“Jack Tracey,” Ashley couldn’t help but say with a little hint of wonder in her voice, shaking her head. To be honest, it had to be the strangest experience she’d had in a while. There was no way that it could get any worse. There really wasn’t.
The storm didn’t let up,and Ashley was pretty sure it was the longest-running storm in Tennessee history, or at least, theworst storm they’d had in a while. The rain just seemed to come down in buckets, ignoring the people who ran from their cars to the restaurant and the waitstaff who looked out the windows with sorrow.
Worse yet, the reporter on the small TV near the window to the kitchen said that this was a superstorm. A storm of epic proportions that stretched across the entire United States.
“Um, is that a thing that can even happen?” Ashley asked Cheryl, who simply shrugged.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, but they say climate change is real and I guess they’re right. Who knows what can happen now?” Cheryl answered, her gaze staying on the TV.
Ashley bit her bottom lip to keep from commenting again as Cheryl stared at the screen in dismay before she turned to Ashley. “I want to send you all home, but there seems to be no end to this storm. You’re just as safe here as you are in that trailer.”
The sky lit up with another crash of lightning before Ashley could answer, and everyone in the diner gasped as the world became bright for a second. Thunder made the building shake on its foundations, causing everyone to gasp again.
“Ain’t nobody seen a storm like this,” Cheryl said, shaking her head as she pursed her lips.
It was obvious that she was thinking about the son she lost, and the only son she had left. She couldn’t leave the diner. She needed the job as much as Ashley did.
That made her think about her father, home alone at that moment, likely watching the storm pass through windows. She’d have to call him later and ask him if the weather channel had more information about the storm since it wasn’t very common for the entire United States to be covered in a storm front.
“You get any more oddballs like that man this morning?” Cheryl asked as the last of the lunch crowd left.
“No, thank goodness. I don’t know who he was, but he sure was strange,” Ashley answered, looking around the diner as lightning struck at the end of the parking lot.
“We’ve got some oddballs in this town, that’s for sure, but a man like that? He brings a kind of trouble with him that even I can’t imagine. It’s probably best he left. Did you find out anything about him?” Cheryl asked casually, wiping down the already clean counter again.
Ashley knew Cheryl was curious, but the woman also cared about her, the same as her regulars
who knew her by name and who came to care about her like she was family. Ashley smiled at Cheryl and picked up the dishes from the last customer. “No, only his name. I’m just thankful he left and that the rain seemed to be making people extra generous today because I made a good little bundle on my tips.”
“Me too. I’m glad the day wasn’t a total washout. Even if it is still storming,” Cheryl left the dining area, no doubt to get the broom and mop. She liked to stay busy.
Her joy dimmed at the end of the day when it was time for the morning shift to go home.
“I got places to be, girl, I ain’t got time to be driving you all over town,” Craig said, and Ashley clamped her teeth shut. He had a beer can calling his name was what she wanted to say but she just accepted it.
“Oh, come on, Craig. It’s still pouring out there,” Cheryl said with a sharpness that drew Craig’s gaze.
“You take her weird ass home if you’re so tore up about it,” Craig shot back, his eyes going over Ashley, his lips curling in a sneer.
“I have to work a double, or I would, you asshole,” Cheryl snapped, glaring at the man. Ashley stifled a smile, but Craig didn’t seem to care what Cheryl called him.
“I’m out. You two do what you have to do,” Craig drawled, then walked out of the diner, leaving Cheryl and Ashley looking at each other, shaking their heads.
“It’s probably a good thing he won’t take me home. He only thinks I’m weird because I slapped him the last time he tried to get handsy with me,” Ashley shrugged as she gave Cheryl a quick hug. “I only asked him to take me because of the storm, otherwise, I wouldn’t have.”
“Well, you let me know when you make it home. I’ll be worried about you. Just text me and I’ll see it later,” Cheryl replied, hugging Ashley back before letting her go.
Ashley faced the storm with a grim smile and walked out of the door. It wasn’t long before the rain drenched her down to the bone and left her shivering.
There was nothing worse than having a car in the shop. Strike that. There was one thing worse than having a car in the shop. It was having another vehicle at home that she could very easily drive but couldn’t bring herself to because if she was to drive said truck, then she’d have to admit to herself that it was very likely that her father would never recover from the stroke that left him unable to work. Ashley just couldn’t do it, and as she walked into her tiny yard, she had to pass by the truck that sat there practically taunting her with the knowledge of how useful it could be. If she was willing to drive it, that is.
“It’s just another bad day. Dad will be better soon,” Ashley promised herself as she reached for the doorknob, knowing that her father would be driving around town trying to chase tornadoes if he had recovered. But there was always the hope that tomorrow, he would be up and at ‘em again. Tomorrow, he would be back to his old self.
Tomorrow, things would stop getting worse and start getting better. That’s what Ashley told herself as she finally raised her eyes to her father sitting in the living room.
“Hey Dad. I’m home,” she said softly, concerned that he hadn’t turned to look at her. She stood there, dripping onto the small rug there. “Dad?”
But her dad didn’t respond at all. For the first time in months, he hadn’t noticed she was home because the TV had him in a trance. His skin was covered in a light, clammy dew, and it was clear by the waxen look of his complexion that he wasn’t feeling great.
