Page 11 of Passion

I thought to ask the officer where I could go to charge my phone, but he was already gone. I turned and dragged my suitcase back up the block. I found one place open for business, but it was dead. There were no people down the street either, as if the place had been deserted.

“You need a cup of coffee? It’s free today for volunteers.” The middle-aged man behind the counter greeted me with a stern look. I didn’t blame him for not smiling like he normally would. I wasn’t smiling either.

“Just a place to charge up? I don’t even know how to find a shelter if my phone is dead.”

“Sure thing, Miss. Every table has an outlet, you know, in case them college kids want to use their computers while they enjoy their coffee. Have a seat anywhere. I’ll bring you a glass of water.”

I sighed. Finally, something helpful. “Thank you.”

I picked a table up front looking out the window that hadn’t been broken. The street was so empty it felt like a ghost town. I pulled my charging wire and phone out of my bag and plugged it in just as the man approached the table.

“You going somewhere?” He hovered over me protectively.

“Just got home. I was on Elbow Cay during the storm and rode home with a friend.” It sounded good calling Lucas my friend. When I left the plane, I heard him joking with his pilots about something. They mentioned blood on his back and I had snickered. I probably had drawn blood, but holy shit, he fucked me so well I couldn’t help it.

“Well, you’re lucky. We been outta power for four days. I got a generator out back keepin’ this old place runnin’. You just stay here as long as you need. Get a nice charge on your phone. If you get hungry, I’ll fix you up a sammich.”

He grinned as he walked away, and I felt thankful for his hospitality. I was glad that this neighborhood was one that would look out for others in an event like this. It was better than some neighborhoods which were likely seeing looting and violence.

I dialed Midge’s number which was still not ringing through, then Daven’s. I wanted to know if he’d heard from her. But when he picked up, I immediately knew it was a mistake.

“What the fuck you want?”

“Uh, Dav… I wondered if you heard from Midge.”

“Ain’t nobody heard from nobody. This entire city got slammed with a hurricane while you are on some island somewhere. Why don’t you just soak up the sun and ignore us? That’s all you’re good for, anyway.”

“Hey, that’s rude.” I felt insulted that he would accuse me of not caring. I’d done nothing but dote on him and do everything he asked of me. I knew he blamed me for not taking care of his sexual needs, which is why he found my best friend and fucked her instead of me. But it was a job he sent me on—every trip I took was a job he sent me on, and now I was wondering if he’d had more than one affair simply because he could fuck whoever he wanted while I was gone. I came home a day early and found him with her. What if I never came home early? Would he still be pulling his shit?

“Go back to the beach, Vera. If Midge ain’t answering her phone it’s because she found out what a bitch you are.”

Daven hung up on me, leaving me furious again, but at least I knew where I stood with him. I would never have asked him for help if I thought there was another way. My hopes started to drop, and I thought I would end up calling the number on the card the cop gave me, and I reached in my pocket to pull it out. When I did, I also pulled out Lucas’s card.

I stared at the number embossed on the card with gold lettering. Lucas wasn’t afraid to flaunt his money if it got him what he wanted. He wasn’t attached to an over-inflated sense of self-worth like Daven, though, and I liked that about him. I laid both cards on the table in front of me and stared at them both.

I wanted to be independent and do my own thing, but there was a limit to what I could handle. A Red Cross hurricane shelter would be a place to stay, but there was no guarantee that my building would be cleared to move back in, and if I were in a shelter, where would I put all my things when I cleaned out the apartment? Of course, it would only be a short stay if the apartment was cleared, but it would still be days or weeks before the windows got fixed.

I sighed. I had left home with one mission, to be my own woman. I refused my mother’s help every time she offered it, and if I took it now, I’d be a failure. But if I took Lucas’s help, wouldn’t that be the same thing?

I knew nothing about him. He was a perfect stranger—a stranger I really liked. I just didn’t think it was appropriate to move in with a man I’d known for less than a week.

The rationalization continued in my head until my phone rang. My mother’s caller ID showed up on my screen and I ignored the call. She would think the cell towers were still down, buying me time to get my story straight. If I had nowhere to go, she would demand that I return home. I had no choice. It was either call Lucas or be homeless.

10

LUCAS

The new carpet in the hallway looked nice. Tina had done a fantastic job with the color selection, as always. It was only last week that I saw the faded, worn blue on these floors, and the crew worked their magic while I was away on Elbow. Henry walked two steps ahead of me past the windows that separated us from the offices on either side. Only a few were occupied today, as the city was still reeling from the fallout from Hurricane Bryan.

He opened the conference room door and entered. I followed, adjusting my tie. I would much rather have preferred board shorts and a Polo, but the way society had been set up to prefer suits and ties for “professional” activities made it a hard sell for Henry. He was okay with my wearing whatever I wanted to work, so long as I wore the suit for the board. Most of them were stodgy old men who nurtured tradition and disdained forward progress.

Tina stood pouring coffee from a carafe into board members’ cups, a silhouette to the backdrop of the noonday sun’s blinding rays pouring into the room from the windows. My first stop was to the control panel on the northern wall to use the dimmer, shading us from the heat of what would be one of the hottest days on record. Seven board members sat around the oblong table chatting, papers spread out before them, likely Henry’s agenda for the meeting.

“Well, it’s nice to see you back, Mr. Smith. How was your trip?” Tina poured coffee into a cup at an empty seat and smiled at me. She wore her short, dark hair pinned back at the temples and wildly curly.

“It was okay, not as nice as normal with the storm, but I enjoyed myself. It was relaxing.”

“And your investment?” She held the carafe upright in front of herself, resting it on the palm of her opposite hand. “Is Firefly doing well?”

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