by BJ Phillips
“No, I can’t either. I’m grateful Grace decided to go somewhere else to come ashore, but feel awful for them. Just the storm surge alone will cause some major damage there.”
Shawn got up and turned on the little battery-powered television, tuned it to the correct channel and then turned it off. “Just to be ready.” She did the same to the battery-powered radio.
“Are you getting nervous? How long has it been since you went through a hurricane?”
“A long time.” Shawn thought for a minute. “I’m not sure how long. I wasn’t here for Agatha. I was gone. The house was all closed up, so I didn’t worry too much about it. I just had someone come over to see if it was intact afterward, and that was all. Probably the last time I was actually in a hurricane, not just the rain bands, but the hurricane itself, was when I was a kid.”
Carrie put her arms around Shawn. “You know we’re safe. Whatever happens, we’ll be fine. We may have to do some cleanup afterward, maybe put up with some power outage, but we’re ready and everything will be okay.”
Shawn relaxed into Carrie’s arms. It was so nice to feel someone taking care of her a bit. Someone who actually cared about her. She looked into Carrie’s eyes and saw a calm there from the storm.
Chapter Thirty-nine
CARRIE WOKE AT FIVE thirty a.m., wrapped in Shawn’s arms on the living room sofa. Shawn’s heart beat in her right ear, with the sound of rain pouring down outside in the other. She sighed and snuggled in more. In spite of the hour, it was still quite dark outside from what she could see through the front door. The local television weather guy was saying that the winds were up to sixty-eight miles per hour and the rain total up to five inches, which was fairly normal for a storm of this kind. The eye of the storm was aground around Marco Island and Everglades City. The announcer was saying there were power outages around Fort Myers, but obviously, it had not happened to them yet.
She got up to get a better look out the front door and could see the palm trees whipping around in the wind gusts, but she didn’t see any tree limbs down other than some palm fronds when she shined a flashlight into the yard. The rain seemed to be coming down sideways for a bit, and then back to normal. The gusts had to be heavy to cause that.
As she stood there she realized that on a regular day just about now she’d be in the shower, getting ready for work. Speaking of, she decided it was time to make some coffee while the power was still on. As she headed to the kitchen, she passed Shawn still dozing on the sofa and couldn’t help lightly caressing her blonde waves.
By the time Carrie had put the coffee on and returned to the sofa, Shawn was awake. “They just said there’ll be a ten p.m. curfew starting tonight,” she said as Carrie nestled back into the sofa.
“Well, we weren’t planning on going out tonight anyway, right? Or do you have some hot date you didn’t tell me about?”
“Oh, I’ve got a hot date, all right.” Shawn teased back, grinning. “But she’s right here.” Shawn wrapped her arms around Carrie. Carrie leaned into those arms as Shawn’s lips nuzzled her neck just below her ear, giving her goosebumps all over her body.
“Are you cold?”
“Nope, just the opposite, actually. You just went for my second most sensitive spot.”
“Oh yeah? And remind me where the first was?” Shawn laughed, her hand stroking slowly downward on Carrie’s belly.
“Mmm…nice. Maybe we should save that for a bit, though. Coffee’s probably ready and I’m thinking maybe we should eat something hot while we can. How about I make us some breakfast?”
“Eating. My second most favorite thing to do that doesn’t include writing.”
“Oh, really. And what’s the first?” Carrie swished dramatically into the kitchen.
Shawn gave her a look that said she knew that Carrie knew the answer to that question. By the time Carrie had their breakfast ready, the sun appeared to be finally coming up, but it was just barely light outside. As they ate their bacon and scrambled eggs, they could hear the rain coming down harder, being blown by the wind that had also kicked up another notch.
Twice while they were eating, Shawn got up to look outside. Although the television was on, giving them blow-by-blow information about the storm situation, there was nothing quite the same as looking out the front door window. Since it was recessed under the deep front porch, it was somewhat protected. Still, some of the rain was hitting the now-empty front porch and the front door.
“The rain and wind seem to be coming from everywhere at once. The palm trees seem to be doing some kind of wild dance, waving their arms around in odd circles.”
“No one but a writer would come up with that description,” Carrie said, joining Shawn at the window. “But it definitely fits.”
“Maybe they’re waving their arms around trying to get the storm to stop, almost like they’ve had enough.”
Carrie laughed. “Yep, that fits, too.”
When they returned to the living room, they could hear the television guy saying the winds were shifting around to come from the northeast. That explained the winds appearing to be moving around in a circle. Just then, the cable went out, along with the power.
“Oh boy, there it goes,” Carrie said. “So much for…” Before she could say anything else, they both came back on again. Knowing this was going to happen again soon, they began checking everything around the house and filled one more jug of water to stick in the freezer.
“So much for showers for the duration,” Shawn said. “Looks like it’s a good thing I was clean before this started.” Shawn laughed.
“Very clean,” Carrie said suggestively.
Shawn grabbed her around the waist, picked her up and carried her to the bed, dropping her there. She pinned Carrie to the bed and kissed her soundly. Before anything else could happen, though, they heard a loud crash that sounded like it came from out in front of the house. They both jumped up and ran to the front door. The sight greeting them there was the huge tree that had been next to Carrie’s driveway, lying across the road, its roots in the air.
“Oh, no…not that tree.” Carrie’s eyes filled up.
Shawn put her arm around Carrie and pulled her close. “I’m so sorry.”
“My granddad planted that tree when they bought this place as a young couple. My mom had a swing in it. I climbed it as a kid, too. So many memories are tied up with that tree. It made it through so many storms, I can’t believe this one brought it down.”
“Well, not to make light of this, but there is a good thing about this: it didn’t fall on anyone or anything. Well, except the road, and it’s mostly limbs in the road. It’ll take time to cut it up to get it out of there, though. Good thing there’s another way in and out of here.”
“I guess that’s true. But I’ll miss it. Now it’ll wind up as firewood.” Carrie wiped her eyes with part of her tank top.
“Firewood to warm someone’s evening in winter. Or maybe someone will build something out of part of it and use it in their home. Your tree could have another life somewhere making someone else happy.”
“True. I guess you’re right.” Carrie wiped her eyes again. “We should tell Kelly about this after the storm is over. She likes to build things. Maybe she could get some of it and build something nice. That’d be a great thing to happen to my tree.”
“Good idea. Maybe she can get here before the emergency crews come take it away.”
Just then, the power and cable went out completely. They waited for a few minutes, then realized it was out for good. Since they had plenty of batteries, they turned on the little battery-powered television. The weather guy was still on, talking about more power outages. They said those without power would be out until at least the next day, while Florida Power and Light or Lee County Electric Co-op took care of emergencies first.
Carrie moved one of the frozen water jugs to the refrigerator, which had just effectively become a large cooler. There wasn’t much left that needed to be kept cold, but at le
ast there’d be some cool water to drink later.
When Carrie returned to the living room, Shawn said, “They just said the tropical force winds should be done in another hour or two. It shouldn’t be much longer after that when we can go out and look around. I’m sure my house is just fine, but I’d like to see for myself.”
“I don’t blame you for that. We can also get the generator started up and we can run the fans and the TV off that, and of course the coffee maker. Batteries only last so long.”
“Wonderful. We should be good for the couple of days it might take to get the power back on.”
Chapter Forty
AS THE MORNING BECAME early afternoon, the rain slacked off and then the winds began backing off as well. It was beginning to look like just another breezy day as the sun came out finally and the sky cleared up. Carrie and Shawn were happy to see that the water stayed on. The bad news was that lots of areas were now under a boil order, meaning don’t drink any of it unless you boil it first. The good thing was that they had plenty of stored “good” water.
Shawn and Carrie walked around Carrie’s house to check for damage. Except for a small tear in the porch screen, a lot of palm fronds, and some smaller tree limbs littering her yard and roof, there was no real damage except for the demise of Carrie’s big tree.
They walked around the downed tree and the large hole in the ground the roots left behind. Carrie took Shawn’s hand and held it tight as she ran her other hand along the tree’s trunk and patted it like an old friend. She brushed away another couple of tears, then looked at Shawn. “Let’s call Kelly. We need to check on her anyway and let’s ask her if she can salvage some wood for some good use.”
“Okay,” Shawn said, pulling Carrie’s hand up to place a small kiss on her fingers. She dropped Carrie’s hand and put her arm around her as they stood there looking at the arboreal corpse, with its root feet stuck up in the air. She didn’t mention this image to Carrie. She didn’t think she’d consider that image amusing right then.
“Kelly, I see you’re still alive,” Shawn said when Kelly answered.
“Alive and kicking. You guys have power?”
“Nope. Lost it a bit ago. How about you?”
“I have power here now. It was off for a little bit, but I saw on the news that lots of people are still out. I think I’m in the part of town on the same grid as the hospital, so ours would be back on first, anyway. At least that’s the rumor around here. You guys good over there?”
“We’re fine except for one thing. Carrie lost that big tree that was in front of her house. It fell across the yard and into the street here.”
“Oh, no. That’s too bad. It was a beautiful old tree.”
Shawn looked over at Carrie. “Yes, it was. That tree meant a lot to her. She wants to know if you’d like to come over and get some of the wood before the emergency crews take it.”
“I’d love to,” Kelly said. “I actually do own a chain saw, believe it or not. Want me to bring you guys anything? Besides myself and my chainsaw, that is.”
“I can’t think of anything, but hold on. Putting you on speaker.” Shawn looked at Carrie. “Kelly wants to know if we want her to bring us anything.” Carrie nodded no. “Nope, we’re good. Oh, on second thought, could you bring us a bag of ice, if you can get it. We’ll get the generator working and make some margaritas. How does that sound?”
“That sounds great. Carrie, I’m so sorry about your tree. I’d love to come get some wood from it. I’ll hunt down some ice and see you in a bit. A nice cold margarita sounds wonderful right now. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
Shawn and Carrie walked around the tree and headed down the street to Shawn’s house. It looked intact, no pieces of roof missing or even ripped screen on the porch. Those old metal screens were tough. But there were plenty of palm fronds all over the yard. Fortunately, that’s all there was. No other downed trees.
Shawn unlocked her front door and they went inside to make sure everything was still secure. They opened a window to let in some air, since a little would come in even under the storm shutters. In the darkened house, Shawn was happy to see that everything appeared just as she left it—nothing broken anything. Without thinking, she flipped a light switch in the kitchen then felt silly when nothing happened. They’d have to go through her refrigerator in a bit and toss out things that would be bad, but that could wait for a little while.
Carrie followed her as they walked into Shawn’s new bedroom. “You haven’t been in here before, have you?” Shawn asked. “Well, we’ll fix that right now.”
Shawn took Carrie’s hand and led her around the room, pointing out the white wicker bed and dresser. Then she showed her the new master bathroom, with its blue and white tiles. Back in the bedroom, Shawn steered Carrie over to her bed and gave her a little push to sit her down onto it. “There. Now you’ve been on my bed.” She laughed and pulled Carrie down with her, lying across the bed. “You don’t know how many times I pictured you here with me.”
“And you’ve no idea how many times I tried to picture you with me. It took us long enough, didn’t it?” Their lips touched in a soft, sweet kiss. “We’d better stop fooling around, though. Kelly’s coming.”
A few minutes later as they wandered around outside, checking the back yard, Shawn pulled her close and kissed Carrie softly, and then continued walking holding her hand.
“What was that for?” Carrie asked her.
“That was for just you being you and being here with me. I really appreciate you.”
“Well, thanks, but that’s what people do for each other. Especially if they care about each other. And I do care about you.”
Shawn stopped, turned to Carrie and took Carrie’s hands in hers. She brought Carrie’s hands to her lips and kissed the backs of both hands tenderly. She continued to look at Carrie’s hands in hers for a bit longer before looking up into those brown eyes that entranced her.
“Carrie, I more than care about you. I love you.” Shawn kept looking into her eyes, waiting for a response.
Carrie slowly smiled, pulled Shawn close, and whispered in her ear, “I love you, too.” Their lips met in a sweet kiss as they held each other briefly.
“Thank goodness!” Shawn said when she let go of Carrie. “Then you did forgive me?”
Carrie giggled, causing her to wonder what she was thinking. “Sweetie, I forgive you for what you did. Let’s pretend what happened never did. This is a new beginning for us.”
“It is. We go from here on together. How ‘bout that?”
“I love the sound of that. Now let’s get the generator started and see if you can make us some margaritas. Then we’ll have the rest of that chocolate pie.”
Chapter Forty-one
DECEMBER IN FLORIDA IS warm in the daytime and cool at night. On a somewhat chilly late Saturday afternoon, Carrie’s phone rang. “Are you home? I have something for you,” Kelly said. “I’d like to bring it over in just a bit if that’s all right.”
“Sure, we’re here putting up the tree. Why don’t you plan on staying for supper, unless you have something else going on? I’m making one of Shawn’s favorites, country fried steak.”
“With mashed potatoes and gravy?”
“Of course.”
“And biscuits!” Shawn chimed in from a few feet away.
“You just talked me into it. I’d love to.”
Twenty minutes later, Carrie and Shawn saw Kelly’s blue Durango pulling into the driveway. A text message on Shawn’s phone said for Carrie to not look out the front windows and to please cover her eyes until she gave the okay. Carrie laughed at the theatrics, but complied. She sat on the sofa and closed her eyes and put her hands over them for good measure.
Shawn left Carrie on the sofa and went out to see what Kelly was up to. By then, Kelly had the hatch open on the cargo area. When Kelly stepped aside and let Shawn look in, she just stood there, staring, for a few seconds.
Carrie couldn’t really
hear much of anything from inside the house, but she didn’t want to spoil the surprise by peeking. She kept her eyes closed even when she could hear Shawn and Kelly opening and closing doors. Then she heard a bit of a thunk sound. Still, she waited.
“Okay, open your eyes,” Kelly said.
She opened her eyes and stood up. Her mouth dropped open and both of her hands reached to her cheeks. “Oh. My. God.”
There in front of her was a beautifully crafted rocking chair. The wood was expertly fitted together and warmly stained. She reached to touch it. It felt like silk under her hands.
“Go ahead, sit in it,” Kelly urged. “I made it from the wood I took from your grandfather’s tree.”
Carrie couldn’t seem to find any words. She turned around and sat down. It fit her perfectly. The chair and its arms seemed to wrap themselves around her like a hug. Tears welled up and began spilling down her cheeks. She made no attempt to brush them away.
Kelly crouched down in front of her. “Oh, no. I didn’t mean to make you cry. Are you all right?”
Carrie reached for Kelly and hugged her hard, her tears wetting Kelly’s shirt. “It’s wonderful. It’s perfect, just perfect. I can never thank you enough for it.”
Kelly hugged her back. “I’m just glad you like it. It was my pleasure to do this for you.”
Carrie finally released Kelly and rocked slowly in the chair. Shawn handed her a tissue to sop up the residual tears from her face. “How did you come up with the idea of a rocking chair, Kelly? You couldn’t have known I’ve always wanted one. I don’t think I’ve even told Shawn, so she couldn’t have told you.”
“I tried to think of something you didn’t have, but something you could enjoy not only using, but looking at as well. I considered a table or something else along those lines, but I kept coming back to a rocking chair. Then I came up with this design. The curving arms sort of cuddle you when you sit in it. I thought you might find it comforting when you’re missing your grandparents or don’t feel good. I thought it might also make a nice place to sit and read. I tried to make it look pretty for you, so you’d enjoy looking at the wood as well.”