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Authors: Kristen Ethridge
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had years of history. And maybe it wasn’t fair for her to erase all the good from her memory and cling only to the bad, like a drowning person clutching a life vest. Maybe it wasn’t fair to have turned her worst moments into defining moments in her relationship with Rigo—or with anyone, for that matter.
“Yeah, we did. A lot of them, actually.” It surprised Gloria that the words didn’t turn her throat raw. The yawn that followed, however, didn’t surprise her at all.
“You’re tired, Gloria. You need to get some rest.” Rigo reached up and readjusted the blanket where it had started to slip from a shoulder. It felt like a gentle hug, comforting and warm at the same time.
“I am. But I can’t sleep. I’d say there’s just something in the air, but that’s an understatement. There’s a lot in the air. More than a hundred and ten miles per hour of something.”
Rigo put his hand on her shoulder and guided her to a couch against the wall of the main hallway. “Why don’t you lie down here? I’ve just checked in with the folks I needed to talk to and I don’t need to check back in for a while. We’re going to meet with the dive team in about an hour to put together a plan for rescuing people who stayed in their homes and got trapped by the storm surge. I’ve got some time. How about I just sit here with you until you fall asleep?”
The other end of the hallway bustled with action, but down here by the clinic, it was quiet. And although the couch was tufted and upholstered with a thick brocaded fabric, it looked like the most comfortable bed she’d ever seen.
“But you don’t have to...” She started to protest, reflexively.
He put one finger to his lips and gave a quick “Shush.”
“I don’t have to. I want to. Now lie down.”
Gloria did as she was told, and Rigo pulled the blanket down around her and tucked it securely under her knees and feet. She felt like a child, when Mamí
would tuck her in at bedtime.
Rigo sat on the floor and leaned his head slightly on the edge of the lower cushion. He reached up and took her hand as it lay on top of the blanket. “You’re completely safe now, Gloria. Just rest.”
She wanted to pull back, but it seemed rude. He wasn’t doing anything but trying to help her get to sleep. As the mild haze of sleep began to take over, Gloria noticed that it felt completely comforting to have her hand resting in his, almost as though hands had some kind of memory for movements and feelings of decades ago.
They were surrounded by the finest team of emergency personnel Port Provident could offer. City government, police, fire, EMS, doctors. All of Port Provident’s leaders were here, staying busy with what needed to be done.
The firefighters moved along the hallways, checking for stress fractures in the walls of the hotel as it was battered by the storm. Others, like Rigo’s colleagues, were meeting in huddled groups, mapping out a game plan for how they would assess damage and rescue citizens once the sun rose and the winds and the waters receded.
All of them were at the top of their game tonight.
But could any of them rescue a broken heart?
Gloria fell asleep before she could determine the answer.
Chapter Five
B y eight o’clock in the morning, the Grand Provident Hotel seemed close to bursting at the seams with activity. Everyone was just waiting to get the all clear that winds had dropped below the seventy-miles-per-hour mark that signaled the shift from hurricane-force winds to a tropical storm. At that point, another type of flooding would begin as rescue workers would head out to see what was left of Port Provident and how her brave citizens fared.
“Gloria!” Tanna stepped into the hallway, carrying her newborn son, who had already seen more in a few hours than many people saw in a lifetime. “Dr. Stephenson says they’ve arranged for us to be transported to Mainland Regional Hospital. I can’t thank you enough for what you did. When I
“Yeah, we did. A lot of them, actually.” It surprised Gloria that the words didn’t turn her throat raw. The yawn that followed, however, didn’t surprise her at all.
“You’re tired, Gloria. You need to get some rest.” Rigo reached up and readjusted the blanket where it had started to slip from a shoulder. It felt like a gentle hug, comforting and warm at the same time.
“I am. But I can’t sleep. I’d say there’s just something in the air, but that’s an understatement. There’s a lot in the air. More than a hundred and ten miles per hour of something.”
Rigo put his hand on her shoulder and guided her to a couch against the wall of the main hallway. “Why don’t you lie down here? I’ve just checked in with the folks I needed to talk to and I don’t need to check back in for a while. We’re going to meet with the dive team in about an hour to put together a plan for rescuing people who stayed in their homes and got trapped by the storm surge. I’ve got some time. How about I just sit here with you until you fall asleep?”
The other end of the hallway bustled with action, but down here by the clinic, it was quiet. And although the couch was tufted and upholstered with a thick brocaded fabric, it looked like the most comfortable bed she’d ever seen.
“But you don’t have to...” She started to protest, reflexively.
He put one finger to his lips and gave a quick “Shush.”
“I don’t have to. I want to. Now lie down.”
Gloria did as she was told, and Rigo pulled the blanket down around her and tucked it securely under her knees and feet. She felt like a child, when Mamí
would tuck her in at bedtime.
Rigo sat on the floor and leaned his head slightly on the edge of the lower cushion. He reached up and took her hand as it lay on top of the blanket. “You’re completely safe now, Gloria. Just rest.”
She wanted to pull back, but it seemed rude. He wasn’t doing anything but trying to help her get to sleep. As the mild haze of sleep began to take over, Gloria noticed that it felt completely comforting to have her hand resting in his, almost as though hands had some kind of memory for movements and feelings of decades ago.
They were surrounded by the finest team of emergency personnel Port Provident could offer. City government, police, fire, EMS, doctors. All of Port Provident’s leaders were here, staying busy with what needed to be done.
The firefighters moved along the hallways, checking for stress fractures in the walls of the hotel as it was battered by the storm. Others, like Rigo’s colleagues, were meeting in huddled groups, mapping out a game plan for how they would assess damage and rescue citizens once the sun rose and the winds and the waters receded.
All of them were at the top of their game tonight.
But could any of them rescue a broken heart?
Gloria fell asleep before she could determine the answer.
Chapter Five
B y eight o’clock in the morning, the Grand Provident Hotel seemed close to bursting at the seams with activity. Everyone was just waiting to get the all clear that winds had dropped below the seventy-miles-per-hour mark that signaled the shift from hurricane-force winds to a tropical storm. At that point, another type of flooding would begin as rescue workers would head out to see what was left of Port Provident and how her brave citizens fared.
“Gloria!” Tanna stepped into the hallway, carrying her newborn son, who had already seen more in a few hours than many people saw in a lifetime. “Dr. Stephenson says they’ve arranged for us to be transported to Mainland Regional Hospital. I can’t thank you enough for what you did. When I
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