“I’m sure you’re getting tired. All this stop and go, stop and go.”
“I’m fine.” She glanced in the rear-view mirror. Miss Eleanor had her eyes closed now.
The traffic picked up a bit. They practically flew down the road… at fifty miles an hour. And then the brake lights ahead came on, and she slowed down again.
As they crept through the Everglades, she counted the minutes until they got across the state and to the ferry landing.
After four full hours, they finally got to the ferry. She joined the long line of cars waiting. There were two ferries running, but it still was going to take a while.
Finally, they reached the front of the line. She drove onto the ferry, parked, and turned off the car. Finally. Longest four hours in the history of time.
“We can get out now.” Relief spread through her as she stepped out of the car. She needed to stretch her legs. And walk around.
“I’m going to go upstairs and get some fresh air.” And get away from Cliff.
“That’s a good idea. Winston, you want to go upstairs?”
They all walked together, an unlikely foursome, toward the stairs leading to the upper deck. Cliff stopped her when they reached the upper deck. “Ah… thanks for the ride.”
She just nodded. She spied Maxine just in front of them. “Maxine, wait up.”
Maxine turned, and a smile spread across her face.
She hurried to join her friend. They walked across the upper level and slipped away in the crowd. She desperately needed to put some space between herself and Cliff.
They found a spot along the railing. A slight breeze blew, ruffling her hair. She took a deep breath, the salty air filling her lungs. The ferry chugged to life, and its horn blew, signaling its impending departure.
Maxine bumped her hip. “Hey, I saw you in your car in the line. Couldn’t believe my eyes. Cliff was sitting right beside you in your front seat. What’s up with that?”
“Let’s not talk about it.”
Maxine laughed. “Okay, but I admit I was wondering how that all happened.”
“Later. We have other things to worry about.”
“Sure, we can talk about the weather.” Maxine winked. “Can you believe this weather?”
She took in the deep blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily across the expanse above them. The sun shone down, warm on her face. It was a perfect beach day. “You’d never know a hurricane swept through here.”
“Kind of gives you that false feeling that everything is okay. When you know that the island… Who knows what we’ll find?”
“I know.” She nodded.
Some of the other passengers had the same idea, joining them on the top deck. Everyone stared out at the water, quiet and lost in their own thoughts. Anxious to get back and see what they would find.
She focused on a bird gliding effortlessly across the water. Then it dove down and came back up with something in its beak. Nature went on. No matter what. Storms might come and go, but life continued.
And it would for them, too. They’d rebuild. Whatever that looked like. She’d get the coffee shop up and running. That was her main priority at the moment.
The ferry started moving, and she gripped the railing. They headed out into the bay and soon passed the wreckage of much of what had been the new bridge. A large barge was lodged against it. A couple of sections had completely disappeared, and more looked damaged.
Murmurs swept across the deck.
“Wow, it’s all just gone.”
“Bet that will set things back a while.”
“Might never get rebuilt.”
