It was a bleak and dreary Friday when Alexandra was driving to Avery Hill. The clouds were dark and gray. Dusk was coming fast on the horizon as she listened to the music on the radio while driving her SUV. The music switched to the latest news update.
"And for our latest news update. Hurricane Valencia is expected to hit landfall in Prieto City at 350 kph by midnight. Residents are advised to keep themselves safe inside their house. Make sure you have your flashlights with you in case of power interruption. And ensure you're well stocked in case the hurricane becomes strong and shops closed after nine pm. Always be safe. This is Bridget Riverdale reporting."
After a few commercial, the music program came back. She continued listening to the music. She stopped by the city to buy food in the grocery store. It was already drizzling when she got out of the grocery store and drove back to Avery Hill.
The rain was pouring when she stopped her car in the driveway but the garage was locked.
"Damn. And I forgot my umbrella."
Alex said slapping the steering wheel with both her hands. She texted Daniel on her mobile that she was out front but he wasn't replying. Grabbing one of the paper bags from the back, she opened the door to her side. Smarty sitting on the passenger side walked on her lap and jumped out of the car. She got out of the car and slammed the door shut and ran to the patio. As she opened the front door, her head bumped into Daniel.
"You are so wet."
She looked at him through her wet hair.
"And you are so slow. Why didn't you reply fast to my text?"
"I was taking a bath," he said. "You should, too, so you don't get colds. Give me your key, I'll drive your car in the garage and get your groceries."
She picked her car key from her pocket and gave it to him. He went into the porch, opened an umbrella and went to her car. She went inside straight to the kitchen, put the bag on the kitchen table and rushed back to her bedroom to wash herself and changed her clothes.
She went down in the kitchen, still with the towel wrapped around her head, dressed in pajamas and carrying her own laptop.
She sat across the table facing the silent Daniel St. Claire who was forever occupied on his laptop.
"I've already started on the illustration game for your niece, Dan. Would you like to see it over?"
He rose from his seat and went behind her.
"You can sit beside me so we can discuss about this."
Instead of hearing him answered, she felt the towel unwrapped from her hair. Then, he released her hair and started drying her hair with her towel.
"I can see it from here," he said while rubbing her hair with the towel. "That illustration is good. You just have to make the colors more vivid. They're five years old anyway. They like brighter more vivid colors."
"Okay." She said making quick edits to her illustration.
"You're good with your hands, Daniel. Dried Sarah's hair when she was still a kid?" she asked while making more changes to the illustration.
"Yeah."
Thunder roared loudly from the outside.
"Seems like the storm has entered the area."
"It won't be until midnight."
"But the rain is stronger."
Daniel stopped rubbing her hair for a while. Then, continued it.
The sound of the rain drummed stronger against the roof and the ground. Flash of lightning struck through with a blinding force.
Alexandra felt the towel covering her head and her face and Daniel's hands gripped on her shoulders when the lightning passed. Her eyes were tightly closed.
The lights went out.
She opened her eyes.
"Oh Gods. Lights out."
"You were shivering after thunder roared. Scared of lightning?"
"I just don't like the flash of lightning when it hits and the sound it brings like a wail of the banshee."
"Let's bring you to bed."
They used flashlights from their phone as they walked back to their rooms.
Thunder roared once more as they approached Alexandra's room. Daniel was looking at her.
"Would you like me to sleep with you?"
She bit her lip from hesitation.
He opened her door.
Lightning passed like a broken light bomb.
She gripped his left arm.
"Just after I'm asleep you can go back to your room."
She said in a weak voice walking to her bed. She laid on other side of the bed facing him and gave him the half space of it. He sat on it and relaxed against the head board.
"Alex you are so like Sarah."
"Why?"
"She's scared of thunder while you're scared of lightning."
"Then, that makes two of us."
After a while, Alexandra fell asleep. Daniel stayed with her for an hour still playing games on his mobile until he moved back to his room.
--
The storm was gone the next day. Alex got out of bed. Daniel was no longer in her room. She took a quick shower and went to the front of the house to see how much damage was done. Smarty was running through her and into the porch and went down into the yard.
"Smarty!"
She called but the dog was already out in the yard running everywhere as if too glad to be out of the house.
She followed him and went down into the front yard. She looked around to see the damage brought down by last night's storm. No tree has fallen but some branches did. A line needed to be fixed soon. The garbage bins along the street that were neatly secured in their places were down with their contents spilling around. The clouds were still gray in the horizon.
She walked back to the yard and found Smarty sniffing through a plastic covered hedge. She removed the plastic that has landed and covered a hedge of plant down the patio's side. She found two bodies. A pair of black and white cat appeared dead but as she examined them further they appeared to be breathing but very weakly. Smarty barked at the two cats but they were dead asleep to his sound. He tried to lick both of the cats and the white cat raised its front paw.
"Stay here, Smarty while I go get a basket for them to sleep in, okay?" she ordered the dog.
Smarty barked in response.
Alex went back inside the house and walked fast to the kitchen to get a big empty woven basket and unused cloth. Daniel who was having breakfast in front of his laptop caught her attention.
"What are you doing that for?" he asked. "The storm has passed. You don't need to clean the yard immediately. I'll help you later."
"I found two bodies of cats by the hedge. They still seem to be alive so I'm putting them in the basket." Alex explained. "Would you like to see them?"
"Skipping it."
She looked at him with irritation.
"Suit yourself."
She went back to the front yard and carefully placed the two dying cats on the basket, then decided she needed them to be seen by a veterinarian. She came back to the kitchen to get the car key hanging by the hook.
"I'm going to the vet for a while. Do you need anything while I'm at the city?"
He glanced at her briefly then shut down his laptop. And rose from his chair.
"I'm joining you."
"Okay."
She answered without looking at him.
They went out of the door and into her car. Daniel went for the driver seat.
"I'm driving your car. Get in the passenger seat."
He said in a hurry.
Alexandra got annoyed at his tone. She was holding the basket of cats against her chest. She looked at him darkly then plastered herself with a big smile on her face.
"Hey, come here for a minute."
He looked at him with an annoyed face but walked towards her.
"I didn't disturb you from finishing your game, right?"
"I can always finish it after we drive back home."
"You're always so serious and oblivious when you're in front of your laptop, Mr. Mighty CEO."
"Give me your hand, Daniel."
"What's your drama, Alex?" he said frowning at her.
"Just extend your arms towards me, please?"
She asked with a pleading tone. He extended his arms towards her. She placed the basket with cats on him and opened the passenger door.
"Here's the cat basket. Sit on the passenger seat and let me drive, okay?"
He looked at her darkly.
"You are so sexist, St. Claire. Just be a granny goose for a day, okay?"
She said and shoved him to the passenger seat.
"What?"
She mouthed the word back to him through the glass door and round from the front to the driver seat.
"I'll drive us to the city. You don't know where it is anyway."
She started the car and drove out of the garage.
"You can give me directions."
He said while clutching the basket on his lap.
"I'm too lazy to give out directions today."
"You're a cheapskate, Alexandra."
"And you're a ridiculous, powerless granny goose, St. Claire."
"I look ridiculous holding this basket, don't I?"
She looked at him with scrutiny and burst out laughing.
"Don't worry, you don't look like a ninny. You're a cute powerless granny goose holding that basket."
She continued laughing.
"I was your granny goose last night."
She remembered last night's storm and smiled sweetly at him.
"Thanks for staying with me last night."
"You can at least compare me to Red."
"Red Riding Hood, you mean?" she asked looking straight at the road. "You just love having power, right? Just imagine that cat basket you're holding is your power of love for instance."
That kept Daniel St. Claire uncomplaining throughout the drive.
When they reached the vet's clinic called Dr. Dave's Zoo Corner, they went out of the car and walked into the clinic.
"This guy must be nuts, isn't he?"
"Why?"
She looked at his frowning face.
"Does he actually look after zoo animals to call it Zoo Corner? Aren't we supposed to see a pet vet?"
"He actually sees all kinds of animals in his clinic. That's why it's called that way. Besides this is a big clinic."
She opened the door of the clinic. "See for yourself."
They entered the clinic and found several assistants tending over different kinds of animals. There was a blue parrot that was standing on the assistant's left shoulder. A squirrel has a bandage on its tail. A German Shepherd has a bandage on its front paw. One owner brought a brown retriever with a big a lump on its paw. From the inner inside of the clinic, a suspicious monster with spiky skin appeared to be comfortable on the floor.
"Is that a croc over there?" Daniel asked looking with a frown expression at the far inside of the clinic.
Alexandra who has clearer eyesight traced the silhouette lying on the floor.
"Yeah, I guess."
They walked towards the receptionist.
"Hi. I'm Alexandra Diaz. I'm here to see Dr. Dave. I have two cats that need to be seen immediately. Found them at my yard after the storm. They're still breathing but very weak."
"Please wait for a moment. Dr. Dave will be with you in a while."
They were called after waiting for fifteen minutes. The cats were examined and were found a bit malnourished and needing dextrose so Dr. Dave put the two cats under dextrose but was allowed to be brought home. He prescribed medications. Then, they left the clinic.
They stopped by the grocery store to buy food for the cats.
"How do you like to call these cats?" asked Daniel while he was looking at the two sleeping bodies inside the woven cloth covered basket while they were driving back to go home.
The dextrose of the cats were hooked to a plastic hooked each on the top of the glass of the car.
"They're black and white…and the storm just passed," said Alex thoughtfully. "The clouds are black, gray and white up in the sky."
She added observing the horizon.
"Makes you think of the clouds, right?" he asked with a smile on his face.
She looked at him with smile on her face, too.
"Yeah." Alex agreed. "Like Nimbus and Stratus?"
"Exactly my thoughts."
She peered through him with wonder.
"Do you honestly read minds, St. Claire?"
"Nope. It's a tough job."
"Remember what I told you in the drive when you asked me if I have owned a cat? Sarah and I owned cats when we were five. We called them Nimbus and Stratus because of their color. Though they were still kittens when we found them."
Alexandra smile faltered at his explanation. Something flicked inside of her.
Damn. She has fallen in love with Daniel St. Claire.