Page 13 of James

They were sitting in the dining area of the convertedindustrial building that was Club Indigo. BlackSmith had done the renovation and conversion, and James was still proud of their work.

James took a hefty swallow of beer and nodded. “Leave it to you to cut to the chase, but that about sums it up.”

“Damn, man. I haven’t seen you in knots over a woman like this in a long time.”

James didn’t argue. He was not a man who wore his heart on his sleeve, but of course Chris would notice. Not only was he James’s closest friend for close to thirty years, but in spite of his playful demeanor, Chris was an accomplished Dom with uncanny observational skills.

“Yes, this woman might be the real deal, Chris. When we were together, I kept thinking of her as my sub. I know it’s too soon to tell, but man…” James stroked his thumb over the beer bottle, wiping at the condensation that had accumulated on it. Half his sandwich and most of his fries lay forgotten on the plate.

“And there’s no way you can find her?”

James sighed, “All I know is her name, and that she works as a software engineer. I know she has a father and a sister with two kids. None of which helps me find her.” He fell silent and rubbed his chin, earning himself a raspy reminder that he should have shaved before he came here. “I know her favorite laundromat, but after last night, she’ll probably have to find another one.” As he was thinking out loud, he remembered the grocery bags. “She had bags from Hy-Vee. It might mean nothing, but there’s a store about a mile from the laundromat, the one off NW Barry Rd. I saw her get off the bus from that direction.”

Chris smiled and clamped his hand downon James’s shoulder and gave a small shake, “There you go, man, keep mulling over the things you know, and you’ll find a way to track her down.”

CHAPTER NINE

“Why didn’t you call me from the hospital?” Laura’s sister exclaimed. “I’ve been worried sick since I heard about the tornado hitting in that neighborhood. They actually had a picture of your laundromat on the news this morning and now you tell me that you were in it at the time? And then you take a cab home? What if you’d had a concussion or some kind of delayed reaction to the accident?”

Laura let Suzie get the rant out of her system before she replied, “I’m sorry you were worried. I certainly didn’t think the laundromat had made the news. At the hospital, I didn’t see the need to drag you away from work.”

“You didn’t see theneed?!”

“I wasn’t hurt, just a little dehydrated,” Laura sighed. “They looked me over, gave me fluids and sent me home. I came home, ate a good meal, had a hot shower, and went to bed until the phone rang. My biggest problem now is getting my clothes back. They’re still in one of the washing machines at the laundromat.”

“Really, you’ve been through a freaking tornado, andyou’re worried about clothes?” Suzie’s voice rose, strained with disbelief. “Laura, where are your priorities?”

“My priorities in this case are perfectly fine. You know my wardrobe isn’t extensive and a good part of it is in one of those washing machines.” Laura kept her voice calm and even. Her sister could be so pushy and bossy sometimes.

Suzie let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine, I’ll take you over there after work tomorrow and then you can do your laundry here like I keep offering. The kids always like to see you. We’ll drag Dad out, too. He spends so much time alone and it will do him good to come over.”

“Okay,” Laura replied. “If you insist. How about I take the bus over early and at least get dinner going? I’m taking the day off to ‘recuperate,’ as my boss called it. And I’ll call Dad.”

“Don’t worry about dinner. I made beef stew in the crockpot yesterday and there’s plenty left over for tomorrow night. But do call Dad. You seem to get him to do things more easily than I do.” With those words, Suzie rang off.

Laura put off calling her father that evening and for a good part of the day after. It was usually so depressing talking to him, and given everything that had gone on in the last couple of days, she didn’t need any more reasons to be depressed. By 2 pm she couldn’t put it off any longer and decided it would be better to go over there and roust him out.

She arrived at his house about an hour later and of course he was home. He was home the entire day. He went out to the store once a week and occasionally played cards with some old friends, but he could easily be a hermit.

Dan Turner’s wife had died when Laura and Suzie were teenagers. When they moved out after college, he quickly sold the family home and moved into this drab one-bedroom. He got rid of everything that might remind him of his late wife and once he retired from his job as an electrician, he turned downright reclusive. Laura and Suzie loved him and knew he loved them, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with his moods.

Dan answered the door on the first ring of the doorbell. “Hi honey, what brings you by? You usually call first.”

“Hi Dad,” Laura replied. “I’ve come to collect you for dinner at Suzie’s tonight. Also, if you have time, I’d like you to drive me on an errand?”

“Sure, honey. Do you need to go right away? I’ll put on my shoes and grab my keys.” He shoved one foot into a shoe and asked, “Where are we going?”

“The laundromat. I kind of had to leave my clothes there yesterday,” Laura said, trying to figure out how to avoid telling him the reason she’d left her clothes there.

“What do you mean ‘kind of’?’” Dan froze midway pulling on his second shoe and straightened. “Wait a minute. I was watching the news yesterday about the mess the tornado left. Isn’t that your neighborhood? Didn’t the thing touch down right around a laundromat?”

“Yes, Dad, it was my laundromat, and I was there at the time, hence the need to collect my clothes,” Laura said ruefully.

His eyes grew wide. “Laura, are you okay? Why didn’t you tell me this right away?”

“Dad, it’s really fine. There was a kind man there who knew exactly what to do and we spent the night in the back room, where things were reasonably settled. Theworst part was having to wait for the emergency crews to get us out. I still think we could have climbed out on our own, but you know, better safe than sorry.” She hoped he hadn’t heard about the power line on the news. She didn’t need him to worry over that particular detail. “My laundry is still there, though, and all my work clothes are in it.”

“Are you sure it’s all right to go back? The building might not be safe,” Dan worried.

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