Bates
It’s still raining,but thankfully not as hard as it was earlier, as I make the familiar drive to Ann Arbor. This late, it only takes me about twenty minutes because I don’t have heavy traffic to contend with.
My tools are in the back of the van, but I really don’t know what the problem is, other than Waylynn’s house doesn’t seem to have any power. Sure enough, as I turn into her driveway, I see the surrounding houses all lit up like normal, while hers is pitch-black.
I check behind the van to make sure I’m not parked in the way of the sidewalk and grab my tool pouch out of the backdoors. The rain is already wetting my shirt, so I hustle over to knock.
Memphis opens the door and steps to the side quickly, allowing me to enter the kitchen. The room is dim, lit up by only a phone light on the counter, but I can just make out Waylynn and Oz standing on the other side of the kitchen.
“Holy shit, what happened to you?” I find myself walking toward her when I see her propped up on crutches.
“It’s just a sprain,” she says softly, not answering my question. I look over at Oz, expecting him to fill me in.
“I didn’t do it.” He holds his hands up defensively. “Or at least I didn’t mean to.”
“What?” I could not have heard him right. If Oz was somehow a part of hurting her, I’m going to kick his fucking ass. He knows I don’t fuck around with that shit.
“It’s my fault,” Memphis admits, and I spin on him. “We were all on our piece of shit futon and it broke. I shoved Oz off her, and it messed up her ankle.”
“It was an accident. My foot got hurt when we fell, not when he rolled over me,” Waylynn chimes in, coming to Memphis’ defense.
“She has a small cut under her lip too, so don’t freak out when you see it,” Oswald informs me. He knows me well. Seeing a woman with bruises is a problem for me.
“What’s going on with the power?” I ask to distract myself from the memories of my childhood that are trying to make me question if that’s really what happened. I played a part in so many lies to help my mom cover up the truth, even if it was just keeping my mouth closed. I still feel responsible for being part of the coverup, but I know that’s not the case here. Neither Memphis nor Oswald would hurt a woman. I know that deep down. It’s just my head fucking with me and making me second-guess the situation.
“I’m not sure. When the power went out this afternoon, right after a loud crack of thunder and lightning, I assumed it was from the storm. It wasn’t until Oswald got home and said everyone else had power that I realized it was just us,” Waylynn tells me.
“You didn’t notice?” I ask Memphis.
“It was still daylight when I got here. I didn’t notice the other houses,” he admits.
“Panel?”
“Down this way.” He tilts his head to the side as I slide little blue booties over my still damp boots.
“Do you know where the drop is? Where the service connects to the house outside?” I ask the room.
Waylynn shakes her head as the others chorus, “No.”
“Any tree damage?” I question.
“Not that I know of, but the house did feel like it shook when it happened. I thought it was the thunder,” she replies.
I didn’t see a meter on the back of the house, so I’m guessing it’s on the side, between the neighbors. “Let’s see if it’s just the breaker.” I click on my flashlight. It’s bright enough to light up most of the hall that Memphis disappeared down. There’s an open door where Memphis is waiting.
The stairs creak under my weight, but I’m not worried about them. These old places were built to last way better than shit built even ten years ago.
The basement walls are stone and mortar, and the floor is uneven concrete, but it’s clean and bone-dry, even after all the rain, which is a really good sign about the structure of the house.
“Back here,” Memphis says, and I follow him around the stairs to the old box. Before he even opens it, I know it’s going to be glass fuses. It looks original. This should have been updated ages ago.
“She needs a new service.” I set my pouch on the ground and aim my light at the old box. All the fuses seem fine, but to check the main, I need a meter.
“Yeah, I had no idea what to do with this,” Memphis admits. “It must have passed inspection though, right? She just bought this place.”
“Yeah, it’s functional. The people in these neighborhoods like to try to keep shit original for some reason, but there’s no benefit here.” My meter tells me there’s no power with the house. “We have a bigger issue than a fuse. There’s no power at the box. I need to check the drop outside for damage.”
Waylynn and Oz are waiting at the top of the stairs as we emerge from the basement. “I forgot to say thank you for coming out so late. Sorry about this.”
