Chapter 9
The next morning everything was eerily quiet as Nina stirred and opened her eyes. She looked over towards the window on the other side of the room and was surprised to see sunlight filtering through the curtains. Sensing that Robby was still fast asleep, she lay there for a second, thinking about the wild night and how, as she’d dropped off to sleep, she’d wondered what in the world they were going to wake up to. Now, she was about to find out.
Trying not to wake Robby, she slid out of bed, put her feet into her slippers, grabbed her dressing gown from the top of the huge wicker storage basket at the end of the bed, and wrapped it around her. Tiptoeing down the steep stairs so as not to wake Robby, she walked across the creaky second floor, past the sofa, towards the front of the building, drew back the curtains, and was surprised by what looked back at her.
The night before, as they’d looked out at the harbour, there had been chaos reigning outside as the wind had howled and rattled the windows, and the rain had lashed down without any signs of giving up. Now, everything was still, quiet, calm and tranquil. The angry, churning waves of the night before were not more than a ripple. The surface of the water glistened under sunshine popping in and out of wispy clouds and the wild night was nowhere to be seen. From what Nina could see, most of the boats had weathered the storm and were now bobbing gently on their moorings. Looking up, a seagull soared overhead as if, just like Nina, it was surveying precisely what had gone on the night before. Nina was surprised to see not a single remnant of the storm clouds, no wind at all, and the only sign of rain were the gigantic puddles gathered all around the harbour wall.
After making a pot of tea and toasting some crumpets, she stood by the large window and looked out at what was going on. Despite initially thinking there wasn’t too much damage, on closer inspection, a few things were awry. On the far side, it looked as if some tree branches had been thrown across the pavement. She spied some bits of broken roof tiles lying to the left of the property next door and a random piece of broken trellis fencing and a plastic garden chair were floating in the harbour. Clearly, lots of things had been tossed around by the fierce winds, but overall, there didn’t appear to be too much damage at all.
Looking at the harbour, she saw a couple of people in Lovely coats on boats untangling nets and dealing with problems. Just past the fresh fish hut, she saw its menu and price list, usually hanging on the side of the little hut, face down, not far from the edge of the harbour wall. Various people were standing around in their Lovely coats, either chatting or clearing things up. Swiping up on her phone, she saw a text message from Birdie.
Birdie: Morning, how are things with you? What’s it like over there?
Nina: Morning. Not too bad here. How’s everything at the deli?
Birdie: Thankfully, all is well. The deli’s fine; just a bit of cleanup needed outside. How about your end?
Nina: We’re okay, thanks. The harbour looks surprisingly calm this morning. I saw a few branches and a bit of debris around, but nothing major.
Birdie: Good to hear. The High Street took a bit of a hit, though. A few shop fronts were damaged, but mostly superficial. We were lucky this time!
Nina: Oh no, that’s a shame. Glad it’s not too bad. Did everyone get their power back on?
Birdie: Yes, surprisingly, we did! A rare stroke of luck with these storms, eh?
Nina: Definitely. It”s a relief to know that the damage wasn’t severe. Anything I can help with around the deli or the High Street?
Birdie: Stay put where you are. We’re managing well here. x
Nina: No worries. xx
As she sat and drank her tea, Nina scanned the Lovely community Facebook page and read various posts about what had happened to Lovelies around the area. A couple of low-lying areas of the town had pools of standing water and a tree had fallen down on one of the main Lovely greens. Overall, it seemed as if most of the town had not fared too badly at all. As she scanned down and read further, she was pleased to see that there wasn’t too much damage and that no one in Lovely Bay had lost power for the whole night.
Nina sipped her tea, and caught sight of Jeffrey, her neighbour, stepping outside his house inspecting the aftermath of the storm. She could see him looking over the scattered debris near the harbour wall and the calm sea beyond. Spotting Nina at the window, he raised his hand and waved.
Nina opened the window to chat. ‘Morning! Quite the storm, wasn’t it? All that thunder and lightning!’
‘Morning. Yes, it was a wild one, for sure. I haven’t seen the likes of it in years. I thought we might wake up to more of a mess, but it seems we’ve been fairly lucky, all things considered. I’m surprised.’
‘I know what you mean. I was expecting the worst when I went to bed. But apart from a few branches and the odd garden chair in the harbour, it looks like we’ve escaped the worst of it.’
‘True, true. I just walked around the back. A tree has lost a branch, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. How did your place fare? Is everything all good with you?’
‘We”re fine, thanks. No damage that I can see. Robby’s still asleep, but I think he’ll be relieved when he sees how little we’ve been affected.’
Jeffrey chuckled. ‘He’s still asleep after all that!’
‘I know. He sleeps like a log.’
‘Too funny.’ Jeffrey gestured up at Nina’s property. ‘You know, it’s times like these I’m grateful for our sturdy old houses and the sense of community here. Everyone’s already out and about, checking on each other, starting the cleanup.’
Nina nodded in agreement. ‘It’s one of the things I like about Lovely Bay. There’s always a friendly face around when you need it. Speaking of which, if you need any help with that fallen branch or anything, just let us know.’
‘Will do, thanks! And likewise, if you need anything, just holler. I’m going to get the saw and start clearing that branch now. Better to get it done before the day gets on.’
‘Okay, let me know if you need an extra pair of hands.’
‘Will do. Oh, and thanks again for the chowder. That did the job. It was delicious. You’ll need a speakeasy in your place one day soon.’
‘Ha, yes, you’re not the first to tell me that. By the way, thanks for the cheesecake.’
‘Rightio, well, have a good one.’
‘Yep, see you later.’
Nina closed the window and smiled, glad that everyone was safe in Lovely Bay.