I couldn't stop thinking about it. It's kept me up all night. I smile, knowing that it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. My fingers twitch at the anticipation of writing this down.
The fire, quietly licking up against the walls and pouring out of the windows like the ocean emptying out on the edge of the world, it all heaped down in a smoldering mass below; the caramelized glow reflecting back on all our faces. The fridge told me to remember this. This was the first night of my life.
The paragraph stared back at me like the faces illuminated by the great pillar of fire before us. There was screaming, sirens, and the tear gas that still stung the air; the foundations of the house collapsing in on itself. My fellow officers stood silent, some having suspects on the ground with handcuffs, as perps ran frantically in every direction around our motionless figures. More squad cars screeched to a halt and the quick succession of sounds, the boots, the yelling, and the click of handcuffs, finally aroused my squad. I looked behind me and caught a quick glimpse of a lawn chair before it knocked me down to the ground.
My equipment made me fall hard; my head bouncing off the asphalt with a dull thud. I closed my eyes in pain and felt my arm being yanked upwards. I opened them again and saw that Dylan had me around his shoulder. He mouthed something and wiped blood off his face. The suspect who hit me was face down in a pool of his own blood. He was twitching when I looked back at Dylan who just shrugged. There were uniforms everywhere. I saw Johnson and Macintosh tugging a perp off a fence, Mcnabb was being shoved to the ground by two perps who ran away with a beer keg, and I saw the back of our cruzers being filled with suspects. All I could hear was the raging fire.
Funnily enough, the fire department showed at the same moment and began dousing the house from the backyard as I slowly started to walk across the lawn. I walked over a minefield of beer cans, some of the furniture, and bodies of angry suspects writhing around like sardines. Mcnabb was tossing them around everywhere, everyone was too busy to intervene, and I ordered him to stand down. He looked ashamed as he paused and looked at me. He stood silent as I picked up a perp and hauled him to my cruzer. Mcnabb followed suit as I started searching the yard for my fellow officers. We aren't animals. We have orders and expectations to follow.
I walked towards the back alley where I last saw Johnson and Macintosh. At that same time, they were walking down the alley holding up their perp by the shoulders. His bare feet dragged all over the ground and his white shirt was dirty with sweat and blood. They nodded at me as they moved forward. The firefighters had the fire controlled now, the glow became darker, and the smoke bellowed up in the sky. One of them approached me, telling me that they had it under control, and walked back towards the front with me. He curiously asked what had happened. Ask why there was so many empy tear gas canisters lying around towards the back. Why neighbors, not us, called them. Why the brutality, the etc, etc, etc. He went on and on until I turned around and quietly gave the schpeel about police business. He laughed and said that wouldn't matter. The refrigerator had warned me of this.
I ignored him and went out in the street. People stood silent on their apartment balconies; their contempt made me look away. Chief stood statuesque as he directed the cruzers out of the street. His anger was quiet and controlled as he told me he'd have my badge for this. He didn't even look at me. I said nothing and turned to Dylan leaning on the back door of my cruzer. Two bloody perps slept on each other's shoulders.
Dylan huffed hard on a cigarette, his ash covered face made the white of his eyes glow back at me, he said nothing. I clutched the car door, hesitant, Dylan flicked the cigarette onto someone's yard and got in. I tried to get in myself but I couldn't. I looked back at what was left of the house and saw that it was a black smoldering mass; the crumpled structure judding out of itself. The street still glowed with the lights of our cruzers. Dylan got back out, walked over, and wiped off some ash on my uniform. He told me he'd drive and I was relieved.
I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about it. This was the first night of my life.
I saw Paige slowly climb out of bed and into the bathroom. After a while, I heard the shower, and I got up. My fingers weren't trembling anymore. I walked out towards the front door. I slowly worked down the hallway, past the kitchen, and opened the front door to get the newspaper off the front step. Making my way back to the kitchen, I opened the paper, and lied it across the table. The headline read:
Frat Party Ends In Flames - IC Police Shut Down House Party on The First Night of State Shut In.
I closed my eyes and imagined what the TV would say ''
lieutenant James P. Shamburger led IC Police in what locals call 'a militant shutdown' of a local house party in downtown Iowa City last night. The party was in violation of the governor's shut in order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic...''. The words started to drown into a dull monotone buzz that rang around in my head as I held my eyes closed. I had all the data, the numbers, and the correct answers but it all meant nothing when I went over it again in my head. I almost screamed but the buzz slowly faded away. For a moment there was complete silence until I heard something. Something familiar. I lifted my head and opened my eyes. My kitchen was completely empty and everything was still; all I could immediately hear was the water from Paige's shower.
I stood silent for another minute until I heard it again. It was a voice. Words. Somehow I knew that it was the fridge. I don't know how I did but it just happened. In a whisper, it said,
''today's the first day of your life''. I agreed. I walked over to it and it said it again in a very gentle whisper. Like someone's lover. I slowly wrapped my arms around my refrigerator and squeezed tight. It was right. It was always right.
