I felt my stomach drop. “No. Why? Is it going to be bad or something?”
“All I can say is find a hotel sooner than later and hunker down.”
I closed my eyes briefly because I was driving. “That doesn’t instill encouragement, Cam. What’s the forecast?”
“There’s a massive system moving through. And it’s headed right for you. It was going to hit you in Maine anyway, but that’s not the point. At least in Maine, you were home and not in a moving truck towing your SUV.”
I cringed, but my brother couldn’t see. “All right. Where is this system now?”
“It dropped down just north of the Dakotas, and it’s moving straight toward you. It’s going to go right over the lakes and pick up all of that moisture and dump it on you late tonight or early tomorrow.”
That absolutely was not what I needed. “Thanks for the update. I’ll see what I can find that’s open. If there’s nothing thathas availability, I’ll have to pull off at a rest stop and ride things out.”
“Keep me posted either way.”
“Will do. I’ll call when I stop for the evening,” I said.
“Please do. Drive safe, no matter what.”
We ended the call, and I continued on. There wasn’t much daylight left. Probably half an hour at most, and that was being generous since I was traveling west.
It didn’t take long to find a place that had a vacancy, and although I didn’t want to stop yet after my late departure, I did so anyway. I unpacked my suitcase and cooler and hoped that I’d be able to get out tomorrow morning. After I was safe and secure in my room, I sent Cameron a message and saw I had several from Ma asking me to come back and talk things out. She was upset that I wasn’t answering my door, and why was my house completely dark. Those messages only made me surer that I’d made the right choice in leaving like I had.
Even though I hated to do it, I put both of my parents’ numbers on mute. I didn’t want all of my notifications to always be silenced, and until I was settled in Montana, I knew that I didn’t want to deal with Ma. Was that the most mature thing to do? Probably not. It was what I had to do for my own mental health though.
After that was done, I found my contact at the council. They were two hours behind me, and there was still a possibility that they would be available to be reached. I gave it a chance and sent a message to someone named Rainier. He had been the one who had been in contact with me about arranging a place to stay, and I needed to let him know that there was a possibility that I wouldn’t be there this week after all.
Me: Hi Rainier. I just wanted to let you know I possibly won’t be in Montana until this weekend. I didn’t get to leave Maine when planned, and now I’m in a hotel hoping that I can get out in the morning since there is a significant storm heading my way in a couple of hours. If the house is needed by someone else, I completely understand. I just didn’t want to leave you without an update. I’m sorry about this. It’s completely on me, and I will keep you updated. — Camden
I didn’t know if he had my number saved in his contacts or not. I didn’t expect a reply as quickly as I received it, and even more surprising was the actual message.
Rainier: Are you driving? You mentioned leaving Maine and now are in a hotel? Were you not offered assistance in getting here? Where are you? I can come and get you if you would like?
What did that mean?
Me: I was told that you would be my new contact for a house. I wasn’t given much more information. Yes, I’m driving. I’m in a rental moving truck and am pulling my vehicle behind it. I stopped for the evening because of the incoming snowstorm. I didn’t know how long the roads would remain open. I’m on the east side of Montreal still. I didn’t make it too far today.
My phone rang moments later with Rainier’s number lighting up the screen.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Dr. Kennedy. I do apologize for the oversight. The council can certainly offer relocation services for you. I can be there in a moment if you tell me exactly where you are.”
“Oh.” What did one say to something like that? “Do I need to go check out of the hotel? And what about my things?”
“There will be no issue with either of those. I can take care of all of that, and nobody will see anything out of the ordinary. I do apologize about the council’s blunder. We have very recently gone through a bit of restructuring, and unfortunately, not everything has been completely covered. I do hope that you can look past this and won’t hold it against the council.”
“Of course,” I told him. “I’m not sure what all I need to do. But to be honest, the thought of driving for sixteen or so hours for four days isn’t appealing if I can somehow be there already.”
There was chuckling from the other side of the call. “Just give me your hotel and room number, and I’ll be there in a moment or two.”
I gave Rainer the information, and we ended the call. I hadn’t yet unpacked anything, and by the time I had my suitcase and cooler stacked and ready to go, there was a knock on the door.I opened it and found myself staring at a tall, slender man who looked no older than forty-five. I knew he was most likely older as he had slight gray at his temples, and that usually only happened when someone was well into the centuries-old age.
“Dr. Kennedy?”
I smiled. “Rainier?”
He nodded. “May I?” I nodded and stepped back to allow him to enter the room. Once the door was closed, he apologized again. “I am sorry about the oversight. I’ll look into it tomorrow once everyone is back at the council.”
