Chapter 29
The storm wasn’t letting up, so it seemed we were stuck in the cabin for the rest of the day. No swimming under the sun or grilling burgers by the lake for us.
Gracie and Mom were setting out the Monopoly pieces when my phone started to buzz. I glanced down to see Adam was calling me.
“Hey,” I said, walking from the living room down the hall toward a quiet, empty bedroom. “How are you?”
“Not great,” Adam said, his voice strained. “It’s hailing like mad out here. I’m worried there’ll be real damage to the festival set up.”
My heart sunk. “No.”
“I know there’s nothing we can do, and I don’t want to intrude on your family time with this bummer news,” he said, then hesitated for a moment before continuing, “but you’re also the only person I wanted to talk to.”
Despite the bad news, I was grinning into the phone. “You can always call me.”
“That’s good because if right now is any indication, it seems your voice is one of the only things that can calm me down,” he said. He let out a long exhale. “The storm isn’t stopping anytime soon. Did you see those weather reports?”
I winced. “I did. It’s supposed to rain for days.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it rains all through the festival.”
My phone beeped with an alert. I pulled my phone away from my face to peek at the message.
ATTN: A tornado warning for Sweet River and surrounding cities.
I could barely breathe, fear tightening itself around my chest as I read each word. “A tornado,” I gasped.
“Lucy, did you see that alert?” Olivia shouted from the living room.
“What alert?” My mom’s panic was loud enough to carry into the back room. Their voices trailed off. All I cared about was Adam.
“Adam.” I put the phone back to my ear. “Did you get that alert?”
“I did,” he said.
“You’re not safe in your office. Promise me you will hang up with me and find shelter.” My heartbeat was pounding through my fingertips as I gripped my phone.
I knew he needed to hang up, but I desperately wanted to stay connected to him.
“I promise,” he said. Voices entered his office, panicked chatter filling the call. “Hold on, guys. Lucy? I’ve got to let you go.”
“Call me when you can.” As I said it, I could hear the tornado sirens ring in the background. I held my phone to my chest and let my prayers be a shelter around Adam I wished I could be.
The weight of my worry for Adam revealed, like a crater leaving its mark, how strong my feelings were for him. He wasn’t just a flash in my sky, he had crash landed into my world.
Hail drummed against the roof as messages from family and friends slowly trickled in. The tornado touched ground in Sweet River, but only on the backroads, breaking apart before it hit the inner city. Everyone seemed to be safe. Homes remained intact. We’re okay! and The tornado has passed! the text messages said.
The storm still left an impact, though. The wind tore apart trees, with large branches landing on cars and leaving ruin in their wake. Things were sent flying. Hail left its icy mark.
We were discussing the updates when a text from Adam finally came through. My whole body relaxed like a balled fist unfurling when I read that he was safe. He’d taken cover with his coworkers on the ground floor of City Hall. He was no stranger to tornadoes growing up in Tulsa.
Adam
I like you checking up on me. I’m going out with the team to assess the damage done to the festival grounds. I’ll call you after.
My mom and sisters were exhaling in relief, the mood lifting along with the rain. But I couldn’t join in, it felt like part of me was here with my family while the other part was back in Sweet River.
“You’re worried, Luce?” Olivia asked, her eyes searching. “About the festival?”
“About Adam. He’s alone. He was sheltering from the tornado and is now dealing with the aftermath. He’s barely had time to take a breath. I want to be there for him. Make sure he eats….” My voice was shaky. I swallowed back the knot of tears. I didn’t want to show how badly it felt like I needed to be there for Adam. It felt wrong for him to deal with everything alone when I could so easily cross the miles between us.
“I was thinking about him, too,” Mom said. “I need to bring that boy some dinner.”
My phone rang. I immediately answered the call. “Adam?”
“Hey, I’m out here and, man, the wind and hail damage…it’s bad.” His voice sounded worn down. “We can fix it, but we’re going to have to work nonstop for the next couple days. We’re calling in the reserves, but so many people are off for the Fourth.” We’d anticipated our festival being the weekend after the Fourth would be hectic for scheduling, that was why we had done a lot of work ahead of the holiday.
“So much of our prep work has been compromised.” I rubbed my finger in a circle on my forehead.
“Yeah. It’s raining on me even now.” I could imagine a worried Adam standing out there in the rain.
“I’m coming back,” I said, standing to my feet, resolute. “I’m not leaving you to handle this alone in the middle of a storm.”
“No, no,” he said adamantly. “I’ve got it under control. You stay with your people.” I could hear a muffled voice asking him a question. “Can I call you back?”
“Sure,” I said. We hung up.
I turned to my family and said, “I need to head back to Sweet River.”
“I’m coming, too.” Olivia stood up beside me.
Mom and Gracie nodded. “We’ll be there, too.”
“Gracie’s ankle—she needs to be here and rest,” I said, looking down at Gracie propped on the couch.
“I can rest back home, too.” Gracie put her hands up to stop me. “We’re Rhodes women. There’s nowhere else we’d be.”
The air in Sweet River was loaded post-storm, like it was still trembling after the tornado. My mom and sisters trailed behind me in their own cars on the drive back to Sweet River.
Adam had called me as I drove back, completely unaware that I was in my car, and unloaded his worries. From whether we’d have enough volunteers to what we’d do if another tornado blew through.
Near the end of the call, he’d said in an exhausted voice, “I’m too tired to make anything to eat,” he’d said. “Maybe I’ll eat some cereal.”
I’d learned enough about Adam now to know that he’d make sure everything else was handled and cared for before taking care of himself. The first thing to go was usually meals. Which was why I’d already planned to stop and pick up a pizza on the way to his house.
The four of us stood huddled on his doorstep, ringing the bell. Mom and my sisters had grabbed him a peanut butter chocolate shake while I was at the pizza place.
His eyes went wide when he opened the door. He took a surprised step back and clutched his chest with his right hand. “You came back?”
“It’s been a long day and you needed dinner.” I held up a pizza box.
“And treats!” My mom held up the shake.
“Come in.” He stepped to the side of the doorway so we could come inside.
Before I could get far, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his arms, stepping us away from the group who were busy making themselves at home in his kitchen.
“You,” he whispered against my hair. “You, you, you.”
I dropped the pizza box to the ground—I didn’t care—and wrapped my arms around his waist. My face was buried in his chest, overcome by the fresh, bergamot scent of Adam. The doorbell rang. His brows wrinkled in confusion.
“We invited a few other people over to help brainstorm our repair efforts,” I said, peeking up out of his arms.
“But everyone’s busy with the holiday?”
“Adam, no one thought anything of dropping their plans to help. I didn’t even have to ask anyone to do it. I told them what happened and almost everyone started packing up on their own.”
“The festival is more beloved than I even realized,” Adam said, walking toward the door to answer it.
I shook my head. “It’s not the festival they’re coming to help.”
His eyes creased softly, that Adam tenderness. He answered the door to find a whole lot of Hernandezes standing on his front porch. Of course, they brought food, too.
Arms around my waist. Hands brushing hair out of my eyes. Chin resting on my head. Eyes finding me across the room. Adam was unabashedly reaching for me the entire night, even as a few more friends came over. My heart was beating like hummingbird wings the entire night. I half-wanted everyone to just get out so I could bury my face in his chest again.
We found ourselves doing more than making plans for festival repairs. People were sharing different needs around Sweet River after the storm. Olivia had a notepad out to jot down plans while we strategized how to help not just the festival—but the entire community.
Roof repairs for Ms. Addyson. Porch repairs for the elderly couple who owned the antique store. The park was a mess. Victor was thinking we could talk with the local garage about offering a discount for hail damage repair for cars around town.
Adam’s eyes were bright as we planned, like this was igniting something within him. A wick long un-lit. He eagerly chatted with the group while I gathered used paper plates and napkins.
I went to toss the trash in the kitchen bin, finding Olivia pouring herself a glass of water. “I’m glad we came back.” She pointed at my face. “It looks like you finally caught your breath.”
“Finally.” I rested my hip against the kitchen counter.
I glanced out at Victor and Adam, the two stepped away from the group for their own conversation. “Were you worried about Victor?”
“Of course.” Olivia looked down at her glass.
“Did you text him to check on him during the storm?” She hadn’t been dramatically sharing each communication with the rest of us like Gracie and I did.
“I texted all my friends.” She gave a little shrug. I knew Olivia was committed to ignoring the kindling sparking between her and Victor. Eventually, it’d ignite.
I headed back to Adam who was still talking with Victor. His back was to me and I realized neither of them had noticed my arrival.
“So, have you had a chance to think any more about that job offer in Tennessee?” Victor asked him.
“Man, I haven’t had a chance to think about much more than the festival—” Adam answered when I stepped into the middle of their twosome.
“Tennessee?” I repeated, my confusion spiraling through my voice high and loud.
“Oh, yeah.” Adam ran his fingers over his jaw. “I got this job offer early this morning. I know this recruiter and…I’ve barely been able to think about it. You know how today has been.”
My heart was frozen. My brain was frozen. “Tennessee,” I repeated because apparently that was the only word I knew anymore.
“No plans yet though, right, buddy?” Victor tried to help, his eyes darting between us both.
“Yeah, no. I have time before I need to respond,” Adam said, his eyes a search and rescue in mine.
I took a step back from them, from this awful new development. “Is it…a good job?”
“A great job, actually. What I’m doing now, but on a larger scale.” He emphasized with his hands.
Victor laughed. “A lot bigger.”
“Not hard to be,” I said bleakly. Sweet River wasn’t some metropolis.
“I just found out,” Adam said again, apologetically. “I was going to tell you.”
“No worries.” I shook my head. “I’m just taking it in.” I was in shock. Like I’d been reminding myself to be gentle with something fragile, but then it dropped and crashed to the floor anyway. I knew it could happen, right? I’d been the one proceeding with caution.
So, then why am I still so surprised? Why am I so crushed as I sweep the pieces off the floor?
Victor bowed out, giving Adam a pat on the shoulder before he walked away.
It was just Adam and me now. He put both his hands around my shoulders gently, giving them a little rub. “It’s not official yet.” What wasn’t official yet? Us or the job?
My heart snagged on the yet. “Okay, you have time to decide, right?” I looked down at my feet, my hair a scarlet curtain over my face.
“Right,” he said.
“It feels like…” I went quiet. The other shoe had dropped and so had all the hope I’d mustered.
“Feels like what?” Adam caught my gaze as I lifted my head up.
“You just got here,” I said, my voice small and vulnerable.
“I know,” he said.
“What do you feel?” I asked. I knew it wasn’t a fair question. He’d only known since this morning and today he’s been hiding from storms and surveying damage.
He looked stricken. I put up a hand. “Don’t answer that. You’re too exhausted. I’m just impatient.”
His shoulders relaxed. “I am fried.”
I snuck my hands around his waist and we held each other for a bit. I could feel his body relax into the embrace. Meanwhile, my chest was twisting into knots.
People were starting to say their goodbyes and gather their things. It was getting late. Adam whispered into my ear, “Thank you for coming, my Lovely Lucy. You didn’t have to.”
“You had told me to stay with my people.” I rested my chin on his chest. “And now you’re my people.”
He placed his hands around my jawline, running his thumb up to my ear. “No one anywhere has ever felt like home to me. Like family. But you. Like right here,” he slid his hands down to my chest, over my heart, “is where I can finally belong.”
I wanted to say, then don’t leave, stay home here with me. But Adam had been such a supportive presence in my life, cheering on my art and my work, I wanted to be that for him, too. Adam deserved to be championed and cheered. I would let him make his decision without adding any confusion or complication.