They landed in what looked like a farmer’s field, just as the sun was coming up. Most of the crew stretched from their nearly sleepless night. A row of vans were waiting for them to take them to their destination. They had a way to go before they could reach the scene of the devastation, flights had been restricted to further away. Ellen got in the first van along with Rae, her secretary, and a couple of other employees. Everyone looked a bit scruffy from their last minute flight. “Let’s stop at the first restaurant we come to,” Ellen instructed the driver as they began their journey.
They took up a lot of the space in the small café they came to. Ellen told everyone to eat whatever they wanted or get it to go as she wasn’t certain what they would find when they got where they were going. She herself ate a hearty breakfast of French Toast with bacon and an egg on the side. She gazed out the window of the café as she thought about what they might find and what they could do.
“Are you okay?” Rae asked her for the hundredth time. She knew this trip wasn’t easy and wanted to ease the burden of whatever it was that was riding Ellen’s shoulders.
Ellen looked back at Rae from her gaze outside and it was at that moment she had a flash of inspiration. “I’m fine,” she stated as she quickly finished her meal. “I’ll be right back, you all take your time finishing up,” she said as she took out her wallet and laid down a couple of hundred dollar bills to pay for all their meals.
“Ellen…what…” Rae said as she quickly followed her.
“You don’t have to come,” Ellen said as she rushed out the door and ran across to the RV dealer on the other side of the street.
“What are you doing?” she asked, jogging to keep up.
“Those people are going to need places to stay,” she said as she held her side from the unaccustomed exercise. She quickly began to look about at the new RV’s that lined the dealer’s lot.
Rae looked on astonished. These weren’t cheap or small RV’s either. These were the expensive ones that a couple retired in for their golden years.
“Can I help you ladies?” a salesman came up. He had seen them sprint across the highway from the café. They must really be interested in their selection and he was already rubbing his hands together at the possibilities.
“Where is the manager or owner of this lot?” Ellen asked without preamble.
Surprised at her tone he pointed back at the offices in the middle of the lot and watched as she hurried off, the brunette in her wake.
“Hello, I’m looking for the owner of this lot or the manager?” Ellen asked as she entered the building.
“I’m the owner, this is my manager,” a well-dressed man stated when he over-heard her talking to the receptionist.
“How do you do? I’m Ellen Christenson,” she introduced herself.
“From Gigitech?” he asked, recognizing the name from the papers and magazines he had seen over the years.
Ellen was relieved. She hadn’t traded on her fame, ever. Right now, she needed it to help her achieve the impulse she had in the café. “Yes, that’s right,” she admitted with a smile. “I’m on my way back home and I am hoping you and your staff can help me?”
“Certainly, I’d heard you were from Oklahoma but the stories never said clearly,” he said heartily, trying to be friendly.
“I’m sure you heard of the devastating tornadoes that went through the state late last night?” she asked to clarify.
“Yes, I’m sorry to hear that ma’am. It must be difficult. Did you lose family in the storm?” he sounded concerned.
“No,” she shook her head. “My family is all gone. However, the town is in ruins and they are going to have to have places to stay. I’d like to buy RV’s to give them a place to stay until the rebuilding can begin.”
“Well, we can help you with that,” he said with a nod. “How many were you thinking?”
“How many have you got?”
He blinked, not sure he had heard her correctly. “Ma’am? We are one of the largest dealers in this part of the state,” he began.
Ellen waved aside his spiel. “Look, I won’t dicker with you. I want them all, every…single…one.” She let that sink in for a moment before she continued. “I’m going to need help though in driving them down there. I think we can do it in teams,” she said as she thought about the particulars.
“Ma’am we are talking about hundreds of RV’s and…” he tried to protest.
“Are you saying you won’t sell them to me?” she asked and he was immediately arrested by her cold eyes, the red hair added to his momentary fear.
“No ma’am, I’m not saying that at all.” He realized he wasn’t dealing with an ordinary woman. He began to sweat a little…and today had seemed like an ordinary day.
“Will you take a check?” she teased and his eyebrows raised in surprise as she grinned.
Ellen arranged for a bank to bank transfer as he and his staff made out the sales, hundreds of them.
Rae went across the street to tell their crew that there had been a change in plans and they were all going to be driving, all of them, and why. “Let’s get your company on the phone and arrange for as many drivers as they can spare to get down here to help us get these RV’s on the road,” she said taking command and addressing the van drivers. “We will need you and your services for many days,” she added thinking ahead.
Ellen hadn’t quibbled about the price of the RV’s but she had asked the owner of the dealership to be reasonable, think of the people they would be helping and he immediately thought of the news about this, the prestige, and how he would look. He accommodated her and employees began to call in their wives, husbands, and children old enough to drive as their caravan started out. They prepped the RV’s, filing up their gas tanks and the propane tanks as well as the water tanks. Ellen began to send waves of people down to the devastated area and have them line up the RV’s on her land for the now displaced people of the town. She told them to lend a hand if they could and sent the vans after them to transport them back for another wave of RV’s to be taken down.
“Where have you been?” Ellen asked Rae after a few hours had gone by and she realized she hadn’t seen her in a while.
“I went to the local warehouse foods and cleaned them out. They are stocking the RV’s and vans and helping us get the food down there,” Rae told her.
“How’d you pay for that?” Ellen asked surprised and pleased at her girlfriend’s initiative.
“Well, um,” she was suddenly uncomfortable. “You are going to have to go write a check,” she told her as she blushed. “I maxed out my credit cards,” she added.
Ellen laughed delightedly and pulled her into a hug of gratitude. “I love you,” she whispered into her ear and kissed her. Several disapproving stares followed this show but this woman had just spent an enormous fortune and no one was going to say anything if Ellen had anything to say about it.
The caravan of RV’s continued to leave and Ellen went with Rae in one of the vans to pay for the enormous amount of supplies that Rae had arranged for. The warehouse manager himself came up to shake the famous Ellen Christenson’s hand. “I’ve called my district manager and the other warehouses will be sending down similar supplies on your orders ma’am,” he informed her.
Ellen looked questioningly at her girlfriend and then grinned at the plan. Providing shelter had been her first priority but Rae had thought of food as well. “Thank you,” Ellen said sincerely. She couldn’t remember writing a check like this before. Large purchases through her company had always been through the bank and a cashier’s check or a bank transfer. Even today’s purchases of the RV’s had been handled by phone. A special authorization from her personal accounts that only her passcode could enact.
“We also have these for you,” he said handing her a large box of gift cards.
“Thank you,” Rae said as she took the box from Ellen with a cautionary look.
“We do appreciate the business,” he told her sincerel
y, they had given them a tremendous discount on their enormous purchases.
“Just make sure they spell your name right in the newspapers,” Rae teased him.
He smiled in return. She had used that phrase earlier when she told him what Ms. Christenson wanted and needed from his chain of warehouse stores.
As they left the warehouse and got in the now full van, which was packed with toilet paper, dry goods, and water, she asked Rae, “What if I had said no?”
“I saw what you were up to, I thought I was helping?” she said a bit defensively.
“You did help, enormously. What is that?” she asked pointing at the box on Rae’s lap.
“Gift cards, those people are going to be needing supplies after they begin to start building. I thought I’d go by the building supply houses tomorrow to see what I can arrange…” she began but Ellen cut her off with a fierce kiss.
“Your talents are greatly underappreciated at your job,” Ellen told her sincerely when she set her back in her seat. “I can’t believe how much you thought ahead, and I thought I planned…” she said musingly.
“I wanted to help but I didn’t know what to do. When I saw you buying not just one RV but all of them, I knew then what you might need help with. Your secretaries were a big help too,” she added gesturing to those that were riding with them who smiled and blushed at her praise.
They caught up to some of the RV’s heading towards the path of the tornadoes and the utter devastation they had left. The long line of them went on for miles and Ellen dozed off for a while as they continued driving for a good hour or more. Rae spotted several of the vans used to transport the volunteer drivers back towards the larger town; she wondered how many of them would volunteer for a second or third trip in an RV.
“God, what a mess,” Ellen said as they began to come to the scenes of the devastation. The van began to weave in between debris that was on the highway leading into Oakley. The RV’s began to turn off and head for the land that had been in Ellen’s family for years. She had heard that the tornadoes hadn’t gone that way at all and that the RV’s were lining up on the fields that had held crops forever. They hadn’t been planted this year as some of the lawsuits were still pending on the co-op. Their van continued to drive where it could into Oakley. It stopped at one of the only buildings still standing, the gymnasium of the local high school.
“Is this where you went to school?” Rae murmured as she gazed out of the window and they came to a halt.
“Yeah,” Ellen said, bitter memories assailing her as she got out of the van. There were people everywhere, all looking worse for wear.
“Ms. Christenson?” a voice was heard.
Ellen turned to it and it took her a minute to recognize Mrs. Mann, the wife of her lawyer. She was relieved to see her alive, if looking a bit despondent. “Mrs. Mann?” she asked to verify her identity. At the woman’s nod she enveloped her in a hug. “Are you okay?” she asked stupidly, realizing if she was standing here, in a blanket like this, that she wasn’t okay, not by a long shot.
She shook her head. “We can’t find him,” she said in an odd, lost voice.
“Mr. Mann?” she asked, knowing the answer before the woman nodded. “Well, we will keep looking,” she promised. She had hoped to find someone in a position of authority as she handed the woman off to Rae with a look that told her that this woman needed to be taken care of.
“Avril?” someone said and Ellen turned to see someone from high school that looked vaguely familiar.
“Ellen,” she corrected and then, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember…” she began.
“Of course not. I was your American History teacher. What are you doing here?” he asked.
“We came to help if we can,” she said as she held out her hands and began to look around the gymnasium. It was worse than she expected. Cots lined wall to wall. People crying. People in shock. There were medical personal but it wasn’t enough. She could only imagine what the local hospital looked like, if it had survived the storm.
“We?” he asked looking over her shoulder at the one woman with her. He wondered if that was her special friend. Everyone knew that the famous Avril Ellen Christenson was a lesbian.
“Yes, I have a crew of people here,” Ellen explained. She looked around and added, “Somewhere,” under her breath.
“What can you do?” he asked kindly.
“Well, we brought food and RV’s so people can eat and shower,” she told him as she looked around. It was like a scene from the apocalypse and these survivors were zombies. She wondered if what she had done today would even be enough.
“RV’s?” he asked. “Where?”
“They are on my family’s farm. I wasn’t too sure about parking them elsewhere so I thought that was the best idea,” she told him. “Do you know where I can find who is in charge?” she asked.
Her old teacher led her and Rae, who was still holding Mrs. Mann, or rather the desperate woman was holding Rae, up to where some officious people were filling out forms and trying to help the mass of people.
“Ms. Christenson,” a voice stopped her as she carefully went around to the front of the line. She looked on at the woman who obviously knew her.
“I’m with the Governor’s office. He told us to be on the look-out for you,” she said by way of greeting. “I’m to take you to him when he gets here from looking at the other towns,” she explained.
“And your name is?” Ellen asked and smiled gratefully at her former teacher as he stepped back from escorting her.
“Leslie Brach,” she said and held out her hand to be shook.
Ellen shook the hand but noticed the manicure that the woman was so obviously proud of. She was dressed a bit inappropriately for this scene and she had noticed her earlier, she was part of the paper-pushers who were officiating here.
“I’m here to coordinate things,” she said importantly.
“Well my people have brought food and water and shelter for anyone who needs it,” Ellen explained.
“Good, the national guard should be here shortly,” she told her with a false smile. “They can inventory what you brought and assess what the people need…” she began.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Ellen told her, sizing her up. “My people will be happy to do that as I’ve already purchased the items.”
“Well, we need to inventory them to see if it’s appropriate to…” she began again.
“That won’t be necessary,” Ellen repeated herself. “My people have it well in hand,” she turned from the woman and looking at her old teacher she said, “If you know someone who has lost their entire place, needs a temporary home, and a good meal, please let me know.” She watched as he nodded and began to talk to people.
“You can’t do that, there are forms to be filled out and procedures to be followed,” Leslie sputtered.
“And they can fill out the forms tomorrow and follow your procedures then,” Ellen told her in a firm, no-nonsense voice. Rae smiled at the tone, it was the old Ellen and for once she was cheering that person on. “They lost their homes last night; they don’t need your paperwork. They need to rest and recover,” Ellen told her. “If your Governor wishes to object, too bad. He can reach me out at my farm.” With that she left the woman’s obnoxious presence and headed after her teacher.
“Avril…I mean Ellen, a few folks would like to take you up on your offer,” the teacher stopped to tell her.
“Excellent, my people will help you. I can take a few in my van now and send the van back for more,” she told him. “Can you coordinate that for me for now while I send back one of my people?”
“I’ll stay,” Rae volunteered. “Just commandeer us a nice place to sleep tonight?” she asked as she looked around, still holding the older woman.
Ellen smiled at her and nodded as the teacher began to spread the news. There were hot showers, food, and a place to stay out at the Christenson farm. Avril Christenson, now Ellen Christenson had arrived and bro
ught that with her.
“What am I going to tell the Governor when the National Guard gets here?” Leslie asked Rae when she saw Ellen drive off with a couple of people in the van she had arrived in.
“That they should begin cleaning up the town so these people can get back on their feet as soon as possible,” Rae said as she sat Mrs. Mann down on an empty cot and pulled a blanket around her for warmth. “We will continue to inquire after your husband ma’am,” she told her, unconsciously affecting the speech patterns she had heard from those around her.
* * * * *
Ellen was shocked; the town had been totally leveled. Blocks of homes that had been in families for countless decades were simply gone. The rows of businesses on Main Street were now rubble. The town, what it had been, was completely devastated. Nothing stood in the wake of the two tornadoes that had gone through. It was amazing that the high school was even salvageable; the storm must have hopped right over it as the homes around it were gone too. As she directed the driver to her family’s acreage she could see the caravan of RVs still arriving and she directed him to where her people had set up a command station.
They looked relieved to see her hop out of the van. “Could you arrange for these supplies to be distributed and get these people some accommodation?” she asked as she thumb-pointed towards the van where people were climbing out and looking stunned.
Quickly and efficiently her staff took care of the few souls she had brought with her and began to bring her up to date. “We are parking the RVs in blocks so that people can still get in and out; I’m having people sign them out when I give them the keys. I’ve color coded them and given them identifying tags,” she was told by one of her people.
“I’ve got the barn open and I’ve been accepting the supplies arriving from the warehouses. The boys are delivering a box full of various foods and asking the people for their clothes sizes so we can get them at least one change of clothing to change into after they have showered,” another employee updated her. Ellen was relieved. She hadn’t thought of things like that, but Rae obviously had when she arranged for things from the warehouses. Writing a check had been the easy part.
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