“Yeah. Haven’t had anything this big in at least ten, eleven years. We’re waitin’ for the cool down so the chief and captains can go in, have a look. But this is a new build. Chief did the inspections himself. No way this shoulda gotten this out of control.”

This did not make me feel great but I was talking to Mickey who sounded tired but obviously was alive so I pushed past that and asked, “What are you saying?”

“I’m sayin’ by the time I got here, there were three rigs here and three shops were already gone. Buildings that are less than a year old made of modern materials, fire alarms and state-of-the art fire protection systems.”

“Are you saying—?”

He cut me off. “Right now I’m sayin’ we’ll finish this later. I just wanted you to know all was good. Most of the shops were closed, civilians that were around got out. No one hurt. We’re hosin’ it down, makin’ sure all the sparks are out. Gonna be a while before I get home.”

“I’ll have my phone on my nightstand.”

“What?” he sounded distracted.

“I’ll have my phone on my nightstand,” I told him. “Call me, text me, whatever before you come home. I just want to see you before you go to sleep. I’ll run over and just…see you then let you go in and crash. Would you mind doing that?”

I had his full attention when he replied, “It’s late and it’s gonna be later when I get home, Amy.”

“You know I don’t mind late when it comes to you.”

I got a soft, sweet, “Right. Then I’ll get in touch, darlin’.”

“Okay, Mickey. I’ll let you go.”

“Thanks, babe. Later.”

“’Bye, honey.”

We rang off and I turned to my kids.

“So he’s okay?” Auden asked for confirmation.

“He is,” I nodded, moving back to them. “Everyone is. It’s all good. I mean,” I positioned my behind over the chair and fell into it, “not the jetty, which sustained a lot of damage. But the important part. The people.”

“Bummed,” Pippa murmured then jerked her head and assured me, “Not about Mickey. Totes happy he’s good, Mom. Just that there are a lot of awesome shops on the jetty. I hope the good ones didn’t get toasted.”

“Olympia Moss, ground zero on new mental illness. Shopping on the brain,” Auden said, his tone having an edge of nasty but it was this in subtle rebuke, stating in his big brother way he thought she’d been insensitive.

“Auden! Shut up!” she snapped.

Auden opened his mouth but I got there before him, doing it straightening out of the chair I’d just collapsed in, taking my wine with me.