Chapter Nine
Voluntary evacuation had started early that morning, and the hotels in the more populated towns south of them had already closed their doors and canceled reservations. On Whelk’s Island, renters had been required to evacuate, but the locals weren’t mandatory, and most of them were headstrong.
Business at Tug’s Diner was over capacity even as early as the afternoon, to where Tug had limited the menu to only take-out orders to keep up with the onslaught of residents wanting to grab something quick as they readied their homes for the possibility of a brush with Hurricane Edwina.
Tug was taking orders and serving out of the front doors when he caught sight of Paul and Chase in line.
He waved to them over the heads of the people in line. “I thought you’d be too busy for Hot Dog Tuesday today,” Tug teased.
“Are you kidding me?” Paul looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “We live for Hot Dog Tuesday.” They inched up to next in line. “Even if it had to wait until dinnertime.”
“The usual for you two. Three each all the way.” Tug grabbed tongs and a box. “Coming right up.”
Tug made the hot dogs and passed the order out the door to Paul. “Hey, before you go, if this storm continues to chug up the coast so slowly, I think I should relocate Amanda’s inventory. A slow mover means big flooding. With the timing of the tide, the storm surge could clear that dune and her place is going to be underwater. I’ve seen that place flood before.”
“Really? We should pack her out of there, then.” Paul looked at Chase. “I know you have things to do at home, too, but could you help me with Amanda’s place after this?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. That’s been bugging me. I just hadn’t had a second to call you.” Tug never stopped, quickly moving people through the line with their orders. “I’m going to bring The Wife over to Paws tonight if that’s okay. The storm isn’t supposed to impact us until overnight tomorrow at the earliest, so I’m going to spend tonight at my place.”
“That works. Thanks for mentioning Amanda’s place. We’re going to pack up the inventory next.”
“Probably all for nothing. I know you’ve got a hundred other things on your list.”
“Nothing is more important than Amanda. Besides, sometimes intuition is twice as good as science.” Paul and Chase left, and the line in front of the diner still snaked out to the street.
How many of these people were grabbing something to eat because they were getting ready to evacuate, and how many planned on riding out the storm?
It was after seven-thirty when the line of customers finally cleared out of Tug’s Diner.
Tug had cleaned up, mostly. He’d put away the tables he’d set at the front doors as a makeshift counter and covered the electronics in plastic to weather the storm just in a case the boards gave way and a window broke. He walked out to check on The Wife. She was a creature of habit. Leaving familiar surroundings wouldn’t make her happy.
“You ready to go for a ride?” he said to The Wife.
“Time to go.”
“Yes, it is.” He opened the cage and let The Wife walk up his arm to his shoulder. “We’re going to go visit Paul until the weather clears. That means you have to ride in your little cage.”
The bird tilted her head and shook her feathers before bowing to him.
He rubbed his fingers through her feathers. “You’re my best gal.”
It only took a couple of minutes to pull the travel cage out of storage, and The Wife walked right inside without pause.
He set the cage on the table near the door out onto the deck. “I’m going to do one last walk through to be sure I turned everything off. I’ll be right back.”
Tug whistled while he checked the kitchen one last time. The Wife joined in when she felt like it, sometimes with the right song, sometimes with a random shout-out or whistle, but it was company just the same.
He boxed up the leftover hot dogs and hamburgers and then headed to get The Wife.
“We’re going for a ride,” Tug called out to The Wife as he made his way through the empty diner.
“On the road again!” The Wife sang out.
As Tug walked out to the deck, she bounced her head and repeated the chorus in a pretty good Willie Nelson impression.
“Hellooo,” someone called from the doorway of the restaurant.
Tug stopped and turned.
The Wife paused and stretched up. “Come on in. Hello.”
Tug gave her the stink eye. “Behave.”
“Is anyone here?” the voice came again.
“Coming.” The Wife mimicked Tug the way she was known to do.
“Troublemaker,” Tug whispered.
The Wife laughed.
“Not funny.” He pointed at her. “Not another word out of you.”
She lowered her head and made a kissing sound.
He carried her cage inside and set it on the table of the booth just inside the door. Across the way, a short auburn-haired woman stood in the middle of his diner.
“Hello? Can I help you?” Tug asked.
She looked a little flummoxed. “Hi? Hello. I’m sorry. Are you still open?”
He walked over to her. “Well, I just packed everything up, but I can’t turn away a hungry neighbor. What would you like?”
“I’m not picky. Most anything will do. I hate to bother you. It’s not like missing a meal is going to kill me.”
“Missing a meal might make you cranky, though, and cranky women can be dangerous. Could kill me!” He was only half teasing. He used to keep Nabs in the truck to ward off Maeve’s cranky attitude if she went too long between meals.
The woman laughed at his joke. “Well, I’ve been known to get a little hangry, but I don’t think you’re in any danger at the moment,” she teased.
“Good to know. We were just getting ready to leave, me and my friend here, and get ready for the storm. I thought I knew about everybody in this town, but we haven’t met before, have we?”
“We haven’t. It’s my first time visiting Whelk’s Island. My friend has a bunch of people securing her house, but who knows how long that will take? I didn’t want to be a bother, so I thought I’d zip out and grab something to eat. I just didn’t realize they would shut down everything so early.”
“They issued an evacuation order earlier today,” Tug said.
“Voluntary, though, right?”
“Yes. So far, anyway. Not that it matters to the locals.”
“Oh, well, we’re planning to stay. My friend says they aren’t worried about it.”
He lifted his brows, but he didn’t remark.
“You look like you don’t approve.” Her lips pulled into a straight line. She must’ve read his body language.
“Not my place to judge either way,” he said.
“You’re still here,” she said a little defensively, but there was a playful tilt to her lips.
“True enough.” He shrugged. “But I’m just an old diner owner who has nothing to live for.”
“You love The Wife,” The Wife called out.
“Oh, is your wife here too?” The woman peered past him.
“No. I don’t have a wife.”
She didn’t look convinced.
He raised a finger, then hooked it for her to follow him. He gestured toward the cage, where The Wife took up pretty much all the room. “Meet The Wife.”
“That’s meeeeee,” the bird called out. “Tug loves The Wife.”
The woman started laughing, her eyes dancing as if she were absolutely delighted. “Oh my goodness. Well, isn’t she just full of herself?”
“That’s one way to put it.”
The bird tsk-tsked.
“Does she say a lot?”
“Too much most days. She’s got a better vocabulary than me most of the time. Over four hundred words is what I was told when I got her, but that was a long, long time ago, and she’s learned to say a lot of things and mimic sounds over the years. I have no idea how someone counts that, but she’s got a sense of humor, and she knows good people when she sees them.” He eyed The Wife. “She seems to like you…Er, did I get your name?”
“I’m Rosemary.”
“Well, nice to meet you, Rosemary.” He walked over to the counter. “I have both cheeseburgers and hot dogs already prepared. I was taking them to my buddy. Or I could quickly make you my personal favorite, pancakes.”
“Pancakes are my favorite, too, but let’s keep it simple. I’d be so thankful for one of those cheeseburgers. When all these boards come down and you’re open, I’m holding you to those pancakes.”
“My kind of girl,” The Wife cried out and followed it with a wolf whistle.
Rosemary’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure that’s an actual bird that’s doing all that talking and you’re not some kind of ventriloquist?”
That struck Tug in the funny bone. “Quite certain. I’ve got a monthly bird-feed bill to prove it. But I look forward to making you pancakes one day very soon.”
Rosemary blushed.
“You ever been through a hurricane before?” Tug asked as he pulled out a cheeseburger and the fixings for her.
“I grew up in Virginia Beach, but I don’t remember being scared about hurricanes. Then again, that’s sort of the good part of being a kid. In Hawaii, hurricanes rarely make landfall, but I’ve been through a couple of monster storms over the years.”
“I gather you know how destructive these storms can be, then.”
“Yes, sir. I sure do, but it’s so beautiful living on the water that it’s a small price to pay, don’t you think?”
“True. Only, the waves in Hawaii are way more treacherous than around here. So big you can stand up and not touch the water in the curl.”
Her eyes lit up. “A surfer, I take it.”
“About a million years ago.”
“The waves are enormous in some spots, but they can be calm too. Have you ever been to the islands?”
“Dreamed about it when I was a kid. You know, catching a clean line in the pipe, which would’ve been the ultimate rush, but no. Hawaii seemed about as far as any foreign land to a small-town guy like me.”
She laughed. “I was going to say it’s just an airplane ride away, and that’s true if I were talking to your twentysomething self, but honestly, it’s a brutal flight when you get to be our age. Five hours just from Honolulu to the mainland.”
“Our age?” He shook his head. “We’re nowhere near the same age.”
“Don’t be so sure,” she said with a wink. “I think we’re closer in age than you think. But you know, maybe it would still be worth going. The five-hour leg isn’t so bad if it’s not backed up to hours of layovers in the airport and more lengthy flights. I’d probably break it up and visit the different cities for a day or two before taking the next hop. Actually, that’s a really good idea.”
She looked like she was planning her next trip right here. He liked the way he could almost see the wheels turning as she thought out loud.
“I’ve always wanted to see Napa and the redwoods.” She kept talking as he prepared the cheeseburger. “Maybe stop in Texas and see those longhorn cattle on the way. Vegas! I’ve never been to Vegas. You?”
“Nope. Whelk’s Island is about the extent of my travels.”
“What? Seriously?”
He spread his arms wide. “Why leave all this?”
“Why indeed! You have an excellent point.”
Her quick and easy comebacks made him grin. “Need any condiments?”
“Just some ketchup. I thought I’d sit in my car and watch the ocean. Do you mind if I do that from your parking lot?”
“Suit yourself. It’s an excellent view.”
“Thank you.” Their eyes locked for a nanosecond longer than was normal.
He looked away. “If that storm keeps picking up speed, you and your friends might want to head to the shelter. I’ve seen this island flooded to the point people were using pool floats to get around for over a week. You good with a paddle?”
“Excellent, actually. I was ready for an adventure.”
“Well, you’re likely to get one.” He passed the styrofoam container over the counter to her. “I hope you enjoy the burger and come see me after the storm is over. I’ll be open for business.”
“What do I owe you?” She pulled her wallet from her purse.
He waved her off. “Not a dime. You take care. Come see me after the storm.”
“I’ll take you up on that.” She gave him a finger wave as she walked out.
The Wife leaned into Tug’s shoulder. “Bye, Maeve.”
He watched her walk back to her car.
“That wasn’t Maeve, you silly bird. Her name is Rosemary. She’s just visiting.”
The Wife gave a hearty laugh. “Storm’s coming.”
“Yes, it is. Shall we go see Paul?”
Bobbing her head in approval, she fluffed up and leaned in with rapid-fire kisses.
Tug smiled. “Well, that’s a yes if I’ve ever seen one!”