Eyes stinging, choking from the fumes of smoke, she could only stand helplessly by, watching as the flames from the dumpster, which had been pulled close to the house, licked at the newly stripped wooden siding.
She heard the blare of the fire engines approaching, and turned to see Trae racing toward her. “Hattie, get away from here,” he yelled, tugging at her arm, but she was frozen in place, unable to look away. “Come on,” he insisted. “It’s not safe.” He pointed toward the flashing red lights reflecting off the front of the house.
A moment later, a tanker engine rolled slowly toward them, and one of the firemen, dressed in protective gear, hopped out of the cab and approached.
“Is there anyone in the house?” he called.
“No, not that we know of,” Hattie said. “It’s under construction.”
“What’s in there?” he asked, pointing at the dumpster. “Any chemicals?”
Coughing violently, Hattie nodded. “Painters have been working back here,” she said, between gasps. “And construction debris. The roofers have been throwing the old shingles and tar paper in there.”
Three more firemen emerged from the truck and began laying hose.
“You two need to clear this area,” the fireman said. “And move those vehicles.”
* * *
A crowd of rubberneckers had already gathered at the entrance of the driveway. Half a dozen cars were pulled alongside the shoulder of the road. Bicyclists clustered together, chatting and pointing. A pickup truck was parked on the other side of Chatham Avenue, with gawkers piled into the truck bed. A bare-chested teenager had positioned himself in the middle of the driveway, cell phone held in the air to video the conflagration.
Hattie beeped furiously at the kid, who turned and flipped her off before slowly ambling out of the way. She drove past and parked on the shoulder a few yards away from the nearest car. Trae parked the Lexus behind her, got out, and joined her in the front seat of the truck.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Tears streamed down her smoke-blackened face. She nodded, then buried her face in his shoulder. “If I lose the house…”
He patted her back. “You won’t. It’s literally just a dumpster fire. I think we got there just in time. Five minutes later…”
She sniffed and nodded, wiping at her runny nose with her sleeve. “Oh my God. Maybe if we hadn’t had dessert—”
“Shh. There’s no telling when that fire started. It could have been smoldering for hours.”
Someone was tapping on the driver’s side window. Hattie looked up and was momentarily blinded by a camera flash. A twenty-something woman grinned and held up her phone. “I knew that was you, Trae!”
“Get the fuck away from here,” he growled. “Just go!”
The woman backed away slowly.
“Unbelievable,” Trae muttered. “People are unbelievable.”
They heard a distinctive whoop whoop whoop of sirens, followed by a pair of Tybee police cruisers, blue lights flashing.
“What now?” Hattie craned her neck to watch, as one cruiser sped down the driveway toward the house. The other cruiser stopped, backed up, and parked diagonally across Chatham Avenue. A uniformed cop got out of the cruiser and began walking up and down the roadway, motioning to the onlookers. “Come on now, move along,” he yelled.
There was another knock at the window. Hattie rolled it down. “Officer…”
“Y’all need to go on home now,” the cop said, bending down to look inside the truck.
“It’s my house,” Hattie blurted. “That’s my house that’s on fire.”
“Oh.” The cop shrugged. “Sorry about that. I guess it won’t hurt if you stay. Just keep your vehicle pulled completely off the roadway, in case we need to get an ambulance in here.”
“We will,” Trae said, leaning forward. “Is there any news? Why were the police called?”
“SOP for a house fire,” the cop said.
“Have you heard anything? Is the fire out yet?” Hattie asked.
“I’ll radio the other officer and let you know what I hear,” the cop said. “Hang tight.”
The cop reappeared what seemed like hours later to Hattie. “Ma’am? The fire has been extinguished, but y’all can’t go back there yet. They’re soaking the dumpster and the ground around it. My captain’s on his way here, and he’d like to speak to you.”
“Okay,” Hattie said. “We’re not going anywhere.”