Page 124 of The Mistakes I've Made
My house was the least of our concerns.
It was eerie how quiet it was.
The birds had even picked up and left town before the approaching storm.
“Oh God,” Lani whispered under her breath as we drew closer.
Cleanup crews had done what they could, clearing downed trees in the roads to make them passable, but the rest? The rest was up to us.
The storm had pushed the sand up high onto the banks of the bay, making a mockery of the sandbags we’d placed around the office and the hotel.
“Did you do that?” she asked, pointing to the sandbags and the crisscrossed tape I’d managed to throw up on the windows.
I nodded.
Her face softened.
“I don’t think it helped much though,” I said as we pulled up to the parking lot, not bothering to find a space. It was so littered with debris that I wasn’t sure I could make out the white lines anyway.
“We’ll check out the hotel first and then go to the office later.”
“Okay.”
Walking up to the front door, I held out my hand for the key. She gave it willingly.
“If I tell you to get out, you get out. Understand? If there’s anything dangerous or—”
“I understand,” she said, not arguing at all, her eyes already spotting several broken windows.
Sliding the key into the lock, I twisted.
And then I pulled.
“Need a hand?” she asked, making me smile. “Sometimes, you just need a professional.”
“Very funny,” I said, handing over the key.
“It’s actually really tricky. It took me days to—”
Her words stopped instantly the moment the door swung open… and tears began to flow instead.
Inside, we could see the full extent of the damage brought by the storm.
Water and structural damage, windows gone.
You name it, and the storm had taken it.
“Taylor,” she cried as I pulled her into my arms, “what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully, looking around at our giant mess. “But we’ll figure it out,” I told her, needing to hear the words as much as she did.
Somehow, we’d figure it out.
Thankfully, my house being a few blocks inland, seemed to have escaped the brunt of the attack from the storm, and for the night, we had a place to stay. We settled into bed, and I held her close to my chest, vowing to do anything I could to make it right.
This woman and the child growing inside her were my life now.
And I’d protect them, no matter what.
