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Chapter 5
She had watched him sleep for almost an hour. He was beat
she thought. She arrived at the boxcar 55 minutes ago. She was
about to yell "Good morning" when she saw him asleep.
"Oh," she had said.
He looked so peaceful she thought. She climbed into the
boxcar and sat a few feet away from him. And that’s where she
stayed, watching him, sort of protecting him while he
slept. She scanned her eyes all over him, like the way she did when she
had that crush on him a year ago.
She examined his face. She loved his eyes. The were like
sapphires, rare jewels that she couldn’t remove her eyes from. He
was breathing through his nose, his lips were closed.
It was then she felt it, that feeling that she refused to acknowledge before.
That feeling she was afraid of, one she didn’t think
she’d ever feel; love. It started hitting her.
The wind blew his hair out of place. Liz quietly got up
and walked over to him. She put the strands back in place. His hair felt
so soft, almost silky. She stroked it lightly, gently,
careful not to wake him. His eyes were closed tight. She glanced at his
eyelashes. Long and curly she thought. She snickered
a little. "I’ve never stared at a guy’s eyelashes before," she whispered.
She was still stroking his hair. He was still sound asleep.
Her eyes fell to his mouth again. The heart beat picked
up. She felt an urge, almost a desire, to kiss him. She had wanted to do
it for so long, but was afraid to venture that far. Her
breathing got deeper. She wanted to reach down to him, to kiss him. But
she restrained herself.
"I can’t do this," she mumbled. "Not yet."
Her stomach was getting queasy. She was overflowing with feelings.
"Wake up stupid," she thought. "I want to talk to you."
The wind gusted.
"Mmmm," he muttered.
"Yeah!" Liz thought.
His face turned to the side, to Liz. She was still stroking
his hair. His eyes were sluggish. He wasn’t a morning person. She
found that cute.
"She looks like an angel," he thought.
"Good morning!" Liz beamed.
"Same to you," he stumbled out, still groggy and unawake.
The ocean of his eyes swept her in. She was in her paradise.
"How long you been here?"
"About an hour. Little more."
"What time is it?"
"I don’t know."
"10:12," he read from his watch. He had slept later than usual.
"So sleepyhead, you looked worn out when I got here."
"Had a long night."
"What did you do?"
"Went and washed the cars. Jason had a few he wanted me to do and since I didn’t have any other plans.."
"Oh. Sounds like fun," she said, not surprised.
"Not really, but it’s a job and it’s not that tough. How was the play?"
"Wonderful!"
"Really?"
"Yes! I don’t know if you’d like it as much as I did."
"Maybe we’ll have to go sometime."
"You don’t have to do that."
"I wouldn’t mind."
"Lucky, I know you don’t like that sort of thing."
"Yeah, but..."
"So don’t worry about it. Besides, I enjoy doing this with you a lot more."
"What?"
"Talking with you."
"So, what did ya do here for an hour?"
"I sat here."
"Oh."
No, I was sitting here watching you, memorizing every
inch of you, looking at you, realizing that I’m in love with you she
thought. She wanted to say it so bad she could scream.
But she didn’t know if he felt the same way about her.
"I really liked Ariel," she said.
"I thought you would," he grinned.
"Where did you find it?"
"At this little shop on the way over here last night. I just saw it and got it for ya."
"Well, I loved it!"
"I’d give you the world if I could," he thought. She looked
so amazing right there, sitting next to him. He was still confused at
why she had sat next to him for an hour.
"Does she feel the same way I do?" he thought.
"So, you plan on ever getting up?" she laughed.
"Make me," he replied, smirking.
She reached under his arms and hoisted him up. He was
still wearing the bathing suit, only the bathing suit. She laughed when
she did it, but she felt uneasy. His body was so warm
she thought.
Lucky was taken off guard by the action. He felt this
weird sensation when she grabbed him, when her hands touched him. The
same feeling he had when their hands bumped in the tub
of popcorn. He could have collapsed at her touch, and she would have
held him up. But he sensed the twinge of nervousness
in her. He got on his feet and turned around.
"Thanks," he said, a smile half visible on his face.
"Anytime. Now, what to put you in," she pondered.
"Um, I dunno. You going to dress me now too?"
"Do you mind?"
"Nah. Go ahead."
It only took her seven minutes to pick out his outfit.
He didn’t have a whole lot to work with in the first place. But right now,
her
mind was still mesmerized by him with only that bathing
suit on. She almost wanted to stall for a while. She picked up a white
T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and his socks.
"Here," she said, throwing the clothes to him.
"Thanks."
He looked at her. She returned the stare.
"What?" she asked.
"A little privacy??" he responded.
"Oh!" she laughed.
She walked out behind the boxcar. The image of him standing
up a few minutes ago and the feeling of picking him up was
consuming her. Her head was swimming. She had never felt
that way before, about anyone, about Lucky.
"I’m going to tell him," she decided. "Later."
She was in love. Before, she was afraid to be in love
with anyone. But with Lucky she had opened herself up. He was her
anchor so to speak. In him, she could talk, confide,
and now, have feelings that she never thought she would have ever again.
And she loved him. She kept repeating it in her mind,
saying it over and over.
Lucky still felt a little weird. He didn’t know what to
make of the morning so far. Things seemed a little different with Liz.
He
had sensed her fear for a second, and then it disappeared.
Then, he saw some peeks of flirtation in her. "Does she like me too?"
he thought. The question would not go away. It plagued
his mind. He loved her so much. He was realizing that more and more,
every moment they were together and apart he thought
of her.
"Tonight," he said, "will be the night. I’ll tell her how I feel."
********************************************************
"There’s some good news and bad news to report on Isis,"
Derrick reported. "That front that came through late last night had
grabbed her. She is now moving to the north-northeast.
So, Delaware is off the hook as far as landfall goes, but they will get
some residual wind and rain. Granted, the front is not
powerful, but it captured Isis, so hopefully, she will go out to sea. We
might get a gust of wind at the worst. I don’t expect
much out of Isis for Port Charles."
"That’s a relief," said a viewer.
But Derrick was just the new kid on the block. He knew
nothing of the unpredictable nature of a tropical system. He was only
going on what one computer model was forecasting. Sure,
Isis could follow the path he told the viewers, but he underestimated
two very important things: the High pressure system to
the north and Isis. Underestimating Isis was a very fatal mistake to
make...
Chapter 6
A war was raging in the Atlantic. The flimsy cold front
was no match for the fury of Isis. She stalled. She was simply waiting
for
the front to pass her by.
Jim Jacobs saw this. He knew it would happen. The futile
battle between these two was inevitable. Isis was too strong. Her
winds now classified her as a Category 4 Hurricane. She
was a strong little tart, bullying the front, almost laughing at its
weakness. Jacobs advised the coastline again.
"This thing will head north again more than likely," he
said, worried. "It’s going to miss Delaware completely and New Jersey up
to New York looks safe. I’d watch out over in Massachusetts.
If it goes where I think it will, that’s the state that will face her
brunt."
He told this all to Garrison Wakely, a colleague at the
Center. The two shared nearly 47 years of experience and expertise
between them. Isis was something they hadn’t seen in
a long time. Just when it seemed safe, that she was not going to be a
problem, she became one. Although not making landfall,
she continued to browbeat the coastline. Beaches up and down were
pummeled, shattered.
Isis was winning. The latest satellite showed a slow drift
northward. She was almost stationary again. Jacobs and Garrison
called to Massachusetts. Thirty minutes later, a voluntary
evacuation was issued.
"There’s no guarantee that Isis will hit you, but the current track shows her coming very close," Jacobs forewarned.
He sounded ominous. Wakely was repeating this message
to officials in Connecticut and then Rhode Island. It now appeared
Isis was veering toward some type of landfall, in one
of those states. It would be hours away, but the waiting game began.
********************************************************
"Why were you wearing your bathing suit?" Liz asked.
"I went out swimming last night."
"Swimming? Where?" The only place she knew of to swim
near the boxcar was off of the docks and no one swam there. If the
murky water didn’t kill you, the smell would.
"There’s a little creek out here. I’ll show ya."
Now dressed in the outfit Liz picked out, Lucky led her
down the path to the creek. He removed the tree branch in the way.
Liz’s eyes opened widely.
"It’s beautiful."
"Yeah. I found it a few weeks ago. I got bored one night and went walking around and here it was."
"And you never brought me here."
"Didn’t know if you’d like it."
"Well I love it! Look at the water. It’s so blue."
Like your eyes she thought.
The sun was shining. One would never know that Mother
Nature’s battle was occurring miles away, in the waters of the
Atlantic. He looked up. The sun felt good he thought.
Liz reached extended her hand into the water. It was warm. She cupped some into her hand.
"Lucky."
"What?"
"Would you come here for a minute?"
"Sure."
He walked over to her.
"Watcha want?"
She threw the water in his face.
"Hey!!!"
She was laughing hard now.
"OK, I’ll get you for that."
He reached down and filled his hands with the water. Liz
ran behind him, missing his launch, evading the hit. They continued this
for 10 minutes. The attacks got more and more daring.
Liz had been drenched by three consecutive slams by Lucky. He was
soaked. He was wet from head to toe. She has incredible
aim he thought. It happened kind of fast. Liz found herself in Lucky’s
arms. The two of them were in the water. She was laughing,
so was he. They had fallen backwards, into the creek. They both
surfaced laughing and looking at each other.
"Um, I think I’m going to have to change," Lucky said.
"Yeah. Me too," she laughed.
The brief second she was in his arms, she felt safe, secure, fearless, invincible. Now, she thought.
"Lucky?"
"Huh?"
"Uh, I, um, uh,.."
"Yeah?"
"I need to go home and change. You wanna go and change and meet me at the park or something in an hour?"
"Sure."
She got up and turned.
"This was fun you know. Bye!"
She left. He was crushed.
"I thought she was going to ask me..." he whispered. "Or tell me something."
He wanted her to make the first move. After all, it was Liz who had to be comfortable, ready. He got up.
"Man I am soaked," he laughed. "Wonder why she took off so quick."
The thought permeated his mind. Did he do something? They were extremely close for that second in time.
"This has been one weird morning," he thought.
Liz felt the same way. She was so sure she could tell
him then, but she froze. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but the
faltered to come out. They were screaming to come out,
but she restrained them.
"I can’t do this yet," she said to herself. "I’m not ready."
********************************************************
Isis was ready. She had won. The front moved onward to
the east. Jacobs saw this. He knew it would happen. But the
precautions had been met already. The voluntary evacuation
now included coastal regions of New York. That was the least
likely place to be hit, but the people were prepared
for the oncoming threat that loomed off the coast. Landfall was forecast
for
later that day, around seven. Isis had other plans. She
would take her time getting to her destination. She had a rendezvous with
land in her future, that much was certain. The clock
ticked. It was noon.
Port Charles was crystal clear and Lucky had just called
to ask Liz to dinner...
Chapter 7
Lucky had been at Kelly’s all afternoon. He had made a
date with Elizabeth. Dinner, his treat of course. But this wasn’t going
to
be any trip to eat at a fancy restaurant. Lucky had something
in mind, something romantic, a place where he could finally do
what his heart was telling him to do.
********************************************************
"Elizabeth! What are you doing?" Audrey asked.
Liz was running down the stairs in record pace. She almost collided into Audrey.
"Gram, I need your help."
"What is it dear?"
"Well, um...," she blushed.
"What?"
"Lucky asked me to dinner, and, I uh, need your help."
"Dinner where?"
"Oh, he said it was not some fancy place. Just to come in my normal clothes."
"Then, why do you need my help dear?" Audrey asked. She
sensed nervousness in Liz. This wasn’t the kind one gets when a
test is coming. She could see Elizabeth was nervous about
the evening. She could sense Liz’s anxiousness, her feelings, her love
for Lucky.
"My," Audrey thought. "I think Elizabeth has feelings for Lucky."
It came as no surprise to her. Audrey had seen the way
they looked at each other. She had seen how Lucky and Elizabeth
watched out, protected each other. She had been witness
to their closeness, their friendship. She knew they had something that
transcended a typical friend relationship.
"I don’t know Gram. Maybe you could help me pick something out," Liz answered.
"Oh Elizabeth, look at you! You’re glowing."
"What? No I’m not."
"You are dear. I haven’t seen that fire in you in a long time."
"I haven’t felt the way I do now in a long time Gram."
"And what feeling is that?"
Liz sat down on the couch. Her face was exploding with excitement. She could barely hold herself together.
"I dunno. It’s Lucky I guess."
"Lucky?"
"Yeah Gram. It’s, um, I mean, I just feel whole with him."
"Do you like him Elizabeth?"
"I’ve always liked him Gram. And when I first got to Port
Charles, I had a crush on him. It’s just that, whenever I see him, or
think of him, my heart skips a beat."
"I understand. I think I know what’s wrong with you?"
"What’s wrong with me?"
"Yes. Why you’ve been running around here and asking me for help the past few minutes. I think you’re in love Elizabeth."
The word hit her.
"Love," she thought.
"Oh Gram, it’s not that. I mean, maybe. I’m not sure."
"Are you ready for this Elizabeth?"
"I don’t know, but if it was someone else, I’d be afraid.
But it’s Lucky. I mean I trust him with everything. My life, my feelings.
It just all feels so weird. So new."
"So good?"
"Yeah. How’d you know?"
"Well, Elizabeth, I felt that way about your grandfather."
"Yeah, I guess you did, huh? Liz laughed.
"When are you supposed to meet him?"
"Uh, 7."
Audrey looked at her watch.
"No wonder you were running around! It’s already 6 now."
"OK! I have to change. Or do my hair, or something" Liz said.
Audrey watched her run back upstairs in a hurry. She smiled.
Finally, Liz was starting to overcome her ordeal. She was opening
herself up to feelings she thought were gone forever.
Audrey was happy, her granddaughter was experiencing her first love.
********************************************************
At 3, Massachusetts had been placed off the list. It was
clear that Jim Jacobs had misinterpreted his information. It was a simple
mistake to make, although it could have been a major
problem. Isis was stalled. She seemed to be taking some rest and
relaxation from her journey from the African coast to
100 miles south of Connecticut. She sat there, swirling, winds wrapping
around her, rains surrounding and protecting her eye.
She had not flinched at all. She had won her battles with Nature. She was
supreme, she would not be beaten. But she had one more
obstacle to overcome. Another war. One she would lose. But it’s
one Jacobs wanted, needed, her to win. Landfall was imminent.
At 6:15 the last battle begun. Isis’s future was being determined. Her direction was changing...
********************************************************
Lucky looked in the mirror. He was still at Kelly’s. He
combed his hair, the way Liz liked it. His stomach was churning. It was
the moment he had been waiting for, the one he had wanted
to be at for so long.
"Tonight," he whispered.
He had been saying it all day. He was going to tell her
tonight. He would let her know how he felt and ask her what she felt. He
wasn’t going to pressure her though. If she felt uncomfortable,
or if he sensed it, he would abandon it. He loved her, but he
didn’t want to lose their friendship. That was too precious
to let slip away.
He walked out into the kitchen. He had everything ready. He had been there all day, cooking. He picked up a basket.
The sky was clear again.
"Man, the moon will be out tonight. Cool," he said.
He looked at his watch. The clock was ticking. The hour
was approaching. He was so nervous. He hid it, but anyone who
knew him well enough could see it.
He reached the boxcar and continued down the path to the
creek. He placed the basket on the sand. Everything was in place.
He returned to the boxcar and waited.
Elizabeth was on her way...