The Hurricane (22 page)

“I need to call home,” Crawford said as he stood, and walked over to the rotary in the corner.

“The satellites aren’t working, we don’t have phone service now.”

“This is fucking crazy,” Crawford mumbled.

The room started to fill with chatter and whispers, the majority of them cursing.

“Dude, I gotta get the fuck out of here, I’ve got a wife, and a baby due soon,” Maurice said as he started to pace nervously.

“Listen, guys, they’re going to get us out, we just need to stay calm. We’ll spend the rest of the day getting everything anchored down and put away. Then we’ll get some rest and wait on the chopper or a boat, whichever one can get to us.”

“Already, it’s that close?” another guy asked, the tag on his coveralls read Baker.

“It’s moving fast,” the Captain said. “Now let’s get to work, we have a lot to do.”

Twelve hours later, I collapsed on my bunk, exhausted, mentally and physically. Everything was ready for evacuation. Now we just had to wait. I knew the captain had assured us that we would get out of here. But he was right; they would work on getting the working rigs emptied first. There were hundreds of people on those rigs. There were only twenty of us on this ship; it made sense to grab us last. Regardless of how fucked up it was, it was the smartest thing to do. It would save the most lives if this storm was as vicious as everyone was saying.

That was the part that really fucked with my head. The irony of this.

The Hurricane.

The word that I had hated most of my life. The one word that seemed to destroy everything in my life. Hurricane.

It destroyed friendships as I was growing up, because my temper always got away from me. It sent me to jail more than once. It destroyed my relationship with Natalie, because I couldn’t keep my shit under control and handle it the right way.

And now this, a fucking hurricane could end it all.

Fucking ironic.

A roaring sound and my bed shifting startled me. I sat up quickly, realizing I must have fallen asleep. The roaring got a little quieter, but I noticed the bottle of water on my table shaking back and forth. I was still in my coveralls and boots, so I opened the door and headed into the empty hallway. I could hear faint voices, so I followed the chatter into captain’s quarters. The door was open and a few of the guys were standing around.

“No word?” I asked, looking at the clock on the wall, realizing I had slept for 6 hours.

“Nothing, man, everything’s down, there’s no communication, it’s all static.” Maurice said quietly as he looked around, taking his baseball cap off, rubbing his head, and then putting it back on. My eyes shifted to the Captain who was staring at the wall.

“I’ve spent most of my life out on the water,” he said quietly, still staring, with his arms folded across his chest.

“I missed my kids’ birthdays, more holidays than I can count, and the birth of my grandbaby. My wife did everything on her own because of this damn ocean. I took her for granted all these years,” he said quietly, and his tone made me a little nervous. Did he know something we didn’t? Why was he getting sentimental if he was sure we were getting out of here?

The shifting of the rig caused us to sway, Captain stumbling into the wall in front of him. I caught him as he was about to hit the ground.

“You ok?” I asked, trying to remain steady on my feet with the swaying of the ship. He simply looked at me and nodded.

“It’s fucking crazy out there,” Baker said as he walked through the doorway. “You can’t see anything,” he said, shaking his head.

“Listen, everyone go get your belongings, tell the rest of the crew,” the Captain ordered. “I want everyone on the top deck, in the doghouse; it’s closest to the landing pad. We’re all going to wait this out together.”

“Do you think they’re really coming for us?” Crawford said as we made our way down the long hallway.

“Fuck, I hope so,” I answered honestly.

“Wait, what’s that?” he asked, stopping, grabbing my elbow. I listened as a groaning sound roared above us. It resembled the sound of a helicopter, but then it faded out and Crawford dropped his arm and slumped his shoulders.

“Just the wind, man, go get your stuff,” I said as I started walking again, motioning for him to follow.

I had to get off this fucking ship. I had to get back to her. To them. I would make this right if I was given the chance.

“Please give me the chance,” I prayed out loud as I walked back into my room to get my stuff together.

Fight Without Fear

38 hours. I had been staring at my TV for 38 hours watching the progression of the storm. I hadn’t eaten, and I had slept for maybe six hours, by accident. My eyes went from the TV to my phone screen, waiting for some kind of news. But nothing. Not a single word about him. Brooklyn had asked me numerous times if she could change the channel, but I couldn’t. The storm had moved into the Gulf and was now making landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi as a category 3. The aftermath was devastating. I tried to turn it off, but I couldn’t. I should stop watching this, but I couldn’t.

It was almost midnight and as I lay on my couch, in the darkness—other than the light from the TV—my eyes started to get heavy, my mind and body beyond exhausted. The ding of a text message startled me awake and I jerked my hands awkwardly in every direction, searching for it.

“Please be ok. Please be ok,” I whispered as I pulled my phone from under me, scared to death to look at the screen, but needing answers more than anything else.

It was from Cain.

“Oh God, please no,” I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. He hated me; he wouldn’t text me unless it was bad. My hands started to shake as I swiped the screen, opening the message.

Cain: He’s safe. A charter bus is bringing him to the shipyard. Scheduled to arrive at 7 am.

The tears started falling down my cheeks. He’s safe. Thank God, he’s safe. I scrolled down my contacts without thinking and tapped his name. It rang over and over without an answer. Damn it. I wanted to hear his voice. I needed to see his face.

Thank you.
I replied to Cain’s text. He didn’t respond and that was ok. I was thankful he even texted me. Surprised, but thankful.

5:30 a.m.

I couldn’t wait another minute. I had been ready for an hour, but knew I needed to let Brooklyn sleep.

“Honey, it’s time to wake up,” I said quietly, as I rubbed my hand down her back.

“Five minutes, momma,” she mumbled.

“Brookie, I need you to wake up and get ready, ok?”

“Ok.” She sat up, her eyes still closed, her hair a wild mess.

“Are you awake?” I asked with a giggle.

“Mmmhmm,” she said.

“Listen, honey, you’re not going to school today, you’re going to come with me ok?”

“I’m going to work with you?” she asked, wiping her eyes with her fist.

“No, honey, um . . . we’re going to see Ryker,” I said, and waited for her response. I hadn’t mentioned that he was stuck in the storm, of course. I hadn’t mentioned him to her at all. But my girl was smart, and this was her life, too. She deserved the truth.

“What?” she said, popping her eyes open and smiling from ear to ear.

“Ryker was stuck out in the big storm over the ocean, but he’s safe, and we are going to see him, ok?”

“Don’t mess with me, momma! Are we really going to see him?” She slid off her bed, landing on her feet.

“We’re really going to see him.” I smiled, knowing this was the right thing to do.

Brooklyn got ready in record time, and we pulled up to the docks less than an hour later. The last hour had been full of questions. How long was he stuck in the ocean? Did he get wet? Did I still love him? Could we make him spaghetti for dinner? Did you finally decide to be brave, momma?

When I parked the car, I noticed other people walking into a warehouse. I stared at the crowd, unsure of what to do next. That’s when I spotted Cain getting out of his SUV, holding a black umbrella, wearing slacks and a white button down shirt, following the people into the building.

“Let’s go inside here,” I said turning the car off, and grabbing our umbrella as I opened the back door.

“This rain is cold, momma.” She giggled.

“I know, let’s hurry.” I grabbed her by the hand and we ran into the building.

There were at least thirty people inside—sitting, standing, staring out the windows and pacing. All of them waiting.

I saw Cain sitting in a chair close to the window, holding a Styrofoam cup of coffee. He was staring out the window, not taking his eyes off the entrance. I walked over to him, still holding Brooklyn’s hand.

“Cain,” I said quietly, waiting for him to look in my direction.

“Natalie,” he said without an ounce of emotion, but gave a little smile when his eyes met Brooklyn. “And you must be Brooklyn,” he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

“Who’s that momma?” Brooklyn asked, looking up at me.

“This is Cain, Ryker’s brother,” I said.

“Oh, you don’t look like Ryker,” she said, giving him a puzzled look. Cain just gave her a little smile as she shook his hand.

“Thank you, Cain,” I said quietly.

“He’s my brother, I would do anything for him. And I know he wants you here,” he said simply as his phone rang.

“Excuse me,” he said, pulling it out of his pocket and walking away from us.

“Is that him, momma?” Brooklyn squealed, tapping her finger on the glass. My stomach started doing flips as the people around us started shuffling to the windows.

“I hope so,” I whispered, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

“Don’t be nervous, momma,” Brooklyn said, kissing my hand.

“There he is!” Brooklyn yelled, ripping her hand from mine and bolting to the door.

“Brooklyn!” I called to her, but she was already pushing the door open.

I weaved through the crowd of people gathering, finally making my way to the door. I walked outside, searching for them through the misty rain blowing around.

There he was. He looked tired and almost sad, until he spotted Brooklyn. A huge grin spread across his face as he squatted down, wrapping his arms around Brooklyn, as she leapt into him. He stood to his feet, still holding on to her, but his eyes were searching. My feet started to move fast, then to a full run, my body and my heart needing to be close to him. I slammed my body into his, wrapping my arms around his waist, the tears starting to fall. I missed him so much.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he said, kissing my forehead, then pressing his lips to mine, my mouth trembling,

“I’m so glad you’re ok. I missed you,” I whispered against his mouth.

“I’m sorry,” he said, then kissing my lips again, then the tip of my nose, then my lips again.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated.

“I love you, Natalie,” he said as he kissed me again.

“I love you too, Ryker, so much,” I whispered to him.

“Well I love both of y’all!” Brooklyn giggled, still in Ryker’s arms, her face close to mine.

“We love you too, Brooklyn!” he said, tickling her tummy.

“Can we go home now? It’s cold out here!” She giggled.

“Let’s go home,” I said, staring at Ryker.

“No place I’d rather be.” he said, kissing Brooklyn on the forehead.