Things You Save in a Fire - Katherine Center Page 0,116

assaulted ran for his city council seat—and won.

All this was in the papers and on cable news for months. But somehow I missed it.

I must have been too busy being happy.

Honestly, I didn’t even hear about it until years later—when Heath Thompson tried for parole and was soundly rejected, and the whole series of scandals churned back through the news cycle.

I spent some time after that wondering if I should have spoken up—and wondering why I hadn’t. Partly, I just didn’t know about the lawsuits, way back home in Texas. I’d like to think I would have joined them if I’d known.

But I can’t know for sure.

For so long, it was everything I could do to keep my head above water.

Sometimes I wonder, if I’d been able to tell someone sooner about what he did, if I might have been able to protect the women he harmed after me. Maybe. Maybe one brave voice could have stopped him. Or maybe, just as likely, I’d have been blamed and humiliated and ignored—and he’d have gotten a pass.

I know why women don’t speak out. It’s hard enough just to survive.

And, by the way, the blame for what Heath Thompson did to all of us sits nowhere but on his shoulders.

The morning I discovered all the news about his scandals, I took a few minutes to enjoy his spectacular downfall, and then I got right back to making us all heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast.

I had more important people to think about.

I guess it really proves the old saying: “The best revenge is marrying a kindhearted guy with a washboard stomach who brings you coffee in bed every morning.”

Wait—is that the saying?

Maybe it’s “The best revenge is spending your life in a cottage by the ocean with a world-champion kisser who takes the phrase ‘with my body, I thee worship’ literally.”

That might not be it either.

How about “The best revenge is flying kites on the beach with your chubby toddlers.” Or “The best revenge is dancing to oldies in the kitchen with your goofy friends.”

Or maybe “The best revenge is to love like crazy.”

Gosh, what is that darned saying? “The best revenge is…”

“The best revenge is…”

Oh, well …

I forget.

Acknowledgments

I started dating a cute, funny, mischievous paramedic right after I graduated from college, and I’ve been with him ever since. All these years later, he’s now a history teacher, but he still volunteers as a firefighter/EMT. All to say, when I started writing a book about a firefighter, I knew exactly how much I didn’t know.

So glad I found Gary Ludwig’s book on life in the fire service: Blood, Sweat, Tears, and Prayers. I was also lucky that so many firefighters were willing to let me visit their stations. I am so grateful to the many folks at the Houston Fire Department who answered so many questions: Captain Jerry Meek and the great guys on the D-shift at HFD Station 11 for their warmth and candor and hilarious stories. Kevin Brolan, retired Chief Investigator, Arson Bureau, HFD, was very helpful as well. Maria Jordan at HFD Station 17 graciously talked with me about what it’s like for women in the fire service. Thanks also to Kristi Baksht’s friend Kim, who introduced me to her husband, Andrew Eckert, a firefighter/EMT at HFD Station 16—who gave me a tour of his station, answered a thousand questions, and even demonstrated a pole slide.

I also want to thank the authors who kindly recommended my last book, How to Walk Away, to readers. It takes a village to get the word out, for real, and I’m grateful beyond words to Emily Giffin, Nina George, Elinor Lipman, Jill Santopolo, Graeme Simpsion, Karen White, Brené Brown, Jenny Lawson, Catherine Newman, and Taylor Jenkins Reid. Sincere thanks also to novelist Caroline Leech for coaching me in Scottish. A hundred grateful hugs!

Thanks also to Vicky Wight and Bridget Stokes of Six Foot Pictures, who have seriously given me the thrill of a lifetime this year by turning my novel The Lost Husband into a movie.

To all my pals at St. Martin’s Press: I am so devoted to you! I’ve been writing novels a long time, and I know exactly how lucky I am to have your support. Sally Richardson, Rachel Diebel, Jessica Preeg, Erica Martirano, Karen Masnica, Jordan Hanley, Lisa Senz, Janna Dokos, Elizabeth Catalano, Devan Norman, Brant Janeway, Meghan Harrison, Olga Grlic, Danielle Fiorella, India Cooper, and Andrew (and Katherine) Weber—I seriously love you. And a special, sincere, adoring set of thank-yous to my agent, Helen Breitwieser, who believed in me all along, and my editor, Jen Enderlin, who took me on and changed everything.

Hugs to my fun family: Shelley and Matt Stein (and Yazzie), Lizzie and Scott Fletcher, Bill Pannill and Molly Hammond, and Al and Ingrid Center. Sincere thanks to our bookkeeper, Faye Robeson, who is not quite family, but pretty darned close.

Thanks to my genuinely delightful kids, Anna and Thomas, who are so patient with me when I think in circles instead of straight lines, and who crack me up every day. I am so grateful to get to be their mama.

Thanks to my amazing mom, Deborah Detering, who has doggedly refused to ever give up on me. Everything I know about believing in myself, I learned because she showed me how.

And, at last, a thousand heartfelt thanks to my husband, Gordon. He’s one of the world’s true good guys, and I’m more grateful than I can say. For everything.