“Why are we boarding up your house first when we’re already here?” Mel asked as they got into John’s car and barreled down the road.
“Because once we’re done at my place, we’re going to stay at Abby’s for the duration of the storm. Her house is stronger and more protected from the wind with the tree cover all around it.”
“Won’t the wind cause the trees to fall on the house? That doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.”
“She’s deep enough in the trees to be okay. The trees closest to the beach might come down. That’s what worries me about the bar and grill. There isn’t a lot of protection there, but we’re going to secure the buildings the best we can. Mother Nature can be a wicked beast at times. We have to ride it out and hope the storm turns or weakens before it hits land. Here are my house keys. I just had groceries delivered the other day. Go inside and bag up as much food and drinks as you can and put everything in the car. I’ll start getting the storm shutters and plywood out of the shed. Don’t flake out on me, Mel. I really need you to be tough today.”
She gave John the thumbs-up and ran to the house. The wind was picking up quickly, and the sky was turning a dark, ominous gray. When the wind caught the doors of the shed where John was working, they swung open with a crash. He quickly stacked the storm shutters in his arms and carried them to the house. On his second trip, Mel ran to the shed to give him a hand.
“Grab as much as you can lift and follow me.” John carried a large sheet of plywood to the deck, but the wind ripped it out of his hands twice before he got there. “Drop off two shutters by every window,” he yelled as he went back to the shed for another piece of plywood.
Mel ran around the house, laying two shutters by every window, and returned to John on the deck. “Okay, that’s done, now what?”
“I need you to hold these sheets of plywood against the sliders so I can screw them into the wall. Hold them tightly.” With the power drill in his hand, John pulled the trigger, sinking the screws deeply into the boards on either side of the sliders. “Okay, now we have to screw in the shutters. Let’s go.”
With eight windows on the house, they had sixteen shutters to secure and close. Working as a team, they had the windows safely closed within an hour and were ready to start on Abby’s house. John grabbed the tools, Mel locked the front door, and they headed down the road. He glanced in the backseat at everything Mel had packed. “It looks like enough food for a few days, but I don’t see any water.”
“There wasn’t any in the house, and I couldn’t find any large containers or water coolers to fill from the sink.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t buy much water. I usually drink the filtered stuff at the bar. We’re going to need it though. You have to go to the Pueblo we were at yesterday and buy as much water as they’ll let you. The power will probably be out for days, so we’re going to need a lot of water. I have to get started on Abby’s house and help Bobby.”
“You can’t be serious! I don’t know how to drive on the other side of the road, and the cliffs? I’ll pass out for sure.”
“You won’t pass out. I know you can do this. We don’t have a choice, and there’s no time to discuss it. You have to go down the mountain and buy water.” John pulled a handful of bills out of his wallet and stuffed them into Mel’s shaking hand. “Here’s fifty bucks. Buy as much water as you can. Now go.” He pressed his car keys into her hand and ran around Abby’s house to the area beneath the balcony where she stored the shutters.
Melanie stood frozen in place, her hands shaking with fear. Her feet felt like they were in quicksand. Not only was she afraid of heights and edges of the road, but also she had never driven on the opposite side of any road in her life. And there in St. Thomas was the worst place to learn. The people drove like maniacs, the turns were sharp, and the cliffs dropped hundreds of feet. Just the thought almost made Mel throw up that delicious breakfast she had just enjoyed.
Okay, am I going to be a coward my entire life or at least say I tried while I’m falling thousands of feet down a mountainside? The best-case scenario would be that I’ll actually pull this off, and John won’t think I’m such a loser. The worst-case scenario… I’ll go down in a ball of flames in paradise. Well… nothing ventured, nothing gained. Maybe I ought to puke now after all so I don’t mess up John’s car. Why am I always challenged to face my fears? I’d rather be blissfully drunk on a Painkiller right now. Mel climbed in, seat belted herself, and put the key in the ignition, turning it to the right. The engine roared. “Damn it, why did you have to start?” She wiped her brow with the back of her hand, put the car in reverse, and backed out of Abby’s driveway. Don’t forget… you have to drive on the other side of the road at all times. When I’m driving, I have to be on the left side of the road. Driving means left side… driving means left side… driving means left side. “I can do this. I’ll just go slowly. I won’t look in the rearview mirror because I’ll get nervous if someone is tight on my ass.” Mel inched the car forward, over the mountaintop and down to the other side. Once she hit level ground, she let out a sigh of relief and wiped her brow again. With a fist pump of pride, she pulled into Pueblo’s parking lot. She needed to sit in the car for an extra minute to regroup and realize what she had just accomplished. Mel faced her fear head on, not because she wanted to but because she had to. She succeeded and was proud of herself. Walking into the store, she actually smiled and held her head high. She grabbed one of the last remaining carts and headed down the beverage aisle. The store was crowded, and people were arguing over food as they loaded their carts to the top. All John wanted was water, but Mel grabbed bags of trail mix, too, for that extra boost of energy they might need over the next few days. The amount of water on the shelves was sparse. Four gallon jugs and eight twenty-four packs of bottled water remained. Mel felt guilty taking any, but she had to follow John’s instructions. She grabbed two jugs and four packs of the bottled water, leaving the same amount behind for someone else. She found two quarts of orange energy drinks and placed them into the cart, too. This should do it, she thought as she placed the groceries on the counter and paid the cashier. Mel loaded the car and left, knowing the return trip would be the scariest part of the drive. She would be on the cliff side of the mountain.
Perspiration slid through her hairline, followed the sides of her face, and dropped to her shoulders below. She didn’t dare take one hand off the wheel to wipe her forehead. Her knuckles ached with cramps from holding the steering wheel so tightly, but she was afraid to relax. The edge was so close, she couldn’t see anything outside her left window except the Caribbean in the distance. She couldn’t afford to appreciate the view. Her focus needed to be on the road. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as she made sure to stay inside the solid yellow line to her left. One mistake could send her toppling over the ragged cliff to certain death below. How can anyone be a taxi driver on this island? No wonder they charge per person. They need to give themselves a reason to get into their cabs every day.
The return trip took twice as long, but the wind was picking up and becoming dangerously strong. Mel finally arrived at Abby’s house and parked. She ran around the house and looked for John to ask if there was a safe place to stash his car. He had half the shutters up already even though Abby’s house had twice the windows his did.
“John, I did it! I can’t believe I actually made it over the mountain without getting sick or fainting.”
John saw the joy in her eyes and told her how proud he was of her. He gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Where should I put the car? There must be a better spot than the middle of the driveway. You want it protected, don’t you?”
“Yeah, park it as close to the front of the house as you can. The structure should protect it from flying debris, unless it’s the house that actually comes apart.” John reached for Mel’s hand and squeezed it. “You’re doing a great job, Mel. Thanks.”
With all of the water and trail mix in the house, and the car secure, she ran back to help John. They finished securing the house and headed down the path to the gift shop and bar and grill. Bobby and his sister were moving all of the deck furniture from in front of the bar to the backside of the building. Mel dragged the boogie boards, sailboards, and kayaks to the storage shed. She enlisted the help of Bobby’s sister to give her a hand with the two-person pedal boats.
“Did you shut down your house yet?” John yelled to Bobby through the wind.
“It’s all done. The only thing left is to board up the gift shop and bar.”
“Okay, let’s finish this up. We only have a few hours before Freda hits. Mel, come here.”
“Yeah, what can I do?” She held back her ponytail that was whipping across her face, stinging her skin.
“I want you ladies to go inside. Find every flashlight, candle, lighter, and match you can. Take everything to the master bathroom. It’s the largest bathroom and in the center of the house. Put everything we need into the tub, including food and beverages. Put pillows and blankets in there, too. They’ll be good for protection if the house starts coming apart. Go through Abby’s cabinets and find anything first aid–related, as well as aspirin. Throw that stuff in the tub, too. You get the idea, right? Anything important that can feed us or protect us, put it in the bathroom. Now hurry.”
The men ran to the house just as the rain started pounding the barrel tile roof.
“You guys are welcome to stay here unless you think you can make it home,” John told Bobby.
“Thanks, but we have to take care of the dogs. We have enough provisions to last a week. Be safe and hunker down.” Bobby and his sister ran out the door, jumped into his truck, and barreled down the road in a flash.
“Where do they live?” Mel asked as they sat in the bathroom.
“Bobby’s house is two miles from here. I guess everyone is meeting there. His parents are older, and he has two sisters and two brothers. They’re better off waiting this storm out together.”
“Have you ever been in a real hurricane, and how bad is a Category 2 storm?”
“Well, it isn’t a Category 5, thank God, but it can do a lot of structural damage anyway. The wind can top one hundred ten miles per hour, and there’s usually flooding in low-lying areas. I’ve never been in anything worse than a tropical storm, but they can do a lot of damage, too. It’s going to get nasty, Mel, especially if the eye comes over St. Thomas. Maybe we should check the news quickly before the power goes out.”
“John, isn’t the beach as low-lying as you can get?”
He gave her a concerned look. “Yeah, it is. Let’s check the weather channel and see if there are any updates. I need to call Abby, too, and tell her the bad news. Have you seen a portable radio anywhere?”
“No, I haven’t, but Abby would know if there’s one here. I’ll keep my eye on the TV if you want to call her before you lose cell reception.”