Henry Franks A Novel

twenty four





Low dark-gray clouds settled to the horizon and the wind came in fits and starts, tainted with salt and ozone, pushing warm moist air through the open school bus windows.

“I can’t believe we’re getting a hurricane and it’s on a weekend,” Justine said. Her head rested back on the seat with her raincoat bunched up as a pillow. “We’re not going to miss any school for this.”

“What if they evacuate?” Henry asked. “Maybe we’ll be out all next week?”

“Wouldn’t an evacuation have started already? We didn’t even get out of school early. My mom wanted me to stay home today. That’s why I missed the bus this morning.”

“She still mad?”

“Mad? No.” Justine tried to smile but, for the first time Henry could remember, the attempt failed halfway through. “But she’s as close as I think she’s ever been. What about your dad?”

“I think he knows why we were out in the marsh,” Henry said.

“He said something?”

He shrugged and dropped his hand onto her arm, sliding down her skin until their fingers merged. “He came up to talk but didn’t really say much. Then he left.”

“He went out?”

Henry nodded. “I don’t think he’s been home since.”

“My dad never got back to sleep. He left really early to get to Savannah. Now, he was mad at me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be the one who says that.” She smiled. It almost succeeded.

“So tonight’s really not going to happen?” he asked.

“After last night, there won’t be any movies for a while, chaperoned or not,” she said with a shrug. “And my parents are pretty much blowing off Erika, though my dad did nail up some boards this morning before he left.”

“Am I allowed to say I’m sorry again?”

“No.”

“Then neither are you,” he said.

She sat up and turned to face him. “I still think my mom’s beginning to like you. She’s said yes to us once, you know.”

“I know.”

“That was a big deal, her saying yes.”

“Yes,” Henry said.

She squeezed his hands and smiled. “I went to the guidance counselor today.”

“About the—” He looked around, then lowered his voice. “You know, from last night?”

She frowned but it was short-lived. “No, I wanted to ask about colleges. Ones that might end in ‘ORD.’”

“And?” he asked.

“She said Oxford first; it’s where she went.”

“Our guidance counselor went to Oxford?”

“Not that Oxford. She went to Emory, in Atlanta. But they have a two-year college called Oxford. She went there before transferring to the university.”

Drops of rain blew through the windows and Justine drew her jacket over their heads.

“You don’t think … ?” he said, hidden with her beneath the raincoat.

“Can’t hurt to check.”

He leaned back and looked at her. “Thanks.”

“Haven’t found anything yet.”

“I know.” He ran his finger down her cheek, then held her face between his palms. “Thanks for still trying.”

She closed her eyes, resting her head down on his hands for a moment. Then she smiled. “Did you ever search for Alexandra?” she asked, opening her eyes to look at him.

“No. I completely forgot by the time we got home and then, with everything else, it just slipped my mind.”

She pulled the coat closed around them and kissed him as the bus pulled up to their stop. “Then what are we waiting for?”

Together, they ran down the street, keeping under the trees to avoid the rain. In front of his house, she stopped and looked next door. “Crap, I have to go home.”

“I understand,” he said.

“I’ll call.” She gave his arm a quick squeeze and then ran home alone.

NOAA Alert: Hurricane Watch: Florida and Georgia

Miami, FL—August 28, 2009, 3:16 PM: FOR EMERGENCY RELEASE:

The National Hurricane Center has updated its Hurricane Warning for the following counties along the Florida and Georgia coastlines:



Duval and Nassau counties, Florida

Camden, Glynn, McIntosh, and Liberty counties, Georgia



Landfall is estimated late tonight on the east coast of the United States.