I’d stood there mere seconds when the bride-to-be appeared at my side.
“Jasmine, have you seen Muriel?” she asked.
“No. I haven’t. But Chrissie, what about your wedding plans?”
“Urgh.” She shrugged. “Cancelled. Postponed. Call it what you will, it’s not going ahead today. The damage is too great here at the resort and in the town. Vic can’t have time off now; he’s had to go back to work. I knew that would be a thing when I agreed to marry a cop.”
“Oh, Chrissie, I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, well. What can I do? Anyway, have you spoken to Muriel?” Chrissie asked again.
“No. I didn’t find out where she was staying before we all went our separate ways last night. And now, this morning, I expected her to drive us about, but I can’t get hold of her because the phones are down. I don’t know where to find her, so I just walked up here on my own.”
“You walked?”
“It’s not that bad out there right now. A bit of moisture in the air, a bit breezy.” Absentmindedly, I stroked my hand over my own damp hair. “But not a full-blown storm.”
“So you haven’t heard? Muriel’s trapped inside her bungalow. A tree crashed down in the night and blocked her in. Vic called his brother to come in his truck and rescue her. As I said, I think all able hands are called to action to help out here and there because there are problems all around the town due to storm damage.”
“No. That’s terrible. Is she okay?” In my mind, I realized that the almighty crash and the fallen tree I’d seen must have trapped my Muriel in her bungalow. I felt so guilty that I hadn’t known anything about it until then.
“She’s fine. Just trapped inside, that’s all. Look, there’s nothing much that can be done today, so you may as well go into the restaurant and have the longest, slowest, biggest breakfast of your life. The resort also does food to go if you want to take it back to your bungalow. Or with the wedding canceled, perhaps you might go visit your folks?”
“Oh, I’ll find a way to pass the time, no problem. But I’m so sorry for you, and your big day ruined.”
“Thanks,” she said.
I walked through to the dining room, where I picked up something to eat from the self-service buffet, but I only managed a few bites.
My worry and guilt over Muriel’s situation made sure I couldn’t stomach more than a few bites. She was trapped inside a house with no cell phone. She might have been hurt or frightened.
Poppy was probably fine with her family, but it’ll be good to have that confirmed too.
In the end, I grabbed a lunch-to-go bag and returned the way I’d came, but this time, I intended to stop by the fallen tree and find my friend.
On the long walk back to our bungalows, I had plenty of time to pay attention to the weather: wind, rain, and sun. Over thirty minutes or so, we had it all, like it couldn’t figure out what it wanted to do or what it planned to do next.
Unsettled, was the word to describe it, or staying-indoors weather.
Before reaching Muriel’s damaged bungalow, I had to pass my own. When it came into sight, I noticed a truck parked outside, which wasn’t there when I set out earlier. I paid little attention to it, however, because it was nothing to do with me.
I hadn’t noticed someone sitting in the driver’s seat until a voice called out as I passed by: “Howdy, stranger!”
“Hi there.” I raised a hand in a half-hearted wave at the dude I vaguely recognized from school and proceeded to walk on by.
“Now, don’t you go walking away from me without a proper reunion.”
I stopped and swiveled on my heels to pay proper attention.
“Randy?”
What the hell could he expect from me more than a single word of greeting and a wave? We were never friends and had very little to do with each other when I lived in the area.
“Do you need something?”
“Not exactly,” he said cryptically. “Ain’t you a sight for sore eyes. Jump in. Let’s get you outta the rain.”
“Kind of you, but I’m only heading over there.” Just as he’d used his thumb to indicate that I should climb into the passenger seat next to him, I use my thumb to point toward the tree that had crashed down in front of a bungalow.
“You don’t need to go over there. I’m here for our reunion. After all this time, it would be good if you just get in so we can talk.”
What. The...?
Had he gotten me confused with someone else? With someone who would actually want to talk to him? Because as far as I was concerned, we had nothing to say to each other, and the entire interaction was a little bizarre.