by Kris Bryant
“Let’s go!” Hunter calls.
Kate and I run back to the SUV. Even Maddox is shaking with excitement. Or fear. We drive beside it, watching it zigzag through the corn. It’s a lazy tornado and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere fast. We see a puff of debris. It’s hit a shed or small barn.
“I hope nobody was in it,” Kate says. Hunter and I mumble in agreement. Hunter stops the car ahead of the tornado so that we actually get it headed toward us instead of beside us. This is risky so I warn Kate to stay close in case it decides to chase us instead. Hunter continues to video while I snap stills. Right now, I’m so in love with Mother Nature. There is absolutely, and thankfully, nobody around us so the photos aren’t cluttered with vehicles or other storm chasers. We’re able to get a ton more photos and just as suddenly as it appeared, it lifts and disappears. That’s the best kind. Photogenic with minimal damage. I’m so excited I feel like dancing. And the best part is that it’s not raining yet. I check Doppler on the laptop just in case there are any surprises.
“That was incredible,” Kate says. It looks like she is feeling the euphoric high of seeing a tornado. It never gets old and every single one is different.
“Let’s go back and follow the path,” Hunter says.
“Why?” Kate asks.
“If possible, we record the approximate point of contact and measure the length and width of its path if we can. Then we process the information and compare it to other tornadoes to see if there is any correlation in size, strength, and weather patterns. We don’t get that opportunity often, especially since most of the time rain is close by,” I say.
“But can’t you figure that out based on the video?” she asks. She leans forward, her face almost directly between Hunter and me. Her eyes are wide with excitement and I notice tiny flecks of brown in them. I’m entirely too close to her. I slowly lean back and face forward in my chair again.
“It’s just something we like to do. Videos are more guess work and now we have an actual touch down point to start at. The clouds are weakening and I don’t think we’re going to see another tornado from this system. It’s nice to just verify everything,” Hunter says. She’s already turning the car around and we’re headed back to ground zero. The rain is well off to our northeast so the soil at touchdown should still be dry. Hunter pulls the car onto the shoulder and grabs the laser measuring tool, camera, and gloves. I grab my backpack, holler for Maddox, and we climb through the barbed wire. Kate is not far behind us. Her experiences with tornadoes are minimal and this will be a valuable lesson for her. By the time she catches up to me, Hunter has already reached the initial touchdown area. “Over here, guys,” she says. The budding plants have been ripped from the ground and it’s not hard to follow the path. The tornado was on the ground for less than a quarter of a mile.
Maddox suddenly turns his head and perks up his ears. I know he’s heard something. It’s hard to hear anything over the claps of thunder off in the distance, but I know whatever he’s heard, it’s pretty damn important because his whole body is shaking again.
“What is it, boy?” I ask. He turns to me and barks. He runs ahead of us and turns back to us and barks again.
“Your dog is Lassie,” Kate says. She’s not even trying to be funny.
“Hang on, Maddox.” I want him close to me because he isn’t on a leash and we are on a farmstead. After experiencing a tornado, people are on edge. I can’t have him be somebody’s target practice. “Maddox found something,” I say. Hunter looks up and nods. She knows that means I’m off and she’s on her own for a bit.
“Go ahead. I’ve got this. Just be careful,” Hunter says. Kate sticks by my side and we follow Maddox. I’m constantly calling him back to me. I can tell he’s itching to let loose, but the weather is still unstable and I don’t want to lose him out in a storm. He whines and I hear a soft bleating noise close by.
“Did you hear that?” I ask.
Kate turns to me, her eyes wide in alarm. “It sounds like an animal.” We see a busted up pile of wood in the distance and Maddox heads toward it.
“Get back here.” He obeys. I can’t have him stepping on debris either. Storm chasing really isn’t for dogs, but I couldn’t imagine not having him by my side twenty-four seven. As we approach the heap, I see a goat on the other side of the broken structure. It’s pacing back and forth and for a moment I think it’s the one in distress, then I hear the bleating coming from underneath the pile. “There is something underneath that.” I point and Kate and I pick up the pace. I tell Maddox to stay, my voice firm so that he knows I’m serious. We approach cautiously, the goat eyeing us warily.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” Kate says. “We are going to help your friend.” Her voice is low and calming and for a second I stand there and just listen, the warmth of it soothing even to me. I reach into my backpack for work gloves and a flashlight. I gently lift up pieces of board and set them in a safe place. I’d throw them, but I don’t want to scare the goat or whatever is underneath this pile. I see a tiny furry hoof halfway down and I pick up speed. It must be her baby. I know that I’m scaring it, but fast is the way to go now. I can’t reason with it, so instead I push and slide boards away until I see more than just a hoof.
“Kate, it’s her baby.” She turns to me with fear in her eyes. “I need you to go into my backpack and get me the needle nose pliers. I don’t think it’s hurt, but it is tangled up in some wire. The boards are actually keeping it from moving around and getting cut up.” Kate slowly moves away from the mama goat, still talking to it, and reaches into my bag. She hands me pliers, scissors, and a hammer. I look at her and reach for only the pliers.
“I’m sorry. I’m just nervous,” she says. I wink at her.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.” I reach down and gently grab the baby goat’s leg. It screams and scares the shit out of me, but I don’t let go. It only takes a moment to cut the wire away from its trapped leg. I push back a few more boards and the baby goat pops out. I have about two seconds to look it over before it sees its mama and bolts. No blood. All is well.
“Oh my, God! That was incredible, Tris,” Kate says. She is beaming. I’m trying to play it cool, but I really want to fist pump the sky and whoop with delight. I climb down off of the pile and watch the baby and mama goat hustle back to the farm house off in the distance. Kate reaches out and gives me a hug. I hold her for two seconds too long, but she doesn’t seem to mind. “And you, too,” she says, reaching down to pet Maddox on the head and scratch behind his ears. “You helped find the little guy, didn’t you?”
Okay, so I’m melting right now as this beautiful woman fawns over my dog with deserved appreciation. If I can’t have her attention, I’m okay with him getting it. She waves at Hunter off in the distance who is slowly making her way to us, her laser beam bouncing all over the place.
“You aren’t going to believe this,” Kate says, as we watch Hunter trot over to us.
“What happened?”
“Tris just saved a baby goat. Maddox heard it crying and led us over here and there was a tiny baby goat trapped under the boards and tangled up in something. Tris cut it free and now they are over there, somewhere by the farm,” Kate says.
“I’m amazed the tornado didn’t hit the house,” Hunter says. She turns back to me and high fives me. “Congrats on the save.”
I shrug and gather up the tools like something incredible didn’t just happen. “Did you get what you needed?” Hunter nods.
“Do you need help?” Kate asks.
“No, thanks. I think I’ve got enough. Let’s get off of this property before we get caught.” We make a beeline for the fence, all of us excited to get back on the road.
“So what is your number one rule when chasing?” Kate asks.
I pipe up before Hunter has a chance. “Well, stay safe, make good decisions. You don’t want to put yourself or others in danger for the sake of getting closer. They’re so unpredictable and frightening.”
“Yeah, the one I saw with Gage was intense, but I felt like he was getting entirely too close to it. I was a little scared.”
“You have to be scared of it. You have to have respect for Mother Nature,” I say. “She can turn in an instant. Also, the chase is over when people are in trouble. Helping them comes first.”
“Do you do that a lot?” she asks.
“We are CPR certified and have helped out on occasion,” Hunter says. She doesn’t tell Kate how many critically injured people we’ve seen or helped or how we’ve been there for people as they wait to hear from their loved ones during storms. “There are so many more times when people have helped us out.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“When you’re out on the road and can’t get out of the path of a tornado, you seek shelter. It’s not a great idea to be in a car or try to outrun it. That never works out well. One time, we ran into a pizza place and all of us, the employees and diners, hid in the giant refrigerator until the storm passed,” Hunter says. I smile at that recollection. The world was coming apart around us and I was thinking about the ten pound bags of mozzarella cheese within my grasp.
We reach the car and climb inside. I fire up Doppler and check things out while Hunter gets us on the road. She’s right. The storm is dying out so we aren’t going to see any more action from it today. There is nothing happening within driving distance either so we decide to head back to Hays, Kansas to plan our course for tomorrow. Hunter also wants to take the night off to celebrate my birthday in style. I roll my eyes. Birthdays are no longer exciting for me. Plus, the season is just getting started and we should focus more on positioning ourselves rather than celebrating. I should know better though. We do this every year. She makes a big deal about my birthday and I pretend to hate the attention.
❖
I’m surprised to see so many people I know at the bar. I turn to Hunter and she smiles at me. Not only is she making a big deal about my birthday to our little group, but she’s expanded the invitation CB style. There are about eight people at a large table already drinking beer. They toast when they see me and I wave.
“Happy Birthday, Tristan, you sexy beast,” somebody says. I’m not sure who, but I feel the color rush my cheeks. I murmur a thanks and drink from the beer thrust into my hand. I see our OU partners Adam and Brian and tip my beer in their direction. Also at the table are Linda, Jo, and Chris from Texas A&M, Tammi and Anya from Oklahoma Christian University, and Bob, a lone storm chaser who is on the road simply for the thrill of seeing tornadoes. A chair is suddenly behind me and I plop down, compliments of Hunter’s gentle shove.
“How old are you?” Bob asks. Tammi smacks him on the arm.
“Never ask a woman that,” she says. She rolls her eyes at him and they continue their playful banter.
“I’m twenty-nine today.” Adam and Brian throw a present on the table in front of me, which completely surprises me. “What’s this?” I ask.
“Open it,” they say in unison. I know it’s a ball cap before I open it because I can feel it through the paper. The fact that they took the time to wrap it makes me smile. It’s an Iowa State Cyclones cap with a red twisting bird shaped like a tornado embroidered on the bill.
“Ignore the Iowa State name,” Adam says. “We picked it up last week just for you.” He’s proud of it and I thank them both for their generosity. Even though I don’t do a lot for my birthday since I am always on the road, it’s nice that others remember. Hunter doesn’t disappoint. She slides a box in front of me. I don’t like opening gifts in front of people, but Hunter looks like she is going to burst with excitement so I open it with vigor knowing that if I don’t, she is going to lean over me and help me. It’s a WindMate 300, a handheld instrument that measures everything we do, but on a much smaller and portable scale.
“This is great for when we can’t get the Tahoe close enough to the tornado or when we want to confirm our readings!” She’s too excited for me to remind her that my ass isn’t getting that close to a tornado either.
“You’re always working, aren’t you, Hunter?” Kate says.
“Hey, wait a minute. Is this your girlfriend, Tris?” Bob asks. Kate smiles at him. I want to crawl under the table because I’m so embarrassed.
“I’m Kate. I’m chasing with Tris and Hunter for a few weeks.” Her smile disarms the whole group. She seems very comfortable with them and I’m trying not to remember our less than fantastic meeting. Maybe it’s just me. “I’m with OSU, but my chasing partner had to go home because of an emergency.” She’s very diplomatic. The few boos directed at OSU make her laugh. She throws a pretzel at Adam. I can’t tell if she’s flirting or not, but I look away. We order burgers from a passing waitress and another pitcher of beer. Everybody is talking about today’s tornado and we brag a little about seeing it. Most of the teams were on the far side of the tornado and we tease them about blowing up their photos large until they see us on the nearside. We’re actually having a good time and I nod my head thanking Hunter. She nods back. We aren’t mushy, but there is sisterly love there. We understand each other on a completely different level. Kate tells the group the story of Maddox hearing the goat and how I saved it. Everybody applauds and I bow. It’s a good night. I’m glad to have the night off with my road buddies, old and new.
“Let’s dance, Tris.” Brian reaches out for me and before I have a chance to protest, he pulls me up and out of my chair. Suddenly, I’m line dancing with him and about twelve other bar patrons. I don’t know how to line dance. I don’t even like country music, but everybody is having such a good time they’re overlooking my fumbling on the dance floor. Adam wastes no time grabbing Kate. Hunter and Tammi partner up. It’s a version of some electric slide dance and cowboy heel stomping. I’m so bad at it that I’m laughing and I don’t even care. I’m trying to focus on keeping the fun going and less on Adam’s hands all over Kate. I have no right to be jealous. “You’re really bad at this,” Brian says. We both laugh.
“I’m better at dancing one on one, not this line dancing and shit stomping stuff,” I say. He throws his head back and laughs, drawing attention to us again. Kate and I make eye contact. It’s nice to see her with a genuine smile on her face. Brian slaps his cowboy hat onto my head and we finish the awful dance. A slower song plays and we all keep our partners and start dancing the way I know dancing to be. Brian is so good sliding me around the floor that I forget I have two left feet. He twirls me away from him and then back into his arms with such ease. “I never knew you could dance,” I say. Not that we would ever have the opportunity to dance at the university, but usually you learn pieces of people over time. We’ve been in the same department for four years and I know he’s married and has a baby girl. His wife is a stay at home mom. But the dancing is new information.
“Jeannette and I don’t get out much with Brianna in our lives now, but I’m going to have to make her. This is too much fun not to share,” he says. I love that he loves his wife so much. The song stops and we head back to the table. I gulp down a water and nibble on some fries.
“Are you having fun?” Kate asks. She slides into the chair beside me, our legs almost touching. I can feel the heat off her and I have to stop myself from leaning into her warmth.
“Yeah, what a great night. I’m glad everybody is here and the weather cooperated,” I say.
“This is a great group of friends,” she says. I watch her look at them with a small smile on her face. “I thought everybody was in competition out on the road.”
“That’s only in the movies. To that extreme, I mean. There’s competition, but we’re such a small group that we’re always around for each other and there isn’t much room for back stabbing.”
She nods in understanding. “Do you want to dance?” she asks.
I look at her in surprise. “Sure,” I answer before I really think it through. She leads me out on the floor and we watch everybody to see how they’re dancing before we jump in. It’s a cross betw
een another line dance and a fast waltz. Kate is very good at leading and I’m surprisingly comfortable in her arms. Granted, our bodies aren’t really touching yet so it still feels fun and innocent. “How did you get to become such a good dancer?” I ask.
“I took dance classes growing up. Tap, jazz, ballroom, and some ballet.”
I try not to visualize how limber she must be. “You’re good at leading.” Her only response is a wink. I cover my surprise with a smile.
“Hey, let me dance with the birthday girl,” Adam says. He tries to whisk me away from Kate, but she holds fast to my hands. I feel her stiffen against me.
“Later, Adam. Let me finish this dance with Tristan,” Kate says. He shrugs and grabs Hunter from the table instead. “He’s drunk. Not quite at the obnoxious level yet, but close.”
“We’ll make sure he gets back to the hotel safely,” I say. We’re quiet for the rest of the song and, eventually, I feel Kate relax again. I don’t want to ask what that was all about so instead I enjoy the last few moments of the song. Everybody claps when the music ends and immediately partner up when the first few bars of the next song plays. It’s a slow song. Kate pulls me close to her and I don’t question it. She always smells so good. She curls our interlocking hands between us and I almost moan when I feel the swell of her breasts against the back of my hand. Her eyes are on me the entire time and I can’t look away. Her other arm is resting on my shoulder, guiding me around the dance floor. We dance back into a corner. As much as I want to joke right now to break this spell, I can’t. She hasn’t stopped looking at me and I haven’t tried to look away.