by Sally John
Teal sat in her car with Carole Swanson, both of them unable to stop trembling. Despite the sun beating through the open sunroof, they both held blankets around their shoulders. They listened in silence to the radio news, waiting for the traffic’s domino effect to reach them so Teal could make a tight K-turn and drive home.
Home.
To Maiya and River.
They had to be there.
“Teal.” Carole touched her arm. “Maybe we shouldn’t listen to any more news.”
“Maybe not.” Instead of turning off the radio, she grasped the stranger’s hand and stared straight ahead.
Carole squeezed back.
Newscasters offered only repetitious information in overly pumped tones. “Experts still hold with the initial measurement of 6.8. Ladies and gentlemen, we are talking inestimable, widespread damage in the heart of LA.” They spoke of coordinates and fault lines and numbers and tremors in San Diego and Tijuana. None of it mattered to the average person reeling from what had just happened.
“Folks, power outages are everywhere. Remember, gas lines should be turned off and remain off. Once again, the encouraging news is that downtown remains intact. Skyscrapers swayed but held their ground. Indoors, of course, is another story. Offices, homes, restaurants, and stores are a mess.” They replayed voices of survivors describing shifting and falling appliances, furniture, groceries from shelves, china from Bed Bath & Beyond.
There would be people struck by those things. People underneath those things. Nobody was guessing at injured or death tolls.
Carole said, “Your husband and daughter should be fine, right? You said they’re the other direction.”
Teal nodded. River and Maiya were north and east. Even if he had already gone to work or she had already gone to the mall, they were north and east. According to the broadcasts, much of the damage occurred south and west. Maybe . . . maybe . . .
Maybe nobody had checked north and east yet.
She had left home early that morning, pro bono work on her plate, and driven far from the neighborhoods where the majority of Canfield and Stone’s clients lived. She met with two women on welfare, walked them through the ins and outs of child support, and headed toward the office. Which put her on this freeway going this direction at this time.
Carole sniffed. Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks. “Do you think God picks and chooses who dies today and who doesn’t?”
Teal shook her head. No reason to go there. No reason in the world.
She turned off the radio.
Teal drove Carole and her kids to the Marriott where they were staying. Dr. Swanson would meet them there later, after he and Ron the breath holder took the elderly man to a hospital.
The hotel appeared no worse for wear. Countless guests mingled outdoors, their expressions and voices excited and fearful.
Under the portico, while a porter unloaded the Swansons’ beach paraphernalia, the family and Teal hugged as if they’d known each other forever. Carole took Teal’s card. They had absolutely nothing in common other than this one moment in time. It was, at the least, enough of a bond for them to exchange Christmas cards for the remainder of their lives.
Teal drove away, her cell phone practically embedded in her left hand. She had checked it nearly as often as she blinked, but the signal was not there.
The car seemed oddly empty without her friends. The world outside faded into a surrealistic haze. Traffic choked the streets. Although she was within minutes of her community, getting there at this rate would take longer than she thought she could bear.
But what choice did she have?
The phone rang.
Teal jumped and cried out. “Oh! Oh!” Not slowing to check the incoming ID, she pressed the Answer icon. “H’lo!”
“Tealie!” It was Charlie Yoshida, their neighbor and surrogate grandpa, shouting at his usual volume in order to hear himself. “You answered! Then you’re fine! River, she’s fine.”
“You’re talking to River? What is going—?”
“Are you fine?”
“Charlie!” She jerked the steering wheel toward a curbside handicapped space and slammed on the brakes.
“You sound just fine.” He chuckled. “She’s just fine, everyone.” His voice grew faint. “We’re all just fine. Yes. Cindy! Come here.” He spoke his wife’s name. “Tealie is fine.”
“Charlie!” Teal shouted. “Please!”
“Oh, sorry. We’re so happy. Everyone is cheering. The nurses and other patients. River is smiling at last.”
“Nurses and patients? Where are you? What’s wrong?”
“Sh, sh. Calm down. Didn’t I say we’re all just—?”
“Then why isn’t River on the phone?”
“Well, he can’t talk. I mean, he can talk, but they’re telling him to lie still and be quiet. Because of the pain.”
“What pain?”
“Ribs. We think he cracked some. This place is a zoo, but he needs tests. Oh, hold on. He’s trying to sit up and he’s cussing. I guess he wants to talk. Here he is.”
There was the sound of a labored breath and then, “Teal. Thank . . . God . . . you’re . . . okay.”
If Charlie had not said he was putting River on the phone, she never could have guessed the voice belonged to her husband. The gentle tenor was nowhere in the hoarse whisper. He paused between each word as if garnering the strength to climb a rock wall.
“Oh, River.” She moaned and leaned forward, her head against her arm on the steering wheel. “What happened?”
“Garage . . . tubs. . . . Maiya?”
“Maiya? Didn’t she come home?”
“No.”
“My phone wasn’t working until now. Did you hear from her?”
“Phone . . . same . . .”
What about the house phone? Voice mails? Didn’t you check? She let the questions circle unspoken. “Don’t try to talk, hon. I’m sure Shauna insisted the girls stay with her until she heard from us. Phone lines are tied up.”
“I love you.”
She heard the worry and relief in his voice. If he had not been injured, he would have somehow found her stuck on the freeway and come like a knight on a white horse. He could not have sat still waiting, not with those memories of his.
“I love you, River. Let me talk to Cindy so you can rest.”
“Yeah. Love you.”
“I’ll be there soon.” Wherever there was. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip. Blubbering would not help. Cindy would help. Like her husband, she was of Japanese descent but had been born and raised in the States. She filled the surrogate grandmother role, but not in a warm-cookies-and-milk way. A long-retired school principal, she maintained a no-nonsense attitude.
“Teal.” Cindy’s strong voice came on the line. “Sorry, I was down the hall when Charlie reached you. River sounds worse than he is, so don’t worry. They want to do a CT scan to see exactly what’s going on. We’re at Redman Medical Center. Can you get here?”
“I’m about twenty minutes away. Are you all right?”
“We’re a little shaken up, but otherwise fine. There’s no obvious damage to your house or ours. Charlie saw River’s pickup out front and thought it odd he hadn’t checked on us. He went over to check on him. River didn’t answer the door, so Charlie used our key to get inside. He found him lying on the mudroom floor. He had crawled in from the garage.”
“Oh no.”
“Now that’s the worst of it. Get your rear in gear and get over here. I’ve tried Maiya’s cell, but it won’t connect. Charlie and I will go home and wait for her.”
Teal whispered a thank-you as she pulled away from the curb. Her heart pounded with fresh shots of adrenaline. “He’s okay. He’s okay.” She fumbled with her phone and checked for voice mails. There were none. She pressed speed dial for Maiya’s number.
An automated voice spoke. No lines were available.
Teal had nowhere to tuck this information into her psyche.
And so she screamed. Once. At the top of her lungs. Long and hard.
Chapter 8
Teal kept the tears at bay until her cheek was pressed against River’s scratchy one and she heard his whisper in her ear.
“Xena.”
Typically she laughed at his ludicrous nickname for her. Now she started bawling. If she were a warrior princess, she would have ordered the hospital staff to attend to him immediately. She would have sent an army out to comb the city for Maiya.
River cradled her face and kissed her as she leaned awkwardly over the high, narrow bed, careful to embrace only his shoulders. Tears seeped at the corners of his eyes and mingled with hers.
There was nothing else to do.
They were in a busy, crowded hallway of the emergency room. It was the only available space. At least River was able to lie down, the least-painful position for him. People with heart issues or major traumatic injuries took precedence. The waiting area was a nightmare of fear and minor cuts and bruises. The news blared from televisions, adding to the tension. Did anyone need to know yet that hundreds of people may have been killed?
Teal thought of the man from the freeway with chest pains. He had been taken to a different hospital. She hoped he was all right. She hoped everyone in the city was all right.
It was too much.
She kissed River’s cheek and straightened for her first good look at him. He wore a blue hospital gown and blue jeans. She wanted to crawl up beside him and hold him tightly. “Oh, baby.”
He wiped at his tears and tried to smile. “That bad?”
The situation had already etched itself in his laugh lines and crow’s-feet, deepening them into crevices. His dark-blue eyes had no sparkle. They matched the circles beneath them.
She brushed his brown hair off his forehead. His skin was clammy. Gently she reached around and removed the elastic band. He always undid the ponytail when he was lying down. “I thought I’d seen you at your worst. Like after those survival campouts with the boys. But you’ve taken that macho-man disheveled look to new heights. Speaking of the boys, have you heard from the school?”
“Cindy called for me.”
“All okay?”
“Yeah. The office?” He winced with the effort of talking.
“I haven’t been able to phone anyone yet. Did they give you something?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Let me guess.” She held his hand and stroked the platinum wedding band. “You refused everything except one over-the-counter, low-dose-capsule pain reliever.” Even that could put him to sleep. If he took two, no telling what would happen. His body seemed incapable of processing drugs without a major upheaval in his system. “You can nap.”
“Nooo.” The word was an exhale.
She put a finger on his lips. “Stop talking.”
He kissed her finger and gazed at her, gratitude written all over him. She saw it in his lean face and strong chin, at rest despite the stress his body was experiencing. “Find Mai.”
She took a deep breath, torn between staying with him and tracking down their daughter. “The cell signal won’t hold. I have to find a pay phone.” If Maiya didn’t answer, she would call Shauna. She would check voice messages from their house line, from River’s cell, from her cell. She wanted to check in with the office, too.
“Call your family,” he whispered.
“Oregon can wait.”
His eyes went to half-mast and not because of exhaustion. It wasn’t that he disapproved of her choices or that he intentionally dumped loads of guilt on her. He simply never gave up suggesting she might want to be a little more thoughtful toward her family for her own sake.
She said, “But Jenny and Aaron can’t wait.” At least she had a relationship with his sister and her new husband. “I’ll try to reach them in Paris.” Teal laid her head carefully on his shoulder. “Listen to me, planning a dozen calls like no one else will be using the pay phones.”
He ruffled her hair. A moment later he was snoring.
Maiya did not answer her cell phone.
The Yoshidas answered Teal’s house phone. Maiya was not there.
Teal stole a glance over her shoulder. The line for the two pay phones was not getting any shorter. She had waited twenty-five minutes for her turn. People were being polite over the whole thing, not complaining or frowning at her. It seemed the worst scenario was bringing out the best in humanity.
She pressed more numbers, grateful she still carried a business phone card.
Shauna answered her house phone on the first ring, her voice nowhere near its usual calm alto. “Hello!” Teal imagined her friend’s sweet face crumpled in worry over her wide range of family and friends.
“Shauna, it’s me.”
“You guys okay? I’ve been leaving messages on your voice mails.”
“I haven’t been able to check any. We’re good. Almost.” She gave a quick rundown of River’s situation. “You’re all fine?”
“Yes. We were home when it hit.”
“Oh, thank God! Thank God. Can I talk to Maiya?”
“Maiya?”
A deathly silence fell between them, the facts slithering into both mothers’ consciences at the same time.
“Shauna.” Teal’s mouth went dry.
“She’s not here, Teal. Why do you think she’s here?”
“She spent the night.”
“No. She didn’t. Amber!” Shauna shouted her daughter’s name. “Amber Jaleene! Get in here right this minute!”
Teal slumped against the small partition and put an elbow on the shelf. Dear God. Dear God. Dear God.
Now she heard Shauna talking to her daughter. “Amber, where is Maiya? Don’t give me that shrug. Teal thinks she spent the night here. Why does she think that?”
The conversation quickly disintegrated. Amber wailed loud enough for Teal to hear. She cried that she had promised not to tell. Shauna, a middle school counselor who did not make idle threats, promised to ground her for six months. “Take your pick! Keep your secret or have a life. Teal is about to lose her mind here. Now where is Maiya?”
Their voices grew softer. Then Shauna’s breath became audible, a cross between a deep inhale and a sigh. “She says Maiya is with that Jake boy.”
“Jake?” Teal’s voice rose. “Jake Ford? Since last night?”
“Yeah. They went camping. Up in the forest.”
“No!” Her baby spent the night with that delinquent? She was only fifteen! “No!”
“Listen, Teal. We’ll sort out all that junk later. Focus on the fact that this means she’s most likely fine. There are no reports of damage up that way. Those two are probably scared to death and just trying to get back into the city. Maybe she’s home by now.”
“He drives a motorcycle!”
“Well, that makes it easier to get through traffic.”
“He’s nineteen, Shauna! Statutory—”
“Hey, hey. Don’t go lawyer on me. We have no clue what happened. Hold on to the good thought that she is safe. She is still your smart Maiya. You take care of River. Amber and I will go over to your house.”
“The Yoshidas are there. She’s not.”
“Well, we’ll go and wait with them. I’ll keep trying her cell. Now don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. If you want JT to hog-tie that boy until you get there, just say the word and it’s done.” She referred to her husband, an ex-semipro football player.
Teal halfway considered accepting the offer. “Oh, Shauna. Why would she do such a stupid thing?”
“Why did any of us do such stupid things? Now go. Bye.”
Teal hung up the phone and turned to a crowd of expectant faces.
The woman at the front of the line moved toward the phone. “Is she all right?”
Teal shrugged and hurried away.
She understood why she had done such stupid things as a teenager. In a word, she chalked it up to family. Why else did kids act out?
But Maiya? What was her problem? Her fam
ily consisted of Teal and River, who weren’t perfect but they unabashedly loved her and each other. They provided all her needs. To some extent they spoiled her. True, they weren’t a traditional family because although they always referred to River as Maiya’s dad, he was after all “only” a stepfather. Yet dysfunctional had never entered the picture.
Had it?
No matter. It was in the picture now. Familial trust had been ripped apart. Her husband was the one who had brought Jake into their home. He vowed the kid was not dangerous. Her daughter had lied to her about where she had been. Somehow Jake Ford was involved.
Teal could hold it all in for now. But once Maiya showed up and River was alert, she imagined herself going ballistic. Life would never, ever be the same between them again.
Earthquake damage to the support system of a freeway overpass? Tip of the iceberg.
Chapter 9
CEDAR POINTE, OREGON
Lacey Janski froze behind the counter, a blackberry pie in her hands. She looked out at the customers in her coffee shop and zeroed in on a white-haired icon of retired local fishermen. “Andy, what did you say?”
The man moved from the table where he had stopped on his way in to greet friends and crossed the room. “Big earthquake down in Los Angeles this morning.”
That was what she thought she had heard him say. “Where exactly?”
“I don’t know.”
“When?”
“Ten o’clock or so.”
“How big?”
“Six point—oh, man.” His deep voice rumbled. The lines of his weathered face creased into a frown. “I forgot. That’s where your sister lives.” He stretched across the counter, took the pie from her, and set it down. “You hadn’t heard?”
“No.” She turned on her heel and strode to the back-room doorway. “Will!” She called out to her husband. “Will!”
He was seated in the far corner at the desk, phone to his ear, speaking softly.
Lacey froze again. How often in recent months had she walked in on Will, phone to his ear, speaking softly?
