I Surprised My Firefighter Husband at His Station for His Birthday – What His Captain Told Me Made My Stomach Drop

toward the ceiling.

“There was an incident this morning,” he said.

My heart started pounding.

“Is he alive?”

“Yes. He’s alive.”

I finally breathed.

“Then where is he?”

“He was taken to St. Matthew’s Hospital.”

PART 2

The cake nearly fell from my hands, but one of Tyler’s coworkers caught it.

“How badly is he hurt?” I asked.

Captain Reyes

hesitated.

“He was conscious when they transported him.”

“That isn’t an answer.”

There had been a warehouse fire that morning. Tyler and two other firefighters were inside when part of the structure collapsed. Everyone made it out, but Tyler took the worst of the impact.

I could barely process the words.

Tyler had called me that morning.

He had sounded completely normal.

He had smiled in our kitchen, told me not to do anything crazy, and said he loved me.

Now those ordinary words felt terrifyingly important.

“Why didn’t anyone