by Nancy Adams
“We misfits grow on you.”
Soon thereafter, we headed to the dining room and I sat down at the long extended table next to Gail. My stomach was growling, and the scent of the finished food made my mouth water.
As plates of chicken, peas and potatoes were passed around, I didn’t think I would ever again be as excited as I was then for a basic meal. And part of me took pride in preparing it, even if I had done nothing more than peel a few potatoes.
“So, Marie. Where are you from?” Mark said, sitting across from me, handing me a basket of rolls and butter.
“Northeast,” I said, trying to be polite when all I could think about was devouring the food in front of me.
“What part?”
“Western Massachusetts.”
“Well, welcome to the South,” he said, and I smiled at him and bit into my bread. The entire time I ate, I tried to pretend not to notice that Ezra hadn’t shown up to join us. Once dinner was over, I stuck around to ask Gail if there was a laundry area somewhere.
“The airport lost my luggage, so this is all I have.” I gestured to my clothing.
She said. “Oh, well that explains a lot. I honestly just thought you were a nudist.”
“Yeah, I realized that.”
She laughed and said, “I’ll show you where it is, and of course, I don’t have anything for you to wear or I would have offered you something of mine. None of my stuff will fit you, I’m sure, but give me a few minutes and maybe I can wrestle something up from the other ladies.”
I smiled at her gratefully and she disappeared down the hall. I was standing around awkwardly, waiting for her to come back, when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
It was Ezra. My heart skipped a beat and I felt my cheeks flush in his presence. “Hi,” he said, not really smiling, but not looking unfriendly either.
“Hi,” I said and directed my eyes elsewhere.
“Did you already eat?” he asked, and I nodded. I folded my arms across my chest, still upset with him regarding our earlier conversation.
“Well, your cabin should be ready tomorrow. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
I grunted in acknowledgement, and when he realized I had nothing further to say to him, he turned to walk away. I then remembered that we were roommates and grimaced.
“And tonight? What about tonight?”
He smiled widely at me and winked. “Tonight, we’re still roomies. See you later.”
I wanted to stomp my feet and yell at him; instead, I took a deep breath and marched up to him.
“Listen, buddy. I don’t know what your problem is, but I feel as if you’ve had an issue with me since I got here. So either you refund my money, fix my cabin right now or call Gail to drive me out of here. Because I promise you, I am not spending the night with you.” I crossed my arms over my chest for good measure. I hoped I looked intimidating. At five-one, it was pretty hard.
“You’re right. I do have a problem with you. With your kind in general,” he said, turning fully towards me, eyes flashing.
“And what kind would that be?” I challenged, placing my hands on my hips.
“The kind that’s used to having everything handed to them. A snooty rich girl who balks at the idea that not everything is at her fingertips.”
“You don’t even know me to judge me.”
“I know enough,” he said succinctly, and I gritted my teeth to stop myself from saying something unladylike.
Instead, I surprised even myself when I placed one hand on my hip and pointed my finger at him. “For someone who runs a hippie-dippy resort that’s supposed to be accepting and free of judgment, you are without a doubt THE most judgmental person I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet in my life. It’s a wonder people even come here if they have to deal with someone like you: a pompous, judgmental, and conceited jerk who goes out of his way to make others feel bad.” I said each adjective with a pause, poking him in his chest after each word.
He looked at me and then my finger, which was still poking him in the chest, and said with a bored tone, “Are you done?”
Furiously, I snatched my hand back and growled, “Yes.”
“Then I’ll have Gail drive you back to the airport.”
“Great, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
Chapter Four
“Uh oh. Looks like the universe doesn’t want to let you leave Texas,” Gail said as we looked forlornly out at the river that had formed in front of us. At least, I looked at it forlornly; Gail didn’t seem bothered at all.
“The universe?” I said with a sigh. I practically had to shout given that the rain was coming down so hard, I could barely hear anything in the old pickup truck she had borrowed to drive me to the airport.
She shrugged. “I’m not exactly the religious type, but maybe this here is divine intervention. You know, so that you can relax some and just hang out with us. You were wound up tighter than a pig’s tail when I first picked you up from the airport.”
“Gail, I’m not sure if you noticed, but the last thing I’ve felt is relaxed since I got here. My eye will not stop twitching. And now, in fact, I feel a monstrous headache coming on. I wouldn’t be surprised if my brain fell out at this point.”
Gail gave an unexpected bark of laughter and said, “Who would have thought you had a sense of humor?”
I sighed and watched the water get higher and higher, completely flooding the one road we needed to access in order to get out of the area. Apparently this part of Texas was prone to flash flooding. It flooded so hard that the landscape I remembered seemed to be immersed under waves of muddy brown water, water that was now quickly swirling around the tires of the truck.
I felt fear for the first time since we got on the road and said, “We need to get out of here.”
She went to reverse and the truck went nowhere. We were stuck. I tried not to panic, but it seemed we were at a low point in the road, and if we didn’t get out fast, the truck would be quickly submerged.
It had been raining when we had first left and as we drove away from the entrance, the rain had gotten progressively worse. We had continued on, not expecting the sudden deluge. Now I looked at Gail as she tried to move the truck again, and I could see that she was no longer wearing her usual jovial expression. Her eyes were focused on her task, and her jaw was tense. She knew something was terribly wrong.
She cursed and hit the steering wheel. “Come on, truck. Come on.” She seemed to be pleading with it now as she tried to get it to move. But it wouldn’t.
“I’m going to try to push it. You take the wheel,” she said to me ,and I grabbed hold of her hand to stop her from exiting the truck. “No. You stay there. I’ll try to push.”
We didn’t waste any time arguing over who would do what as I jumped out the truck. I landed in the water and realized that it was already around my knees, and it didn’t seem to be letting up.
I felt my heart pounding as I made my way to the back of the truck. The rain pelted down on my face, making it nearly impossible to see. It seemed to hurt more than natural, and I realized then that it was also hailing. I kept my head down as I pushed my back against the truck, feeling the vibration of the truck as Gail attempted to dislodge the tires, but nothing happened.
I yelled to Gail to put it in neutral, and I assumed she heard me as I again tried to push with all my might. I had strong thighs, courtesy of riding lessons from age five to my early teens, but the truck wouldn’t budge. I didn’t know if it was because I wasn’t strong enough or if it was just that it was deeply stuck, but the water was now approaching my hips and I felt my panic level rise.
And then, suddenly, Gail was out of the car and pushing as well. She had the wheel in one hand and I was attempting to dislodge the front tires, but it was no use.
The water showed no sign of receding. “We need to call someone, Gail,” I yelled, wading through the water to where she stood. “Or find high ground.”
We looked around, tr
ying to peer through the rain and darkness, looking for a safe area. I spotted a tree uphill from the flooded road and just hoped lightening wouldn’t also come with the rain.
“Can you climb a tree?” I asked her, and she shrugged.
“If it means staying alive, I’m sure as heck going to try.”
And together, we made our way up the hill, slipping and sliding in the mud as we tried to get our footing. I was reminded of a mud race Libby and Sarah had convinced me to run. It was an obstacle race that featured mud trenches. At the time, I had thought it had been fun to get a little dirty, but now the muddy trenches stood between us and staying alive. I made it up first and grabbed Gail’s hand. She kept slipping and sliding back into the trench, unable to grab hold of anything to help herself up. She was at least fifty pounds heavier than me, but when she slipped again and flailed for my hand, I caught it, digging my heels into the mud that was slowly sinking away beneath my feet. With a herculean effort, I sank back, pulling Gail with all my might, and together we fell backwards, out of the trench. We crawled towards the tree and I attempted to scale it, but my hands were wet and so were my feet. I couldn’t get hold of it. I gave a cry of frustration and tried again, before Gail said, “Give me a boost and I’ll try to pull you up.”
I looked out at the water that was quickly approaching our ankles and said, “Let’s give it a try.”
I hoped she didn’t hear the panic in my voice as I glanced behind us and realized that our entire truck was submerged, and if we had still been in it, we would have certainly drowned by now.
I attempted to boost Gail up, but she was too short or her grip kept slipping. I looked down at the water that was steadily climbing. We needed a miracle now.
And we got one. In the form of a monster truck, the type that I had always associated with Texas. It didn’t bother using the path where the road had been; no, instead, it was barreling as fast as it could possibly go right towards us, the beams of the lights on high. For a second, I was afraid that whoever was driving couldn’t see us, but no, they were clearly heading right towards us deliberately.
“Gail! Look!” I shouted as the truck veered out of the way of floating debris and stopped within inches of us. It was then that I saw the driver.
“Ezra!” Gail said with a shaky voice, and he jumped out and made his way towards us. He was tall, yet I could barely see his knees now, that was how high the water was. He hefted Gail up into the truck and then me. Then, once we were all in, he reversed and headed back the way he had come.
I was shaking now, from adrenaline, cold or fear, I couldn’t tell. And so was Gail as she reached for my hand and I held on to hers. Her teeth were chattering as she said, her voice barely above a whisper, “We almost died back there.”
Ezra finally spoke. “I know.”
“How did you know where to find us?” I asked with chattering teeth, as well.
“I just followed the road. It was on the radio that the river had flooded. I heard about it right after you two left. I know how the river can flood the surrounding area in mere minutes, so I wasn’t taking any chances and decided to go after you guys.”
“Thank God you didn’t wait,” Gail said, finally loosening her grip on my hand.
“Thanks for coming for us,” I whispered, now shaking, not because I was cold, but because the adrenaline and shock of what had happened were taking their toll on my body.
“Of course, there was no way I was going to leave you two out here. I didn’t know it was this bad until I made it up the road. And when I didn’t see the truck—” He abruptly stopped talking and looked down at me. “I’m just happy you two are okay.”
“We wouldn’t have been if it weren’t for Marie,” Gail said, hugging me abruptly. I hugged her back.
“She pulled me out of the trench when for the life of me I couldn’t get up and out of there on my own. She saved my life.”
I blushed. “You would have done the same for me.”
“In a heartbeat,” Gail said, and I knew she meant it.
“Well, hang on tight. There aren’t any roads, so I’m sort of making our own, but there’s so much debris everywhere, it’s made driving hell. Hold on tight.”
And he wasn’t exaggerating. Areas that had been covered only minutes ago with trees were now underwater, and if it weren’t for the little pieces of green sticking up, you wouldn’t have known they’d ever existed at all. The gate was practically submerged when we approached, and I watched as Ezra plowed through it. The cottages were fine, but the entire common area in the front where picnic tables and a volleyball net had once been was covered with water. The lake I had been looking forward to swimming in looked like it was on the verge of running over; and then abruptly, just like that, it stopped raining.
We sat in the truck, all of us just grateful to have escaped alive. I looked at Ezra and suddenly hugged him. I didn’t know what came over me. I figured it was gratitude for just being alive. I wrapped my arms around his middle and hugged him harder than I hugged my granny on my fifth birthday when she bought me a pony.
He hesitated but then he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back. I breathed in the scent of him and then pulled back, suddenly aware of what I was doing.
“Thank you,” I said with lowered eyes.
His eyes were unreadable when I dared to look up at him, but he said solemnly, “You’re welcome.” He then opened the door of his truck and jumped to the ground.
“Do you need help getting down?” he asked me, and I shook my head and stumbled out as gracefully as I could. I landed on my knees in the mud and attempted to stand, only to fall again, this time on my behind.
I let out an exasperated breath and pushed myself off the ground. Ezra caught me as I stumbled a bit, still unsure of my footing.
“It’s been a long day,” I said to him, and he finally smiled at me. A real smile. A moment later, Gail came around the other side of the truck and practically pushed me to the side as she wrapped Ezra in a bear hug. I stepped out of the way and then noticed the others coming onto the porch.
Suddenly, we were surrounded by people who were asking us if we were okay, while pushing us towards the inside of the main house. Someone tossed a blanket around my shoulders and I graciously took it. I looked down at my clothes and realized they were ruined, but hey, I was alive.
“Fine. Thanks to Ezra. We’re fine,” I said repeatedly to all those who asked, clearly concerned. They led us to the lobby and we sat down on the sofas there, and several of the house residents sat down on the floor, hugging their knees, studying us with concerned expressions while they waited to hear our whole story.
“I’ll make some hot chocolate,” Mark said and disappeared into the kitchen.
“So what happened?” asked another person. I looked at Gail, who seemed to be enjoying the attention. She happily retold the story, adding a lot more drama to it. I figured she would have made a great screenplay writer. I smiled wryly to myself at the thought and graciously smiled at Tony when he handed me a mug of steaming hot chocolate. It was soothing in a way that only a decadent treat could be. For that second, I couldn’t help but feel as if everything were right in the world.
Or, I thought quietly, I could just be feeling happy that I was alive and well. That we were all alive and well.
I was so deep in thought that I didn’t notice when the others left and only Ezra and I remained sitting there, both apparently lost in thought.
I went to stand up but he held out a hand, grabbing my wrist and stopping me.
“Listen, I wanted to apologize for being a jerk.”
I blinked, not expecting an apology, and mumbled, “Okay.”
“Can you sit for a second?”
Hesitantly, I did as he asked, holding on to my mug for dear life, as if I needed a barrier between he and I.
“I know I’ve made your stay here less than pleasant, but if you want to stay after the rain clears out, then just know it’ll be on me. No matter what you de
cide, you’ll be fully refunded. I just feel responsible for you endangering yourself. If it weren’t for me being a royal pain in the—”
“Butt?” I said, raising my eyebrows and giving him a pointed look.
He laughed gruffly and pushed his hair back away from his face. The movement stretched the fabric across his shirt tautly, and I directed my eyes down into my mug, not wanting to be caught checking him out.
The telltale smile on his face showed that I hadn’t been successful. But then his eyes grew serious again and he said, “I don’t usually behave like a prick. I’m not some pompous schmuck, even though I’ve behaved like one. I can’t apologize enough. This week has been tough for me, and I’m afraid that I took it out on you, and I apologize again.”
I wanted to ask what had made this week hard, but I didn’t want to pry. I didn’t want him to think that I cared that much.
Instead I said, “Thanks for apologizing. I appreciate the gesture. I think though that I’ll still leave in the morning.”
“I understand,” he said softly, now standing up. He was built like a bear, I thought to myself, checking out the span of his shoulders.
I went to stand again when I realized I didn’t really have a room to go off to. He noticed and said, “I’ll bunk in the office; you can have my room. No need to share.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but I was tired. After what I’d gone through, I was pretty comfortable having his room to myself.
“Thanks,” I said.
I walked away, and right before I opened the door to his room, I looked back. He was watching me watching him. I blushed suddenly and turned away, shutting the door firmly behind me as I breathed a sigh of relief and whispered a little thank you to God for being alive.
Chapter Five
“It looks like you’ll be sticking around for a little while,” Gail said as I joined her out on the porch, overlooking the destruction the high water had caused in the area. Most of the damage was in the form of organic debris, like fallen trees and limbs, but it was still a bleak view the next morning considering how beautiful everything had once been. Now the landscape and common grounds seemed dreary and drab, as if the rain had managed to suck the life out of Clandestine Resorts.
