Content warning. The following chapter contains descriptions of storms and storm damage that may be disturbing, especially to survivors of tropical hurricanes, tornadoes, or other natural disasters. Please use discretion when reading. By necessity, this is a long chapter. Grab a cup of coffee, tea, or whatever makes your heart happy. Get comfortable and walk with me through this part of Danae and Darcey’s life as they endure The Storm.
Two Years Later
— Monday, Before The Storm —
It would be thirteen years in the late fall since the Murphy and Scroggins families moved from Starlight Shores to Isla Paradiso to chase Andy’s career dreams. Elyse had turned sixteen in the spring that year, but wished to wait until their summer break for an epic “Sweet Sixteen” party. The children followed a different schedule than mainland schools, taking a break in summer’s hottest month.
Danae planned a pool party for the first Saturday of the month-long summer break. The guest list included most of her classmates at Accolades Academy. While most of the students who attended the Academy were from affluent families, Elyse was among the few with famous parents. This prestige earned her the title of most popular girl in her class. It made for a large guest list, about thirty unruly teenagers, as a conservative estimate.
Darcey sat at the island in Danae and Andy’s kitchen with a pencil stuck behind her ear. Both sisters pored over catalogs and magazines spread end to end on Danae’s kitchen counters, collecting ideas for Elyse’s party. As she usually did, Danae left the television on at a muted volume in the living room. Andy would host a press conference that afternoon regarding the acquisition of a new player from Riverview.
Danae looked through old family cookbooks searching for a recipe she knew their mother, Charlotte, had used for their birthdays: Grandma Penny’s hot milk cake. The cookbook in question was generations old, in dire need of TLC, well-loved, and referenced for almost every special meal or treat. The cookbook was where their grandmother, Bella, learned to make cherry crepes. Charlotte and Danae learned to make lobster Thermidor, and every Farmer lady learned to make Destiny’s famous banana pancakes.
“Found it!” Danae said, feeling triumphant. “It was in the last place I looked for it.” This elicited laughter from Darcey, who took the pencil from her ear to jot down a note. “Why is that so funny?”
“Because,” Darcey said, “you usually stop looking when you find something. Therefore, it’s always in the last place you look!”
Danae stuck her tongue out at her sister, which prompted a fit of giggling laughter from both. How the twins cherished days like this one, when there was nothing to do but sit and laugh. The young twins started pre-school after the Snowflake Day holiday that year; Teddy and Tessa were bound for kindergarten when school resumed in September. That left Danae with abundant free time on her hands. Darcey worked at the hospital for four twelve-hour days, and had four days off, so she spent much of her down time with her sister, reminiscing and working on scrapbooks. One such scrapbook, one containing memories and mementos of ballet classes and recitals, would be Elyse’s sixteenth birthday gift from Darcey and Clint.
“I’m going to get more coffee,” Danae said and stood. These days, her back hurt when she sat in one place too long, so it felt good for her to stretch. She was retrieving the quart bottle of coffee creamer from the refrigerator when the local news broke into regular programming with an ominous alert:
…Meteorologists are monitoring a tropical storm in the southern sea. Computer models project significant strengthening over the next few days. Chances are good that we could see the storm in Isla Paradiso as early as Saturday afternoon. Keep your radio tuned to our sister station for twenty-four-seven storm updates…
Danae’s coffee prep came to a screeching halt. It wasn’t the first time they’d seen winds and rains from tropical weather systems, but this one was predicted to affect the island on Saturday—Elyse’s birthday party. “Well, that’s inconvenient!” she said in exasperation.
“What’s that, Nae?” Darcey dog-eared a page in a trendy teen magazine for Danae’s approval. She never looked up from the periodical, still scanning its pages for more party game ideas.
“Didn’t you hear the weather report, Darce? They’re predicting rain and wind on Saturday. Not exactly ideal weather for a pool party.”
Darcey bobbed her head from side to side. “Worse comes to worse, you can always have it inside and turn it into a slumber party.” She chuckled, observing her sister’s sour expression. On its head, the idea was ludicrous. There would be no conceivable instance where Andy would allow a “boy-girl” sleepover, especially one Howie—Elyse’s steady boyfriend and ballet partner—was attending. The idea of it made Darcey laugh a bit longer, and a lot harder.
“You’re not close to serious, are you? Thirty teenagers in this teeny house at once? I’d lose my ever-loving mind! Besides, Howie is still skating on thin ice with Andy. There’s no way he’d let THAT happen!”
“I’m surprised Andy let Howie live, to be honest, after the stunt those kids pulled.”
“Oh, I know,” Danae said in agreement. “If it was up to Andy, Howie would’ve been in a full-body cast for three months.”
Darcey cringed. “That’s a long time to be itchy.” Danae looked at her sister, stifling a laugh. “What? Casts are itchy.”
Unable to hold back the snicker she fought to contain, Danae snorted. “He needs to keep his hands off my daughter, or I’ll break them myself.”
“They’re dance partners. That’ll be tough.”
Danae swatted Darcey with a magazine. “You know what I mean!”
The front door swung open to two noisy, chattering teenagers. Elyse and Eamon argued all the way home on the school bus, bickering as they did every day. Eamon walked to Danae and handed her a notice from the school, then stomped to his bedroom and slammed the door without uttering a word. Elyse crossed her arms and muttered, “Coward!” under her breath, directed toward her younger brother.
“What’s going on, Lysie? Why is your brother a coward?”
Elyse set her backpack by the hallway that led to her bedroom. She walked to the chair in front of the large screen television and she flopped into it like a living rag doll. Elyse heard her mother talking, but none of what Danae said registered in her mind. I have enough to think about, Elyse thought to herself. She sat forward, resting her forehead on her hands, and sighed.
“… Elyse! Are you listening to me?” Danae’s patience with her oldest child was often thin. “What’s wrong with Eamon?”
Without looking up, she spoke into her hands. “Read the flier Eamon gave you. He’s scared of a little wind and rain, like it’s gonna be a big deal.” She stood again and walked to her backpack. “I got homework.” With no more words spoken, she gathered her books and walked to her bedroom, then slammed the door behind her.
Danae unfolded the announcement, skimming through the note, her brain not absorbing the letter’s contents. At the last paragraph, her eyes widened like saucers.
…In order to prepare the buildings as storm shelters, students will be dismissed early county-wide on Wednesday afternoon, and schools will be closed for all extracurricular activities until further notice. We are urging families to heed warnings issued by the island authorities regarding evacuations and storm preparedness…
“Indefinitely?! Are they kidding me?” Danae crumpled the paper and threw it toward the wastebasket by Darcey’s feet, where the paper missed its intended mark in spectacular fashion. “If they’re canceling Elyse’s ballet and Eamon’s football practice, the twins’ summer camp will probably be canceled, too.” She huffed a lock of hair from her face. “Darce, how am I going to handle having all four of them home until who knows when?!”
Darcey retrieved the wadded up note from the floor and smoothed it out on the table to read, her lips moving as she read. “Nae, did you read this whole thing?”
“Yeah. This is insanity, Darce. It’s just a tropical storm.”
“They’re being cautious. I know we’ve been lucky in the years we’ve been here. But if the school is preparing for the storm, we shouldn’t assume it’s going to miss us. What if the weather reports are right?”
“They seldom are.” Danae picked up her phone and searched to determine their storm zone. It was information she already knew but, considering the looming storm, she didn’t figure it would hurt to recheck. “We’re in zone A, which means if they call for a mandatory evacuation, we’ll need to leave. What zone are you in, Darce?”
“Zone D,” she said. “We’re near the coast, but our house sits about forty feet above sea level on the bluff. We would be fine, even with a significant storm surge.” Darcey reached for her purse, which sat at her feet on the floor by the island counter. “That’s really what evacuation zones are for, anyway; flood waters and storm surge.” She reached in and pulled out a stick of peppermint gum. “Want a piece, Nae?” she said, holding the open pack to her twin. “It’s your favorite.” The purse slid back down and landed with a quiet, dull thud.
Danae scrunched her nose. “Nah, but thanks. It’s too close to dinner.” Her gaze shifted to the yard outside their kitchen window, where the barely used pool sat, along with an assortment of weathered patio furniture, a sandbox for the twins, Danae’s garden, and beyond her yard, the swells of the ocean’s high tide. Though the predicted storm was days away from a potential landfall, the water seemed rougher, and the breeze that made the palm tree blades rustle and sway appeared stronger. “What happens if this storm comes here, Darce?”
“You all come to my house, end of story. You won’t sit in a shelter when I have a home that’s safe and out of harm’s way.” Darcey snapped the small wad of gum she chewed, but not intentionally. “Besides, Noel and Shan will love to have a sleepover party with their cousins.” Because the boys knew the truth about Teddy and Tessa, they had a special, close relationship with their younger cousins.
“Maybe instead of planning the party, we should prepare for this storm. You know, just in case.” She picked up the flier Eamon had given her to read it one more time.
Attention parents of the Accolades student body:
According to weather reports, a potentially dangerous storm has formed in the southern sea with a forecasted path that could impact direct coastal areas of Isla Paradiso. The storm was approximately twelve-hundred miles southeast of the island at noon on Monday, heading northwest at twelve miles per hour. At present, the storm is a tropical depression, but is forecast to strengthen, possibly to major hurricane strength, as it approaches the mainland and outlying islands, this area included.
The mayor of Isla Paradiso has issued a state of emergency ahead of the storm, allowing county resources to become available to island residents for preparations. The Accolades Academy, along with other public and private schools in the area, will open as shelters no later than thirty-six hours before the storm’s forecast landfall. In order to prepare the buildings as storm shelters, students will be dismissed early county-wide on Wednesday afternoon, and schools will be closed for all extracurricular activities until further notice.
We are urging families to heed warnings issued by the island authorities regarding evacuations and storm preparedness.
Rae and Kirby Kemp
Directors, Accolades Academy
Danae understood Eamon’s fear about the coming storm because she felt the same sense of uneasiness. Being called a coward by his sister couldn’t have helped the situation. Rather than throw the paper away, she hung it on the refrigerator to serve as a reminder that she had things to do. There were six of them, and four of Darcey’s family members. Surely, she couldn’t expect her sister to accommodate four adults and six children in their small home. Instead of succumbing to panic, which sometimes she was apt to do, she waited for Andy’s arrival home from work. Danae took a deep breath and put the weather report out of her mind.
For now.
“You want to stay for dinner tonight, Darce? It beats being alone,” Danae said. Clint’s position at the software company required that he stay later than usual to meet a crucial deadline with an upcoming game. He was the programmer responsible, along with his team, for the code that ran the game. The code, however, had a significant bug that had plagued the game’s beta test for months. Failure to fix it would stall the game’s release, a delay that would cost the company money, and many developers their jobs. Clint’s position as a senior programmer was not in jeopardy, but since the project was his to manage, he needed to keep his developers on track. As a result, he would work late again that night, as he had done every evening for the past three months.
“I should get home soon,” Darcey said, peeking at her watch. “Shan has his final project due on Wednesday that he’ll need some help with, and Noel needs the car for his shift at the resort tonight.” She slid from the stool onto feet that were nearing total numbness. To save herself from stumbling, she grasped the counter with an iron grip. “What time do the twins get home?”
Danae checked the clock on the stove. “In about twenty minutes. I expect they’ll have a similar note about the storm.” When her feet regained some feeling, but before the onset of the inevitable pins and needles, Darcey walked to her sister and gave her a hug. “See you tomorrow, Darce?”
Darcey nodded. “Uh huh. I think you’re right, though. We should start preparing for this storm, like you said. Just in case.” She picked up her purse using the toe of her Keds and took the handle. “I’ll call you in the morning, sis.” Darcey knew that in a while, Danae would have her hands full with the twins, just as she did every afternoon when they returned from school. Darcey hoped it would give her a little time to forget the trouble that sat in the ocean, twelve hundred miles from home.
*****
That night after dinner, after the younger children were sound asleep, Danae and Andy sat together in a lounge chair that had seen much better days, each sipping on their usual glass of wine. Danae’s mind was preoccupied with weather reports and with the situation they could face that coming weekend. It was hard for her to grasp the notion of an approaching hurricane—one that hadn’t yet formed—creating chaos on the island, and with their home.
The onshore breeze was peaceful and still, as were the low tide waters lapping at the shoreline. A crescent moon sat low in the eastern sky, shimmering a scant amount of light through the scattered clouds and over the water. Andy swirled the last sip of his wine in the glass before drinking it. When he set his glass down on the side table, he noticed Danae hadn’t touched hers.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asked. “Is something bothering you?”
Danae shrugged her shoulders, not shifting her gaze. “I’m okay.”
“You don’t seem okay. What’s bothering you, Nae?”
“It’s just that…” Danae stopped, afraid that if she said it, the storm would materialize, spoken into existence by her words and fears. “Darcey was here today helping me to finish planning Elyse’s party on Saturday when we heard the weather forecast.” She took a deep breath, thinking about her next words. Maybe if she ignored it…? The trouble with that strategy was that she couldn’t afford ignorance, willful or otherwise. “What happens if this thing comes here, Andy?”
Andy slipped his arm around Danae’s waist and snuggled her closer to him. “I thought about that, too. Aaron and I discussed it this afternoon after the presser. He mentioned that he, Trixie, and Stephanie would probably shelter in his office, assuming it’s okay with Kirby. I thought maybe we could, too, away from the school gymnasium where other evacuees would stay. Not that I mind being with other people, but the twins…” He stopped to brush hair away from the nape of Danae’s neck. “Ted and Tess need constant supervision. It will be easier to watch them in a smaller, more confined area.” He leaned closer to her, placing a delicate kiss on her neck. She cooed an audible, pleasurable sigh and reached for his hand.
“Darcey offered for us to stay with them, but their house is on the bluff. Won’t the winds still affect them, even if the water doesn’t?” His hand slid over the fabric of her pajama shorts, making it difficult to concentrate. She moved his hand away, only to be met with its return, and a light chuckle.
Andy nodded. “Yes. All structures on the island are vulnerable, but the stadium and schools are designated shelters for a reason. Those will be the safest places should the storm turn ugly.” Sensing her uneasiness, Andy rubbed her shoulder and kissed her forehead. “If we have to leave, we’ll bring Darce and her family with us. My office is big enough to shelter all of us.”
Comforted by Andy’s calm reassurance, she reached for her glass of wine, took a sip, and set it back down on the side table. “It helps to know we don’t have to do this alone. What about Kirby and Rae?”
Andy snuggled her closer, burying his nose into her hair and inhaling the scent of her sugary vanilla shampoo. “Kirby hasn’t said, but I’d guess if things get bad, they’ll both stay in his office. It would make sense to do that, with the upgrades he’s implemented through the years, in both the school and the stadium.” He kissed her shoulder, his lips brushing gently on her skin. Danae shivered under his touch, then laughed.
“You’re getting awfully cuddly, sir,” she said with a sexy growl in her voice.
“And since when do you mind that, little missy?”
“Since never.” Danae shifted her position so that she faced Andy. The yard, otherwise dark, was illuminated by a scant sliver of moonlight that reflected off the ocean. Fireflies in the pampas grass, bullfrogs croaking in the pond on the nearby land, and the sound of gentle waves lapping at the shoreline created a perfectly romantic moment. The temperature was unseasonably cool and dry for late summer, which made Andy’s sweet kiss feel warmer than usual on her skin. She couldn’t take much more teasing and seductive banter. “Are we going to just talk, or are you going to take me to bed?” She bit her bottom lip and sucked it into her mouth, letting it pop out slowly. Andy squirmed next to her and gave her a crooked, sexy smile.
“Damn, Danae, you know I can’t resist you when you give me that look.” Andy moved to rise from the chaise, took her hand, and led her to their bedroom.
— Tuesday, Before The Storm —
Elyse and Eamon had already left for school when the house phone rang. Danae still needed to get the twins to their Pre-K class; she was running late, and the phone was the last distraction she needed. “Teddy Bear, finish your juice and go brush your teeth, please,” she said, running to answer the call. To her great relief, it was her sister. “Hey Darce.”
“Hi Nae,” Darcey said. “Listen, I just came back from a call at the hospital. The lines to get inside the grocery store were out the door and halfway up the block. If we’re going out, we should go soon.”
“Geez,” Danae said. “It’s that bad already?”
“Uh huh. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to drive the causeway to that store on the mainland. I bet it wouldn’t be as crowded.”
Once Danae dropped the twins at preschool, they’d have only six hours to do any preparations before she’d need to pick them up. The store on the mainland was an hour’s drive each way. It left little time if the store was busy and traffic was heavy, and Danae expected that would be the case.
“Nae?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Danae said. “Head over, and I’ll call Trixie. Maybe she can pick up the twins when she gets Stephanie.”
“Just bring them with us, Nae. They won’t miss anything when school is winding down for summer break.”
“You’re sure you don’t mind, Darce? Teddy can be a real pain in a store.”
Darcey chuckled on the other end of the phone. “Oh, I’m well aware. You forget I take them with me when you need a break! They’ll be fine, Nae. I’ll come get you in my car, and we’ll leave from your house.”
“Okay, if you’re sure!” Danae laughed. “We’ll be ready to go when you get here.”
“Sounds good. See you soon.”
“See you soon.” Teddy reappeared from the bathroom wearing a big smile and a spot of water on his shirt. “What happened to you, little Bear?” Both twins were short for their ages, standing just over three feet tall. As a result, neither of them could reach the bathroom sink without a stepstool. Teddy always sported a water spot on his shirt after brushing his teeth or washing his face.
“I brushed my teeth like you said, Mama. Is it time for school yet?”
“No school today, Teddy Bear. You and Tessy, Aunt Darcey and I are going into town to shop. How’s that sound?”
“Can we stop for ice cream?”
“I’m sure we will, sweet pea. Come on, Tessy!” Danae said. “Are you dressed yet?”
“I can’t tie my shoes!” Tessa giggled, walking from the bedroom with her shoes on the wrong feet and untied. Still laughing, Tessa slipped her feet out of the wrong shoes and into the correct ones. Danae laughed and shook her head. Life was never dull with the “gruesome twosome” around.
“Come here, you goofy girl!” Danae said, smiling, as she helped Tessa to tie her sneakers.
Twenty minutes later, Darcey walked into the house, all smiles and arms opened. “Where are my two favorite kiddos?” She kneeled and wrapped them both in a hug, covering them with kisses. Danae watched as her sister played with her twin babies. “Ready to go?” Darcey said before blowing bubbles on Teddy’s tummy; that started a whole new round of giggles and squeals.
“Yep, if these two will let you up off the floor.” Danae knew what was coming, and so did the twins, if their loud, hysterical laughter was any clue.
“Oh, they’ll let me up, or they’ll face the Tickle Monster!” Darcey got on her knees and twisted, grasping for the first twin she could reach. She had Tessa in her arms, but the young girl wiggled away from her, squealing in joyful laughter. It was a sound Danae loved to hear them both make; Darcey had the knack for making them giggle, too.
“Alright kids,” Danae said, emphasizing the word ‘kids.’ “We need to go so we can get home before Daddy.” Elyse and Eamon were responsible enough to let themselves in and start homework, and Danae trusted they would keep themselves from trouble. She texted Andy before they left, letting him know where they’d be, and to keep an eye on Elyse and Eamon when school let out. Just in case. “Ready, Darce?”
“Ready!” Darcey stood the best she could with two children hanging from her. Danae took her purse and keys, while Darcey had one twin on each side of her, all of them laughing as they walked to Darcey’s car.
*****
Since football was in the off-season, Kirby closed the offices and stadium to focus all efforts on storm preparation. He and Rae planned to ride out the storm at the school and open the stadium as an additional shelter, if needed, to families who had nowhere else to go. That morning, he expected a large shipment of bottled water in addition to the usual cafeteria stock. As the storm allowed, he planned on serving hot meals to everyone who wanted one.
Andy gathered a few plastic totes he’d brought from home and carried them into his office. Everything he didn’t want damaged—either by the wind and water or his own two little hurricanes—he intended to pack up and place in the stadium’s storage room. He had just finished packing the first tub when Aaron knocked on his door.
“Hey Murph,” he said, sticking his head through the opened door. “How’s it going in here?”
“You know the drill, Aaron,” Andy said. “Just making sure hurricanes Teddy and Tessa don’t wreck my office. They have a tendency to do that.”
“Oh, I know all about that. I’m glad Trixie has the energy for Steph, because I sure don’t.”
“How is prep going in your office? Do you need a hand with anything?”
Aaron shook his head and stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his comfortable, acid-washed jeans. “Nah. Trixie will come to help me set up on Thursday when it’s closer. She needs to have it comfortable for her and Steph. I have to admit, Murph, I’m skeptical this storm is coming at all.”
“Hey, I am, too. Danae doesn’t trust the weatherman on Channel 12, and with good reason; he sensationalizes everything. Every storm is going to trigger the zombie apocalypse if you take his word for things.” Andy laughed a bit. “Still, they could be right. I mean, who knows this far out?”
“That’s what I mean. There was a close call in Sunlit Tides when I was in college. My folks were scared half to death of a storm that passed to the north by three hundred miles. They might have gotten a little rain, but that was it.”
“Truthfully, that’s what I think will happen here. The thing is pointed at us now, but I think it’ll shift. All of this preparation will have been for nothing.”
Aaron pointed his right index finger at the sky, his eyes following his finger. “From your mouth, Andy…”
“I know, buddy. I know.”
Another knock at the door, and Kirby peeked inside. “Guys, can you come help unload the supply truck at the academy? I ordered water for your families, just in case the stores are sold out. I know it’s not enough, but it will help.”
Andy and Aaron looked at one another and then at Kirby. “Yeah,” Andy said. “I’d help even without the extra water.”
“Me, too,” Aaron said in agreement.
The three men walked to the school’s receiving area to find pallets of water being offloaded into the main kitchen, along with cases of supplies Kirby figured he’d need to feed a crowd of people. Paper plates, plastic cups and flatware, napkins, along with normal staples used for schooltime meals. It wasn’t something the county required—to feed evacuees sheltered there during the storm—but it was instead something Kirby and Rae decided they’d do because, as the school’s administrators, she believed it was the right thing to do. People would already be scared and on edge; if having a hot meal would help to mitigate some of that stress, they were happy to do it. Rae ordered everything she believed they’d need, and Kirby paid for all of it.
After the truck had departed the school, Andy and Aaron loaded the stadium’s pallet jack with the water Kirby supplied, unloading one-third of the sixty case pallet at Kirby’s office, and the other cases to split between Aaron and Andy. Two of them working together had all three offices stocked in thirty minutes, and the pallet jack returned to the concession loading area. Since he was leaving the stadium at the kids’ dismissal time, he’d bring Eamon and Elyse home from school with him. Before he left his office, Andy texted Danae to tell her about the water Kirby gifted to them. With one last filled plastic bin under his arm, he turned out the light, closed his office door, and locked it behind him.
*****
Hours later, Danae’s phone buzzed with a text from Andy. It was fortunate that she felt the vibration, because the racket that surrounded them in the mile-long checkout lane drowned out any chime that could have sounded. Darcey kept the twins entertained while Danae read the message on her phone:
Nae, Kirby left us twenty cases of water. If you haven’t left the store, we don’t need it. Let someone else have our share. See you when you get home.
Between the two of them, the girls had only nabbed one case of twenty-four bottles, the maximum limit “per family.” Andy’s news was an obvious relief. She slid the phone into her back pocket and leaned to Darcey.
“Andy has enough water for all of us,” she said. “Kirby left us twenty cases to share.”
Darcey had a tired little girl hanging off her waist and a cranky little boy by the hand. “That’s a load off. Now, we won’t need to go somewhere else.” She lifted Tessa onto her hip and passed Teddy’s hand to Danae. “They’re tired. Let’s get out of here and back across the causeway before dark.”
After waiting in line for an hour, they were finally next at checkout. Danae searched for someone with no water in their cart, someone who looked as though they needed it. She spotted a young mother with a little girl she guessed was the same age as the twins. She had nothing in her cart, but from seeing her walking the aisles for hours the same way they’d done, Danae knew the young mother needed what she had to give her. Without a second thought, she picked up three large boxes of snacks, the case of water, and a bunch of bananas they’d gotten for the drive home.
Danae paid for those items first, then whispered to Darcey, “I’ll be right back.” She took the receipt and the cart full of items and approached the young woman.
“Hi,” she said. “We’ve bumped into each other a few times walking around. My husband has some extra water at home, so I’d like for you to have this one.” Danae handed the receipt for the items she’d purchased to the young lady. “It’s paid for. You don’t need to wait.”
“Oh, I can’t accept…” the woman said, but then stopped. “Wait! I know you. You’re Danae Jones, and that’s your sister, Darcey! My father was a big Llamas fan, and we all loved your dad. I’d recognize you two anywhere.”
Andy was used to recognition whenever he was in public, but unless they were together somewhere, Danae was unknown. Unknown until now, she thought. “Daddy sure loved his fans,” Danae said, “which is the reason I’d like for you to accept this. What’s your name?”
“Trish. My name’s Trish, and this is Heidi.” Trish picked up her daughter onto her hip; the girl acted shy, but waved at Danae.
Danae waved back at the girl and smiled. “Nice to meet you both.”
“Miss Danae, are you sure about the water and the food? I…” Trish sniffled back tears that were threatening to roll down her face; Danae just nodded. “I’m really not in a position to say no.”
“You don’t need to say a thing,” Danae said. “Consider it a gift, from one soccer mom to another.”
“Thank you,” Trish said. “This helps so much, you don’t know…” But Danae had a decent intuition for things just like this. It was the reason she chose Trish over everyone else in the checkout area.
“You’re welcome. I wish I could do more,” Danae said, “but I need to go. Darcey has my twins, and they’re tired. Stay safe, Trish, and be a good girl for mommy, okay, Heidi?” The child giggled and nodded, still too shy to speak.
“Stay safe, Miss Danae. I know your family lives on the island. I’ll pray for you.”
“Thank you,” Danae said, waved one last time, and watched as both of them left the store.
Darcey was finishing up at the checkout when Danae came back. “I saw what you did. You’re amazing,” Darcey said.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Danae countered with a sly wink.
“You make Mama proud, Nae. And me, too.” Danae took Tessa from her sister, resting the child on her hip. Teddy tagged along at Darcey’s side; all four of them left the store and walked to the car.
“She’s asleep,” Danae whispered, buckling her daughter into her car seat. Not that Danae minded. It would keep the ride back over the causeway a little quieter. Teddy crawled into the back with his sister and curled up with her. “Let’s buckle you in, Teddy Bear,” she said. The boy nodded and allowed her to fasten the belt on his car seat, rested his head on Tessa’s shoulder, and closed his eyes.
Darcey started her car and pulled out of the parking spot. The radio blared, and they both sang at the tops of their lungs until they reached the western side of the causeway. Turning on her blinker, and turning down the music, Darcey carefully merged into eastbound traffic. She reached for the knob to turn the music back up, hesitated, then withdrew her hand.
“S’up, big sis? You know I need my tunes!” Danae said in a sing-song voice.
“Nae…” Darcey said. “There’s, um, something I need to tell you.”
“Uh oh. THAT doesn’t sound good…” her sister responded, noting Darcey’s change, not only in the tone of her voice, but in body language, as well. She always had a certain tell that Danae, as a twin, recognized, which was usually a precursor to less-than-pleasant news. “What’s going on?”
Darcey exhaled, her voice coming out as a long sigh. “I don’t know how to tell you this. I mean, Clint doesn’t even know yet.”
Danae’s face brightened. Perhaps she was wrong about the tell this time. “Oh. My. Gosh!!! You’re pregnant, aren’t you, you rascal?! You and Clint have been ‘in the kitchen,’ haven’t you?! There’s a bun in that oven!!!” Danae stared at Darcey’s midsection. “Please, Darce, tell me that’s it!”
Darcey looked at her sister before erupting in a fit of nervous laughter. “Pregnant? Really, Danae? And you think you’d know BEFORE Clint…?”
“Well, I AM your twin, after all!” Danae said. “We’re practically the same person! And, that’s not saying no!”
“Then, no!” Darcey said, still laughing. “I’m not knocked up. Thankfully, that’s not the news I have.”
“Thankfully?” Danae raised her eyebrow and cocked her head. “If you’re NOT preggers, why does it FEEL like a pregnancy-level announcement?”
Darcey’s laughter faded away to an awkward silence and Danae fidgeted in her seat, now obviously uncomfortable. Darcey clicked her right blinker on and exited the expressway, heading onto the off-ramp and into the rest area on the eastern causeway. She pulled into a parking space and shifted the car into neutral.
“You know… this,” she gestured at the car and the parking lot, “this pulling over and stopping is not really instilling confidence…” Danae said, more nervous than she’d ever admit.
“I know.” Darcey said. “I should’ve told you before we left the store. Remember how I said I had an emergency at the hospital last night?”
“Yeah. You were on your way home when you called this morning…” Danae’s face went sheet white. “Are you sick, Darce?”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that. If…” Darcey hesitated before deciding whether to rip the bandage off the proverbial wound; maybe it would sting less this way, she thought to herself. “If this hurricane comes, Nae, and it looks like it will, I’m going to have to work. The hospital will need every hand they can get.”
There was a stifling silence in the car, despite the low music playing on the radio and the sibilant hiss of the A/C. Darcey stared at her sister’s face, wondering what she was thinking. At the same time, Danae glared at Darcey, wanting to scream, but stifling it.
“Starting when?” Danae asked, her voice trembling.
“Probably before the storm shelters open on Thursday night. The hospital itself is a shelter, so they’ll need every available person before the storm actually hits. There’s a lot of work to do, and I’m not even sure there’s enough staff to do it all in that short a time frame.”
“For how long, Darce? Your family will need you. Shoot, I need you!” Danae could feel the fear she had rolling over into anger and frustration. Up to this point, the storm had been something to which she had paid little serious attention. Now, she wanted to march into the hospital and tell the administration that there was no damned way they could have her twin sister, and certainly NOT during a storm with the potential to change their lives!
“It all depends on the magnitude of the storm, Nae. If there are injuries, it could be days—maybe even a week or two—until we get relief from the mainland. The hospital is setting up temporary quarters for us so we can stay there around the clock.”
“I see…” Danae replied, the calm on her surface not betraying the turbulence she felt inside as she fought to keep her emotions in check. Her kids were awake, and she wouldn’t show fear with them nearby.
“Danae, promise me you’ll take Clint and my boys with you to the shelter. I’d have them come with me, but there’s just no room.” Darcey wiped a tear from her cheek. She’d never been as good at hiding her feelings as Danae had been. Her fear was just as real and close to the surface as Danae’s was, but her facade was not as strong as her sister’s. “Please, Nae? I don’t want to leave them, but I don’t really have a choice. The whole ‘good of the many’ thing, you know?” she sniffled.
“Andy and I were already planning for it, Darce, but we assumed you’d be with them.”
Danae’s utter calmness shocked Darcey, but also provided her with a comfort she realized she needed. “I was hoping to be with you guys, too. But as long as I know my husband and my boys are safe with you, it’ll make doing what I have to do at work a lot easier. I have a feeling this storm is going to be something… huge.”
“You KNOW they’ll be safe with us. I give you my word, Darcey.”
“Thank you, Nae. I’ll admit, I’m scared, but your being here and in this together? I guess it gives me a sense of peace. And I know if something were to happen that they’d be in good hands…” Darcey’s voice trailed off.
“You’re talking like this is the end of the world, Darce, like Biblical. It’s… it’s just a storm. A big, bad hurricane, right?”
“Yeah, that’s all it is…” Darcey whispered, trying to mirror the calmness she saw in her sister. She wouldn’t mention to Danae that a meteorologist from the hurricane center attended the staff meeting, warning them to prepare for a hurricane that was a ‘once in a lifetime’ event. A mighty storm with the potential to shatter records and devastate the island. She couldn’t tell Danae how frightened she was. No, she kept it to herself, because she wouldn’t dare allow the words to escape her mouth. “It’s just a storm.”
Darcey’s hand rested on the gear shifter on her car’s console. Danae covered Darcey’s hand with hers; their fingers intertwined, both of them scared witless.
Neither of them spoke another word the rest of the way home.
— Wednesday, Before The Storm —
Danae sat at the academy at 11:30, waiting to pick up Elyse and Eamon from their last day of classes, hoping they wouldn’t dawdle. The twins’ preschool closed at 12:15, and she needed to be there. At 11:45, she spotted her two oldest approaching her SUV with Shan, Darcey’s younger son, in tow. The three of them walked with a spring in their step. Even Eamon, who’d been fearful of the weather reports, was joking and laughing. Danae sounded the horn, hoping to speed them up a bit.
Elyse reached the car first, opened the front door, and hopped in. Eamon and Shan got into the back seat. Each of them had their backpacks, oddly empty of books and assignments. Danae tuned the radio to the kids’ favorite pop station. But she, like the whole of Isla Paradiso, waited for the weather update at 1 PM.
“Everyone in?” Danae said. All three nodded and continued their joking and talking. Danae smiled, but shook her head, thankful that the kids weren’t fazed by the storm. “Make sure there’s room back there for Teddy and Tessa. I’m getting them next.”
Shan’s face lit up at the mention of their names. “I’ll make room for them, Aunt Danae,” he said.
“Good enough,” Danae said, put the car into gear, and pulled away from the Accolades Academy.
She made her way through the surface roads that led into downtown Isla Paradiso. The preschool sat across the street from the museum—the same museum that once showcased her art—so Danae parked just outside the school on the side street. They had ten minutes to kill before the twins’ dismissal from class.
The boys chattered among themselves, and Elyse sang along with every song on the radio. Danae, on the other hand, was preoccupied watching museum staff loading priceless statues and paintings onto a box truck, she presumed, to be transported off the island. It was the first noticeable sign of an approaching storm, though the area was under a hurricane watch.
Down the street from the museum, closer to the edge of the downtown area, small business owners worked to board up the picture windows on their storefronts. Cruzitas, one of the oldest family-run bistros in the area, continued to draw lunchtime crowds despite ongoing storm preparations. People clothed in business attire, sometimes in pairs, stood outside the restaurant waiting for a table. Danae and Andy had never been there, even though the eatery came highly recommended. She caught herself wondering if it would still be there after the storm passed through Isla Paradiso.
“There they are,” Danae heard Elyse say, pointing toward a teacher with one twin on each arm. Elyse opened the door and bounded toward the teacher, the same one she had when she attended the preschool years earlier. Seeing that the twins were in good hands, Danae turned her attention back to the museum, savoring her last moment of quiet and peace before her own two little hurricanes got into the car.
Elyse opened the back door and allowed her youngest brother and sister into the back seat of Danae’s Lexus. The twins both wore their backpacks; Tessa had a note clenched in her little hand, which Danae took from her.
“How are my babies?” she said. Tessa popped in between the two front seats, looking for a kiss. Danae was happy to oblige her. “Did you have a good last day of school?”
“Uh huh!” Tessa said, squealing with excitement. “I can’t wait to go to… what’s that called again, Mama?”
“Kindergarten. I can’t believe you two are old enough to start school with Lysie and Eamon in four weeks,” Danae said, feeling a touch of sadness and heartache. It seemed like yesterday that Emmitt made the transition from preschool to kindergarten. It couldn’t have been possible that he’d been gone over seven years, and yet, the twins would be six on their next birthday. “Sit down and buckle in, Tessy,” Danae said. “Eamon, give your sister a hand, please?”
“I have it, Aunt Nae,” Shan said. Though she couldn’t hear the exchange between her nephew and her younger daughter, she soaked in the giggles from both Tessa and Teddy, and Shan’s beaming smile. Once all of them were secure, she started the car and drove towards the house at the end of the cul-de-sac on Paradise Road.
*****
The twins and Shan were upstairs in the playroom. Elyse was in her bedroom, Danae suspected, talking to Howie on the phone, even though they’d been forbidden to speak except during ballet classes. Eamon was in his bedroom playing with the gaming console he’d gotten for his last birthday two weeks prior. Danae had the living room television to herself, but she couldn’t sit still. The clock on the stove read 12:54 PM.
The television was already tuned to the local news channel, preparing for the one o’clock storm update. She sat on the sofa, crossed her legs one way, unfolded herself, and crossed them the opposite way. Neither position was comfortable, so she stood and paced the floor. Come on, she muttered under her breath, not being patient in the least. Six more minutes…
At Andy’s office, instead of having his television tuned to sports updates, he had the channel on the same one Danae watched at home. His stature was calm and collected; he believed the same that his wife did, that weather forecasts were seldom correct. A commercial for a mainland car dealership blared from the television’s tinny speaker when the news channel interrupted the regular broadcast.
“This is the one o’clock update, and it’s a big one, folks,” the meteorologist stated. Behind him was an ominous-looking, text book, buzz saw shaped hurricane spinning over open waters. Andy’s jaw dropped open when he realized the storm, even if the forecast was off by a factor of one hundred miles either way, was massive enough to impact the island in some capacity. Isla Paradiso, with the archipelago surrounding the main island, would be inundated with storm winds and water. It was reality, and it was coming.
At the house, Danae watched in horror as the same sickening truth played out on the map behind the weatherman. The storm, now a strong category three tropical hurricane with one-hundred-twenty-five mile per hour winds, was just shy of six hundred miles from Isla Paradiso, and it took aim right at them. A wave of nausea swept over Danae while the news anchor spoke; she ran for the kids’ bathroom, dropped to her knees in front of the toilet, and vomited her lunch into it.
There was much to do, and their time to prepare was running out.
— Thursday, Before The Storm —
The past twenty-four hours had been an emotional rollercoaster for the Murphy and Scroggins families as they watched the weather updates with a hawk-like focus. Overall, the storm hadn’t made a significant shift until the late Wednesday evening update, when it was thought the hurricane would make landfall hundreds of miles to the north, missing the island except for mild winds and rain. The early Thursday morning update showed the storm had wobbled and shifted back toward the south. To be on the safe side, storm preparations continued. The islands and surrounding mainland cities were under a hurricane warning.
By noon, Andy and Clint had all the supplies the twins had stockpiled—and some that Kirby and Rae supplied—in Andy’s office at the stadium, tidy and organized. One wall was piled high with cases of water, with food to last nine adults and children a few days, stacked in plastic tubs in front of the water. Toys for the younger twins, plus bedding and pillows for everyone, sat in boxes on the top. Andy had stocked batteries and flashlights, along with a portable, over-the-air radio for weather updates.
“All we do now is sit and wait,” Clint said, flopping down on the leather chair opposite the desk. “What is your opinion, Andy? What do you think will happen?”
Andy, dressed in jeans and an old, ratty t-shirt, wiped beads of perspiration from his face with the shirt’s hem. “To be honest, Clint, I don’t know. The forecast has been all over the place. One channel says it will turn and hit the islands south of us. Another channel has it hitting the mainland two hundred miles north of here and missing us. The concerning forecast is the one that brings it onshore right here.” He sat at his desk, reached into the mini fridge tucked under it, grabbed two cold beers and handed one to Clint. “For a hard job well done, brother.”
Clint wasn’t one to indulge in alcohol, not since he and Darcey had married years earlier. However, the office, though cooled through the stadium’s HVAC system, was stuffy and warm. At least, that’s what he’d tell Darcey if the beer came into question. “Thanks.” Clint popped the top off and took a swig. Nothing quenched the thirst of physical labor like a good, old-fashioned brewski. His satisfaction—with both the beer and the stack of supplies in his brother-in-law’s office—came out of Clint’s mouth as an audible “Ahhhh.”
Andy downed his own mouthful of liquid gold, winked and raised the bottle as a toast. “I concur!”
Danae walked in just in time to hear Andy’s sentiment. “What are you in agreement about?” Darcey followed close on Danae’s six, spotted Clint holding a bottle of beer and, to Clint’s (and Andy’s) great surprise, said nothing, just smiling at her husband. Tensions had been high and together, they’d all worked hard to prepare for the storm. In a totally uncharacteristic gesture, Darcey looked at Andy, motioning toward the fridge she wasn’t supposed to know about, but did anyway.
“Got another one of those, Murphy?” Darcey said. Clint nearly choked on the swallow he’d taken as the words left her mouth. He had never known her to drink a glass of wine on their anniversary, let alone a beer for a much less significant occasion. “It’s hot out there, and it’s no cooler in here.”
This amused Andy to no end. Darcey had been one of his staunchest opponents when it came to his drinking, quick to remind him of how much he stood to lose; Andy needed little reminder of that fact. “You? You want a beer, Darce? Really?” Andy glanced over at Clint, but got a bottle from the fridge. “Should I, Clint? I mean, after all those times she’s busted my—”
“Yeah,” Clint said, interrupting him. “She could’ve given me a hard time, but she didn’t.” He retrieved the bottle from Andy and handed it to his wife, sneaking a kiss as he did. “Here, Kitten. I wish you were staying here with us instead of working at the hospital. I don’t like the idea of our family being separated. In fact, I hate it.” Darcey handed back the bottle, wiggling her fingers and showing off a fresh manicure. “What? Now you don’t want it?”
“I can’t open it, Clint. I don’t want to mess up my nails.”
“Since when do you pry the top off a beer bottle with your fingernails?” Andy said. Darcey was quick to give him the ‘digital response’, accompanied by a hearty laugh. Andy joined in with her laughter, nudged Clint and jutted his chin towards her. “She’s spicy today, Clint. Be careful with her.”
Danae, who’d been watching the playfully contentious banter among her husband, sister, and brother-in-law, helped herself to a bottle of cold water Andy always had in the fridge, and sat on the corner of the desk. Danae never cared much for beer, preferring the blush semi-sweet wine she’d been sharing with Andy since before they were married. Andy reached for her hand and squeezed it.
Unfazed by the conversation, Danae spoke up, adding an ominous reminder to the moment. “Guys, we’re going to cook a bunch of stuff from our freezer tonight. Aaron, Trixie, Kirby and Rae are all coming to help us eat the food I don’t want to lose if power is out for a while. Bring the boys over for a cookout. It’ll be fun!”
Clint and Darcey looked at one another. Darcey knew it would get her out of cooking, and Clint knew it would be a perfect way to spend one last normal evening together as a family. “Sure,” they answered in near-unison. All four of them broke out in raucous laughter.
“Hurricane party, our house!” she said, still giggling. “Bring whatever you’d like. The vines in the yard have fresh, ripe watermelon, and a bunch of fresh veggies needs to be picked and cooked.” It was just one less thing for Danae to worry about losing.
“Sounds good, Nae,” Darcey said. “We should get back home to the boys and make sure they’re packing what they want for the storm, and I need to pack a bag to drop at the hospital. What do you say, Clint?”
He swirled the last sip of beer in the bottle and drank it in one mouthful. “Yeah. I have some things to pack up and put away. Plus, I need to stop by the office and check the cloud back-ups on those game files. The last thing we need with this project is another delay.”
“Come over when you’re done,” Danae said. “Ready to go, my Andy? I’m sure Elyse has had enough of the twins for the day.” She loved the twins with all she had, but they were a handful. Since they’d gotten older, Danae had a new appreciation for her mother’s unending patience.
Andy took the keys from his pocket and twirled them on his right index finger. “When you are, my sweet. I’ll stop by Aaron’s office on the way, though. He and Trixie are making the same preparations we are. I’ll see if Aaron needs help.”
“I’ll meet you at home, then,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Come on over whenever you want, Darce. Eamon can turn on the wave maker for the boys.”
“We’ll be there soon,” Clint said, took Darcey’s hand, and jingled the keys in his own pocket. Danae walked to the parking lot with them while Andy stopped by Aaron’s office.
Andy peeked his head in and knocked at Aaron’s door. Trixie and Aaron worked side-by-side stocking supplies they’d need for their family, though she stopped to rest more often. “Hey Murph,” Aaron said. “Make yourself useful and help me restack this water? Trixie is doing more than she should.” He looked at his wife, now six months pregnant with their second child.
“Sure,” Andy said, pointed at Trixie and smiled. “You sit, little mama. We’ve got this.”
Together, the two guys made quick work of the stacks of water, food, and toys for Stephanie, though Andy suspected the families might blend during the storm. Stephanie and Tessa were best friends, though Teddy played with both of them as well.
“Thanks for the help, Andy. I appreciate it,” Aaron said. “Makes me wish we’d done what Wyatt and Raisa did, going out of town to visit family.” He moved closer to Andy to whisper, “Trixie is terrified.”
“Danae is, too. And to make things worse, Darcey is required to be on duty during the storm. It has the whole family on edge.”
“Oh, man, I’m sorry,” Aaron said. “That sucks.”
“Yeah. Clint isn’t happy at all. Neither are the boys.”
“I can understand why,” Trixie said. “It would be awful to be separated during this ordeal. I’m just happy we’re all here together.”
“Here here,” Aaron said. “What time tonight, Murph? Do we need to bring anything?”
“Anytime, according to what Danae told her sister. And bring anything you’d like. We have most things covered.” Andy turned to leave; he needed to get home to help Danae with the kids. “See you later.”
Trixie nodded and rubbed her belly. “See you later.” Aaron winked and waved at his best friend.
*****
A few hours later, Danae was finishing up chopping vegetables for Andy to grill when Darcey, Clint and her boys knocked on the front door. “Anyone home?” Darcey yelled through the front foyer of the house. Noel and Shan had been there so often, they were at home immediately, walking through the living room, waving as they passed through, heading to the spacious backyard.
“Come on in, Darce!” Danae chuckled at her nephews. “Hi, boys,” she said; her greeting went unanswered. “Hi Clint!” She stopped what she was doing long enough to hug her brother-in-law. “He’s outside at the grill.”
“It smells good in here already, Nae,” Clint said, releasing her from the bear hug. “I guess I’ll help the grill master.” He shot a wink at Darcey and exited the kitchen through the French glass doors that led to the yard.
“What can I do to help?” Darcey said.
“Nothing, really. I just need to make a salad with all these greens from the garden. I’m afraid it’s my last harvest for the summer…” Danae stopped to take a breath. Her anxiety had been high since the early morning forecast, which aimed the storm slightly south of Isla Paradiso.
“Are you okay, Nae?”
Danae shook her head. Her sister knew things weren’t right. This was an exceptional situation. “No. I’m scared, Darcey. I know we’ll be okay at the school with everyone, but I hate like hell that you won’t be there with us. And I’m terrified of what we’ll find when we come home. Or,” she swallowed the boulder that seemed to live in her gullet these days, “what we don’t find.”
“Oh, Nae,” Darcey said, looking around the home her sister and brother-in-law had created; warm and welcoming, tastefully decorated, but functional. The only things missing were family heirlooms and photos that Danae packed away and brought to their storage unit. “Don’t think that way, or you’ll drive yourself crazy. Everything here can be replaced.”
As she tore bits of lettuce into a bowl, Danae wept. “That’s what Andy says. I know I wanted to sell after,” she sniffled and dabbed her eyes with a tissue she’d pulled from the box that sat on the counter, “after Emmitt passed. But now? Now, I can’t imagine living anywhere else but in this cozy little house. Thirteen years, Darce. I… I guess I don’t want to lose this.”
Darcey reached for a knife, a spare cutting board, and a few tomatoes that needed to be diced. “Maybe you won’t lose it, Nae. The storm could still wobble. You know how inaccurate these forecasts can be. You’ve said it yourself—”
The front door swung open with Aaron, Trixie, Stephanie, Kirby and Rae all arriving at the same time. “Hellooo!” Aaron announced, followed by Steph’s happy giggles. “The gang’s all here!” Trixie shuffled into the kitchen, carrying a small bag of sparkling water for her and Stephanie.
“Hey, Nae,” Trixie said and hugged her.
“Oh, Trix!” Danae said. “You’re getting so big! Is this one a boy, because it sure looks like it?”
“I don’t know. Aaron and I are going to wait. I know he wants a little boy. I want our son to look like him, too.”
Darcey, after taking her turn to hug Trixie, looked at her belly and inspected it, placing a knowledgeable hand at the front. She tilted her head side to side, watching… waiting… until a kick came that was so strong, she knew in an instant what Trixie would have. Or at least strongly suspected it.
“You have a little football player in there, Trix,” Darcey said. “Of course, I’m probably wrong, but the way the baby is sitting makes me think you’ve got a boy.”
“That would make Coach happy,” Trixie said, smiling. “Steph wants a sister, and she tried to make me promise I’d give her a girl.” Trixie walked to the table in the breakfast nook and sat. “She’ll be disappointed if she gets a brother, but I can’t control it. That’s Aaron’s fault!”
Aaron, who only caught the tail end of the conversation between his pregnant wife and the family doctor, started laughing. “I’m here for five minutes, and everything’s my fault already.” He shook his head, still chuckling. “What do you say, Kirbs? Let’s go watch the kids in the pool and make sure they behave themselves.” Kirby smiled and nodded; both men exited the kitchen through the same set of French doors.
The jolly mood in the house was a welcomed break from the week’s stress, everyone enjoying the time spent together before the storm. Little by little, as cooked food came from the grill, everyone served themselves from platters of food Danae set out on the tables by the pool. Danae and the ladies cut up veggies from the garden, fruit salad, and fresh watermelon. Andy served the children first, each of them sitting in the grass by the pool with plates piled high with goodies. The adults took their time eating by the fire pit—talking and laughing—but each of them silently pondered how life would change on the island if Isla Paradiso took a direct hit from the storm.
After dinner, everyone but Darcey—she needed to report to the hospital straight from the party—chipped in to clean up and pack away leftovers. There weren’t many, for which Danae was thankful. When everyone had left, their kids—Elyse included—were still in the pool. It was the first time she’d ventured into the water since Emmitt’s passing, despite knowing how to swim. Danae watched over them, splashing and playing as though it was a typical summer evening, and there wasn’t a monster hurricane swirling in the ocean a couple hundred miles away.
“A penny for your thoughts?” Andy said, sipping the semi-sweet wine that Danae loved. “I know you have more than a few on your mind tonight.”
Danae shrugged her shoulders, her gaze trained on the pool and her four babies that played together. With a heavy heart, she glanced back at the house they had called home for the past thirteen years, her eyes welling up with tears as she wondered if it would remain standing past Saturday.
“I’m just remembering what a beautiful day we had with everyone here. I hope we come through this storm, Andy, with our lives intact.” Danae sipped her wine and set the glass down on the table near the chaise. There was a light breeze blowing onshore that smelled heavily of salt water, and the sound of gentle waves lapping on the beach. She took a deep breath in and held it, then exhaled as Teddy jumped with a splash into Eamon’s waiting arms. The twins’ happy squeals brought her back to reality, a reality she didn’t care to face. “I really hope this doesn’t traumatize the twins.” Danae took another sip of wine and swirled it in her glass. “Do you think it will, Andy?”
Andy gazed at his beloved’s face, her brow furrowed with worry. He ran his fingers down her arm with a light gossamer touch. It was his way of comforting her; what usually calmed her only made her tense up. Andy placed a soft kiss on her shoulder and hugged her close to him.
“Baby, we’re going to be fine as long as we stay together. We’ll be safe at the stadium, and we’ll be with friends and family. Whatever we lose, Nae, we can rebuild, but I can’t replace you or the kids.” He turned her face toward him to look into her beautiful, amethyst-colored eyes, and kissed her. “Whatever happens, as long as our family is safe, nothing else really matters.”
“You’re right,” she said, turning her blank, broken stare back toward the fence and to the seas that churned in the dimly lit evening skies. “I know you’re right, Andy. But that doesn’t erase the fear.”
“Stick with me, sweetheart. I will keep you safe. I promise.” Andy placed a delicate kiss on her right temple; Danae closed her eyes, relishing the warmth of the gesture. “I love you, Nae. Never forget it.”
“I love you, too, Andy. I’ll never forget.”
— Friday, The Day Before The Storm —
By noon on Friday, the shelters on the island were approaching capacity. The smaller islands were under a mandatory evacuation order, while most of Isla Paradiso’s main island remained under voluntary evacuation. This was, of course, excluding the residents who lived directly on the beach. Danae and Andy, along with Aaron and Trixie, were among those ordered to evacuate.
The kids all took turns taking showers while Danae and Andy finished up packing her Lexus with the things they saved until the last moment. Skies were gray and mottled with dark, heavy clouds and, although the winds were calm, the ocean swelled with above average waves. The outer bands of the storm were still hours away by Andy’s best guess, judging from the weather reports. The large screen television was on the local news channel; Andy waited restlessly for the latest update.
Tessa walked from the bedroom she shared with her older sister, carrying her security blanket. No matter how hard she tried, Danae couldn’t bear to take it from her, and especially not now. Tessa and Teddy would be six years old on their next birthday. What harm would it really do, Danae once thought, if she kept it another year? The young girl walked to where Andy stood, watching for the forecast on television, and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Daddy, why do we have to go? I don’t want to leave my toys.”
How do I explain the intricacies of a hurricane to a five-year-old when I don’t really understand it myself? Andy thought, but for Tessa’s sake, he had to try. “There’s a storm coming, sweetheart,” he said. “We have to go because our house is close to the water.”
“Oh,” Tessa said. She walked to the sofa and sat down in the end seat, her blanket in her arms. “Can I bring my blankie with me?”
Her innocent question made Andy smile. “Yes, honey. You can bring your blankie and your pillow.” Her next question shook him to the core.
“I’m scared, Daddy. Are we going to die?”
Andy walked to where she sat and joined her. Tessa’s attention focused on the screen as the weatherman talked about the storm. He reached for the remote—despite needing the storm update—and turned off the television. Andy picked her up into his lap and snuggled her. “No, baby girl, we won’t die. You and Teddy, Elyse and Eamon, and Mama and I are all going to be together. Shan and Noel, and Uncle Clint, too.”
“What about Aunt Darcey?”
“Well, sweetheart,” Andy said, “she needs to be at the hospital.”
“Because people are sick, Daddy?”
Andy nodded and kissed her forehead. “That’s right, Tessy. Even though she won’t be with us, she’s going to be okay, too.”
Danae walked in through the back door and closed it behind her. “It’s getting windy out there, Andy,” she said. “When did you want to head to the stadium?”
He gave Tessa one last hug and set her down on the floor before he stood. “Soon, baby. If you need to shower, we can go together to save some time,” he said, and one last chance to be fresh with you until the storm passes, he thought to himself. The idea made him chuckle. Danae saw his expression and read his mind like it was her favorite book. A naughty book, she considered, and laughed harder.
“You’re so predictable,” she said, sneering at him. “But I love it.”
“I know you do. Get started, and I’ll be right in.” Andy turned his attention to his young daughter. She needed to concentrate on anything besides the storm. “Tessy, go see how Teddy Bear is doing, okay?”
Tessa smiled, hugging her blanket to her chest. “Okay, Daddy!” The girl ran off to the boys’ bedroom, squealing all the way. Andy laughed at the racket of three rambunctious kids as he walked to the master bedroom.
Twenty minutes later, showered and dressed, Danae and Andy emerged from their bedroom. Elyse had been the last of the children to shower, and she was already in the living room, glued to the television while the others played in Eamon’s room. Her expression was dour, fiddling with her hair while she watched the weather forecast. Andy grabbed a couple of plastic totes and walked to the garage with them. Danae puttered around in the kitchen, cleaning up the counters and trying to deplete her last bit of nervous energy.
“What’s the good word, Lysie?” Danae said. She ran the water from the tap as hot as she could get it and rinsed the suds from the cloth before she hung it on the sink. “What’s the storm doing?”
Elyse shrugged her shoulders and heaved a heavy, exaggerated sigh. Only two words left her mouth before tears welled in her eyes. “Cat four.”
Cat four?! Danae wasn’t sure how the day could get much worse. She walked to Elyse and sat down with her, wrapped her arms around her oldest child and held her while she cried. “It’s okay to be afraid, Elyse. I’m scared, too. But we’re going to be in the safest place we can.”
“Howie said his dad wasn’t leaving. He’s staying at the shelter in the school, but Mr. Collins isn’t joining him.” Elyse cried harder. “Nothing Howie says makes a difference. Can you talk to Mr. Collins, Mama? Maybe you can talk some sense into him!”
Danae had never known Christopher Collins to be an unreasonable man, but the bone-headed decision to force Howie to ride out the storm alone, she thought, had to be the stupidest—not to mention the most selfish—thing she’d ever heard. Who would take care of Howie should things go terribly wrong? Granted, Howie was eighteen and newly graduated from Accolades during the recent commencement ceremony, but for all purposes, he was still very much a scared little boy. Danae was furious with Chris, not only for failing Howie, but for scaring her daughter, too.
“I’ll call him, sweetheart,” she said. “When Daddy comes back, help him with the twins? We’ll need to leave as soon as I’m finished on the phone.” Elyse wiped her eyes with the sleeve on her shirt and nodded. Danae stomped off to the master bedroom and dialed Chris Collins’ cell phone. He answered it in two rings.
“Collins,” he said.
“Chris, this is Danae Murphy.” Her tone was cold and short. “Elyse tells me you’re leaving Howie to fend for himself during the storm. Is this true?”
“Look, Danae,” Chris snarled. “I have a business to tend, and a house to prepare, so if you’re quite finished with your petty attempt to shame me for quote-end-quote abandoning my son, you can save your breath.”
“Have you seen the latest forecast, Chris? This is no minor storm! You’re under a mandatory evacuation out there on that island! Please, I’m begging you—for Howie’s sake, if not for your own—come and stay with us in the stadium.” Danae clenched her teeth after she spoke the words. Andy wasn’t Chris Collins’ biggest fan, and he loathed the eighteen-year-old boy who shared Chris’ last name. She knew she should clear it with Andy first, but desperate times called for desperate measures. That was her defense when the poo hit the fan should Chris and Howie show up at the stadium administration offices.
“I’m sure your husband would just love that,” Chris said. “If you’re feeling altruistic, look after my boy, but I’m a grown man. I’ll take care of myself.”
“Where is Rosemarie? Does she know how bullheaded you’re being?” Rosemarie Collins, Howie’s mother, left the island and her family ten years prior when she caught Chris in bed with a younger woman. Howie was their youngest child, and the only one left on the island with Chris.
“Rose is on the mainland with the rest of the family. You don’t see her out here helping me, so I’m it.” Chris’ tone was cold and impatient. “If you’re done, I need to get to my coffee shop.”
Danae huffed a long, damp strand of hair from in front of her eyes. “Tell Howie to find us at the admin offices, for Elyse’s sake. Godspeed, Chris. I hope we find you on the other side of this storm.”
“And if you don’t,” he said, “I guess I’ll see you in hell.”
“That wasn’t necessary—” she said, but Chris had already hung up the call.
“Ooooh!” Danae screamed and nearly threw her phone at the wall. But breaking her cell would solve nothing. Now, she had a fresh problem to sort out—she’d invited Howie to stay with them at Andy’s office before clearing it with him first. Andy heard her scream and ran to the bedroom door.
“Is everything okay here, sweetie?”
She sighed a deep breath. “Yeah, it will be.” Rather than ruffle feathers, she would wait until Howie actually showed up at Andy’s office to tell him. She supposed it was possible Howie wouldn’t come, that he’d choose to stay with friends in the school’s gymnasium. “Are we ready?”
“The kids are in your Lexus, and we’re waiting for you.” He held his hand to her. “Did you look around one last time?”
Danae sniffled and wiped away one stray tear. “Yeah. Let’s go before the weather gets rough.” Before they left, Danae grabbed her purse from the kitchen and took one last glance around the first floor of their home. “Goodbye,” she whispered as Andy led her to the garage.
— Saturday, The Storm —
Andy woke first in the dark office; the peaceful sounds of his sleeping children surrounded him. Using the light on his phone, he tiptoed around the dozing bodies scattered on the office floor; he noticed Danae had finally fallen asleep on the leather sofa. The kids were excited to be together for what Teddy hilariously dubbed a “bodacious” sleepover (a word he’d heard, no doubt, from his older brother’s mouth), and sat up talking and laughing for most of the night. As a result, he hadn’t slept all night long, and neither had the other adults in the room. Coffee, if he was lucky enough to find any, was in order; Andy feared it would be a long, stressful day.
He cracked the door to find the lights still on in the hallways outside the office. Twenty feet away, the door to Aaron’s office was ajar with sounds of his slumbering friends coming from within. “Lucky duck,” he muttered to himself, padding down the hallway toward the concession stands. The closer he got to the stadium, the more commotion erupted from the indoor football field. The food courts were closed, but people who would normally work in the kitchens during a game manned what Andy could only describe as a “chow line”. At the helm stood Kirby and Rae, serving up breakfast to a frightened, hungry crowd of evacuees.
“Mornin’ Champ,” Kirby said as Andy approached. “Coffee is in the school cafeteria. I filled every carafe we have on hand, and there’s more joe in the urns ready to go. Help yourself. This will be a long, tough day. Coffee is a must-have.”
“Thanks, Kirby. Leave it to you to be right on the ball with meals here.” Andy clapped his boss on the shoulder. “If you need help, let me know. You know where I am.”
“That’s okay, Andy,” Kirby said. “I know you have your hands full with six kids, seven if you count Aaron’s little one. Rae will come check on you after breakfast is cleaned up.” Saying nothing more, Kirby turned his attention back to the line of people waiting for their morning meal. Andy left, walking back toward the cafeteria, where he picked up a large coffee carafe and a sleeve of paper cups. While he walked back to his office, he opened his weather app and glanced at the radar.
“Holy sh—” Andy nearly dropped the coffee in the hallway. “One-sixty?” The number corresponded to top wind gusts located around the storm’s eye wall, which was forecast to pass directly over the entirety of Isla Paradiso. Current conditions weren’t awful yet, but it was coming sooner than later. “Damn.” He continued walking down the corridor, his nose buried in the phone’s weather app, and paid little attention to his surroundings. That included not seeing Aaron in the hallway as Andy approached him.
“What’s up, Murph?” Aaron said, and made Andy jump a foot. He wasn’t trying to alarm his best friend, but everyone was under so much strain, it was unavoidable. Knowing that didn’t make him feel any less horrible about it.
“Dammit, Hall, you idiot! You startled me!” Andy fell back against the wall, set the carafe down by his feet, and leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees. As the thumping in his chest diminished, as the shock of being spooked by his best friend subsided, Andy stood up and kicked the hallway floor with the heel of his shoe. “Hey, I’m, um, I’m sorry, man.”
“I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to cause such a panic,” Aaron said. “What had you so engrossed, anyway? Was it the weather?”
Andy simply nodded and handed his phone to Aaron. “Check out those winds. I’m not sure our little house can withstand that kind of wind velocity.”
“Oh hell,” Aaron said. “Sustained winds of one-forty, and gusts of one-sixty? I’m not sure anything built longer than twenty years ago can withstand that kind of storm.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. I know she’s worried sick about her sister, despite Darce’s reassurance that the hospital is a shelter, too. Clint is beside himself. They’d been in contact all night, but authorities are expecting disruptions in cell service, so that won’t last.”
“How’s it looking outside? Did you open the door by Kirby’s office?” The last time Aaron had seen a strong tropical storm was when he lived in Sunlit Tides. It felt like a lifetime ago, but that storm was nothing like what they would face in the coming hours.
“That’s my next step once I bring coffee to the masses. You and Trix might as well camp out with us. Stephanie has been in my office, up late and giggling with Tessa since last night, so just come on over. There’s no point in being more isolated.”
“Oh, so that’s why Trixie slept like a baby,” Aaron said, joking. He and Trixie both knew Stephanie had spent the night with their friends. For Trixie’s sake, Aaron was thankful they had a little peace, because they knew it wouldn’t last. “Thanks, Murph. I’ll tell her when I find some hot water for her tea.”
“Cafe. Kirby has all the coffee pots running and full. I’m sure there’s hot water down there.”
“See you in a few.” Aaron walked away from his office and headed toward the cafeteria. Andy picked up the full carafe and finished the walk back to his family.
*****
Conditions worsened as the morning wore on. When Andy had peeked outside, torrential rain fell with strong, gusty winds and near whiteout conditions. They were still at least an hour from landfall, according to what Andy had seen on his weather app. Lights flickered in the admin offices with intermittent outages until power across campus finally died. Emergency lights powered on with the help of a backup generator that would power only the most basic of needs.
An hour later, anyone in the hallway could hear the eerie sounds of wind howling between the buildings. Andy walked once more to the heavy steel door that protected them from intense winds and pounding rains. He’d intended to open it, but he feared he wouldn’t have the strength to close it, or even hold on to it if the wind grabbed it. A two-hundred pound man was no match against the fury of a strong category four storm, and he knew it.
The next planned meal would have been at dinnertime, but with only auxiliary lights and no functioning kitchen, Kirby canceled it. He and Rae found refuge in his spacious office, only leaving to check on the Murphy and Hall families as the worst parts of the storm bore down on the island. The sound of the hurricane’s bellowing wind was nothing they’d ever heard before, though each of them struggled to find something familiar in it. The thunderous noise of the storm was a beast all its own that no man-made thing could rival or duplicate.
There were no windows in the gymnasium, stadium, or administration offices; sure, the families hunkered down on the school’s campus were sheltered from the brunt of the storm. But, perhaps mercifully so, they were also spared from witnessing the storm of the century, a once-in-a-lifetime event so horrific that no one in their right mind would want to suffer it. Hurricane-force winds battered the outside doors that led into the hallways, damaging them and making the howling winds—audible throughout the stadium’s entire administrative wing—sound like the world’s biggest turbine engine, moaning as though it were powered by the souls of a half-million ghouls.
Around the island, ravaging winds shredded buildings made of brick and wood, steel and mortar, tossed their contents around and spilled debris into the streets and surrounding neighborhoods. A historically high storm surge submerged low-lying areas of the island, covering streets in a deluge of water ten feet high; the flood swept away cars and moved homes from their foundations.
Boats left at marinas broke loose and were carried inland by surge waters and stranded on higher ground, some more than a mile from the docks. Houseboats tied at their moorings stood no chance of surviving the savage winds and waves; ones that remained in port lay in ruins, pulverized into bits. Shattered glass, torn plywood, and metal and vinyl sheeting littered the beaches and floated in the coastal waters around the island.
Hours later, as the winds died down, after the storm had sown destruction on the island community of Isla Paradiso, Kirby was the first one to step foot outside. The evening hour, in its complete absence of light, was much too dark to determine the level of damage around the school and stadium. However, he determined the buildings on campus had stayed intact with minimal damage. It was a surviving testimonial to the building’s construction and Kirby’s investment into the school and stadium. Other places on the island didn’t fare as well.
Just a mile away at the hospital, Darcey’s medical team scrambled to move patients from the fourth floor, where ferocious winds tore an enormous hole in the roof. In a space meant for four patients, fifteen people huddled under the remaining shelter as, one by one, orderlies and medical staff transported them to a lower, safer floor. The hospital had generators by requirement, which meant lights in the hallways and, though it was sporadic, cooling. Her family sheltered at the stadium was never far from Darcey’s mind. She was keenly aware of what had transpired in the town with the deadly storm surge and merciless winds.
Hours after the winds subsided, and as floodwaters receded, the herculean task of search and rescue began. Not only were the first responders the first ones to witness the storm’s wrath, they were doing so in the eerie, inky blackness of a lightless, cloud-filled sky. As they reached those in need of help, the hospital’s emergency department became overwhelmed. Darcey’s team spent hours triaging and treating the most minor of injuries while she tended to the more gravely injured in the trauma unit.
For Darcey, it would be a long, busy night with no rest, and no peace.
— Sunday, The Aftermath —
It was the second night in a row that Danae didn’t sleep a wink. The first night, it was because the children played together, so excited for a rare opportunity to sleep over. After the coffee ran out the morning before, she and Trixie spent their waking hours entertaining three very cranky, bored, exhausted children. The teenagers—Darcey’s two included—fell asleep early Saturday evening and didn’t awaken until late Sunday morning, despite the lack of air conditioning. Clint paced the floor, aching to know how Darcey made it through the storm. It was the sole reason he hadn’t slept since arriving at the stadium on Friday afternoon.
With a tearful plea from Elyse, Andy wandered into the school’s gymnasium searching for Howie and Chris Collins, neither of whom had shown up at Andy’s office, much to Danae’s dismay. He encountered some of the other Academy parents, a bunch of rowdy kids tired of being cooped up, and discovered Kirby and Rae mingling among the evacuees, distributing water and ready-to-eat food. After thirty minutes of searching, but not finding either Chris or Howie, he searched smarter. Kirby walked away from his post to retrieve another case of water; Andy followed him into the kitchen and offered to help him.
“Have you seen the Collins kid?” Andy asked. No sense in beating around the bush, he thought. Kirby knew the relationship between the Collins’ youngest boy and Andy’s oldest child. He also knew Andy would never inquire about Howie unless prodded (and likely begged) by Elyse.
“He was here this morning, but he left before I could stop him.” Kirby hoisted a case of water onto his shoulder, jutting his jaw toward the case Andy promised to carry for him. “It’s not safe out there for anyone, much less a kid. Have you heard the radio reports, Andy?”
“No,” Andy said. “Danae made me promise to keep the storm info from the twins. Tessa was frightened during the storm, and before we left on Friday to come here, she was the same.” Andy lifted the case and tucked it under his arm, resting it on his hip like he was carrying Tessa. “Give me that case, Kirbs, and you grab another.”
Kirby laughed. “I knew I kept you around for something.” Andy chuckled and took the case of water from his boss. Both men walked back toward the gymnasium.
Before he headed back to his office, Andy ventured outside, using the door in the main corridor. The first thing he noticed was the smell of chlorophyll; it smelled like the grass after mowing his lawn. He pushed the door open against a stack of branches and palms that gave way to the effort he exerted. The air was pleasant and cool; the winds had calmed to a mere breeze.
Eamon was the first of the older kids to wake up, drenched in sweat and hungry. Danae sat in the hallway with the twins, reading a book to them by the emergency lights. Eamon stuck his head out of the office door. “What’s to eat around here? I’m starving.”
Danae didn’t look up from the book, but paused her reading long enough to speak. “There’s a tub of snacks, Eam. Just have one for now. I don’t know how long we’ll be here.”
“When are we going home? That floor is uncomfortable.”
“Not now,” she said through her teeth, with a look that said Not in front of your little sister and brother. “We’ll talk about that when your dad comes back from looking for Howie.”
“K,” Eamon said and went back into Andy’s office. Too many bodies in there, and not enough showering, he thought. It smells like the boys’ locker room after football practice.
Andy’s heavy footsteps approached from the stadium; in his hand, he carried a stale, lukewarm pot of coffee. Danae stood and asked the twins to have Eamon get them a snack. After they disappeared into the office, Danae greeted him with a kiss. “Is that coffee? Please tell me it is—”
“Nae, we have to talk, so I’m glad you asked the little ones to leave.” He set the coffee down by the office door, took her hand, and led her to the door at the end of the hallway. He’d already seen the storm’s aftermath on the school campus and stadium grounds. Andy knew the horrible sights he would now share with Danae. “Before I open this, I need you to know that this isn’t as bad as it is around town. Prepare yourself, sweetheart.” He put his arm around her shoulder and steadied her with his other arm, opened the door with his hip, and propped it open with the brick they always used. “Are you ready?”
She shook her head and swallowed a glob of bile. “No.”
The first thing Danae saw was tiles and shingles scattered and thrown about, tree branches littering the walkways and grassy areas around the school. Branches from the majestic palm and other trees that grew around the parking lot were ankle deep near the door. The trees from which they came had little to no foliage left, and every tree that still stood seemed almost… exhausted. There was a gentle breeze, but what normally would have whooshed through the stately palms was excruciatingly quiet. The trees had no more life left in them, instead drooping like warriors returning from a crushing defeat.
Danae searched the parking lot for her SUV. Andy noticed the contours of her delicate face, suddenly downcast and distraught, when she saw a light pole had fallen and crushed it; the car’s roof and hood had folded around the pole like a taco shell, all four of its tires flattened from the impact. Hers wasn’t the only car in the lot, either, that took extensive damage. A mid-size sedan sat upside down in the grass ten feet from where she’d parked hers, looking like one of Teddy’s toy cars instead of a two ton vehicle. The school’s parking lot resembled a demolition derby. The harsh reality took Danae’s breath away.
“Oh no,” she said, unable to contain the tears. “How are we going to get home?”
“The car is the least of our worries, Nae.” He wrung his hands the way he always did when he had bad news, and Danae noticed. “Our street is closed and washed out near the cemetery. We can’t get through, and there are no estimates for when we could get out there. Danae…” He took both of her hands into his and looked straight into her frightened eyes. “Nae, the flood waters breached our lot. There was a sixteen-foot surge. They’re saying the homes at the end of the street are… destroyed.”
“What?!” Andy held onto her as she shook, fighting the tears he knew would come. “It can’t be, Andy! No!” With her utterance of the word, the sobs began. He held her close and allowed her to weep, trying to comfort her, but for once, he had no words to say.
“Kirby is going to see if we can get his boat, but he doesn’t know whether or not it’s damaged. Everyone I’ve spoken to is stunned. Nothing this big has hit the island, not in one hundred years.”
“I have to see it, Andy. Please, get me home.” She dabbed her eyes on the shirt’s sleeve and sniffled. “Please?”
“I’ll see what I can manage, sweetheart.” Together, they walked back inside. Andy knew one thing; he would move mountains to get Danae to the house, even if he didn’t believe she was prepared to see it.
*****
Elyse and Eamon, along with Shan and Noel, watched the twins while Danae and Andy left to see their house. Clint was feeling comfortable that the boys were okay (Aaron and Trixie were still there to monitor them), and set out on foot to walk the mile between the hospital and the stadium. He had to see Darcey for himself; not a force in the world could’ve stopped him. Meanwhile, Andy found a deputy with a boat willing to take them to the house.
“You can only stay for ten minutes,” he’d told Andy. “We’ll need the boat for rescue efforts.”
“I understand,” Andy said. “We won’t need more than that.”
The seas were still rougher than usual, littered with the splintered remains of small watercraft, houseboats and trees. Forty-five minutes after they left the stadium, the fishing vessel arrived at the sandbar by the Murphy home. Andy took Danae’s hand and helped her from the boat and onto the empty lot next to theirs. Downed trees and debris from the house lay strewn on the ground.
The security fence still stood in most places, but near the water, the steel was twisted and clogged with fragments of shredded wood, vinyl sheeting, and assorted debris from their house. In front, Andy’s car had been pushed from the garage into the fence and rested on its front wheels. Every car window was smashed, the body destroyed by debris and flood waters. The posts in front were mangled; the front gate hung crooked and wide open. Andy took Danae’s hand and led her onto their property.
The garage sat in ruins; the back wall gave way to the rushing tidal surge. All that remained was a pile of rubble, splintered wood, and pooled water that was still ankle deep. The fountain in front of the house, once pristine and crystal clear, had bits of grass, insulation from the house, and clay tiles from the roof. What used to be clean water was now murky and black, dirtied from a storm surge that brought to it seawater and foul-smelling muck. Andy wouldn’t have been surprised to find a dead fish (or ten) floating in it.
The entire top floor of the house was missing, scattered throughout the property in splinters, leaving the main floor exposed. Toys, furniture, housewares, artwork, cherished family memories… all of those indistinguishable things littered their property and beyond, along with soaked insulation and drywall that came from the walls and attic crawl space. Where the front porch once stood, there was nothing but rubble and standing water.
In the backyard, the swimming pool looked like a tar pit, thick and dark with mud, sand, and debris that had flooded the property during the storm’s prime. The garden, once lush and fertile with full-grown, heirloom plants, was gone; the soil now contaminated by salt water, engine oil, and filth. Danae found a round, ripened watermelon by the pool’s ladder, covered in a putrid slime that smelled like diesel fuel, smashed and spilling its polluted red, seeded flesh into the pool and onto the grass. Aside from the high surf at the beach, the only sounds Danae heard were the moaning creak of a house compromised by high winds and flood waters, and the constant, nagging drip of soaked fabrics, linens, and wood as droplets fell to the saturated ground.
Floating face down in the pool’s fetid water, she spotted Elyse’s favorite childhood toy—a small doll named Poppy. Elyse never left the house without Poppy, especially after Emmitt’s passing. Seeing the doll, broken and spoiled, brought Danae to tears. Despite the doll’s grungy state, she scooped it off of the pool’s surface, wiped a thick layer of muck from its face, and wept. So many beautiful memories and cherished family keepsakes, and they lay in ruins around their property and surrounding areas.
At first glance, the house sat catawampus on its foundation, and though he wasn’t sure it was safe, he would venture inside anyway. Andy climbed up onto the deck, leaving Danae to wait for him. Inside the house, a water line marked the depth of the flood within its walls, just past his chest. By his best guess, the house’s main floor had been underwater by four, maybe five feet. It was much higher than the twins were tall. He walked room to room, looking for something that hadn’t been touched; he found nothing but utter devastation.
That was the moment that Andy, though they’d lost everything, felt like the richest man on the island. Their demolished home and its contents could, and would, be replaced. But the family he loved—the people he’d lie down his life to protect—were all living and safe from the storm’s wrath. He walked to the opening where the French door used to be and jumped down. Once his feet were on the ground, Danae walked to him and said nothing before she wrapped her arms around him and cried on his shoulder. For a different reason—one born of gratitude and relief—Andy did the same with her.
*****
The morning was unseasonably cool. The storm, having churned the ocean waters enough to pull cooler water from its depths, left the air temperatures pleasant and dry. Clint was thankful for this as he made his way through the main road, albeit littered with wreckage, that wended its way to the hospital.
Clint wasn’t sure how long the walk took in ideal conditions, but on that morning, he walked for forty-five minutes—dodging uprooted trees, electrical wires and other debris—when he finally reached the hospital’s front door. Darcey would be in the ER that morning, tending to injured residents and vacationers who’d been lucky enough to survive. The hospital’s ER was noticeably cooler than the outside temperature, which was already pleasant. It would’ve been a nicer walk, Clint noted to himself, if the air hadn’t been tainted with the pungent stench of destruction.
The receptionist, an orderly who had been at his post on and off for the past seventy-two hours, looked as though he hadn’t slept a wink. Clint knew how the orderly felt, too. He couldn’t rest until he saw Darcey with his own two eyes. He walked to the desk and tapped on the cool marble. The orderly yawned and, rubbing his face with both hands, looked at Clint.
“Are you sick or injured?” he asked.
“No,” Clint said. “My wife is the head of trauma. Doctor Scroggins—”
“I’ll get her,” the orderly said. “We were under strict orders to get her should someone come looking for her.”
Relieved to hear she was well, Clint took his first deep breath since he’d last seen her. He padded to the waiting area, overflowing with people who’d sustained injuries in the storm. A little boy with a broken arm. A middle-aged man with cuts and bruises on his face and arms. In the corner sat an older lady, dripping wet with a bandaged bump on her head. She was lucky to be alive; she told Clint she’d survived the flood on the northern island by weathering the storm on the top floor of her home. The one thing that each person shared, aside from being alive, was a look of weariness. The island and her residents had been through twenty-four hours of hell. It showed on the face of every person in that hospital waiting room.
“Clint!” He heard his name and spun around; thirty steps away in a dirty coat, with messy hair, tired, bloodshot eyes, and the most beautiful face he’d ever seen, stood his wife. She ran to him, needing to feel his arms around her. “I’m so relieved to see you! How are the boys? My sister? Is everyone okay—”
Clint kissed her, stopping her from speaking. Every poor outcome his mind had entertained over the past day dissipated. They pulled away from the kiss, but Clint wasn’t ready to let her go. Their embrace was strong and impassioned. He didn’t care if she hadn’t showered or if she was dirty. Tears of sheer relief left salty streaks in the dusty grime on his face.
“Everyone is fine,” he said, whispering into her ear. “The reports aren’t good, and it took me a while to get here from the stadium. I couldn’t stand it anymore, sweetheart. I needed to see you.”
“I’m so glad you did. I’ve been worried sick.” She wiped the wetness from his cheek and pulled back from his firm embrace. “I wish I could stay and talk, but I’ll be out of here soon. We’re getting some backup from the mainland, so I can go home. If we have a home to return to, that is.”
“I’ll check that as soon as I can, Darce. I just really needed to see you.” His fingers brushed her cheek and swept a lock of hair from her face. “I won’t keep you, but I’ll tell the boys you’re okay. They’ve had a lot of fun with Nae’s kids, but they’ve been worried about you. We all have, but I’ll be happy to tell all of them the good news.”
Darcey kissed him once more, took his hand and squeezed it. “Tell them I love them?”
“Of course.” He turned to go, still holding onto her hand. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Clint.”
He felt better as he walked from the hospital’s emergency department, walking quicker and feeling profound relief. Good news awaited their teenage sons; their long, worrisome ordeal was over.
*****
While their young daughter played with the Murphy twins, Aaron and Trixie took the time to count their blessings. They’d heard the same news Andy had heard; the homes on the end of their dead-end street had been destroyed. Aaron had figured as much and wasn’t surprised. He accepted that risk when he bought the house next door to his best friends. Everything that mattered to him and Trixie was in the office with them; friends, family, and a few treasured keepsakes that Trixie insisted she bring, just in case.
Aaron looked forward to Andy’s return, hopeful that he’d gotten a glimpse of their home, though in his heart, he already knew the truth. Much like their neighbors on Paradise Road, Aaron and Trixie Hall had lost everything; their home, furnishings, toys, personal items. Even Aaron’s cherished Aston Martin had been damaged in the storm the way Andy’s had. Nothing was safe, or sacred, with a monster storm. It was a lesson learned the hard way, a lesson no one would ever forget.
Kirby and Rae’s home was sheltered from the brunt of the storm by the mountain that towered over, and protected, a small cove. Damage was minimal at their personal residence, but Kirby’s five-star restaurant, By The Sea, sustained heavy wind and water damage; the beach resort was a total loss. As the sheriff’s department arrived to assist with rescue efforts, Kirby convinced a deputy to lend him a satellite phone. His only call was to their son in Bridgeport. A very relieved Cody answered the phone call.
“Dad?! Are you and Mamá okay? Corrie and I have been on the phone together watching the news from home. It isn’t good.”
“We’re fine, son,” Kirby said. “I can’t talk for long. A kind deputy allowed me to use his phone. I knew you’d be worried.”
“Oh my gosh, Dad, the island is leveled. It looks like a war zone.”
Kirby wasn’t shocked to hear it. “I figured. Please let Corrie know we’re okay? We’ll call as soon as we can. There’s no need to worry anymore.”
“I’ll call her now. We love you,” Cody said. “We’ll talk soon.”
“We love you, too. Bye, son.” Kirby hung up the phone and handed it back to the deputy from whom he borrowed it. “Thank you for allowing me to contact our children. They’ve been so worried, and with communications down…” He cleared his throat, mostly to stop the emotion he’d felt over the past few days. Rae had been steadfast and courageous, but he knew telling her he’d spoken to Cody would soften those barriers. In her most private moments with him, she’d let her guard down and wept, but not for herself and the things they’d lost. Many of the students at Accolades and their families had been left homeless by the storm’s fury. That grieved her most of all.
“It wasn’t a problem, Mr. Kemp,” the deputy said.
Kirby was alone for the first time since they’d opened the shelters that Thursday afternoon. Overcome with sincere gratitude, he dropped to his knees—something he seldom did—and he thanked God for sparing the lives of those who had sheltered at Accolades Academy. He prayed for the injured and those who had perished, for those among them who’d lost everything and would need to rebuild their lives and homes. Then, he prayed for the friends and family that he loved, thankful they were safe.
— Afterword —
In the months following the storm, when clean-up efforts had begun, the toll to Isla Paradiso was immeasurable. Though wildlife continued to thrive, albeit in smaller numbers than before the hurricane, the wind-battered local flora would take longer to rebound. All buildings that had been on the northern island, and every smaller island in the archipelago, were lost. Ninety percent of all buildings on Isla Paradiso’s main island took heavy damage or were destroyed.
Twenty-seven souls lost their lives in the hurricane, including Howie’s father, Christopher Collins. At least, he was assumed lost. Search and rescue—and later on, recovery—never found a trace of him. Rosemarie Collins traveled to the island in the first group of evacuees allowed back onto Isla Paradiso. Howie, understandably distraught by his father’s death, considered returning to the mainland with his mother. But being away from Isla Paradiso meant being away from Elyse. He couldn’t leave her, not when they needed each other more than ever.
Aaron and Trixie, Danae and Andy, Darcey and Clint, and Wyatt and Raisa (the Searcy family had evacuated off the island to visit his family back in Appaloosa Plains) suffered total or near-total loss of their properties. Darcey and Clint’s home was spared from the flood waters that destroyed the others, but the Scroggins home—damaged from winds, fallen trees and flying debris—was unlivable in the months that followed the storm. Only Kirby and Rae were spared temporary homelessness. However, Kirby’s business properties—his five-star seafood restaurant, By The Sea, and the beach resort—were lost. The stadium and school sustained minor damage—a true testament to Kirby’s investment in both venues—but nothing compared to buildings around town.
Seventy percent of Isla Paradiso residents who lost everything were determined to rebuild and re-establish their homes on the island. Almost all small businesses reopened within the first year after the storm. Thirty percent of the survivors packed up what remained and left Isla Paradiso for good. But this story is not, and never was, about them.
What lies ahead for the Murphy/Scroggins families? I guess you’ll need to stay tuned to find out!
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Rebuilding after a storm like the one depicted in this story can take years. In 2022, Hurricane Ian devastated the west Florida towns and cities of Fort Myers Beach, Captiva, Cayo Costa, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Pine Island, Cape Coral and other surrounding cities. My hometown wasn’t affected in the same way our southern counties were. Almost two years later, reconstruction is still underway.
The scars from a hurricane still exist long after The Weather Channel, or other news outlets pull their broadcast teams from a storm-ravaged area. People still need help rebuilding their homes, reclaiming their lives, and continuing on with their futures. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, that Florida residents will rebuild from a dangerous, destructive storm. Down here, it’s the price of living in paradise.
Thank you for reading. Please feel free to comment below.
Up Next: Chapter Forty-Three, Generation Five
Each year, the Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1, and ends on November 30. If you live in a hurricane-prone area, the time to prepare is before a storm is forecast to threaten your area. Be sure your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance is up to date, and if you have flood insurance, review those policies before you need them. Please, if you are asked to evacuate, take the proper precautions (and don’t forget your pets!) I’ve survived a few powerful storms, Hurricanes Ian, Idalia, and Irma included. If you live on the coast and you’re at risk for storm surge, please evacuate. Hide from the wind, but run from the water. All of your things can be replaced, but your life is priceless.
Stay safe, my friends.
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If you need help after any natural disaster, you can contact the American Red Cross or FEMA for guidance.
https://www.redcross.org/ (800) 733-2767
https://www.fema.gov/
https://www.disasterassistance.gov/
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Special thanks to Jim Edds, Dan Robinson, Tornado Trackers, StormChasingVideo, SevereStudios, and Jimmy Yunge at YouTube for their videos of Hurricanes Charley, Category 4 (2004), Katrina, Category 3 (2005), Michael, Category 5 (2018), Dorian, Category 5 (2019), and Ian, Category 4 (2022), which I used in research for this chapter.
©2024 Wendy Londona – All Rights Reserved.
Cover photo by Pixabay
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