Turned out, it was a hell of a storm.
For a long time the clouds just seemed to hover overhead not going anywhere. Marty changed into jeans and a t-shirt and tried to relax. It was just a storm. It would blow over. In the meantime she’d nuke a can of soup. She thought hungrily of Nora’s supper she was missing.
While her dinner was heating she fed Gruff but, unusually, the cat didn’t want to eat. Instead he prowled around restlessly, every once in a while turning a stink eye her way.
“What? I can’t help it if nature’s not happy.”
When the storm did break it released its fury with a torrent. Rain started with a few heavy drops and quickly built into a downpour, pounding a furious message on the metal roof of the RV. Then she heard the smack of hail beating on the surface and started to worry. She’d been determined to ride the storm out here in privacy, but now she thought maybe she better head to the house.
She decided to put Gruff in his crate for the trip. He hated storms and might try to take off. He also hated his crate so it took her a few minutes to stuff him inside. Just as she finished a frantic pounding sounded at the door.
She flung it open and urged Jake in out of the storm. He shook the drops off his raincoat and stepped into the confined space.
“I was just getting ready to come to the house. I had to get Gruff in his crate.”
“Well, if you’re ready, let’s go. There’s a tornado warning.” His voice was tense. “Grab a jacket and we’ll run for it.”
Marty didn’t waste any time following his orders. She slipped into a pink raincoat and pulled a pair of flowered rain boots over her feet. He raised his eyebrows at the sight but didn’t comment, just grabbed the handle of Gruff’s crate and headed to the door.
A gust of wind nearly blew Marty off her feet as soon as she walked out, so Jake gripped her hand to steady her. They made it a few yards away from the RV when there was a terrible groaning and grinding followed by a huge crash.
They both spun around and stared at what used to be her RV. Now a 100-year-old pine tree lay smack in the middle of it, crushing it into the ground.
“My God. Big Red.” Her voice could barely be heard over the howling wind, her hood blown off her head unnoticed. Rain pounded on her face, her hair getting drenched, but she ignored it.
Jake didn’t say anything, just wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close. Then he turned her away from the sight and urged her into the house.
Everyone inside had heard the crash and greeted them excitedly as they went into the basement.
“What was it? What was that noise?” Nora hurried over to them, anxiously scanning them for injuries.
“Big Red.” Marty sounded haunted. “Big Red got body slammed by a giant pine tree. And we hadn’t been out of it for thirty seconds.”
“Great God in Heaven.” Nora burst into action. “You poor dears. Here, let’s get you out of these wet coats.”
Marty shivered as she let Nora strip her of her raincoat, her saturated hair plastered to her head. She just kept envisioning Big Red gutted by the tree. And she couldn’t stop thinking about what would have happened if they hadn’t gotten out of there when they did.
“A nice hot cup of tea, that’s what you need.” Nora moved quickly to the bar and put a kettle on the stove there. It was actually an entire little kitchen. Imagine, A house with two kitchens.
And now she had none.
Marty felt two little arms grasp her legs.
“Don’t worry, Marty. You can stay with us until your truck gets fixed.” It was Bonnie who made the first move, but Brody soon joined her.
“Yeah, Marty,” Brody looked up her and smiled. “You can sleep in my room.”
Her heartstrings tugged as she looked at the two anxious faces, and she wrapped an arm around each of them, pulling them close to her.
“Of course she’ll stay with us,” Jake’s voice answered, “but I think she better stay in a guest room, don’t you?”
The kids agreed and Marty finally managed a smile. “Thank you. A guest room will suit me just fine.”
“Yea!” the kids chorused before chasing each other around in a victory dance. “Marty’s staying with us.”
Just then the lights sputtered and popped, then went out altogether. The darkness wrapped around them as Marty heard two little gasps and felt two little bodies flatten up against her.
“Now don’t worry. I’m prepared for this.” Nora retrieved a match from her pocket and scratched it against the exposed brick wall, the tiny flame flaring into life. In just a moment she lit a gas lamp and moved around lighting candles as well. The soft glow of flickering lights filled the room.
“This calls for a fire,” Jake announced. He moved to the hearth and shortly had flames snapping and crackling in the stone fireplace, adding to the warm mood of the room. “Now who wants s’mores?”
Soon everyone was munching on the gooey treats and the storm lightened up to a steady rain. When he’d finished with his snack Jake grabbed his guitar and began strumming. He sang Rainy Nights in Georgia, Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, and some other rainy day songs. A feeling of peace covered the room. The kids cuddled up to her on either side of where Marty sat on the couch. She relished the feeling and took time to be thankful she, Gruff, and Jake had made it out of Big Red without injury.
Tomorrow would be soon enough to assess the damage. She knew the RV was a total loss, but hopefully she would be able to salvage some of her paints and her personal belongings. She’d need to call her insurance company, too, and let them know what had happened.
The lights flickered and suddenly came back on. Marty realized both children were asleep with their heads in her lap. As she gazed down at the peaceful faces, despite the losses she’d suffered that evening, somehow she had a feeling that all was right with the world.