The Blackout

by K J Kalis

  Kat sat on the table for a minute, thinking about what Theresa had said and her strange reaction to talking about the blackouts. She probably got a lot of pressure from friends and family that lost power for days at a time. Maybe she was just upset about that. Kat looked in the direction of the SUV and then walked back to where the moms were sitting.

  As she settled back in her chair to watch the rest of the game, one of the other moms leaned over, “Is Theresa okay?”

  “Yup.”

  The mom kept going. “She’s been acting strange, you know? Really testy for the last week or so. Did she tell you anything? Is she having an affair? Are she and Bart getting divorced? I’ve known Bart forever, before he was at the power company…”

  “You have? I didn’t know that.” What had started as an annoying comment from a nosy mom became interesting research. “What did he do before he was at the power company?”

  The mom leaned back in her chair and recrossed her tanned legs, “Hmmm, I don’t know. He might have been in software.”

  “Interesting.”

  Before Kat could ask the mom any more questions, the game ended. Jack ran over to Kat, “How’d I do, Mom?”

  “Awesome! Those pitches are really coming along.”

  “Did you take any video to show Van?”

  “I didn’t get to today. I’ll take some next time. I was busy talking.”

  “Yeah, I saw you talking to Mike’s mom.”

  Kat got up from her chair, folded it and walked with Jack back to their SUV. Theresa was still parked in the lot. She was helping her son get his equipment loaded into the back of their Mercedes. Theresa didn’t look up as Kat walked by.

  * * *

  By the time that Kat and Jack got home, it was nearly dinnertime. Kat started working on dinner but couldn’t get her conversation with Theresa off of her mind. What didn’t make sense was Theresa’s reaction to Kat’s mention of the blackouts. As Kat peeled potatoes, she realized there had to be more to the story. There had to be more to what Theresa had said. What was her motivation to talk to Kat in the first place? What was so serious that she couldn’t talk about it? Kat was sure that she knew what was upsetting Bart.

  As Kat dropped the potatoes into a pot of cold water on the stove, she tried to remember if she had met Bart. She thought she might have, sometime over the last few months when he brought Mike to baseball. There were so many games that most of the parents tended to switch on and off, especially if they had more than one child. But why bring Kat into the middle of whatever the problem was? Kat turned on the stove, the range top making a clicking sound as the natural gas ignited below the pot. The only thing Kat could think of was that Theresa was scared. She was scared enough that she wanted someone else to know that something was going on, but not brave enough to tell Kat exactly what she knew. There was a story here, Kat was almost sure of it.

  After years of working in journalism, Kat could tell when someone had a lead that was genuine. People had come to her in the past and given her tips that wouldn’t hold water, or worse, they wanted a story to promote something they were doing either personally or professionally. Kat didn’t work that way. Especially not now. She’d been through enough that not only could she pick and choose which stories to work on, she had a good sense of which ones were worth pursuing. It was like a thread that when you pulled, it started to unravel something. What that was in this case, she didn’t know.

  Kat opened the refrigerator, suddenly grateful for the electricity that powered so many things in their house. As she pulled out a plate of hamburgers to cook for dinner, her mind started to reach for the story that Theresa had put before her. What was it about the blackouts that had caused such a reaction in Theresa?

  Kat went outside and started their grill, waiting for it to warm up before she put the meat on. Theirs was on top of a concrete pad that prevented any sparks from starting a fire. Before she lived in California, Kat had never realized how much work went into preventing a rogue blaze.

  * * *

  The week before, a fire marshal had come out to the house. She had found him wandering in their backyard. “This your place?” he asked, without introducing himself.

  “Yes. Can I help you?”

  “I’m with Cal Fire. We are out checking for debris and undergrowth.” He pulled a piece of paper off of a pad. “Here’s a request to remove the undergrowth at the back of your lot. Sorry to put pressure on you, but we need it done right away. Getting hot and dry. Could be good tinder for a fire.”

  “How soon does this need to be done?”

  “Twenty-four hours.”

  Kat nodded. “Will you be back out to check it?”

  The man nodded. “Yup. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Kat watched as the man walked away. He looped back toward Kat’s neighbor’s house. Within a minute, she saw him in the backyard next door, on the hunt for more kindling.

  * * *

  It didn’t take long for the burgers to cook. With the recent heatwave, Kat was glad when they were done. Even though she wasn’t moving, beads of sweat had formed on her brow from the heat. She scooped up the patties and put them on a plate, making sure to shut off the grill. She checked around the grill area to make sure there were no sparks that had fallen anywhere near her yard. It was nearly a solid sheet of brown with the low rain levels.

  The cooled air of the house hit her as soon as she stepped inside. She set the burgers down on the counter, next to a bowl of potatoes and a bowl of salad. She’d leave it out for a little while to see who wanted to eat. Van wasn’t home from work yet. Their schedules were too busy for them to sit down together every night.

  “Jack, there’s food!” she called upstairs.

  “Thanks, mom! I gotta shower first.”

  “Okay.”

  Kat fixed herself a plate and set it on the kitchen table. Before she sat down, she went into her home office and got her laptop, setting it on the table next to her plate. The conversation with Theresa was still hovering in her mind. Kat took a bite of potatoes and opened her laptop, typing in the words, “California blackouts,” in her search engine. Within a fraction of a second, there were literally millions of results. Kat scanned the articles. Many of them were on the history of the blackouts. Some of them were profile pieces on people and neighborhoods that had experienced the blackouts. Scrolling down the page, she saw a few that talked about the science behind why the blackouts were necessary and as many arguing they were futile.

  “Hey, how was your day?” Van had come in, but Kat was so engrossed by what she was reading she didn’t hear him. Woof, their dog, was circling his legs, trying to get Van to reach down and say hi. “Hi, boy,” Van said, scratching Woof’s back.

  “Didn’t hear you come in. Sorry.” Kat stood up and gave him a kiss. “I’ve got food ready. Are you hungry?”

  “Starved.” Van set his backpack down in the corner of the kitchen. Kat handed him a plate. “What has you so mesmerized?”

  Kat sat back down at the table as Van filled his plate. “Yeah, sorry about that. I just had a strange conversation at baseball today.”

  Van joined her at the table, “What kind of strange conversation? It wasn’t with one of those weird moms again?”

  “No, not the same loony as last time,” Kat laughed. She had figured out Californians were an eclectic group. One of the moms at baseball had some political theories that she decided to share with Kat. To say they were out there would have been an understatement. Aliens, poisoned water — the woman believed it all and decided to share it with Kat.

  She felt his lips on her cheek. “So, what has you preoccupied?”

  Kat sat down at the table, picking at her own plate of food. She pushed the burger around then licked the juice off of her finger and sighed. “You remember Theresa?”

  “Yup,” Van said, a big bite of meat in his mouth. “Mike’s mom. Her husband works for the power company, right?”

  Kat’s first husband, Steve, would barely
give her the time of day, let alone know the name of the kids that Jack was hanging around with. “That’s right.”

  “The blackout people.”

  “Those are the ones. She pulled me off to the side and asked me to talk.”

  “What did she want?”

  Kat’s brow furrowed, “That’s the thing. I’m not exactly sure. She said her husband is in trouble.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Kat got up, realizing she had no appetite. “I wish I knew. What I didn’t know is that he’s the CEO of Palm Coast.”

  Van raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

  “Yes. And she said he’s been acting strangely at home. Distant. Worried about something.”

  “Maybe it’s just the blackouts?”

  “That’s the funny thing. As soon as I mentioned the blackouts, she shut down. Wouldn’t talk anymore and told me it was a huge mistake and that I should forget it.”

  Van put his fork on his empty plate. “That’s a red flag if I ever saw one.”

  “For sure. I just wish she would have told me what was going on.”

  “What did she do then?” Van got up, rinsed his dish and put it in the dishwasher.

  “She left. That was it.”

  Van leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest, “She asks you to talk, you cooperate and then she stomps off?”

  Kat nodded, replaying the interaction with Theresa in her mind.

  “That’s strange.

  9

  Theresa’s drive home shouldn’t have taken that long, but it did. The traffic with the detours from the blackouts and the fires added another twenty minutes to their trip home from baseball.

  The whole way back, Theresa was lost in her thoughts. She didn’t know if she had done the right thing in talking to Kat. She hadn’t known Kat long, only long enough to know she wasn’t like the other moms that she saw at baseball. When she had found out that Kat wasn’t originally from California, that made sense to her. Kat seemed to be a no-nonsense type of person, one she could talk to.

  Theresa glanced in the rearview mirror. Mike was on his phone, probably playing a game. She could be bleeding from every orifice of her body and he’d never notice. She loved her son, but he was a lot like his father. Preoccupied. No matter the time of the day, there was something on his mind.

  Theresa had fallen in love with Bart before he’d gotten serious about his career. When they met, he was in college with the goal of being a computer analyst at a small firm. She fell hard for him. It took him a bit longer to come around, but by the time they had dated for two years, he gave her a ring and they got married six months later. Mike came along a few years after that. They had wanted other kids, but Theresa had miscarriage after miscarriage until they gave up. The doctors didn’t know why.

  Once Michael had been born, Bart had left the software company. A new side of him emerged. He was focused on building his career. He was always at meetings, got a new job as some sort of Vice President at Palm Coast Electric & Power, and seemed to never be home. The good side of it was that they got a new home in a great neighborhood, she got a new car and never wanted for anything… that is unless she wanted Bart’s attention. Not to say that he wasn’t ever around. It was just sporadic. The few times she had talked to him about it in the darkness of their bedroom, he said he was doing it for her. To build their life.

  A few years later, Bart had engineered a change in the company’s software system that got him the promotion to President. Two successful acquisitions and cost-cutting after that and he was named CEO of Palm Coast Electricity & Power.

  As Theresa turned the big Mercedes into their gated community, she could see the result of all the work he had done. They lived in a big house with an ocean view, Mike attended private school and there was already money earmarked for him to attend the college and graduate school of his choice. The small diamond on her left hand had been replaced with a five-carat stunner and a designer wardrobe. Bart had even offered to hire Theresa a cook after he hired a cleaning and gardening staff for their new home. Theresa had declined. She needed something to do.

  The gates closed behind her as she drove to the back of the development. Their home was a flat-roofed, stuccoed structure with a bank of glass and a pool on the backside to take advantage of the ocean views. Her neighbors were actresses, actors, CEOs of other companies and foreign nationals, including a member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia. The most interesting part of the development was one feature. The power never went off.

  * * *

  When Bart had come home a couple of weeks after the blackouts had been announced, she met him at the door with a cocktail. He handed her his sport coat and pulled off his tie, taking the drink in his free hand. “What’s with the special treatment today?”

  “I noticed something that you’ve been doing…” Theresa tried to play coy, though she had lost the desire a long time ago. Distance was damaging to a relationship, she thought. She followed him into their marbled countered kitchen where Bart set his briefcase down on one of the eight barstools that flanked the enormous island.

  “What’s that?”

  “It seems like a lot of the area is suffering through the blackouts, but we aren’t. Do you have anything to do with that?”

  A smile lit up Bart’s face. “You noticed, huh? Well, it wouldn’t do to have Senator Latkovic or anyone else in the neighborhood without power when we need help, now would it? Can you imagine the Crown Prince calling my office?” Bart let out a belly laugh. “That would be rich, wouldn’t it?” He stepped close to her, brushing her hair off of her face. “You don’t have to worry about losing power, babe. I’ve got us covered.” That was the end of the discussion.

  Theresa smiled sweetly. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

  Bart picked up his glass and jiggled the ice cubes. “I’m going to make another and get changed. Can you bring a plate to my study? I’ve got some work to do.”

  Theresa nodded. Sitting down for dinner together, though she wasn’t one of those moms who thought it was an indictment of her parenting if they ate separately, didn’t seem to happen much anymore. “Of course.”

  * * *

  Mike seemed to know when they had gotten home even though he hadn’t looked up the entire drive back from baseball. As Theresa pulled the Mercedes into the garage, she noticed that Bart’s Maserati was already home. Strange, she thought. It wasn’t like Bart to be home before nine at night, at least not lately.

  She called for him when she walked in the door, Mike already scuttling off, “Say hello to your dad, shower, eat and then homework before games, okay?”

  “Yes, Mom,” he said with a groan. “Hey, Dad,” he yelled.

  “Hey, Mike.” Theresa heard Bart’s voice coming from the back deck. The house, with its sweeping views of the ocean, had expansive glass doors that were the size of walls. They sat on recessed tracks in the floor. With a gentle push, the entire back of the house could be opened up. Though it was a little hot to have the doors open, Theresa didn’t mind. The ocean breeze came up the bluff and pushed cool air through the house.

  “What are you doing out here? I didn’t expect you to beat us home.”

  Bart didn’t even look in her direction. “I got done early.”

  “I guess. Would you like something to eat? I picked up a chicken and salad earlier today.”

  “No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”

  Theresa looked down, feeling defeated. Why Bart wouldn’t look at her, she wasn’t sure. She was trying not to allow her feelings to get hurt, but she couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to engage with her. Theresa moved to the chair that was next to him. “How was your day?”

  “I don’t want to talk about work.”

  “Okay.” Theresa paused, “Well, Mike did great at baseball today. He hit the ball a couple of times and even made it to second base before he was called out.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad to hear it.” Talking about Mike seemed
to brighten Bart’s mood.

  “You should come sometime. It’s fun to watch the kids. Might take your mind off of work.”

  “You know I don’t have time for that.”

  The mental door that had opened for a moment was slammed shut. Bart clearly didn’t want to talk. “Yes, I’m sorry. You are busy at work.”

  “That’s right. And providing for you two.”

  “We appreciate that.” The last thing that Theresa wanted was to get into a fight, but the more they talked the more she felt like she was being shut out or pushed into a corner from which she’d have to scratch her way out. She laid a hand on his tanned arm, the result of time spent at the golf course instead of them. “Are you okay? I don’t know, you’ve just seemed distant recently.”

  Bart turned to her, looking at her hand on his arm. She withdrew immediately. His black eyes were focused on her, his jaw set. “Yes, I’m fine. Why would you ask me that?”

  His reaction told her more than she needed to know. He was angry. “Because you seem preoccupied. We never talk anymore.”

  “What did you think would happen? I’m the CEO of a major power company. You know how much pressure I’m under with this Board of Directors. They are insane about all of the things we have to do. They want more profitability. They want me to challenge all the regulations. That’s not to mention anything about the blackouts and the problems they have caused. Do you have any idea how much pressure I’m under?” He stood up and started pacing. “You just don’t understand. You never have.”

  Theresa felt like he had punched her in the gut. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand. He wouldn’t let her in. She had been an engineering major. She was more than capable of understanding what he was talking about, if he’d tell her. “I will understand if you’ll let me in. You know that. I can’t be a partner to you if you don’t tell me what is going on.” She leaned back in her chair, wanting to make sure that she didn’t escalate the fight. The last thing she needed was Bart storming out of the house and going to the golf club. They had done that too many times.