I was also avoiding Audrey, though I preferred to think of it as giving her space. We'd be back in close quarters soon enough, and arriving at my mom's house as a happily engaged couple before bedtime. Assuming Woody was wrong about the road closure.
"Monsoon season doesn't start until next month," I said. "Latenext month."
"That's how it usually goes," he said, stroking a hand over the beaded lariat tucked into his collar. "But it's stirring up early this year. Big one too. That's why they closed the passes."
I pointed to the endless blue sky on the other side of the windows. "Show me the storm, Woody."
"Oh, it's comin'. You can't see it, but it's comin'. The winds and dust storms tend to miss us up here but we'll get the rain, the floods. Thunder and lightning too."
I pulled up a map on my phone, zooming in on the area. Sure enough, the roads leading out of the mountains popped up with hazardous condition warnings and local access only restrictions, and the major highways around Flagstaff and then Sedona were already ruby red with flash flood warnings. Only an hour ago, it'd been smooth sailing all the way to my mother's house.
"Fuck." I dropped an elbow on the counter. We couldn't spend another night in this town. For so many reasons. "If we leave right now?—"
"Then you'll get stuck in the worst of it and I don't think that pretty wife of yours wants to find out what a water rescue's all about."
I dug a knuckle into my temple and didn't bother correcting him about mywife. "Fuck."
"I know our little town isn't much but it's not that bad," Woody drawled.
I dragged my gaze up, taking in his deeply tanned skin and salt-and-pepper hair he kept tied back in a thin braid as I went. "The town's not my problem," I said. "The problem is that we needed to be in Sedona two days ago."
"You'll get there when you get there," he said. "We're havin' ourselves a rodeo tomorrow. You should come along."
I gathered up my laptop and notebooks, and shoved them all into my backpack. "Thanks for the tip," I said on my way out the door.
The car was up and running now but I didn't drive back to the motel yet. I sat there, staring at the mountains and the fine layer of dark purple clouds pressing in on the distant horizon.After a few minutes of letting my frustration boil over, I put in my earbuds and called my mother.
It rang for longer than I thought possible but then she picked up and I heard Gloria Estefan playing in the background for at least fifteen seconds before she said, "Hello?"
"Hey, Mom."
"Oh, Jude! I've been wondering where you were," she said. "Please tell me you'll be here before the storm. We've been out bringing in all our outdoor cushions because everyone says they'll blow away if we don't. Gary up the street says his got stuck in a tree last summer. Had to hire some kids to get 'em down."
"Gary up the street, huh?"
"He's a real character, that one," she said. "He likes to know what's going on in the neighborhood."
"I bet he does," I said. I wanted to meet this Gary from up the street. "About this storm. It doesn't look like we're going to make it there tonight."
"I don't think I believe this story about delays." She chuckled. "I think you're hiding out in the middle of nowhere and having fun in that motel."
Memories of sprinting across the parking lot with a lizard trapped in Tupperware flooded my mind. "Yeah, that's not really what's happening here, Mom."
"You know, you could've just told me that you wanted a few nights alone," she went on. "You think I don't understand what it's like? Being a young parent and wanting to get someadult time?—"
"Let's just end that thought there," I said. "Believe me, no one wants to get to Sedona more than Audrey. We're just having a run of bad luck."
"Or it's very good luck," she said. "Road trips and middle-of-nowhere motels can be very romantic."
I pushed past the memory of Audrey's palm on my forearm while she slept. Of her turning toward me in the night. Of her brushing that braid over her lips.Mylips. "We'll be there tomorrow," I said, the words crisp. "It's a five-hour drive but we'll hit the road early and be there by noon."
"What's the rush? Sleep in. Enjoy yourselves. I'll be happy to see you whenever you roll in."
I didn't know how we'd gone from a packed itinerary with events scheduled morning, noon, and night toWhat's the rush?but I wasn't going to call her on it. "I'll let you know when we're about an hour away."
"Give my love to that darling girl of yours. Tell her I have lots of plans for us," she said. I wouldn't be telling Audrey that unless I wanted her to ask fifty-four thousand times what it meant. "I'll see you tomorrow. And stay safe out there, kiddo. Gary says it only takes a few minutes for flash floods to wash you right outta town."
"Good ol' Gary," I said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Mom."
