you off to now?" The chief asks me. "I don't know." "Join me for dinner?" "That would be nice." I say to him. We stroll over to his house. In my mind I expect it to be grand because he is the chief, but it is no bigger or fancier than any one else's. It is a ranch that faces the water, just like all the other firefighters. The only difference is a HOME SWEET HOME door mat. "Welcome to my abode." He says as he opens the front door. There is a slight disorder to his home. The T.V. is blasting, old tabloid magazines are thrown around, and it still smells like yesterday's dinner. I don't mind any of this though. If anything it makes him more human. "The roast beef is done, let's go to the kitchen and eat." He says to me excitedly. "It's already done?" "Of course it is. we put out the fires and came home. Now all that's left to do is eat." "Did someone make it?" "What do you mean?" "Never mind. let's go eat." Maybe what I said doesn't exactly make him more human, but it does make him more interesting. The dinner was delicious. The roast beef was cooked to perfection and we had a nice red whine. "How was the food?" "It was wonderful, thank you." The chief stares off in to space for a moment. "Where are you from?" He asks me. "I don't know if you have heard of the town, but it's a little suburb of Chicago." "Chicago? I think I have been there once. It means stinky onion, right?" I scratch my head. "I think you're right actually." "You don't smell like an onion though." I'm not exactly sure how to respond. "Thanks?" The chief continues. "You smell like you are full of life. Are you full of life?" "I definitely try to be." "That's good." The chief gets up and clears the table. I attempt to help, but ushers me to sit down. It always feels slightly off sitting while watching someone else clean, but I comply. He puts the dishes in the sink. "It's time for me to go to bed." He declares. "You can sleep on the couch." "Thank you." The chief starts to exit the kitchen then stops himself. "You want to come with us tomorrow?" "Maybe." I tell him. "Well, if you are interested we leave at six." The chief then exits the kitchen. "That sure is early in my book, but maybe. Maybe."