Lizzy arrived home with Anna and Gale from North Carolina three days later and it was good to be back. The girls felt a little relieved when she put the urn back to where it was supposed to go, and the girls fought over the guest room, but compromised between using the spare room one week and then couch the next week. Gale had protested to Anna winning the first week in the spare room, but that all faded when she realized how comfy Lizzy's very expensive pull out couch was. Four days passed and people started to settle in and get comfortable with each other before Lizzy came at them with the next task on the list. "The next task requires us to do something nice for the boys down at Hayden's firehouse."
"I know this sounds easy," Gale said as she was folding up her bed sheets, "But what do these fireman consider 'fancy' will determine what we need to do to cast this job from the group."
"I agree." Lizzy said, "I'm going to call Jared later today and ask him what Hayden meant when he said 'fancy' on the list." After the entire cake cooking debacle, Lizzy had decided not to underestimate any task on the list ever again and approach each one as if they were tougher than the previous. She wasn't going to fall into that trap again which resulted in the task lasting over two months. This time she would make the call and make sure the answer was right and easier to take care of. She picked up the phone and dialled the number for the phone in the firehouse.
After a few rings someone picked up, "House 75, can I help you?"
"Yes, I'd like to speak with Jared. Tell him it's Liz calling."
"All right, Liz. No prob."
She waited a few seconds before Jared's familiar voice came up. "You know Liz, we keep talking this much Beth’s going to think we got a thing on the go." he said with a hearty chuckle.
"Ha ha." Lizzy replied sarcastically. "Seriously, I need to ask you a question."
"Fire away." Jared said as he waited for his grilling.
"Well, I was talking to Hayden before he passed and he talked about giving the boys what he called a fancy meal to show everyone how much he appreciates them and their hard work. He specifically said about doing something 'fancy', so what I'd like to know is what the guys at the house consider fancy."
"I see." Jared replied, "We'll I'm glad you called this time out, because the term fancy like little lady has a completely different meaning here in the house."
"I assumed as much, do tell." Lizzy said.
"Well, it's kind of like a bad means good thing. To use, the term fancy dinner means a barbeque. To use, a fancy mean is red meat on a grill. Beer and steak is usually our fancy meal of preference. So if you fired up a grill and cooked a lot of meat, that would do us just fine."
"Okay, so what day would be good to come over and fire up a barbeque for you?"
"I would recommend a Wednesday, for some reason we don't get as many calls in the middle of the week. I guess not as many people with time on their hands would explain that." Jared paused for a moment, "Why did you want to hold a barbeque for the boys?"
Liz felt uneasy talking about the list, so she fibbed. "It was something Hayden and I always wanted to do for you guys. I'm going to rent a grill and be there Wednesday of next week. Okay?"
"Hey, sounds great to me Liz. We'll see you next week!"
Once Lizzy got off the phone she told the girls what the boys at the house considered a fancy meal. They laughed and were perfectly all right with the idea of just steaks and hamburgers being the meal rather than something that might actually be fancy. Leading up to that day they made a huge plan to serve the best barbeque they firehouse will ever see. There were going to be a variety of salads, drinks and even a variety of meats. There would be steaks, chicken, fish and even something veggie just in case someone was to ask for it. She had everything set up but to make sure everything was perfect, she needed to call in a ringer for the grill.
"I thought you said no ringers were allowed?" Anna asked kind of upset Lizzy was bending her own rules.
"This is kind of a ringer, but kind of not a ringer." Lizzy said as she sat down beside Anna to explain. "We are going to ask Hayden's Dad, who’s a great griller and the perfect guy to cook dinner for the guys."
"Oh," Anna said as she thought about it, "I guess his Dad would love to cook the food for the guys. He also does love a good barbeque."
"That he does. He'd cook and I'd serve as usual. The old man loves a good cook out and to me it wouldn't be the same without him." Lizzy paused for a moment, "And I think his Dad would love to do this for the house."
"Then it's settled." Gale concluded. "Hayden's Dad will be the grill man."
"Well, I have to ask him first." Lizzy said, "We don't want to make any assumptions. I'll drop by tomorrow and ask him in person."
So the next day, Lizzy took a trip to visit Hayden's parents. A lot of people don't like their in-laws, but Hayden's family was always easy to get along with. When he first brought Lizzy over to meet everyone, Hayden was worried. That fear was unnecessary as Lizzy got along with her family a lot better than any other lady that he had ever brought home to meet the folks. The only person who wasn't keen on her being around was Hayden's mother, but to her no woman would ever be good enough for the baby of the family. Lizzy and his mother were still very civil with one another so it wasn't like his mother work black on the wedding day or anything. She was as nice to Lizzy as she was to every other woman in her life, just not the kind of mom-in-law that went out of her way to do something with her. Lizzy never took offence from it, because a neutral mother-in-law was better than one you hated and that insulted you from a distance, so it always could’ve been worse. She still had plenty of people to gab with as Hayden's sisters all loved the ground she walked on as she was the one to sweep their handsome brother off his feet and take him off the market. Hayden’s father liked her a lot as well. To him, Lizzy was the baby of the family because she was three years younger than Hayden who was the real runt of the litter.
Lizzy knocked on the door and was greeted with a warm smile as her father in law answered it. If it were not for the big box of some of Hayden's stuff she had brought over, he would have given her a big bear hug. "Lizzy!"
"Hello Mr. Sheppard." she said with a smile.
"Hey, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Dad?" He said with a wide grin, "It's nice to see you! Give me that..." Mr. Sheppard reached over and took the box from her and let her into the house. Once inside, Lizzy was greeted by the brothers and sisters of Hayden that just happen to be visiting that day. It was a big family as Hayden had three brothers and three sisters. He was lucky number seven according to his father, the tie breaker that tipped the scales for the boys. While all of them had moved out and had homes of their own, most were in the same neighbourhood which made it easy to visit mom and dad whenever they wanted to. While one of Hayden’s siblings was still living out of the basement, Lizzy preferred not to judge as David was going through a rough divorce and needed a place to crash while getting his finances in order. Despite getting a decent salary from his job with the police force, David needed to crash with his parents which turned out all right because Dad loved having an extra man around the house to help out with some household things. Mom liked having David home because it meant less leftovers for Dad to consume and it resulted in a little weight loss. While David made the best out of the situation he was in, he was determined to find a new place eventually and get out of everyone’s hair.
Once the pleasantries were out of the way, Hayden's Dad came in. "We are having chicken enchiladas tonight for supper, you have to stay and join us!"
"Of course," Lizzy replied with a smile. "I would love to stay."
"All right!" Mr. Sheppard hooted as he ran into the kitchen to tell his wife.
Lizzy walked over and sat down beside David, who was the oldest of all of Hayden’s siblings. They always got along and he was the big brother she never had. He always told her if she needed any help or favours to not hesitate to ask him and it would be done. She never needed his help in the
past but was always happy to know the help was available should she ever need it. "Hey Liz.” Dave said as he watched her sit down. Good to see you again. How are things going?"
"As well as one can expect." Lizzy said as she smiled. If anyone understood the idea of someone going down in the line of duty, it was a cop.
"We all miss the little bugger." David said, not one for elegant speeches. "So what's up?"
"Well, I have a few questions about Hayden I was hoping you could help me with." Lizzy asked, hoping not to make things too awkward.
"Yeah, sure. Fire away." David seemed uneasy but was always willing to help family. At least information was free, until it led to something else.
"I have some information that seems weird to me, but made perfect sense to Hayden but I never got to ask him before he passed away. For example, do you know what a Hermy is?" Lizzy couldn't believe she was asking this but tried anyway.
David gave out a small chuckle. "I know what a Hermy is. A lot of people do. Try asking me a question that no one else knows."
Lizzy decided to go with the flow and just keep asking questions. "Who’s Shannon and Damon?"
David suddenly became very quiet after hearing those names as he got up from his slouched position, sat up in his chair and took a deep breath. "What do you know about Shannon and Damon?"
"Only their names.” Lizzy replied. “How does Hayden know them?"
Realizing that Lizzy was lacking in a lot of intel on the matter, David stood up from his chair. "At the moment, I'm not ready to speak about that. If Hayden didn't tell you about Shannon and Damon, I'm not sure telling you now will do him any honour."
"How do you know them?" Lizzy then asked.
David knew how to interrogate someone and realized she was trying to pin him in a corner. "Liz, you're not ready for this information. Give me some time and I'll get back to you when I'm ready to talk about it. All right?"
Even though David was not willing to reveal the information he had, the fact that he was willing to share it at a later time was better than nothing. It was further down the list anyway, so she had time to wait. "All right, I understand. We'll talk about it later."
"Thanks, I appreciate the space." David walked out of the room and Lizzy found out moments later that he left the house and was gone for the rest of the day. Despite his quick exit, Lizzy was still having a great time, as was everyone else in the firehouse.
Once every one got to the table, the held hands and said grace. Even though Lizzy was not religious at all, but she participated anyway out of respect for their right to their own beliefs. She was a guest so it was best to do as they did in the household as to not offend anyone. Once they started to dig in, Mr. Sheppard held the tray of enchiladas up for Lizzy, "One or two?"
"One will be fine, thank you." Lizzy said as she watched Mr. Sheppard serve one of them to her plate. She waited patiently for dinner to end before trying to inquire about why she was really there. When everyone was starting to feel stuffed and eager to hit the couch and veg out, that is when she came forth with her ulterior motive. "Mr. Sheppard."
"Yes dear?" Mr. Sheppard said as he slouched in his captain's chair.
"I was wondering if you could help me with something." She quietly asked.
"Anything, love. What's on the go?" he quickly asked.
"Well, next week I am holding a barbeque dinner for Hayden's firehouse. Just doing something nice for the guys and we've rented the biggest grill I have ever seen for it. They'll be salads, sodas and desserts to go with all the steaks, sausages and other meats we’re going to have set up. The only problem is none of us planning it are any good at cooking anything on a grill. So we where hoping..." she made a gesture to indicate she wanted him.
"Me? You want me to get behind the grill and cook for the boys?" he repeated as he really didn't know what else to say. He loved cooking on the grill, but he hadn't done it once since Hayden had passed away. He didn't want cook anything knowing that his little boy wasn't going to be there to take his medium rare steak and baked potato. But Lizzy was doing this for the guys, for the brave men like his son who risk their lives to save complete strangers. If there was ever a time he was going to return to the grill, he couldn't think of a better day to do it. "Is my favourite waitress going to be there to help me serve all these hungry firemen?"
Lizzy smiled and happily nodded. "Sure. If you cook’em, I'll serve’em."
"All right then," he said with a beaming smile, "I'll do it."
Lizzy was worried that her encouragement of Hayden's Dad to do this would anger his mother, due to the fact that she got along with her father-in-law more than she did Hayden’s mother. Instead, Mrs. Sheppard showed the cracks of a small grin and nodded at Lizzy as she continued to eat her supper. It wasn't too big of a hint, but it was more than anything she had shown for Lizzy in years, a gesture which Lizzy replied to with a smile of her own.
As the day came closer, Lizzy was getting everything ready when she realized she had too much stocked up for this dinner. There was a lot of food for just the members of the house, so she called Jared and told him to get the house to invite friends and family over because there was going to be more than enough for everybody. When that day came up, the setup outside the firehouse was one to behold. There were three tables set up with condiments, buns and salads to go with the meats that would be cooked that day. Many people lined up to get their steaks but the firemen were allowed to go first since it was their day and they were still on the clock, a call could come at any moment. Because they were on duty, Lizzy made it a dry event so there was no alcohol served. Her meeting with Hayden's AA group also inspired her to stay away from the bottle herself for a while. She was very hesitant to drink very much since leaving New York with the girls. The video Hayden’s sponsor brought over and her own brother’s issues seemed to force her to think over everything she was offered from that point on.
Hayden's Dad however was in his element, cooking the meats and making them to almost everyone’s liking but there wasn't a single complaint. He grilled everything so well, the men in the house asked him to cook the next time the firehouse had a barbeque, which he graciously accepted. Things were going very well until Jared came by with a new guest. Lizzy had served a few tables they had set up, and returned to the grill to see Jared and someone else speaking with Hayden's father. As she walked up, Jared was the first to speak, "Liz, there's someone here I want you to meet."
The man turned around, and she recognized him immediately, "Ben?"
Hayden's AA Sponsor cracked a grin, "Yes, nice to see you again."
"Wait a second." Jared said as he stepped in, "You two have already met?"
"We met three months ago." Ben answered. "Liz came to one of our meetings to talk about Hayden and she returned his sobriety coin."
"Oh, so she knows everything?" Jared asked.
"She does and no, I didn't tell her. She arrived to the meeting fully aware of everything by herself." Ben graciously took a plate from Hayden's father that had a big greasy burger on it. "Thank you." he turned to face Jared and Lizzy again after taking a big bite. "Did you get the package I sent?"
"I got the tape, yes." Lizzy replied.
Jared had suddenly become very quiet. He disappeared into the firehouse and didn't come back out for the remainder of the cook out. Lizzy had noticed this and became concerned. After Ben had left, she took a piece of cake and a scoop of ice-cream and went looking for him. She found him in the kitchen, sitting at the table and playing solitaire with a deck of cards. It was his way of having time to himself when he needed to think. He noticed she had arrived but didn't say anything. Clearly something was wrong.
Lizzy walked over to the kitchen table and placed the bowl down. "You forgot to get some dessert." she quietly said.
"Thanks Liz." Jared said. He paused for a moment before putting down the cards and looking back at her. "So how many do you have left?"
"How many what?"
Lizzy said slightly confused.
"The list." Jared explained, "30 things to do before you die. It all made sense when Ben arrived and you two had met. Item number five was ‘attend another meeting’. Then you went to Central Park, visited the little lady in Carolina..."
“Thank you for that by the way.” Lizzy quickly tossed in, “I would have completely messed that up if it wasn't for your help.”
Jared paused again. "You're welcome." After that he reached into his pocket and produced his own piece of paper. "This is my list: the 30 things I want to do before I die. Hayden and I did this together, to inspire each other to complete it before either of us kicked the bucket. So because we wrote these together, I know that cooking a fancy meal for the boys is one of the items. Which one is this?"
"Number nine." Lizzy admitted since there was no point hiding it.
"How many did Hayden finish before he passed away?"
"Four."
"Not bad considering we only wrote up the list just a few months before he passed on. I guess he was pacing himself."
"To be honest the first few were really easy." Liz admitted, "There are a few that are so cryptic that I have no idea what they’re about."
Jared took a deep breathe, "Let me have a look."
Lizzy had a photocopy of the list in her pocket. The original remained at home in a very safe place. She handed it over to Jared, which she had no problem doing since he was Hayden's best friend. The fact that he was present when the list was made up didn't hurt either. They might have talked about a few of them when they were writing it up.
He looked over the list and giggled a bit. "Yeah, the first few were pretty weak. He's leaving the heavy lifting to you."
"Seems so." Lizzy replied with a grin.
"All right, let's have a look here. The next one says 'eat a taco where it all started', hmmm... a taco." Jared took a thinking position to ponder it.
"Skip that one." Lizzy admitted, "I already know it."
"Oh." Jared said as he sat back up. "All righty then. Let's move on."
Jared did have the information to add, which helped explain of the items but there were still a few that were a complete mystery even to him. Apparently during the creation of the list, there were some details that Hayden didn’t want to explain even to Jared. His friend had no clue about Shannon or Damon was nor did he have a friggin’ clue what the hell a Hermy was. He dropped a few helpful hints on the a few others, which Lizzy thought was very nice of him.
“I don’t mean to pry.” Lizzy said as she seemed on the verge of tears. “But why did you guys make these lists?”
“It was because of what happened at a firehouse on the other side of town.” Jared answered, not looking up from the copy of the list she gave him. “A young lad in his early twenties got lit up at a really bad fire. We were there to back them up but we couldn’t save the poor kid. Hayden and I were talking a few days later, thinking about all the things that young man will never get a chance to do. We started talking about some of the things we wanted to do before we kicked the bucket and before you knew it, we were committing ourselves to paper and making a few bucket lists.”
“How are you doing with yours?” Lizzy asked.
“Not bad.” Jared confessed. “I’ve picked up the slack since Hayden passed, but I got a fair bit to do myself.”
Lizzy stood up to leave. “If you need any help working on any of them, you know I’m here to help in any way I can.”
“Thanks Liz.” Jared replied. She let him keep that copy of the list and left him alone in the kitchen and back out to help Mr. Sheppard at the grill. Overall the barbeque was a huge success, and Jared even had the honour of crossing it off the list for her. They sat there in the kitchen and talked more about the list and the story about how it was made. After she finished talking to Jared, she went back down to join Anna and Gale along with Hayden's Dad to start the most gruelling task... clean up.