The rolling hills of Southern Indiana were behind them, and here on the plains, flat as an exam room table, Kim could see for miles in all directions. A storm was on its way. The sky was dreary now, but in the west, a bank of dark, roiling clouds threatened. The uninhibited view was unsettling, partly because the SUV and its occupants appeared even more exposed to whatever might come along. There were plenty of other vehicles, from semis and giant RVs, down to an occasional motorcycle. She wondered about those. Where would the cyclists seek shelter when the storm hit? Below an overpass in the filth, noise, and spray as other traffic sped past? Or were they nearly home?
Kim was glad the SUV was heavy. Maybe its weight wouldn’t make it too difficult to stay in their lane when the winds hit. She glanced quickly again toward the west, her hands tightening on the steering wheel. She wouldn’t freak out. It was just a thunderstorm.
She had been driving home from work a few years ago when tornado sirens started wailing, the weather alert on her phone went off, and the familiar scenery around her spun out of control in the whipping winds and onslaught of heavy rain. A few minutes more and I’ll be home. But a car stalled out at the top of an interstate exit two miles from her apartment. The handful of vehicles and their occupants stuck behind that vehicle were trapped. There was no cover nearby to run to.
Kim had prayed hard, tried to remember how to meditate, and attempted to avoid panic. She automatically grabbed the phone to call her mom, and was met with the memories of her funeral a few days earlier.
Kim had survived, of course. They were lucky because the tornado didn’t go through that area. Others, however, were not so fortunate.
And today she was responsible for everyone in the vehicle. Travis and Suzanne asleep in the backseat, and Jon.
Would it be wise to pull off and let the storm pass? She didn’t know how long that might take. They were already behind schedule, and the long day in the SUV seemed unbearable. Her hands, arms, and back were sore from driving. She hazarded a look at Jon, who sat, relaxed, scrolling on his phone. He had offered to spell her at the wheel when they stopped at the rest area, and now she wished she’d agreed. He would be used to the Suburban by now and might feel confident despite the storm. Or, at least, she would be less tired now, if he had driven for a while.
But no. She had shut him down when he offered, and now she was reaping her reward. She’d learned self-sufficiency the hard way, thrown into a nightmare when her mother became ill, and even more so when she died. Later when Kim herself was diagnosed, the only person in the world she thought she could depend on failed her completely. She hadn’t given up, but the treatments’ side effects would have been easier to bear if she’d had a companion to help her through. Someone to make some soup or go out at midnight to buy whatever food or drink her sick, exhausted body craved, just so she could manage to ingest some calories to continue to fight.
But she’d had none of those. She was lucky that one of the families on the ground floor of her apartment building included a teenage boy, proud of his football muscles and glad to make a few bucks by carrying groceries up the staircase for the bald, sick lady.
Another quick glance left. It wouldn’t be long now.
“Want to take the next exit, Kim?”
The soft, unexpected question from Jon startled her from her thoughts.
He shifted, turning his body toward hers a bit, as if to show her something on his phone. “Looks like there’s a mall just off the interstate. Maybe we could park on the east side of a building and get some protection from the wind. From what my weather app says, it’s a fast-moving storm. We can’t outrun it, but if we wait here a little while, we should drive out of the worst of it before long.” He set his phone on the console. “And if you want, I’ll take a turn at driving.”
If he’d read her thoughts, he couldn’t have said anything more welcome.
She summoned a calm tone. “Good idea to pull off, at least for a little while. If you’re willing to try driving this monster, I’d be glad for a break. You’ll have your hands full, though. You know the warnings about high profile vehicles and crosswinds.”
“Got it. But did you know I drive a Corvette? Have you ever driven one in a storm? Not the most reassuring experience. It’s a bit prone to hydroplaning, and water pooled on the road really looks ominous when you’re sitting just a few inches above it.”
Kim chuckled, felt immediately better because of it. She turned on her signal and left the interstate. In a few minutes, she had parked near the east side of a mall store and shut off the engine.
Suzanne and Travis stirred. Sitting up straight and wiping tired eyes, Suzanne met Kim’s in the rearview mirror. Kim turned with her patented Smile of Reassurance firmly in place. She’d used it thousands of times on patients.
“Hey. Sorry to disturb you guys. A storm’s about to hit and we decided to wait here a few minutes. And Jon is going to drive for a while when we start again.” She took a breath, noticed her pulse had slowed since parking. She smiled again and cast about for anything to say. “And while we’re here, is there anything you need?” She jerked a thumb toward the building.
Suzanne’s eyes followed her gesture, and she laughed. “I’m okay for now, but if you want to shop, go for it.”
Jon chuckled too, covering his mouth with a hand. His eyes crinkled in humor. Kim’s Smile of Reassurance slid when she realized they were at the entrance of a lingerie store. Her face was flaming. “Guess I should pay better attention to where I shelter from a storm. Too bad there’s not a bookstore on this side.”
Jon’s humor disappeared. “You don’t have to do the innocent act for us, Kim. Now, let’s switch seats before the rain hits.”
****
Jon strode around the SUV and had his hand on the door handle when Kim finally opened it. She shot him a hateful look—hardly the thanks he expected for offering to drive despite this ugly change in weather. He took a step back, letting Kim slide out of the seat and pass him without getting too close. His patience with her innate dislike of him had grown thin, and he’d like to tell her to stop being such a witch. But he didn’t want to upset his friends. They seemed to view her as their own personal angel of mercy.
He could handle it. This trip wouldn’t last forever, though it seemed it already had. Kim’s prickly reaction to his lingerie store comment was hilarious. She sure played the innocent part well.
When she was settled in the passenger seat, he asked, “Let me guess. In your spare time, you’re active in the local community theater scene.” Had to be, since she was so good at facade.
She looked genuinely perplexed. “No. Why would you think so?”
Her Little Miss Priss act was almost convincing. Part of Jon wanted to believe it. Then he made the mistake of noticing the way the wind had messed with her hair. The portion collected in a clasp at her nape was always messy, but his hand ached to tuck a wayward strand behind her ear.
Crazy. The woman was making him crazy.
A couple of teenage girls dashed from their car to the lingerie store, just as the torrents of rain began. The girls screamed and laughed and were soaked to the skin in a moment, their expensive looking handbags and shoes probably ruined.
Jon checked the rearview. “Kids,” he said. “Were we ever that stupid, Travis? To run out in a downpour?”
Travis was staring out the window on his side. “We did plenty of things that stupid, Jon. Though to be honest, I don’t remember a women’s underwear shop in any of our escapades. Wouldn’t have been a bad thing. Might be a stop to add to our next trip.”
“Before or after the trout fishing?”
Travis unbuckled his seat belt and scooted next to Suzanne, taking her hand into his. “Before, I’m guessing. By the time we’ve roughed it for a few days, they probably wouldn’t let us into the store.”
Kim was smiling, looked like she was calming down. Jon wished she’d relax around him instead of being nice one minute then when he was involved, get all prickly again.
Rain blasted, coming at them horizontally, and winds buffeted the vehicle. Jon wondered if they should have gone indoors. With the windows up tight and the air conditioner off, the small space grew warm and close. Kim’s light floral perfume called to him, and with determination, he pulled out his phone to check emails and see what was blowing up at work right now.