Chapter 4: Tropical Depression

Fall and Winter saw little change in the tropical temperatures and humidity of the Caribbean. It rained a lot and the frequent storms tended to chase residents and tourists alike indoors. There was plenty to do around Casa Hartley even when the weather was less than appealing. Islanders did not fear or avoid the rain like many. It was simply a way of life and you either dressed up or down for it, depending on the situation.

Snorkeling the shallow waters for lobster and conch hardly depended on clear skies or warm sunny days. When Bobby, Tavia, Spencer, and Damien waded back to shore in the downpour, their spirits were still bright as they carried their catch up to the beach house to clean and prepare the creatures for the coming Thanksgiving feast. There were several live tanks that they used to store the animals until they were ready to serve them up with garlic butter or in a succulent ceviche.

The rain was torrential as they laughed and made their way back to the manor just in time for lunch. They detoured through Bobby and Tai’s apartment to dry off and change into shorts and shirts. At every entrance, there was a sunken tub for rinsing sand from feet. Cleaning the tubs and replenishing the water was a chore shared by the four of them daily.

They found many of the adults gathered casually in the living room watching a documentary. Chad and Kurt were drinking beer on the couch while Jennifer sat on the floor with Elvis’ big sleepy head in her lap. The rottweiler thumped his tail in greeting to the new arrivals and each of them went to him to give warm pats and love, so he didn’t have to get up and ambulate on his sore joints. Jessica was in the kitchen with Damien’s parents Musa and Ella, preparing a lunch of Cuban sandwiches and chopped salads.

Jessica put together a steaming plate and placed it inside a sealable bag. “Here Tai, this is for your father. He chose to remain aboard the Tortuga today.”

She accepted the burden gratefully, knowing how her father would simply forget to eat while he was absorbed with his studies — until the appealing aromas sent the proper signals from his belly to his brain.

“When you get back, I need you and Bobby to go over the invitations to make sure they are in order before I run them up to the Post.”

“Thank you, Jess,” the Jamaican girl replied warmly. It took some time and effort to construct the list of who they wanted to come and share the occasion, as they exchanged their vows. Bobby’s list was significantly shorter than Tai’s — whom, it appeared, was related to everyone on the island nation. Only the professor represented her paternal side, while various aunts, uncles, and cousins would be present from her mom’s kin.

Bobby immediately caught flak from his older sister when he broke the news to her over the phone. Bethany was outraged that he was planning on marriage before he was even considered an adult (by American standards.) She hung up on him in mid-explanation and promptly called their father who was returning to his seat with new beers for him and Kurt. Bobby just rolled his eyes at his father’s pained expression as he listened to his oldest rant and rave about the absurdity of it all and how could he — as a respectable father, go along with it.

“Are you done?” he finally growled into the phone. When there was no reply, he went on, “I don’t expect you to understand a world of which you are not a part. If you wish to attend the wedding you are still invited and the airfare is covered. If you don’t, then stay home and keep your peace. Neither your presence nor absence will have any bearing on this. And neither will your attitude. Goodbye, Bethany.” He hung up before she could start again. “Just like her mother,” he mused as he set the phone aside and returned his attention to the television.

For her part, Tavia had her share of drama as well. There were certain members of her family whom she had little to no respect for but was obligated to invite simply because of their closeness to her late mother. Several times the others heard her in a heated conversation about what she expected from her kin if they decided to come to the nuptials. One of her aunts in particular topped the list of her least desirable family members. But Aunty Gemma was her mother’s youngest sister (only a year older than Tai herself) and was expected to attend despite being a ‘bottom-feeding, twat-waffle’ according to the bride-to-be.

Other invitations were sent out to distant friends and family. Only a few were able to accept, Matt Skivers, the family friend and accountant planned on attending as well as Jessica and Jennifers’ parents — Robert and Susan Evans, who would be flying in from Denver. Despite his best efforts, Chad could not talk Otis and Beaulah Strickland into coming, their reasons were non-committal, which concerned him. Aside from their friends and family, invitations were also extended to many locals, including several other American Expats.

The twins wanted the invitations sent out ASAP so they could plan for housing, feeding, and entertaining the crowd that RSVP’d. Bobby readily gave up his level of the manor for guests, since he and Tai had no intention of sticking around any longer than tradition dictated. The plan was to have the wedding in early Spring, after the last of the bitter weather. After that, they planned on slipping aboard the Leopard and disappearing for a week or two.

Thanksgiving is an American holiday not recognized in the British Commonwealth so traditional quintessential décor and cuisines were less common. Ironically finding a sizeable turkey was not as difficult as they thought it would be. The domestic fowl had been imported heavily to the islands from the US over the last decade and after a few inquiries, they were able to locate a farmer who was willing to part with one of his prized Toms for a substantial fee. While the holiday was a foreign concept to most of the Islanders — a feast was a feast and something to be anticipated regardless of the occasion or the inclement weather.

“Looks like this may just be the beginning of an ugly stretch of weather,” Kurt commented as the documentary changed to a regional weather update. The satellite imagery showed an ominous low-pressure system forming in the southeast with predicted gale-force winds and higher-than-average storm surge.

“We need to prepare the boats and batten down everything else,” Chad remarked as he stood and went to grab the inclement weather plan that was developed by the former owners. The lower level would most likely be exposed to the storm surge if it came. The builders planned for this contingency by adding an extendible steel barrier that could be deployed and offer a waterproof barrier to keep the basement level dry.

For the rest of the day, they carefully re-arranged the three vessels so that they were tied off between the leeward side of the dock and the shore with double moorings securing them parallel to each other, fore and aft. Bobby and Tai stepped the Leopard’s mast and lashed it securely to the deck. The professor used a marine-grade power cord looped around his bow mooring to continue providing him with electricity and used his small dingy to get from his home to the shore. Casa Hartley was also protected by a large backup generator that could power the manor, boat house, and pier if they lost power for any period. The backup generator did not extend to Musa and Ella Kante’s cottage, so they were relocated to a spare room within the massive home, during bad weather.

During a quick trip to town, Jennifer and Jessica made a point to stock up on what few essentials they needed, without greedily depleting the shelves of the stores. They also dropped off the wedding invitations with the Post, to be sent out as soon as it was safe to do so. On their return trip, they stopped and checked in with many of their neighbors to make sure they were provisioned and able to shelter from the coming storm. They encouraged several of them to come and join them at the manor if they needed to.

Hours before the front edge of the system landed, Kurt flew the SeaMax to ORI where he parked it snugly inside the hangar with the Pipistrel Panthera. It was growing darker from the ominous cloud cover when he returned to the manor with Genevieve who met him at the airport.

It was Damien who brought all of them up short as they sat before the large thick windows, watching the storm approach. “What about the eggs?” he suddenly asked.

Bobby sat up straight and turned to meet the gaze of his astonished fiancé. She covered her open mouth with her hands and cursed aloud.

“Oh, shit on a shingle!” she barked as she jumped to her feet. “We gotta try and save them, there’s no way they won’t get wiped out by the surge!”

“What do we do?” he asked worriedly. The wind was already picking up and lightning was visible just a few miles offshore. “Can we just dig them up?”

She ran to fetch her cell phone from the mantle. “If we don’t, they’ll drown for sure,” she exclaimed. “Let me call my dad. He will know what to do.”

During the brief conversation, it was agreed that the best chance for the survival of the baby turtles would be to relocate them inside until the storm passed and then put them back.

“He’s coming ashore to help and says he has several poly barrels we can put them in,” Tai said as she grabbed one of the emergency torches. “But we have to hurry! Come on!”

When they ran down to the beach, they spotted the professor tossing three large blue plastic barrels overboard and placing several shovels and rakes into his dinghy before climbing into it and setting his oars. The sealed barrels floated on the surface but were taking too long to drift ashore so Bobby and Damien swam out to fetch them.

“We’ll have to split up,” Dr. Ashante said loudly over the gusting wind and crashing surf. “Remember, the clutches are at least 3 feet deep. Once you get down that far, start using your hands. We won’t be able to save them all but the odds are zero if we do nothing.” Between Chad, Kurt, Jess, Jen, Bobby, Tai, Spencer, Damien, and his parents they broke into threes and fours and each set out to begin excavating a different clutch. It grew darker and the rain began blowing down on them in force as they struggled to clear away the sand and get to the eggs. After twenty minutes of frantic digging, they began to find them and started relocating them inside the barrels that they lined with sand from the nests. The winds grew stronger and the waves were being driven further up the beach. Lightning crashed over their heads but they stayed on task, determined to find every last egg and tuck it safely into a barrel.

Once they were all collected, the barrels were too heavy to lift, so they had to transport them one at a time to the manor with a hand dolly. It was tedious going because the tires weren’t meant for the soft sand. But with Chad and Kurt’s brute strength, they had them moved into the beach-level apartment with minutes to spare before the waves started to crash against the storm barriers. Professor Ashante was determined to return to his boat and used the aft moorings to pull himself back across the choppy water. Tavia watched his progress worriedly until she saw him climb back aboard.

“Stubborn old fool!” she muttered turning from the window. “The only reason he went back is because he left his pipe.”

For the next five days, the Grand Caymans were battered with near hurricane-force winds and a storm surge that completely overwhelmed the few levies in place, causing mass flooding in the streets of the town and submerging many homes under several feet of seawater. There was a total power outage leaving most residents without the means to cook, call for help, or even keep their food safe. Inland shelters were filled and emergency generators were almost completely ineffective. When dawn broke after the first night Chad and Kurt went out with ATVs to check on their immediate neighbors and returned with several miserable families who had suffered terribly throughout the long night. Many were tired, wet, and cold and were provided warm clothing and food, before settling in one of the guest rooms. Every morning and evening Bobby went out to the breakwater and pier to inspect the moorings for any signs of wear, adjusting them as needed.