Love For All Time

She chuckled. “Definitely.”

It was the first time he’d heard her laugh. The sound, brief as it had been, seemed to brighten his world. He walked over to the stainless steel double-door refrigerator in the kitchen, and opened both doors. “As you can see, our shoppers have stocked your fridge with everything you requested from the list.”

She came over and inspected the contents, grabbing a Gala apple from a shelf. “This is great.” She closed the doors, then went to the sink to rinse the apple.

“That’s about it. Sorry again about the whole key mix-up.”

She’d searched out a knife and cutting board, and was busy cutting up her apple. “It’s okay.”

“I’m gonna head out and leave you to relax, then.” He bundled up his blanket, tucked it under his arm and walked toward the door. As he swung it open, greeted by the fierce winds, he thought he heard her call his name.

“Campbell. Wait.”

He turned around to face her in the doorway. “Did you call me? Do you need something else?”

She stood by the kitchen counter, with the slices of apple on a napkin. “I don’t need anything else, no.”

He shrugged. “See ya.”

“Wait.”

He turned back again. “I thought you said you didn’t need anything else?”

She looked conflicted. “I don’t. But...I don’t think you should be going out there in this weather. We’ve been here for a little while, and it’s been getting worse this whole time.”

He watched her face, and saw the lines of concern there. While he didn’t know what had given rise to her concern for him, he couldn’t help but be flattered by it. “Let me take a look out there.”

He took a few steps out onto the landing, to ascertain conditions below them. The wind and rain were still steadily pounding the building, and the trees below appeared to be dancing as they waved their branches in time. His eyes swept over the parking lot, and he saw the deepening puddles forming on the black concrete. Instinct told him to walk to the other end of the landing, so he pulled the door shut gently and strolled to the right, past the door to the A unit. From that end of the landing, he craned his neck a bit to get a view of the inlet.

Sure enough, the banks of the inlet had disappeared beneath the rising water. This part of the island was particularly low lying, but bordered Cooper Inlet instead of the Atlantic Ocean. When flooding happened here, it was often due to too much rain overflowing the inlet as opposed to seawater breaching the island’s curved seawall.

She’s right. I can’t go out in this. Based on what he could see, and the pattern he recognized from living most of his life in Sapphire Shores, this side of the island would be under a good foot or so of water, and soon.

He returned to her unit then, and found her standing in the open door, as if she’d come out to look for him. “Where did you go?”

He pointed. “Around to the end of the landing. The inlet’s flooding, so you’re right. I probably shouldn’t be driving.”

A soft smile met his words. “Good. Then come back inside out of this madness.”

Once they were both inside again, he sat on one end of the tan sofa. “I appreciate this, Ms. Dandridge.”

“Call me Sierra.”

“If you insist.” The movie fan inside him did back flips. I’m on a first-name basis with Sierra Dandridge!

She brought her sliced apple over to the coffee table and set it down. “Do you want something to eat or drink?”

“I’ll take a bottle of water, please.”

She returned with two chilled bottles and passed him one. Cracking hers open, she took a seat on the opposite end of the sofa. “You’ve been through these storms before, right?”

“Sure. We’ve been through at least twenty that had some level of impact. Fran, Floyd, Isabel. Why do you ask?”

“How long do they usually last?”

He shrugged. “Storms, a day or two. It’s the aftermath that can drag on and on.”

She looked thoughtful. “No telling how long you’ll have to stay, then.”

He winked. “Nope.”

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