8. Tegan
TEGAN
THE STORM - FIVE DAYS LATER
Ithought that I was ready and prepared for the launch party, but now that it was two days away, I couldn’t feel more stressed and less prepared.
I realized that I was short on the liners that I wanted to use for the red velvet cupcakes, the bottled water we ordered was on a delay because of storms on the East Coast, and Mimi was sick.
I was racing around the shop trying to get things secured at the last minute. Some of the staff had been here helping earlier, but the darker the skies became, and the closer the storms traveled, I sent everyone home.
It was funny that I was starting to think like a boss when I hadn’t even officially opened for business. Yet, I couldn’t help but notice, my primary thought with the approaching storm was my staff, my building and supplies, and then myself.
Warren and Javar had wanted to stick around, but I pushed them out of the shop twenty minutes earlier, with promises that I was right behind them. The more that I did around the shop, the more things I found needed to be done.
My phone rang, and I grabbed it. “Hey, Mama.”
“Hey, Baby. Why are you still at the shop?”
“Mama, are you tracking my location again?”
“Your daddy insisted on it. Girl, you’ve got this man over here worried sick about you.”
“Do I need to come out and bring ya li’l ass up out of that place?” my daddy asked gruffly in the background.
“No, Daddy. I’ll be leaving soon,” I replied with a soft chuckle.
“Baby, please get off the phone and head home.”
“I am, Mama.”
“If you don’t make it out in the next ten minutes, you need to hunker down in place.”
“Okay, Mama, and I promise to keep you posted,” I declared before we ended the call, knowing that she would be calling me again soon.
A loud tapping sounded at the front door startled me. I tucked my phone back into my purse as I rushed to the front of the shop. I saw Harlem peering through the door with a worried scowl.
I opened the door and let him in.
“Why are you still here?” he asked, walking into the bakery. “You didn’t hear that the tornado is close to our area? They asked everyone to take cover.”
“I know that. What I don’t know is why are you still here?”
“I had to make sure all my workers got out and went home, and then I decided to stay behind and check on some of the older businessowners and make sure they got out of here.”
“Did you get them out?”
“Everyone is gone but you, and that’s a problem for me.”
“I just wanted to secure everything before the storm came. I have too much to lose for me—”
No sooner than I spoke those words, the power went out. The sound of a loud train whistle could be heard coming toward us in the distance. The power outage was punctuated by a shrill scream that hurt my ears but that I realized came from me.
Harlem pulled me into his arms, and he rushed me toward the rear of the shop for cover. My heart pounded in my chest as fear soaked up everything positive inside of me.
The moment that a tree crashed into the front window and broke it, I was bankrupt and void of hope and faith. I pulled free of his arms and paused, frozen with shock and disbelief because I couldn’t believe what was happening.
The men had just finished that window not even two weeks ago, and it had cost an arm and a leg to get a new plate glass window put in. Now it was no more, which also meant the shop was exposed to the elements, vandalism, and robbers.
“Tegan!” I heard him shouting, but my feet seemed to be rooted to the floor.
I willed them to move, and my brain screamed at me to run, but I couldn’t seem to walk.
Thankfully, Harlem’s functions were firing off properly, because he lifted me in his arms and carried me to the storeroom and slammed the door closed behind us.
He let me down to my feet as he moved to the rear shelving units.
“We have to get secure and make sure that we’re locked in here,” he explained as he tossed large sacks of flour off the bottom shelving units and onto the floor.
“What are you doing?” I asked, still confused.
“Come here, beautiful.”
I rushed to his side.
He helped me to lay on one of the shelves before he turned and cleared the unit opposite me and then he climbed on it. I was devastated and crying. Fear that we might not make it out poured through me, along with worry about what would happen to my shop, and if I would survive this.
“Baby, we’re going to be okay. Thank God, this happened when it did; otherwise, you and I might have been out there driving when that happened. For whatever reason, we were slowed down, and we were placed together. I know you might be scared, but nothing will happen to you, okay?”
“I want to be with you,” I cried out as I felt the building shake all around us.
He climbed off the shelf and came to sit on the floor in front of me. “I don’t want you to move off the shelf. Stay where you are, and I will sit in front of you. If it makes you feel better, give me your hand.” He reached around behind himself and extended his hand to me.
I did as he ordered, and he held my hand and stroked it as he spoke to me in calm, soothing tones. The warmth from his hand enveloped mine. His back was to me, but it made me feel secure, locked in, and hidden from any danger.
He encouraged me to talk about my dreams for the bakery’s future and my personal dreams. He encouraged me to talk about my relationship with my family and my friends.
Before it was all said and done, my voice was barely above a whisper, and the stress and panic that had taken hold of me before no longer existed.
It felt like an hour or more had passed, but I knew no more than ten minutes had passed. He stood and walked to the door. “Stay right there, Baby.”
“Okay,” I mumbled, too afraid to stay but even more afraid to get up and leave.
Harlem opened the door and stepped outside for a while. The entire time he was gone, I whispered prayers and tried to ease the knot of tension and fear in my belly. He returned a few minutes later.
“You can come on out now. It’s over.”
I glanced up at him with watery eyes, and he helped me to climb off the shelf.
I immediately threw my arms around him while I broke down crying.
Standing there in his arms, with him holding me as I cried and whispering it was okay made me realize that I had never felt safer and more comfortable than I had at this moment.
I stood in his arms for several minutes before I pulled back. Harlem wiped my tears before he brushed his warm, soft lips against my forehead.
“Thank you, Harlem.”
“Come on. Let’s go check out the damages to see what’s been lost, what can be recovered, and all that.”
“Did you see damage?” I asked as he walked toward the door, holding my hand.
“Yes.”
My heart sank in my chest, because I could tell by his dull tone that a lot of damage had been done. An entire tree crashed against my window.
The moment that I saw the broken window and the small tree resting on my pastry case, I broke down crying again.
The windows were broken, there were upended tables and chairs, and destroyed items on my counters and shelves. All the damage had occurred to the front of the bakery, and the rear was intact. The kitchen, break room, restrooms, and the storage areas were all intact.
“I wish that I had superpowers,” I confessed.
“What do you mean?” His voice was thick with emotion.
“Superpowers to fix everything that’s been broken and to cause the sun to shine again,” I whispered.
He squeezed my hand. “I know that it’s a stretch, and we’re only two days out, but I promise you’ll still be able to open on your expected date with the help of the community.”
“There is too much damage, Harlem. There’s no way that we’ll be able to put it all together, even with the community’s help.”
“Baby, don’t underestimate the power of this community.”
I sobbed, and Harlem just pulled me closer.
No matter what he said, I knew in my heart that my dream was ruined. How could I recover from this?
Harlem pulled back and stared at me, and I wished that he could make it all go away.
His eyes softened, he lowered his head, and I felt him draw nearer to me.
“You’re so beautiful, Tegan. Every little freckle, your gorgeous light eyes, your curly hair, and your cute little nose, and downturned lips, everything about you is so beautiful, but especially your heart. People with hearts like yours will always be rewarded.”
I wanted to believe him, and I wanted more of him. Harlem was a good man who I wouldn’t mind having around. I wasn’t sure if it was the emotion of the storm or something else, but I wanted everything that he was bringing to my life.
I felt myself weakening in his arms as his soft lips met mine.
His kiss wasn’t explorative, but reassuring, comforting, and confirmation.
Confirmation that he would be there, and I could rely on him in my hour of need.
The kiss grew deeper and more thorough. His lips were sweet, warm, and comforting.
I had no power to break away from him, and I found that I did not want to.
In his arms and underneath that kiss, I vowed that I wouldn’t push him away.
I would trust him to show up and be who he said he was; I would lean into this.
It was crazy, but standing in his arms, reassured by his words and his presence, I felt like I already loved Harlem.
I would never tell him that, though, because it sounded as crazy as it felt.
It was hard to keep my mouth closed, but I did it.
I was afraid that if I spoke it, he might turn and walk away and never return.