Wednesday
Picture 2
Kimmydon's Choice: both
Title:
The grey sky was ominous as we drove nearer to the ocean. There was little traffic in either direction, which was surprising. We expected an exodus away from the hurricane and flood zone, but apparently everyone had already left and we were the only one’s crazy enough to be driving into it.
“Keep going, Martin,” I pleaded as the rain began to pelt the windshield. “I know she’s there. We have to help her.”
“She’s gotten out already, Lucy. Why don’t you believe that? She’s long gone and just didn’t have a way to tell us.”
“No, she’s trapped. Don’t ask me how I know, I just know. Just like I know we’re going to get there before this really breaks on us.” I looked up at the sky, doubting myself for a minute. It looked horrid, and the devastation further south certainly foretold of disaster here. It didn’t matter. I had to get to Kristen. She had been living in the lighthouse all summer, alone. She said it was perfect for her to work on her novel. No interruptions, easy, steady work. She’d sent me pieces of the manuscript to review, by mail - snail mail. She was taking this ‘olden days’ thing far too seriously.
Martin knew she had taken only a long dead cell phone with her into the light house, and no computer, no laptop, nothing. The lighthouse had power and a phone jack, but she’d shunned both, as he knew, which is why he was so avid that she simply hadn’t gotten hold of us. However, I knew that if she’d left, the first thing she would do is find a phone and call. She was still there, trapped in a tower on the edge of the ocean.
As we broke through the scrub to the actual beach, I saw just how trapped she was. Tide was in and higher than it had ever been. The storm had lighted a little, as I had known it would. I jumped from the car before Martin even had it in park.
“Lucy! Come back here!”
It was too late, I’d jumped off the rocks that protected the area we had parked, though the water would breach those soon as well, and landed with a splash in the swirling, rising water. I started to slog for the pinnacle, for Kristen. My red coat floated on the water, swirling around me, but I hardly noticed it. It seemed to take hours to reach the door at the base of the spire, and it was already half its height under the water, as was I. It would have been impossible to open if it had been fully sealed.
Planners had left small gaps, which made this horribly cold in the winter, but accessible now, when the water threatened to strand whoever was inside.
“Kristen!” I yelled, shoving the door with all my strength. It budged slowly. “Kristen! Can you hear me?!”
“Lucy?” her voice croaked. It sounded full of pain. “Is that you?”
“I’m coming, Kristen!” The stairs, out of the water, were easy to climb, though I shivered with cold. Being out of the water drew attention to the winds coming off the ocean, bringing the hurricane with them.
I found her, trying to turn the glass of the light. The rusted mechanism had jammed. Joining her, I pushed with all the might I had as well. This was important, getting the light where it would warn ships tossed in the storm. Two backs seemed to have enough oomph to throw the mirror into place. Kristen ran out of the room while I still heaved for breath.
She came back with pages in a giant ziplock. I almost laughed. She hugged the bundle to her chest. “Thanks for coming. I assume Martin is out there?” she asked, skipping down the stairs.
I was hot on her heels. “Yes. We need to hurry, we won’t get far before this really breaks. Why don’t you have a radio in here?” I asked as she pushed open the door that had been shut again.
The water on the other side fought against her. It had risen in the time I’d been here. “I do. I just... didn’t turn it on,” she admitted sheepishly.
Shaking my head, I joined her at the door, wedging it enough for the water to swirl in, up to my breasts now. We only opened it enough to press one of us out at a time, and we each groaned and cursed as it tried to close on us. It slammed as soon as I was through and we started paddling for the shore. I could see Martin in his light brown slicker, watching for us. He started waving arms as soon as we were out.
“He’s never going to let me live this down, is he?” Kristen asked.
“And I am?”
The water had breached the rocks, just barely, and it was through sloppy mud that we ran for the car, Kristen and I caught each other as we skated on the slick surface. We both hopped into the back where I’d left a couple of blankets, suspecting we’d be cold.
Martin, bless him, had left the engine running and was backing onto the highway as our door closed. “Hold on,” her warned, snapping the wheels and tossing both of us in the passenger side door. Kristen grunted as I collided with her, but Martin was climbing, headed to town where we could shelter. Already the winds were rising and the rain had returned, harder than before.
“You alright?” he asked, once we were on the slope.
“Yeah. We’re okay,” I answered.
“Thank you,” Kristen murmured.
Martin just chuckled. “If I didn’t trust Lucy so much...” he mused, focusing on the road and trying to see through the rain.
“At least we’ll have something to read while we wait out the storm,” I joked, taking Kristen’s bundle from her. I gasped when I saw the water pooled at the bottom. “Oh no!”
Kristen’s hand shot out to take it back, ripping the bag open. She sighed in relief. “Just a little damp on the edge. A hole in the bag, probably.
The last line or two of each page was smudged, but not illegible. Her baby, as she so often called it.
Martin got out first, when we reached the community hall. He dove out and ran for the door, banging on it twice before pulling it open. He ducked in for only a second before holding it and motioning for us to join him. Clutching our blankets, we did.
There was a small group gathered, coffee in an urn, water in pitchers, and a handful of kids chasing each other around the large open floor.
“Hello. Did you have any trouble?” a woman with grey hair asked.
“A little,” Kristen answered. “The mirror wouldn’t budge. I need Simon to come take a look at it when he can.” She filled a cup with steaming brown liquid, holding her blanket with one hand. “I might not have made it out if my friends hadn’t come to help me with it.”
She motioned to Martin and I. I waved tentatively.
“And now you’re trapped here, too. Well, they say this won’t last long, overnight. Melanie! Nita! Would you two stop running! I need you to get another mat.”
The two oldest girls stopped chasing the younger boys and went to one of the doors under the small stage. They dragged out a pair of mats that might be used for gymnastics, but would be our beds for the night. The woman, who’s name I hadn’t gotten, went to help them lay out sheets and pillow from the pile on another mat.
“You don’t mind staying, do you?” Kristen asked. “That’s Mrs. Murphy and the girls are her daughters; the boys, grandsons.”
“I don’t see as we have much choice,” Martin complained, listening to the storm howl.
All the lights went out suddenly and then came back on a moment or two later.
“We have a generator,” Mrs. Murphy told us, returning. “And stew in a crockpot when you get hungry.” She led them toward the kitchen again. “Don’t expect many will find their way here tonight, but you never know in a storm like this. Tree blow right through your window, and then what do you do?”
None of us answered, just took more coffee, quietly.
“How much longer are you planning to stay here?” I asked Kristen as I sipped from my mug. “You must be nearly done writing by now.” She couldn’t mean to stay in the tiny coastal town forever. Certainly not in the lighthouse.
“I’m not sure. I’m... not finished...”
There was a gust of cold salty air as the door opened.
“Simon! Shut that. Hurry now!”
As soon as I saw the man, I knew what Kristen wasn’t finished. “And why didn’t you have him come fix the lantern sooner,” I asked.
Martin chuckled, too. He probably noticed Kristen’s face colour as the man came in. He wasn’t extraordinarily handsome, but he certainly didn’t strain the eye, either. His head was covered with a shiny rain hat, that he doffed quickly to reveal more forehead than he’d probably had a few years ago. Rather than old, it made him look... stately.
He stepped up to Mrs. Murphy and kissed his cheek. “House’s shut up as tight as I can make it. The boys give you any trouble?”
“Not a lick. Girls! Boys! Come get some supper.”
I turned to Kristen in surprise. Not only was he a few years older than us, he had kids?! This was a long way from the guys she usually dated. She was still red-faced and watching Simon closely. I couldn’t take my eyes from her, until Martin approached Simon, hand out-stretched.
“Hi, I’m Martin. Lucy and I are friends of Kristen. We were worried when we didn’t hear from her.” He glanced over his shoulder at us and Kristen huddled further into her blanket, seeming to hide.
“What have you got there, dear?” Mrs. Murphy asked, coming closer. “Is that the book? Bring it into the kitchen. Lots of counter to set it out on. I see it’s gotten a bit damp.”
I was even more confused and beginning to feel out of place. Maybe Kristen hadn’t needed us after all. She followed the older woman into the kitchen silently but was soon set upon by the boys who didn’t seem interested in their stew. The colour in her cheeks faded as she answered their questions and showed them pages. She wasn’t leaving.
Simon was watching her with the boys. Martin stood beside him, grinning. He caught my eye and winked before striking up a conversation with Simon. One that probably revolved around revealing every tidbit Kristen would like never repeated. Indeed, Simon was soon laughing with Martin and they moved to some stacking chairs that had been set out.
I entered the kitchen, planning to ask Kristen about Simon, but she had her head bent to Mrs. Murphy’s. “You’ll be fine dear. Just go and talk to him. I know the old mechanics of the lighthouse aren’t like the new fangled gadgets he works with now, but he’ll know what to do. I’ll keep the boys out of both your hair.” The older woman’s smile was warm and knowing as well.
Grabbing a deck of playing cards from a cubby hole, I sat at one of the tables set up and started dealing out Klondike, until Martin came and took the cards, dealing for Gin Rummy. “Didn’t see that coming, did you?” he asked, cocking his head in Simon and Kristen’s direction.
“No,” I answered honestly. My gift let me see somethings, very clearly in the worst scenarios, but almost nothing in the best. It was nice. It meant I could still be surprised, but usually in the most pleasant ways.
0 comments:
Post a Comment