Funny how I’m not in the mood to chase today. The girl, yes, the weather, no. I feel like I didn’t have enough time with Kate. We’ve been texting and sharing a few words on the CB radio, but nothing emotional. Maybe that was it. Our time together was just for fun. She is young and just getting started with her life. I feel like a whiny, clingy girlfriend right now. I sigh.
“Quit it,” Hunter says. I look at her like I don’t know what she’s talking about, but she just gives me a look. I don’t even try to hide it.
“So that was it? Just sex?” I ask her.
“What do you want? A ring already? Come on, Tris, you’ve got to give it some time. Maybe she’s not open and doesn’t want a lot of people knowing. You can respect that, right?” She makes a good point. I don’t know if Kate is in the closet at work or at home so I need to settle down and quit feeling sorry for myself. “Plus, didn’t she say she wanted to get together when we’re done? That’s only in seven or eight weeks.”
“I guess I just wanted more alone time with her. You know how I get.”
“Do not blow this. Just roll with it. See where her head is. She’s very cool and perfect for you. Don’t do anything stupid.” Hunter knows I don’t do casual, so this is hard for me. I just never understood casual. I get emotionally tangled up in a woman and then stifle her with my neediness. Hunter and I have talked about this and I have given her full permission to kick my ass when I start acting like a high school girl. She’s about ready to.
“This is what happens when I go too long between dates.” I’m groaning now. “I don’t even remember the last girl I dated. When was the last time I had sex before Kate?”
“That crazy girl you met last fall at Helen’s party. Wasn’t her name Anna or something?” Hunter snorts remembering that whole ordeal. I chuckle with her.
“Yeah, that was kind of messed up, huh?” I say.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Hunter’s laughing so hard, she’s pounding the steering wheel. “You practically had to gnaw off your arm to get away from her. And then when I had to pretend to be your jealous ex-girlfriend who wanted you back. You still owe me for that. I’m so happy she stopped coming around.” We’ve all either had stalkers or been one. She was my official stalker. At first I thought it as all harmless, like puppy love, but then she started showing up at my job and I had to end it. Hard. I spent most nights at Hunter’s place until she finally got the hint.
“Well, I somehow don’t think Kate is like Anna,” I say.
“I’m saying don’t be like Anna to Kate.”
Well, that’s eye-opening. I nod my head and look out the window. Suddenly, it’s not funny anymore. “I won’t. I think I’ve only expressed my craziness to you,” I say. Hunter nods and reaches for my ponytail stub and gives it a quick tug. I smack her hand away.
“I don’t think we’re going to see too much today. We’ve been real lucky the last few weeks so maybe our luck is running out,” I say. Since Kate left four days ago, we haven’t seen a single tornado. The storms have been rather weak and not holding up well.
“We’ve never had such a volatile start before. I mean, in one day we saw four tornadoes. That rarely happens. And two in one wall cloud. Just crazy.”
“It’s been great, hasn’t it?”
“I can’t wait until we can go back and analyze all of this data and watch the videos.” This is Hunter’s ideal job. I feel even worse for failing to get the grant. Shit. I need to do something.
“Look, Hunter, I’m going to try really hard to get us money. I’m sorry I dropped the ball on the grant.”
“It’s not your fault, Tris. It’s not your decision. You did everything you were supposed to do. Somebody else just did it better.” She shrugs her shoulders as if it’s not a big deal, but I know it bothers her. How can it not?
“Since nothing is happening outside, I’ll just fire up the laptop and start digging around. Not too many people have responded to my e-mails. Don’t you have a rich uncle or something?” I ask. Hunter laughs.
“If that was the case, I’d do this on my own without OU.”
“Without me?” I’m kind of surprised.
“Well, I would want you there, but you can’t leave OU. Your whole life is the university.” She’s got a point. I even have a couch that pulls out into a bed in my office. You would think I’m finding a cure for cancer with as many hours as I spend in the lab.
“Hey, if your rich uncle wants to give me money to drive around the country chasing tornadoes, I would leave OU in a heartbeat.”
“You love teaching too much. And you’re good at it. You stay put,” she says. “Besides, if I really had a rich uncle, my life would be so different.” This surprises me.
“Really? How so?” I ask. I thought my nerdy friend was born and bred specifically to interpret weather patterns across the United States.
“Well, I probably would’ve been home schooled and would’ve hated it. Or worse, had to attend private school and would’ve gotten kicked out.” This is true and believable. “And I would’ve eventually moved with my aunt and uncle to Italy where I would have fallen in love.” We sigh at exactly the same time and laugh.
“All that does sound great, but unfortunately you don’t have a rich uncle who can give us the money we need. I’m going to crawl in the back and make some calls. You’re on your own.” I unlatch myself and crawl to the back. Maddox is happy to have a traveling buddy again. He shoves his head into my side for a quick hug and I end up giving him a few minutes of a much needed loving session.
After about two hours of getting absolutely nowhere on the phone or via e-mail, I stretch out and wrack my brain again trying to come up with a way out of this awful mess. I’m going to have to hit up all the big companies who already support or sponsor the university in some fashion. Weather is big for us since we’re located in an active area. Plus, a lot of big companies are located in the Midwest so there’s hope. I draft a serious letter and create a spreadsheet of companies who’ve been known to give money for all sorts of efforts. I just hope that all the amateurs out on the road haven’t ruined this opportunity, too.
“Okay, we need to find a library or work station. I need to spread out,” I say. Hunter pulls over and we review our options for the next twenty-four hours. I need space and she needs a low pressure front. She studies Doppler and NOAA and tries to put us near the closest one.
“How about we continue driving north and stay somewhere near Topeka? That way we’re close enough to the action, and Topeka has all the amenities you’ll need. What are you thinking anyway?” I explain to her my idea of hitting up the larger private companies. I want to do some research on which ones have had tornado damage in the past. That isn’t the way I want to do it, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I decide to include Dr. Williams in my plan in case we’re doubling our efforts.
“Have you heard from Kate today?” Hunter asks. Now that I think about it, I haven’t. I frown.
“No. I wonder what’s going on? There’s nothing around us for miles. Maybe they are headed up to Nebraska. That front will bring weather up there, too. I’ll shoot her a message.” I reach for my phone and type a friendly hello to her.
Hi. I was just thinking about you.
That makes me smile. I can’t wait to see her again.
Hopefully good things.
Nothing but!
I’m still smiling. God, I miss her. I miss the way she smells and how she hovered from the back seat to the front, Maddox’s head resting on her lap. I miss her quiet nature in public and her assertiveness behind closed doors. I need to touch her and taste her again. There is no way I’m going to be able to wait until the chasing season is over.
Where are you now? Anywhere close to Topeka?
That’s where we’re staying tonight. Are you going to be there, too?
Yes. I need to work for a bit so Hunter is finding us a place for the night.
Send me the hotel information. Maybe we can be close.
I love that she says it that way. I will find her. Topeka isn’t that big. I keep my response casual so I don’t appear desperate.
Will do.
I throw in a happy face because I’m happy and I’m excited to see her again.
“So what’s going on? What’s that enormous grin for?” Hunter asks. We make eye contact in the rear view mirror and she winks at me.
“Kate says they are going to be in Topeka tonight, too. I’m supposed to let her know where we are staying. Maybe we can meet them for dinner or something.”
“Or something,” Hunter says. “Well, if they aren’t staying in the same hotel, then you can have the SUV and find her. Anything for true love.”
I roll my eyes at her. “Let me get to know her first, okay?” My blood is racing. I get to see Kate. She’s only got a few more days before she has to be back at OSU and then I won’t see her for sure until I’m done. Unless a massive storm hits Stillwater, which I hope doesn’t happen.
“I’d say you know her pretty well,” Hunter says. Physically, yes. Emotionally, not at all. She’s still very private and I’d like to know more about her family life. Something happened to make her so shut off about them. I want to be the one she turns to when it or anything else bothers her.
“She’s not real open with her life, though. I mean, I don’t know the simple things. Like what’s her favorite color or what she wears on the weekends. Does she work out? Where does she live? In an apartment, a house, a condo? There’s just so much I don’t know.” I wonder if I should have asked her more questions. I didn’t want to seem invasive, but maybe I missed my opportunity.
“That’s what dating is all about. Yes, you guys did do things backward, but it seems to be working,” Hunter says. She’s right. We did start things off in the opposite direction. Most people strive to reach the point of sex. I’m straining just for conversation.