by Nella Tyler
“It’s okay. Shhh…it’s okay. I’m just happy you girls are safe,” he insisted, looking deep into Michelle's eyes, swiping a tear off her cheek and surrounding them both in his embrace. “It’s okay…” he whispered.
“What are we going to do?” Michelle asked, pulling away from Gavin enough to look him in the face. He returned the serious look and his brow furrowed. He drew in a deep breath and shared a glance between them before settling back on Michelle.
“I don’t know,” he replied earnestly, “But we’ll figure it out. All I care about is that nobody got hurt. Accidents happen. It’s all right.”
“You all are welcome to stay with me.” I offered instantly. “It isn’t much and Michelle says I live like a perpetual college student, but we can make it work.”
Gavin seemed to be the only one who heard me, as Michelle and Kassie both buried their heads against him and started crying again. When he made eye contact with me, I could see that his eyes were also raw with emotion, but he managed a strained grin and a grateful expression.
“Yes. Thank you so much.”
“Of course,” I answered immediately and helped Gavin urge the two of them into my car while he stayed behind to salvage what he could and get the most current information from the fire department.
Chapter 21
Tim
When I woke up the next morning, I felt as though I was trapped in some kind of time-warp.
I knew that it wasn’t Groundhog Day or anything like that, but the days never seemed to end, even with sleep. Every day, it was the same routine, no matter what I did – and it was boring. I was deprived of the technology that had helped me build my empire, as well as the people that had assisted me along the way. I felt like an artist, exiled from my craft. Every day was monotonous and slow and with each passing moment, if felt the slow pace and rustic lifestyle suck me in deeper, threatening to swallow me whole.
It was almost an actual fear of mine that if I stayed here longer, something would come over me that would force me into believing that I belonged. Perhaps it was mind control, guilt or…hell, the apparent, ever-looming threat of aliens.
Whatever it was, I feared that I would somehow forget my old life and become a slave to the generations. Plenty of people had done it, left this one-horse town for bigger and better things, only to return with their tail between their legs, missing momma’s cooking. I kept trying to remind myself that I wasn’t like that, especially since my mom was dead and my father sure as hell wasn’t going to cook me anything worth eating.
Yet, there was still one threat that continued to plague me, one experience that I felt addicted to, even though I had no right.
Especially after the conversation I had with Hayden, she should’ve been a warning, a beacon of disaster compelling me to turn around and run the other way. However, despite what happened and what Hayden had said, I still couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to see Jenna again. I knew I shouldn’t care, but I couldn’t seem to help it and that scared me.
Although, when I woke up on Tuesday morning, I was able to take solace in the fact that I believed I had an idea that might help fix the issue we were continually ruining into with the software.
It turned out that while Donovan had come across a breakthrough, he hadn’t quite figured out that crucial missing piece, but I had. It had taken a few days, but I had sorted it out and awoke with a fresh perspective.
I breathed in a deep breath and grinned as I ran through the solution again in my mind. As far as I could tell, without actually configuring the idea into the software, it should work.
Now, all I had to do was get to the coffee shop.
Di Vinci, your technological paintbrush is restored, I thought, but realized I had far too much time on my hands and made a mental note to think about more important things.
By the time I got downstairs, my father was already sitting at the kitchen table. I was going to demand to know why he hadn't called me to help him when he looked up and I could tell that he was straining to breathe.
It was apparent that he was in far more pain than he usually was, and I wondered if he was taking his medication.
“Good morning, Dad,” I spoke kindly, in lieu of getting angry with him. I stepped toward him gingerly and grinned kindly. “You don’t look so good. Are you okay? Do you want me to call the doctor?”
My father simply glared at me, his jaw tight and his eyes fierce. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to ignore the pain, me, or everything, so I didn’t press for anything more.
I simply made him breakfast, prepared his pills, made sure he took them and helped my father into his recliner. I tried to be gentle with him, but considering he refused to tell me what it was that hurt him, I couldn’t modify my movements as much as I would have liked to.
“Do you need anything from the store?” I asked when he was settled. “I have to go pick up a few things.”
I also feared that pain might only be a warning sign for a bigger problem with my father’s condition, so I also intended to stop by the hospital. Yet, I knew if I told my father that, I would only incite a reaction that I definitely didn’t want.
“No, thanks…” He sighed, his voice was weak and withered, but at least he was talking.
“Are you going to be okay while I’m gone?” I asked, second-guessing my decision to leave him. My father nodded and so, worried about his wellbeing, I left for the hospital.
Plus, in the back of my mind, I knew that going there would also give me a chance to see Jenna. While my other reason was legitimate and genuine, the underlying agenda certainly didn’t hurt my motivation.
When I walked into the hospital, I went right to the wing where my father had been during his stay. As soon as I got there, I asked the nurse sitting in the middle station to speak to the doctor who was in charge of my father’s care. I was directed to an older gentleman I had only seen a few times. He recognized me almost instantly.
“Mr. Meck,” he called and put his hand out for me to shake as he walked toward me.
“Hi, Dr. Pierce.” I shook his hand, thankful to have remembered his name at the last moment.
“How’s your father doing?”
“I think he’s doing all right, but to tell you the truth, doctor, I am a little concerned about him.”
“Oh?” the doctor asked. “Why is that?”
“He seemed to be doing all right until this morning. Of course, he doesn’t tell me a damn thing, but I could tell by the way he moved and the fact that he had gotten himself to the kitchen table, that he hadn’t slept well and he was in more pain than normal. I’m worried that it might be a warning sign for something else.”
“Has he complained of anything?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Nothing. He tells everyone else anything, but won’t speak to me to save his life, and I’m starting to be afraid that might be the case.”
“Can he still walk, use the bathroom by himself, eat, that kind of thing?”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain that he’s taking his medication?”
“I give it to him exactly as prescribed. I watch him take it. I don’t check to see that it’s gone, but if he’s going through all that trouble, I don’t think he wouldn’t be taking it. I think he knows how serious his injuries were and how lucky he was. I don’t think even my father is stubborn enough to tempt fate like that. The one thing my old man does fear is God.”
Dr. Pierce grinned and nodded.
“Well, sometimes, people have good days and bad. You’re right to be concerned, but at the moment, I think it would be more dangerous to try to get him to come back than it would to wait it out. If you notice that he isn’t himself, or if the pain doesn’t seem to get better in a few days, or if it gets significantly worse in a short period of time, bring him in.”
I thought about if there was anything else I needed to tell him that I might have overlooked, but could think of nothing. So, I thanked him and thought about walking away. Howe
ver, at the last moment, I stopped him again.
“Um…Dr. Pierce? I was wondering if you had any idea where Dr. Barnes was?”
“Yes,” he answered somberly as he turned back around. “Unfortunately, she is not in right now. She had a family emergency.”
“What?” I demanded, feeling as though I had gotten punched in the stomach. “Is she all right?”
He nodded and moved in closer, lowering his voice. “It’s her sister. Everyone is fine, but her house burned down. It’s been all over the news. Honestly, I’m surprised you haven't heard.”
“That’s terrible!” I exclaimed, instantly wondering what I could do to help.
“It is. So unexpected…” Dr. Pierce shook his head. “It just goes to show you…well. In any case, Dr. Barnes understandably took a few days off to help her sister and her sister’s family settled.”
“Of course,” I replied and thanked him for letting me know. When I reached my rental car, I tried to focus on the rest of my day, but I couldn’t. All I kept thinking about was Jenna and how I could help.
I should go to her, I thought. I should see if there is anything I can do to help. I wonder if she’s okay. However, after a moment, I got a hold of myself and shook my head.
“What the hell am I doing?” I demanded out loud, reprimanding myself.
What is wrong with me? I wondered, catching my reflection in the mirror. I shook my head. My God, I have turned into those crazy, needy bitches that I used to fuck. Jesus Christ! I’m not her boyfriend! She has made it abundantly clear that I am nothing more than a good screw.
You could learn a thing or two from her, Tim. I decided not to go see her. Instead, I opted to go straight home, forgetting about the coffee shop entirely.
Chapter 22
Jenna
I woke up to a starfish in my bed. Kassie was only two-feet tall and barely twenty-five pounds, but somehow managed to take up the entire bed. I rolled over and looked at her sleeping soundly, while I had to grab the side of the bed to keep my balance.
I snickered at her, happy to see that at least someone in the family was getting a good night’s sleep.
However, my grin was short lived when I thought about Michelle and Gavin.
Of course, I was sad for Kassie, but my sister and her husband were taking the tragedy exceptionally hard. Kassie was sad because her stuff was gone, but my sister had lost precious memories, like pictures and irreplaceable family heirlooms.
Monetarily, no one in the family was all that concerned, but the memories that were destroyed by the fire and the future that they were building had literally gone up in smoke. There were a few pictures that remained unscathed by the fire in the part of the house that was salvaged, but almost everything else was gone forever.
I knew that was depressing my sister. She was much more sentimental than I was and being that she loved her house and her life, I could understand why it was affecting her so badly.
Still, I was proud of the whole family. Michelle, Gavin, and Kassie all made it a point to put a smile on and try to make the best of it.
While Gavin had sorted out the insurance affairs, Michelle and I had kept Kassie busy the day before and tried to pretend, at least for a little while, that life was normal. I took them to the movies, and we went to the mall to get new clothes.
Michelle had a breakdown in the dress section when she remembered that her wedding dress, which had been our mother’s, was probably destroyed in the fire, but it was short lived. Other than that, the girls kept themselves together wonderfully.
I hadn’t heard Gavin get up to go to work, but I was sure that he had, and I wanted to check on Michelle. So, I scooted out of the bed, eased my way onto the floor, and did my best to slip out of the room without disturbing the sea-creature inhabiting my bed.
I closed the door behind me with caution and slid down the hallway into the living room. Michelle was still asleep, but since I wasn’t, I wanted someone to have coffee with.
So, in the name of making the best of the situation and doing what little sisters did best, I spread my arms and legs out as wide as I could and fell, face first onto Michelle. When my weight was distributed on her completely, she turned and pushed up, groaning like she did when I woke her up as kids.
“Jenna…what are you doing?” she demanded, still trying to push me off of her as I teetered around on top of her, giggling hysterically.
“I’m doing an impression of Kassie,” I replied as she finally shoved me to the side of her. “Do you like it? I thought it was pretty accurate.”
At this, Michelle laughed and turned toward me. “Is she a starfish this morning? Sometimes, when she’s feeling generous, she’s a half-moon, but that isn’t often. It is a little better, but the starfish is her classic, go-to move.”
“I noticed.”
“Although, that’s still better than the tornado. Sometimes, she swirls all over the bed, continually landing in starfish position until she falls out, cries, and doesn’t go back to sleep until an hour before it’s time to get up.”
I giggled.
“Gavin mentioned getting a dog,” Michelle continued, “but I told him he was crazy. Give it a week and we’d have more room on the dog bed than our own.”
“You just teach him to sleep in his own bed.”
She raised her eyebrow condescendingly. “We haven’t figured out a way to teach our four-year-old how to do that consistently. Do you really think that we would have the time, patience, or even care to try to teach a puppy?”
She rolled her eyes and let out a deep, troubled breath, as though she only now remembered why they were here. When she spoke again, her voice was somber. “Although, maybe our dog would have told us about the fire sooner. Maybe he would’ve sensed something was wrong…”
“Michelle!” I snapped, grabbing her shoulders and practically glaring at her to stop her from crying. “You can’t do this to yourself. You have to focus.” I waited until I was fairly certain she was listening to me fully before I continued.
“You have to move forward. It happened, it’s over. I know it is your house and your memories, but you can’t think that if you had gotten a dog, your house would’ve been spared. You don’t know that. Having a dog would've been one more living thing that you would’ve had to worry about getting to safety.
“You did the most important job. You, Gavin, and Kassie are safe. Stuff, even the pictures, are nothing. You have one another, and that is all you need. You can’t try to sort out what might have happened or what you could’ve done differently. You’re all safe. That’s the most important thing.”
Still trying to hold back tears, Michelle nodded. “You’re right.” She sniffled. “I should be thankful. My husband, my baby, and I all escaped without so much as a bruise.”
“I know it’s hard, and it’s okay to be sad. It’s still tragic. You still lost your house, but I don’t want you lamenting on the past.”
Again, she nodded her head up and down in agreement.
“So, y’all are welcome to stay with me as long as you want, but have you and Gavin talked about what you’re gonna do?”
“Yes. Last night…sort of.” Her shoulder rose and fell as she continued her explanation. “We agreed that it needs to be rebuilt. We don’t want to move. We love the neighborhood and Kassie is starting to have friends.” She chuckled. “As silly as it sounds, we really like living there and even with the memory of the fire…”
I grinned and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “I get it. I’m glad.”
She huffed a laugh that wasn’t exactly devoid of humor, but did have a sting of cynicism. “Gavin keeps trying to tell me that we should look at this as a new opportunity, but I can’t see it that way. At least not yet.”
“I know you know this, but you have a wonderful husband. You're all going to be fine.”
“I’m trying to believe that,” she admitted, swiping a stray tear away from her eye.
“Well, I have an idea…” I grinned a
nd took Michelle’s silence for an invitation to continue. “Maybe we can ask the community to help.”
“You want to have a barn raising, but with my house?” she asked sarcastically.
“There are plenty of qualified people in this town and I’m sure they would love to help.”
Michelle thought for a minute and even though she didn’t seem completely convinced that this was a good idea, she couldn’t help but be intrigued.
“So, what’s the plan?”
I thought for a second before I shrugged my shoulders, hating to have to admit that I hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“I’m not sure. I want to…ask for help. We could make flyers or something. Kassie could help us decorate them, and we could go around town, delivering them to local businesses.”
By this point, I was completely making up everything I said simply hoping that it was a viable plan. I thought it sounded good, but Michelle still didn’t seem so enthused.
When I stopped to hear what she had to say about the idea, she didn’t give a reaction right away. Instead, she fell into thought, which I decided had to be a good thing. So, I waited, trying to think of anything more convincing to say, in case I needed to plead my case more.
The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. I could definitely see the community getting behind something like this.
After all, this was what living in a small town was all about: supporting one another and treating your neighbors like family.
Finally, she spoke. It wasn’t convincing, but at least it was somewhat positive. “Okay. I guess it’s worth a shot. It isn’t like I have a better idea.”
I grinned widely. “Yes! Michelle, I promise you, this is going to be fun.”
She rolled her eyes and slid off of the pullout couch. “I’m going to wake Kassie up. I’m sure she’d never forgive us if we started designing the flyers without her.”
I grinned and watched her leave, pleased that she seemed to be in good spirits, for the most part. At least she was willing to put on a good face for Kassie and try to get her mind off of the tragedy by doing something productive.
