Chapter 11
W hen they finally got the all-clear to return to the island, Beverly headed down to the lobby. She saw Miss Eleanor and Jonah and started to walk over to say hi until she noticed Cliff was with them. She turned away, but obviously not soon enough.
“Beverly.” Miss Eleanor waved.
She reluctantly walked across the lobby.
“We need some help. We got a ride over here with a nice young man from the marina, but we need a ride back to the ferry.” Miss Eleanor looked at her expectantly. “Do you have room in your car for the three of us?”
The absolute last thing Beverly wanted was to offer a ride to Cliff. Firm no. Just no way.
“I know you’re not one of those people who stuff their car full of things. You have your necessary to-go things and a small suitcase when you evacuate, don’t you?”
“I, uh… yes. You’re right. I don’t pack up a lot.”
“So, we can get a ride with you back to the ferry?”
Who could ever say no to Miss Eleanor? “Of course.” She smiled weakly.
“And Winston, of course.”
Winston, she didn’t mind. It was Cliff she’d prefer to leave here to his own devices.
“Are you ready to go now? I’m sure the traffic will be horrendous going back across the state, then a long line for the ferry.
But I want to get back as soon as possible.
We haven’t seen too many photos of the island, but the officials have checked it out, and it was safe for residents to return now. Residents only.”
“Oh, so Cliff won’t be let back on the island?” She had hope.
“No, of course he will. He’s my son. They’ll let him on.”
She had no doubt they would. No one argued with Miss Eleanor.
“I was just getting ready to leave. My car is out front.”
Cliff shot her a look, but she couldn’t quite read his face. Surprise that she’d said yes? Maybe.
Miss Eleanor, Jonah, and Winston climbed into her back seat. Which left… only the front seat for Cliff.
He climbed into the front seat, settled in, and fastened his seatbelt. He didn’t say a word, which was fine with her. She didn’t want to talk to him, anyway.
But the silence stretched out. Uncomfortably so.
She headed back toward the interstate. “I heard the roads are jammed. Lots of people heading back to the Gulf Coast now.”
“Yeah.” He shifted in his seat and faced forward.
She wished she had Maxine with her, but Maxine was riding with Dale. It would take hours to get back to the ferry. Hours with Cliff sitting next to her. She gripped the steering wheel.
“We’re going to be stuck in traffic for hours,” she mumbled.
He didn’t reply.
The entrance ramp to I-75 was already backed up. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. She crept along, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.
She glanced over at Cliff, who was staring straight ahead. He had a slight frown on his face, his jaw set.
Miss Eleanor interrupted the silent treatment. “Beverly, I hope Coastal Coffee didn’t get too much damage.”
She knew what Miss Eleanor was doing. Making conversation. Trying to get her and Cliff to play nice. “I don’t know, Miss Eleanor. I sure hope so.”
“A lot of people are going to need coffee once we get back,” Jonah said.
Good old Jonah. Playing along.
“We’ll get them all fixed up. And I have plenty of coffee beans. I hope.” She hadn’t really had time to run a full inventory before leaving. And that was if they had electricity or if her generator would work. Or… if there wasn’t a lot of damage.
Silence descended again. They inched along. The sun blazed down.
Miss Eleanor tapped Cliff on his shoulder. “And if the island sustained a lot of damage, are you still going ahead with your development?”
“Mother, that’s not an appropriate topic of conversation right now.”
Oh, here we go. Round number… one hundred? Or however many times the townspeople had argued over the development.
“I just don’t think it’s appropriate to put that big building there. And at the end of the boardwalk. And the boardwalk that might not even still be there, you know.”
Good job, Miss Eleanor. Convince Cliff to abandon the development and then disappear from the island.
She decided to help Miss Eleanor out. “And now that there is all that damage to the bridge they were building, that would impact the build too, wouldn’t it? Won’t be easy for guests to get to the island. The ferry deters a lot of people.
Cliff gave her a quick look and just shook his head before staring out the windshield again.
They sat in silence again. Minutes ticked past. Maybe hours.
They inched along. She took another look at Cliff.
He had his elbow on the armrest and his eyes closed.
Was he asleep? How could anyone possibly sleep when they didn’t know what they would find on the island?
There had only been a few photos of it that she could find online.
He opened his eyes, but he still hadn’t looked over at her. He really was going to ignore her. Fine. She could just as easily ignore him.
The traffic lightened up just a little, and they got up to maybe forty miles an hour. And then slowed again. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. A familiar pattern now.
“We took my boat from the island to the mainland to evacuate, but we’ll take the ferry back to the island today. It will give me time to check out my boat before taking her out again.” Jonah broke the silence.
No one answered him.
“This is going to be a long ride home,” Jonah tried again.
Miss Eleanor sighed. “How long do you think it will be?”
“Until we get there? Hard to say. But my traffic app shows it’s still a mess out there,” she answered.
She concentrated on the road. And not on Cliff. How was she supposed to act around him? Ignore him? But they were in confined quarters. It was so awkward. The tension crackled between them.
Cliff surprised her when he finally spoke to her. “Do you want me to drive for a while?”
“No.” She gripped the wheel a little harder. She didn’t want him driving her car.
“I’m sure you’re getting tired. All this stop and go, stop and go.”
“I’m fine.” She glanced in the rear-view mirror. Miss Eleanor had her eyes closed now.
The traffic picked up a bit. They practically flew down the road… at fifty miles an hour. And then the brake lights ahead came on, and she slowed down again.
As they crept through the Everglades, she counted the minutes until they got across the state and to the ferry landing.
After four full hours, they finally got to the ferry. She joined the long line of cars waiting. There were two ferries running, but it still was going to take a while.
Finally, they reached the front of the line. She drove onto the ferry, parked, and turned off the car. Finally. Longest four hours in the history of time.
“We can get out now.” Relief spread through her as she stepped out of the car. She needed to stretch her legs. And walk around.
“I’m going to go upstairs and get some fresh air.” And get away from Cliff.
“That’s a good idea. Winston, you want to go upstairs?”
They all walked together, an unlikely foursome, toward the stairs leading to the upper deck. Cliff stopped her when they reached the upper deck. “Ah… thanks for the ride.”
She just nodded. She spied Maxine just in front of them. “Maxine, wait up.”
Maxine turned, and a smile spread across her face.
She hurried to join her friend. They walked across the upper level and slipped away in the crowd. She desperately needed to put some space between herself and Cliff.
They found a spot along the railing. A slight breeze blew, ruffling her hair. She took a deep breath, the salty air filling her lungs. The ferry chugged to life, and its horn blew, signaling its impending departure.
Maxine bumped her hip. “Hey, I saw you in your car in the line. Couldn’t believe my eyes. Cliff was sitting right beside you in your front seat. What’s up with that?”
“Let’s not talk about it.”
Maxine laughed. “Okay, but I admit I was wondering how that all happened.”
“Later. We have other things to worry about.”
“Sure, we can talk about the weather.” Maxine winked. “Can you believe this weather?”
She took in the deep blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily across the expanse above them. The sun shone down, warm on her face. It was a perfect beach day. “You’d never know a hurricane swept through here.”
“Kind of gives you that false feeling that everything is okay. When you know that the island… Who knows what we’ll find?”
“I know.” She nodded.
Some of the other passengers had the same idea, joining them on the top deck. Everyone stared out at the water, quiet and lost in their own thoughts. Anxious to get back and see what they would find.
She focused on a bird gliding effortlessly across the water. Then it dove down and came back up with something in its beak. Nature went on. No matter what. Storms might come and go, but life continued.
And it would for them, too. They’d rebuild. Whatever that looked like. She’d get the coffee shop up and running. That was her main priority at the moment.
The ferry started moving, and she gripped the railing. They headed out into the bay and soon passed the wreckage of much of what had been the new bridge. A large barge was lodged against it. A couple of sections had completely disappeared, and more looked damaged.
Murmurs swept across the deck.
“Wow, it’s all just gone.”
“Bet that will set things back a while.”
“Might never get rebuilt.”
She spotted Cliff on the other side of the ferry. He was staring at what was left of the bridge, probably wondering what that would do to his project.
With any luck, it would shut him down.
She pushed all thoughts of Cliff away as they got closer to the island. She let out a deep breath as the island came into view.
Maxine squeezed her hand. “There it is.”
She could make out some of the buildings as they got closer. From their view, it didn’t appear too bad. But she knew looks could be deceiving.
They got closer. Closer. It looked like some of the palm trees had been denuded of their fronds.
“Looks like Darlene’s B&B is still standing.” She pointed.
Maxine broke into a smile. “And not too much damage from what I can see, but you never know.”
“Hard to tell until we get over there.
The ferry slowed, getting ready to dock. The closer they got, the clearer it became that the island had sustained some major hits. Downed trees were scattered about. A few large boats were tilted onto the dock of the marina, half-submerged in the water.
They got closer still. People pointed. And whispered. And gasped. She held her breath.
The captain made an announcement. “We’re pulling into the dock now. Please return to your vehicles.”
Everyone started edging their way toward the stairs, antsy to get off now. A few more minutes. And then she’d know.
She and Maxine headed downstairs. They found Dale by his car. “I’m going to head straight to Second Finds and check out the damage.”
Maxine nodded. “I’m going with Beverly to check out Coastal Coffee.”
She looked at Maxine gratefully.
Dale gave Maxine a quick kiss. “I’ll come by and check on you two soon.”
They got into her car. One by one, the cars were directed off the ferry, which seemed like an agonizingly slow process today.
Just when she didn’t think she could wait a second longer, it was their turn, and she followed the car ahead of her down the ramp and onto the island.
She was home. On her beloved island. Now to see what damage had been done.