A small Missouri community had been devastated by the storm. Homes, schools and workplaces had been flattened. And more important, people had died. The tragedy of what had happened hit me almost as hard as my worries about Colby.
I finished sweeping, wiped everything down, returned the last of the phone calls and folded towels, all while checking my phone for a text at least once a minute. It was after seven P.M.
With a deep sigh, I headed out the salon’s front door, locking it with my key. I stopped at the store for milk and cereal and then went home, listening to a news radio station in the car.
Dusk had settled by the time I pulled into the driveway of my childhood home. In six weeks, I was marrying Colby and leaving this place behind forever. My younger sister Ashley was staying on campus this summer at the college where she was finishing up her sophomore year. And Daniel, my younger brother and only other sibling, would be moving to the same campus to start college this August.
We’d made it. Somehow, the three of us had banded together and made it. It made living at home until age twenty-four well worth it.
When I walked inside through the back door, the smell of smoke and the blare of the TV hit me at the same time. My mom, who was spooning fried potatoes onto a plate, didn’t even look up to acknowledge me.
“It’s smoky in here,” I said, setting my grocery store bags on the counter. “I’m going to open a window.”
“No, I’ve got the air on,” she said, liberally salting the food on her plate.
“The air? It’s not even hot outside.”
“The neighbors were revving the engine on that car again, and it was loud.”
I suppressed an urge to roll my eyes. That was sound reasoning for turning on the air-conditioning to someone who didn’t pay the utility bills.
“But it costs money,” I said, unpacking the groceries I’d bought.
She shrugged and walked to the living room, where she turned up the volume on the TV and settled into a recliner, pulling a blanket over her lap.
My blood boiled. Daniel and I were saving every penny we could get our hands on to pay his college start-up expenses. He worked as a checker at a local grocery store and would be starting a second job as soon as he graduated. But August would be here soon, and we wanted to be ready.
My mom, on the other hand, didn’t know or care how much college expenses were. She had no idea I was six thousand dollars in debt from getting myself through community college, or that Ashley was somehow pulling a 4.0 GPA while working and going to school full-time.
I’d planned on making spaghetti, but I couldn’t cook when the kitchen looked this way. Dirty dishes were stacked in the sink and on the counter. The stovetop was laden with used pots and pans. A fly buzzed around the giant mess.
Would I clean this kitchen up for my mom? Hell no. She could rot for all I cared. But for Daniel, I would. For six more weeks I’d keep up this house like I had for eleven years now. And when I moved in with Colby, Daniel was coming with me. He’d stay with us until we helped him move into his new dorm room.
Six weeks. Forty-four days, technically. I couldn’t wait to start my new life with Colby in his clean bungalow that smelled like freshly cut wood.
I moved the dishes from the sink and ran dishwater, swirling my hands in it to make suds. When my phone dinged with a text, I lunged for it.
Daniel: Staying at Shawn’s 2night.
Damn. Not the message I’d been hoping for.
I dried my hands and texted a response that I’d gotten his message. No need to cook spaghetti now. I’d just eat cereal when I finished cleaning up.
If Colby was home, I’d have been staying at his place tonight. I missed our nights together. He’d been gone on this storm chasing trip for almost two weeks now.
When the cleaning was done and I’d made a bowl of cereal, I sat down at the table to eat it. I’d only taken a bite when my phone dinged with an incoming text.
Colby: Hey babe. Sorry it took me so long to get back. I’m okay. Was helping with cleanup.
My body went limp with relief. I wrote back in a rush.
Me: Thank God. Be careful.
Colby: Major reinforcements just arrived. Red Cross, National Guard. I’m hitting the road for home bc I have to work tomorrow.
Me: Okay.
Colby: 44 days til you make me the happiest man on the planet.
I grinned as I read his words, still feeling a need to pinch myself.
Me: I can’t wait. I miss you.
Colby: Miss u 2. Be home soon.
Me: Drive safe.
Colby: Always. LUSH
I smiled at his shorthand. We’d texted each other a lot since we started dating two years ago, and he’d started signing off with “Love u, sweetheart,” about six months in. It had been shortened to “Love u sh” and eventually, “LUSH.”
I never tired of hearing Colby say he loved me, or of saying it in return.
Me: LUSH