“Why are you taking that back there?” James called.
“It might light someone’s path,” Martha said.
“I’m worried about Macaw and Pierre at the rooming house,” Lea murmured. “It seems so rickety and frail.”
Martha nodded. “You’re much safer with us, on the west beach. The inlet is protected, Lea. And our house is solid. Not wood. It’s thick Virginia fieldstone. We had it shipped from Charlotte when we built the house. We knew it could withstand hurricanes.”
Lea shivered. “You’re both so nice to take me in tonight. I mean, a total stranger-”
Martha laughed. “I feel like we’re old friends. So many emails.”
“Well, you’re both very sweet,” Lea said. “I don’t know what I would have done. . ” Her voice trailed off. She suddenly pictured Ira and Elena, so far away.
Earlier, Martha had prepared a magnificent dinner. Conch salad and salt oysters fresh from the ocean that morning, followed by a spicy-hot gumbo of rock shrimp, scallops, and lobster. A true feast. Along with a very dry Chardonnay from a winery on Hilton Head Island.
It should have been a delightful, relaxing time. But Lea kept glancing out the back doors at the flocks of birds flying frantically back and forth in the darkening sky, chattering and squawking in a panic, as if they didn’t know where to light.
James was talking about Carolina wineries and how they had to import their grapes from all over. Lea tried to concentrate. He spoke so softly, she had to struggle to hear.
After coffee, they watched the progress of the storm on the Weather Channel until the power went out with a startling
“I’m worried about my kids,” Lea said. “And my husband, of course. They won’t know if I’m okay.”
“They’ll get things up and running soon after the storm,” James said. “You’ll be surprised. The army will be here. The national guard. Hurricanes on the Carolina coast. . people have experience with them.”
“Do you have kids?” Lea realized she hardly knew a thing about her two hosts. Her emails with Martha had been all about life on Le Chat Noir.
“We have a son. In Phoenix,” Martha said. “He’s thirty. Not quite a kid.”
Lea squinted at her in the candlelight. “You don’t look old enough to have a thirty-year-old.”
Martha’s dark eyes flashed. “Flattery like that will get you a friend for life.”
“He’s still ‘finding himself,’” James added, making quote marks with his fingers. “A lot of thirty-year-olds are still teenagers these days. He-”
“
“I wanted more kids,” Lea said. “I come from a big family. Four brothers and two sisters. I really wanted a houseful of kids. But after Ira was born, the doctor said we couldn’t have any more. I was so disappointed. Heartbroken, really.”
Her words were greeted by silence. Martha and James stared at her, their faces appearing and disappearing in the flickering light.
Rain pounded the house, as loud as thunder. The wind howled like a wild animal. But the house was solid as promised. The ferocious winds tried but couldn’t collapse it. James praised the strength of Virginia fieldstone. Martha spoke calmly about going down to the beach after the last hurricane and watching the incredible waves.
Lea could hear things breaking outside. Cracks and heavy thuds. She fought to hold down a rising feeling of panic. She held her breath, as if she could will it away. Held her breath until her chest ached.
She screamed at the cracking sound above her head. Plaster snowed down on the three of them from the high cathedral ceiling.
“It’s trying to take the roof,” James said. His eyes were wide behind his glasses. Even in the shadowy light, Lea could see his calm was broken.
Lea pressed herself against the living room wall, praying for the roof to hold, for the winds to stop raging. She shut her eyes tight and thought about Mark. And Ira. And Elena.
Were they thinking of her? Were they horribly scared?
She shuddered again. It could be
Another cracking sound above their heads. Another stream of powdery plaster came floating down. James staggered forward, eyes wide. His mouth dropped open. His knees folded. He started to fall.
Martha grabbed him by the shoulders, struggling to keep him on his feet.
“The roof. .” he breathed. “It’s. . coming down.”
A terrifying
Lea screamed as the world came crashing down on her.
10
Lea struggled to pull herself up from the ringing darkness. Her head throbbed as if about to explode. Waves of pain rolled down her back, her arms and legs. Blinking in the gray light, still unable to focus, she gazed up.
“Oh my God!”
The sky appeared so close, glaring through the jagged hole in the ceiling. She raised her head, feeling dizzy. Underwater, her clothing soaked and the couch beneath her like a furry wet animal. She brushed shingles off the couch. Still struggling to focus, she saw jagged pieces of the ceiling strewn over the room.
Martha and James bent over her. Their faces were tight with concern, ghostly pale in the heavy gray light washing down from above.
“Lea? You’re coming to? Are you okay?” Martha looked twenty years older. Her hair hung in damp tangles over her forehead. Her eyes were red-rimmed and wet.
Lea pulled herself to a sitting position. The room spun around her. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was too dry.
She squinted at the shards of wood and broken shingles scattered crazily around the couch. Piles of wet plaster on the carpet. Like cake flour. A snowstorm blanketing the furniture.
“The roof-”
Martha gripped her hand. “Take it slow, Lea. Just breathe. Don’t try to get up yet.”
“What happened?” Martha and James slid in and out of focus. Lea smoothed a hand over her hair, trying to rub away the pain.
“Part of the roof fell in,” James said, gazing up at the sky. “You got hit by some slate shingles. It knocked you out.”
“We were so worried.” Martha squeezed Lea’s hand. “It just came crashing down on you. We put you on the couch and-”
Lea shuddered. “I. . think I’m okay. Just a headache. The dizziness is going away.”
“Oh, thank God,” Martha said.
“We all got soaked,” James said, his voice hoarse, croaky. “But we were lucky.” He glanced away, as if trying to force down some heavy emotion. Despite his attempt, a sob escaped his throat.
Martha held on to Lea’s hand. “So glad y’all are okay. We were scared. You were totally out. Look. You might have a bump on your head, but it didn’t even break the skin.”
Lea brushed back her dark hair with both hands. “Wow. Guess I’m lucky. I feel okay. Really.”
