by Ali Vali
“Honey, don’t you want to come in here and take a look at this?” Libby asked from the back door.
Tully held up her hand to request a few more minutes as she took out her phone. “Rox, call the staff together and have them meet me at the office in thirty minutes. I don’t care what they’re doing, tell them to be there.”
“What’s wrong?” Libby asked when Tully snapped the phone closed.
“What did your father do for a living?”
Libby appeared confused. “He was a train operator for big freight. Why do you ask?”
“My dad and a lot of generations before him were fishermen.”
Libby could feel the sweat dripping down her back, the drops losing their battle at the waistband of her shorts. “You okay? I know what your dad does, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s just that I often wonder how many people died years ago when things like this happened and they ignored the more-than-obvious signs. If you didn’t live on the water and know what to look for, something like Katrina could catch you unawares and with little time to get out of the way.”
“You’re starting to scare me,” Libby said as she put her hand on the side of Tully’s face and tried to get her to focus. “What are you talking about?”
“Two hundred years ago, if we’d been standing here looking up at this sky, would you have guessed a killer was churning through the Gulf?” She waved her hand toward the south. “Without the radar images and the television coverage, how would we have known?”
“I guess we wouldn’t have, so it’s a good thing we’re not living two hundred years ago.”
“But even though this is just like so many other summer days, there would’ve been a sign if you were looking, even without the benefit of the Weather Channel. Tell me what you see.”
Libby turned in a slow circle and did as Tully asked. She mentioned all the things that Tully had noticed when she first walked out there, like the lack of clouds. She guessed Tully would eventually let her in on why she was doing it.
“Now tell me what you don’t see,” Tully said.
Libby made the same slow circle, but nothing was jumping out at her. Everything in the yard and beyond looked the same. “Nothing’s missing.”
“I don’t see or hear one bird out here. It’s the middle of the day, without a lick of wind or a cloud, but don’t you find it strange there isn’t a bird anywhere around?”
Tully was right. The house was situated in an older, established neighborhood with plenty of big shade trees that were a haven for birds. Now that Tully had pointed it out, the silence of nature was so overwhelming that it became instantly conspicuous to Libby.
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“Mom, the news just said Katrina became a category three,” Bailey said from the back door.
“Honey, talk to me.”
Libby grabbed two fistfuls of Tully’s T-shirt.
Tully could tell Libby was truly scared from the way she was shivering when she wrapped her arms around her.
“I’m not going to lie to you. This isn’t good. I really thought this thing would blow apart after crossing Florida, but the hot water in the Gulf is fueling it, and I don’t see it slowing down any. If the news is right, a jump from a tropical storm to a cat three in a day doesn’t bode well for us.”
“But the forecasters still have it going toward the Alabama/Mississippi border.”
Tully sighed and nodded. “That they do, but in this case I’m going with what I’ve been taught. And from what Gaston Badeaux beat into my head, I don’t think this is going to turn out well.”
“We’re leaving, right?”
Tully held Libby tightly against her chest. “You have to calm down and know that I’m not going to let anything happen to you or the kids. I may take chances every day at work to get the best outcome I can, but I’ll never gamble with your or the kids’ safety.” She put her fingers under Libby’s chin so she would look up. “I need you to start packing the essentials and get organized.”
“Where are you going?”
“I have to go pack the files at the office, back up the servers, and make copies of those tapes to take with us. We have a responsibility to our clients. That shouldn’t take more than an hour. Then I want my people to get out with their families, and when I get back we’ll leave.” She framed Libby’s face with her hands and kissed her. “You’re not alone anymore, sweetheart.”
“I know I’m acting insane, but stuff like this really scares me.”
Tully kissed her again. “Understandable, but go ahead and get the kids ready. Once people realize and accept what’s coming, the traffic is going to get crazy.”
Because Tully had taken Libby’s small car, the SUV was packed and ready when she returned from the office. Before they left, she opened her home-office safe and took out all the available cash she had on hand and the sidearm her father had given her years before. As the hysteria rose, so did the feeling that all hell was about to break loose within the part of society that never followed the rules anyway.
Tully sat them in the kitchen for a serious talk before they left. “Guys, I’ve been listening to the news and they’ve started contraflow on the interstate, so everything is heading out of here. From the sound of this, we could come back to a very different city, so I want you to walk through the house one last time and take anything, within reason, that’s important to you.”
From what Tully could see going and coming from the office, the public was starting to panic. Every market and pharmacy had lines out the door of people trying to buy last-minute supplies, and others were trying to find a way out of New Orleans.
“Just don’t take too long, okay?”
They waved to their neighbors as they backed out of the driveway, but instead of heading toward the interstate, Tully turned in the opposite direction. She suspected that her passengers knew exactly where they were going, but none of them said anything. Despite what had happened between them, Tully still felt some obligation to Jessica.
“I won’t be long,” Tully said as they stopped in front of the hospital.
“Take all the time you need,” Libby said.
Ralph piped up from the backseat. “She really amazes me sometimes.”
“Yeah, most people would’ve let Mama rot,” Bailey agreed.
“If you ever wonder why I love her,” Libby pointed to Tully as she walked through the front doors, “this is why. Her relationship with your mother might be over and beyond salvation, but she’s still your mother, and that’s why Tully’s here. It takes someone special to put her personal feelings aside.”
Luckily, Jessica was standing in the lobby directing some of the personnel who had been called into work. Since the nonessential surgeries had been called off, Kara wasn’t too far away, leaning against the wall with a sullen look on her face.
“What in the hell do you want now?” Kara walked toward Tully with her finger up, her wrist captured in a vise grip before she touched Tully’s chest.
“I’m not here to see you.” Tully squeezed hard before letting go and continuing on to Jessica. “The kids are outside, and if you want, you can come with us. Neil should understand you want to be with your family.”
“I can’t leave, you know that, but I would like to know where you’re taking the kids.”
“I’m going to get on the road and start driving until I find a place that’s well out of the path of this thing. Don’t worry. I’ll call you as soon as we get settled.”
Tully lifted her hand, but before she could put it on Jessica’s shoulder, Kara’s fist connected with the side of her face.
“What in the hell did you do that for?” a police officer standing close to them asked. “You all right?”
“I’m fine, Gus,” Tully said, reading his name tag, “and your memory isn’t going to go bad on me, is it?”
“I work for the city, not the hospital, so look me up when the time is right. My memory will be ju
st fine. I’d offer to bring her in, but in this mess I think that’s going to be impossible.”
“Don’t worry about it, Officer.” She accepted a tissue from Jessica for the blood and pressed it to her cheek. “Last chance, Jessica.”
“Stay here, Kara. I’ll be right back,” Jessica said.
“You walk out and you’d better keep on walking.”
For once, Jessica let go of the fear of losing her new lover and let some of her ire show. “I’m going to talk to my children, so calm down and go do something useful.” Once they were outside she stopped and turned to Tully. “I’m sorry for what happened. It was uncalled for. But please, no more lectures, okay?”
“I’m here because of the kids and the kind of example I want to set for them. What you do with your life is your concern now. I just hope you don’t allow her to do this to you just to keep her around. No one’s worth that, Jessica.” Taking away the tissue, Tully showed her the forming bruise so Jessica would know exactly what she was talking about.
“You just worry about your life and the child you’ve chosen to become a part of it, Tully. That’s another issue we’ll have to deal with eventually, once all this craziness is over.”
Tully motioned for the kids to get out of the car and kept walking to the driver’s side without another word. Libby was waiting with a makeshift ice bag and a sympathetic smile. “What is it with that woman and your face?”
“How’d you know it was Kara?”
“Just a wild guess, since you seem to trigger her violent streak every time you meet.”
“Maybe she thinks if I look bad enough you’ll leave me so she can start an ex-Tully harem,” she joked.
They spoke softly to each other, not looking to see what was happening outside as Jessica and the kids stood talking. It didn’t take long for them to finish, and Bailey and Ralph didn’t say anything when they got back in the car. In her rearview mirror, Tully noticed that Jessica stayed outside watching them leave until they turned the corner.
After they crossed the Huey P. Long Bridge over the Mississippi River, Tully stayed on the small country roads as they called to arrange for lodging and to find where her parents and brothers were going to ride out the storm.
Finally Libby and the kids found the whole Badeaux clan rooms in Lafayette for as long as they needed. But since ninety percent of the city was trying to evacuate, they had no idea how long the drive, usually two hours, would take.
Along the way they saw old cars, unable to sit in traffic for hours, parked on the shoulder with their hoods up. To be stranded now would truly be a nightmare if the storm came farther west. Alongside the folks trying to get their cars started were the pet lovers who’d brought their furry family members along for the ride. Bailey and Ralph spent some of the time pointing out playful dogs in the median.
Everywhere they stopped, those fleeing from the storm had become like an extended family. They offered conversation as well as luck whenever Tully stopped for gas or for something to eat, and when they arrived at their hotel she shook her head at how many folks were out in the parking lot grilling, offering to share with whoever passed by.
“Why are they cooking all that stuff?” Libby asked as Tully drove around searching for a parking spot.
“For something to do to forget what we’re facing, and it’s better to cook it than to bury it in your yard when you get home.”
Ralph stuck his head up front. “What do you mean, Mom?”
“If we’re out of town for a few days and the electricity goes out, all that stuff in everyone’s freezer will go bad, so why not enjoy all those shrimp people were storing for gumbo instead of throwing them out? You were too little to remember the last time we had to leave for one of these things, but the atmosphere was pretty much the same. This is a good example of why the rest of the country thinks we’re a breed apart, but if the damn boat’s going to sink, then why not go down with a beer in your hand and the band playing,” Tully joked.
One of Tully’s classmates from law school was cooking a huge pot of jambalaya, so they accepted his invitation instead of trying to fight the crowds at the local restaurants. They set up a few more pots in the parking lot when the rest of the Badeauxes arrived so Alma could start frying the fish and shrimp she’d brought with her.
For once, patrons in the sport bars and at every available television were glued to the Weather Channel instead of ESPN. The later it got, the more it seemed that the doomsday scenario the forecasters had predicted for years was about to materialize.
When the wind started to pick up, everyone retired to their motel rooms, but the kids wanted to stay with Tully and Libby. Sitting together on the king-sized bed, they watched television to pass the time. At one in the morning on Sunday, Tully held Libby and her children and watched as Katrina was upgraded to a category four, then six hours later to a five, with winds of 165 miles an hour. The record-setting pressure readings being reported filled her with dread.
The talking heads kept showing the progression from the time the hurricane left Florida and now marveled at the intense and well-formed storm. It was a killer, but the satellite photos showed a huge, perfectly shaped storm with a compact eye. Though it might kill hundreds of people, some of the announcers seemed enthralled with the power of Mother Nature.
Tully closed her eyes to shut out the screen and ended up taking a twenty-minute nap. When she woke up the satellite images showed the edge of the storm making landfall in Buras, with the outer bands already reaching New Orleans. The eye and its more devastating winds were headed for the Mississippi coast, but at eight in the morning Katrina arrived in the Crescent City.
The rest of her family was awake when the storm moved northeast just as quickly as it had hit land, and Tully released a deep breath of relief. All the planning, worry, and running had been for naught, but she was glad that they’d left.
After merely an hour she realized she had made one of the wisest decisions of her life. Tears streamed down her face and none of them said anything when, a little after nine o’clock Monday morning, most of New Orleans and the surrounding suburbs were full of water.
Hell had begun for those who had stayed behind either by choice or by circumstance.
Three days later as they rode to a local bakery to pick up breakfast Ralph asked, “Do you think our house is full of water?”
“If it is, there isn’t much we can do about it, buddy. In the end it’s just some stuff we can replace.” Tully put her hand on the back of his neck and squeezed gently.
“Do you think Mama’s okay?”
“I’ve been trying to reach her but haven’t had any luck. You have my word that as soon as we can head back, she’ll be the first person we’ll go and see.” She turned the ignition off and looked him in the eye. “She’s at the hospital, so I’m sure she’s fine. You saw how many police officers they had stationed there keeping an eye on things.”
“It’s just that I was so mad at her, and all that stuff they’ve been saying on TV didn’t sound good.”
Ralph was right—the picture the media had painted of what was happening in the city was in some cases horrific, and the cavalry was mired in bureaucratic red tape.
“Your mom is going to be fine, and I’m sure she knows that it was just going to take you a little while to get over the hurt of everything that happened. She’s not going to hold anything against you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Like I’ve told you, buddy, we’re your parents, and no matter what, we love you. Just remember that I’m here if you need to talk about anything. What happened between your mother and me didn’t affect just us. You and Bailey are in this too, whether you wanted to be or not. Things may be different now, but how I feel about the two of you is as constant a thing as you’ll ever find.”
At Children’s Hospital they had barricaded the doors to keep out those needing a fix and wanting to raid their medicine supplies. Katrina hadn’t just washed away homes, trees, and part
s of history, but also the dealers who stood on the street corners peddling their shit. Those who visited often in sunny weather with sweat-soaked dollar bills hoping to score a few rocks of something were beyond desperate.
Stressed by the inability to move critically ill patients and the heat of the locked-up building, Kara Nicolas had finished her hidden stash, and her hallucinations were worse. With no phone service and no way of knowing when help was coming to evacuate them from the facility, she’d just wanted an escape, even if it was into the drugs that helped her numb the pain of life. By seven Monday morning, as the storm raged outside and she became convinced the halls were full of snakes, the staff had had to subdue and sedate her.
Despite the pandemonium around him, Neil Davis gave thanks that Tully wasn’t there to witness the drug-induced breakdown. Before help arrived they had to break up some of the desks and nail them to the windows and doors to keep the violence that had broken out in the city from overrunning the hospital and those trapped inside.
The generators had been running the equipment for their critical patients, and he was sure they would soon start losing the weakest among them. While they had plenty of fuel, the back of the hospital where the generators were located had been flooded, so they were starting to shut off one by one.
“What’s she taking?” Neil asked Jessica when he took a break from the chaos around them.
Not since her residency had Jessica felt as tired as she was now. As the systems of the hospital had broken down, she’d been running from one patient to the next, making sure they were stable until the evacuation teams arrived. In this helpless situation, caring for her patients was the only thing keeping her going.
“I really don’t know, and I’m not sure I’d tell you if I did,” she said softly. She had taken a few minutes to sit and regroup and decided to spend them with Kara.
“You know what this means, right?” Neil said. “If, once this is over, someone in the hospital tells Tully about what happens?”