Serena reached into her purse and pulled her black flip phone from its case. She gasped. Micah had tried to call at least ten times.
She had turned the phone on vibrate at Charlotte's party and had never switched it back to the ring tone. Before she could dial Micah's number, the phone chimed.
"Micah? What happened?"
The silence on the other end made her heart flip-flop.
"You almost home?" he finally asked.
Serena had a thousand questions, but she could tell he couldn’t handle them right now.
"Yeah, babe," she said, gripping the phone so tightly that her knuckles glistened.
"It's bad, love," he said. "I went in this morning to open the school as usual, and Mr. Bracey met me in the parking lot. It started raining Friday after you left, and didn't let up until this morning.
"Water filled the third grade wing up to the students' desks. It didn't stop there this time. The gym, the cafeteria, and the school office also flooded, at least two feet. Mr. Bracey is worried about mold."
Serena was speechless. Thank God the school term had ended on Friday. At least the kids wouldn't be affected.
"How did you let the congregation know we weren't having church today?"
"I stood in the parking lot with Mr. Bracey and asked everyone who came to stay so we could have a group prayer. The principal, Mrs. Weldon, showed up to check on the school office and wound up joining us.
"We gathered for a little over an hour. I had Ms. Carter take the boys and Misha home, but I'm still here, trying to see how I can help clean up."
Serena knew what this meant. New Hope Community Ministries would no longer be meeting at Stillwell Elementary School. The question now was whether they'd have somewhere to meet at all.
She knew this was going to work out; God hadn't failed them yet. But she also knew how Micah must feel. He had been removed by force twice—first by the officials of Standing Rock Community Church and now by Mother Nature.
"I'll be there as soon as I can, babe," Serena said.
As she barreled toward South Richmond, Erika interjected before Serena ended the call.
"Tell him we're on our way."