Chapter 53
Grace woke with a start. The gurney she lay on bumped against the wall. A thin emergency room blanket fell off her lap onto the dull linoleum floor.
Disoriented, she took in her surroundings. She was next to the small waiting area for the families of ED patients.
Half a dozen other gurneys lined the walls, overflow from the emergency room.
The loud voices Grace had originally thought were coming from patients and staff were actually coming from the television.
A weather report from the local news. Their meteorologist, Dan something-or-other, stood in a poncho in downtown Orlando, getting pummeled by pouring rain.
He was explaining to the anchors, safe in their studio, that the situation had elevated to a tropical storm.
“And when can we expect the storm to pass?”
“That’s the thing, Phil. The storm isn’t acting like a normal system. What originally seemed to be a light storm has now settled over Central Florida.”
“And what does that mean, Dan?”
“Well, when a system settles in one place like this, it changes the airflow, creating a tropical storm system. And unfortunately, there’s no sign of it moving on. Let’s just hope it doesn’t strengthen even further.”
“Thanks, Dan. Get inside and dry off soon. Emergency services suggest everyone shelter in place…”
This wasn’t good. Grace knew it wasn’t just a freak storm system. It was Habaek. If he didn’t stop, this storm could get worse.
She had to get to Hae. Luckily, the hospital was swamped, so no one stopped when she hurried through the ED. Grace made her way to the elevators the orderlies used to transport patients. She had just pressed the call button when someone grabbed her wrist.
“I’m just going—” She stopped short when she saw that it was Yuhwa, soaked, bloodied, and exhausted-looking.
“Oh my gods, are you all right? The sonnimne?”
When Yuhwa shook her head, drops of water sprayed from her hair. “I lost it in the storm.”
“We have to check on Hae,” Grace said. “I think something’s wrong.”
Yuhwa looked confused at first but nodded. “Yes, let’s go.”
The wait for the elevator to get to the inpatient floor was excruciating. And when Grace’s phone buzzed, it startled her so much that she banged her elbow. Wincing, she checked the screen and was surprised to see the call was from a Boston number.
“Hello?” she answered hesitantly.
“May I speak to Grace Bak?”
“This is she.”
“This is Dr. Kendrick, your father’s friend.”
“Oh, yes, hello.” She watched the numbers in the elevator climb. “Um, this isn’t a great time. Can I call you back?”
“Well, I was actually calling because I heard you weren’t able to make your interview for our program.”
Even in a giant storm caused by a god, Grace still felt embarrassed about being less than her best. She looked anxiously over at Yuhwa, but the goddess was pretending not to listen. “Yes, I’m so sorry, something urgent came up.”
“I’m sure it did,” Dr. Kendrick’s voice said kindly. “But I was wondering if you’d like a second chance?”
“Second chance?” Grace repeated as the elevator doors opened.
“Yes, another interviewee just canceled, and I pulled a few strings to get them to give the slot to you. It’s in ten minutes. You think you can find a laptop by then?”
Grace froze on her way out of the elevator. “You can give me another interview now? Really?”
“Yup, if you can just confirm it now, I’ll send you the log-in information.”
The doors almost closed on her, and Grace jabbed the door-open button.
“Go,” Yuhwa said with an understanding nod. “I can take care of this myself.” She strode off the elevator.
Grace could just go to her dad’s office, use his laptop. This was her chance to make up for her mistake. To have the life she’d been working toward for so long. But she found herself leaping forward to grab Yuhwa’s arm.
“I’m so sorry, Dr. Kendrick,” she said into the phone. “I’m not available right now. Thank you anyway for thinking of me.”
Then, before she could regret it, she hung up.
Yuhwa shook her head. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, this is more important.”