In a summer filled with sunken treasure, cutthroat scavengers, and a billionaire’s lost diamond ring… the first hurricane was a bit of a dud.
See… if you grew up in Florida like I did, hurricane prep is just another boring checklist of weekend chores. We don’t even go shopping anymore. Just pull everything out of the garage from the last big storm.
Plywood over the windows? Check. Sandbags stacked by every door? Check. A bazillion water jugs and cans of spaghetti with questionable expiration dates dragged into the kitchen? Check.
Still, I’d hoped Mom would cancel her trip.
But like most things about being 13, I was destined to be disappointed.
Her suitcase lay open on the bed, overflowing with all sorts of cold-weather clothes–heavy gloves, a fur lined coat, long underwear.
“So, Mom,” I said. “Tell me again why you’re the only one who gets to evacuate?”
She shot me ‘the look.’ Anyone with parents knows which look I’m talking about. “First of all,” she said, “the storm is no longer predicted to make landfall. And second–I’m not evacuating. JupiterBlue needs me off site for a very important project.”
“Yes, judge,” I mocked, “it was for a very important project. That’s why she abandoned us to the care of a stranger–even as all predictive models failed and the storm wiped our fair city from the map.”
“Noah!”
“Too much?”
“A bit. And please stop referring to Lewis as a stranger. He’s officially your stepdad now.”
“But a whole week? Alone? With him?”
“You’ve got plenty to keep you busy,” she said, folding a striped scarf to add to her suitcase. “Including your big sleepover. And besides, Elle will be here the whole time.”
“No. Elle will either be surfing or at work.”
“I gave her some extra gas money to drive you around.”
“You’re paying my sister to hang out with me?”
Mom grinned. “And if she doesn’t, she has to give the money back.”
I raised a finger in protest, but stopped short. I didn’t necessarily want to talk my way out of having Elle on the hook to do my bidding.
“But I’ll still be stuck with him, sometimes.”
“Sometimes, yes.”
“You’re sure he’s not an international spy sent to infiltrate our family?”
“Noah!”
“What? We have ZERO evidence proving he isn’t.” (I mean, we didn’t.)
“Give him a chance,” Mom sighed. “And grab me an extra pair of wool socks from the dresser?”
I picked out a rolled-up pair of fuzzy blue socks and spun, flinging them against the open lid of her suitcase. They thudded and fell into place. It wasn't a lucky shot, either. That level of sock ball accuracy had been honed over many years of laundry wars with Elle.
“You could always take me with you,” I suggested. “I can be very helpful.”
“I know you would be, sweetie, but JupiterBlue doesn’t allow kids at this particular facility.”
“Which is… where exactly?”
“Nice try, kiddo.”
“Somewhere cold?” I guessed. “I like cold.”
“Not this kind of cold you don’t. Where I’m going, everything takes advanced planning and specialized equipment–cooking, showering, even pooping.”
“Ewe.”
“It’s quite fascinating, actually. You see, what happens is–”
“Never mind!” If she actually explained it I’d never be able to un-think it.
Mom smiled. “By the time I get back, perhaps you and Lewis will have figured each other out.”
“Doubtful.”
“But you’ll try to get along, won’t you? For me?”
I couldn’t understand how Lewis made my mom happy. For one thing, he hardly talked, which I found suspicious. Mom called him ‘reserved,’ but I was convinced he’d been tragically born without a personality.
Second, the man was way too tidy. Not that I was a total slob, but I couldn’t even leave half a sandwich on the table and expect to find it there the next day. But somehow, inconceivably, he did make my mom happy–that was the one thing he had going for him.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I’ll try. For you.”
“Thanks, honey. I’ll make it up to you when I get back.”
“Unless the entire coast gets washed away and you spend the rest of your lonely life regretting that you didn’t take me with you.”
“Love you too, kiddo,” she said. “Now come on. I smell breakfast.”