Chapter 3

I was still in the office when Nikki came in after her shower. She did the massage thing on my neck and shoulders again. "You need to get up and walk around every now and then," she admonished.

I hadn't even turned around when she touched me. I was deep in the zone, in a world far away, filled with iron and copper and porcelain and plastic.

"Look!" she said. "Turn around!"

I turned, expecting to see t-shirt and pajamas. I didn't.

"I hope you don't mind. I didn't want to bother you, but I found these on the shelf in your closet. They give me another suit of clothes."

"They" were a pair of hospital scrub pants and one of my old work shirts. The cotton shirt hung on her loosely, reaching down below her crotch in front, below the cheeks of her butt in back, whimsically disheveled. And she'd rolled cuffs up on the legs of the scrubs and pulled the drawstring waist tight. Made her look like something orphanish that I wanted to wrap in my arms and carry off. But I couldn't. Instead, "Cute," I said. "You look like an orphan."

"Not a hurricane refugee?" She giggled

"That, too. Nikki, thanks for dinner. It was wonderful. I haven't enjoyed food like that in a long time. Eating my own cooking gets old, you know."

"I enjoyed doing it. You have a nice kitchen. Everything is so clean. And it works."

"And you work. I am so surprised. Shocked. I never thought of you being like this, Nikki."

"I don't mind, Dan. I really don't." She looked at the screen. "You need to pick a stopping place and shut down for the evening. A hot shower will relax you." She smiled and left me in the office musing over the idea that there was a person on the planet that DIDN'T want me to work myself to death.

I answered one last email and shut the computer down. Nikki was right. The hot shower washed away stresses. I shaved afterward and dabbed a bit of cologne on. Eight-thirty. I joined Nikki in the living room.

"Do you want to start this movie over so you can watch it from the beginning?" She asked.

"No, I've seen it enough times. I can watch it from this part." And I looked at Nikki, dark brown hair, brushed to a sheen, her blue eyes intent on the TV, lips in a satisfied hint of a smile. And that darned shirt, loose on her, was showing just a glimpse of the valley between two young A-cup titties. And I looked longer than I should have.

When she turned to look at me, I was watching the movie. "Hard day, huh, Dan?" she said.

"Yeah. Nuts. But it'll get better."

"What about when the roads open up?"

"I figured that out already. I'll drive to the job in the morning, and back at night. Might be late, but I am NOT going to spend the night on an air mattress in an office. Or sleeping in my truck. Drive or no drive, three hours in my own bed is better'n six hours there. Besides, I'm the freakin' engineer. Most of the time, I just tell 'em what they need to do, then come back to see if it's done right."

"So you'll be home every night?"

"Yes. Absolutely. And this will be over in a couple of weeks. We'll get the major stuff back on, and over the next few months, there'll be stuff that takes a little longer, but it won't be one of those 'bop 'til you drop' things."

Neither of us was really watching the movie.

"You just do what you have to do. And I'll make sure the house is okay and you have dinner when you come in."

"Nikki, you don't have to do all that."

"Suppose I want to? I mean, I'm staying here. It's the least I can do."

"But you don't have to, babe.'

"Yes I do," she said quietly. "It's what people are supposed to do." And she got up and started fixing her nest on the sofa.

I got up and headed to bed. I heard a quiet voice.

"Dan," she said. "Lay on your stomach and let me rub your back."

"Uh, Nikki, you don't have to do that."

"I know," she said. "But you're tense and you worked hard and this'll relax you."

I rolled over and she knelt beside me in bed and kneaded my back and shoulders.

"I saw this on TV," she said. "I hope I did it right."

"You haven't done anything wrong yet, babe."

She got up to leave. "Then this isn't wrong either." She kissed my cheek. "Good night, Dan."

Regrettably I set the alarm for six. I knew that despite my computer being off, the emails would pile up. The alarm's insistent beeping woke me and I pulled on a set of jeans and walked into the living room, headed for the kitchen. In the dim morning light I saw Nikki still asleep, the covers tossed off her, looking like an angel in repose. She stirred when I turned on the kitchen light.

"Mornin, babe," she said. "I should have got up earlier and fixed breakfast."

"Oh, don't worry about it."

"No," she said. "Let's get you some coffee and you can go check email or whatever, and I'll get you when breakfast is ready, okay."

"Okay," I said. I started to walk back through the living room to my office. She stopped me and hugged me. I hugged back.

"Why'd you do that, Nikki?"

"Because I wanted to, Dan. Just wanted to. Now go to work. I'll bring you coffee."

The smell of fresh-brewed coffee and bacon cooking filled the house. She came in, handing me a steaming mug. "Two sugars. A little half and half. I watched." She smiled, the corners of her eyes wrinkling and cheeks dimpled. "Right?"

"My Nikki is never wrong." Wow! Did I just say 'my Nikki'?

There were four late emails, three of them with attached pictures and field reports. I turned the phone on and started listening to messages, most of the "Dan, check your email and call me" variety. At ten minutes to seven the first incoming call came. And we were off to the races.

Nikki called me to breakfast. I silenced the phone while we ate together. Afterward, she shoved me towards the office. "You work. Let ME clean the kitchen. Okay?'

"Okay."

And back to work I went. In the back of my head I recognized the noises of a busy kitchen. Then they stopped. Nikki handed me another mug of coffee. "Dan," she said, "You have a needle and thread somewhere around here. You used it to fix my shirt. Where's it at?"

"In the top left side drawer of the desk in the living room. Why?'

"I'm gonna alter some clothes. Like these scrubs. And this old shirt. So they fit better."

"By hand? You can do that?"

"Grandma again."

"Can you use a sewing machine?"

"Yes. I think so."

I got up, went to a closet and pulled a portable sewing machine out. And a box containing a variety of things, thread, needles, buttons.

Squeal!

"You're not the only one who knows how to do things."

"Okay," she giggled. "I can do this. Now go back to work."

And the sound of a sewing machine added to the sounds of our little island of sanity.

Eleven o'clock brought the sounds of a helicopter again. Landing. We walked out and down the drive together. Sheriff again.

"Hello there, Dan Granger," he said. And he tilted his hat. "Miss Nikki."

"Out surveying your kingdom again?"

He laughed. "I'm like king of a shitpile right now. You folks doin' alright?"

"Yes we are," I said. "I got cell coverage and 3G internet back yesterday. I've been working ever since. When are they going to have the road cleared?"

"That's what I was gonna tell you," he said. "There are dozers and graders working up from the highway onto this road right now. You might be able to drive out late tomorrow if they don't have to fix any big washouts. We've had a couple of doozies. Storm surge was somethin'."

"That'll be good. My office offered to fly me out on a chopper. But I told them I had Nikki here and I would have to come back at night, so I'm working from home."

He laughed. "Ya'll're like Robinson freakin' Crusoe. Miss Nikki, did you do that sewin', or did he?"

Nikki raised her hand. "Grandma taught me."

He laughed. "It works. Shows that it's done by hand, but it works." He looked at me. "How's fuel holding up?"

"Haven't even used a quarter of the tank."

"You gonna need some any time soon?"

"I hope not. It's propane. Not like you can haul it in here in a bucket."

"No," he said, grinning, "but we use propane at the emergency operations center, and they're gonna have to get us a truck by the end of the week. I can make sure they stop by here."

"Man, that'd be great. I might even vote for you next election."

"You might not have to. Another hit like this and there won't be anybody living here to run against me." He looked over his shoulder at the Blackhawk sitting on the road, rotor blades still spinning. "Say, you got a couple of those cold Cokes?"

"You got it, Sheriff," I said.

"Call me Ernie," he said. Nikki showed up with four cokes already sweating in the humidity. She handed them to him. "And you folks be careful. You got your cellphone now, wait. Hold this, Miss Nikki."

She grabbed the cans as he reached in a pocket. "Here's my card. Office, private office line, and my cell. Call me if you need somethin'." He retrieved his drinks and walked back to the helicopter. I watched him pass them to the crew. We waved as they took off, curving out across the marshes.

Walking back in, I told Nikki, "I'm glad I stocked up on cokes."

She laughed. "But he says he can get us fuel. And maybe you can get out tomorrow."

"Yeah, but I don't know if that's good news or not. Let's eat lunch and try to make a list of stuff we need."

After lunch, we took a generator outage. I checked fluids and belts and a dozen other things in making sure that the lights stayed on. Satisfied, I started it back up and put the electricity back to the house. I restarted the computer and started wading through the email again. And the cell calls. And I told Steve of the possibility that I just might be able to get out the day after tomorrow.

"Just come on," he said. "Everybody's satisfied so far. They're reading the email strings. And nobody's kicking about paying you to lounge around down there. But they'd like to see you."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. But understand one thing, Steve."

"What's that?"

"I AM. I say again, I AM going to be back here every night. And not that "two in the morning" stuff, either. I have somebody who needs to be taken care of here. A kid."

"I didn't know you had a kid, Dan."

"It's a long story. I do. So we'll do it my way or I'll have me one of them cushy offices in a building in Houston. And neither one of us wants that. Right?"

Steve sounded hurt. "Dan, Dan ... I said we'd do it."

"I know, Steve, but that's while I'm sitting here. If I'm in there, SOME people decide they want to throw their weight around. They're gonna be throwing at my bumper goin' out the gate."

Nikki was monitoring this conversation. "Dan, you're kinda harsh on 'im."

"He's the one I was talkin' about, babe, throwin' his weight around. He needs me more than I need him. It'll be okay." I pointed out the picture on the screen. "What'd'ya think?" I wanted to see if she was paying attention.

"Old. Wet?"

"Yeah, here's a test report." I pulled it up on the screen and she looked at the numbers.

She pointed to a column. "Aren't these supposed to be, like, two digits or less?"

"Right."

Her finger pointed to the heading. "Uh, this is a breaker, right?"

"That's what it says."

"And it, like, goes with, uh, connects to a bus?"

"Yep." She WAS paying attention.

She smiled. "I heard you do this one. You said, "Dry the breakers in an oven and remediate the bus with portable heaters."

I laughed. "I oughtta be cookin' supper and YOU should be doin' this!"

"Nuh-uh," she said. "I'm like a parrot. I just repeat what I heard. And navy bean soup for supper, okay?"

"Yes, dear." She slapped the back of my head playfully as she left.

I was on the second page of a tablet where I was logging my time on each job, talking into my headset and typing when I saw a hand reach around and hand me a glass of coke over ice. "Take a break," she said. "Come sit in your chair."

I kicked back in my recliner and she knelt at my feet, took one and rubbed it. I groaned. After a couple of minutes, she switched feet. "Where'd you learn that? And don't tell me your grandma..."

"Then I won't say anything." She smiled.

I closed my eyes for fifteen minutes. When I opened my eyes, she was sitting on the sofa, her knees drawn up under her, watching me. "You okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine, why?" she answered.

"Because you're looking at me."

"Sorry," she said. "I just never saw anybody work like you've been working. You just DO it."

"I suppose, babe," I said. "It's what I do."

"I'm impressed." She smiled.

I went back to work. After another hour, I got up to stretch. I found bean soup simmering on the stove and Nikki in the living room with headphones. Beethoven. She took the phones off when I walked in.

"This is what you chose?" I questioned.

"Yes," she answered. "I love this music."

I smiled, walking back into my office. Back into the fray. Five o'clock and things were dwindling when she came in and her hands grasped and kneaded my shoulders. When she stopped, she wrapped me in her arms from behind and whispered in my ear, "Dinner, Dan!" And kissed me lightly on the top of my head.

The soup was good. After supper, I fielded a couple more phone calls and emails and then shut the office down. I walked into the living room. She smiled when I entered. "I'm done for the night," I declared.

"Good," she said. She patted the sofa beside her. "Lay here. Put your head on my lap."

"What?" I looked at her.

She looked at me. "It's simple. Lay here. And put your head on my lap. I'm trying to help you relax. Okay?"

"Okay," I said. And I did. She looked down at me and massaged my temples and caressed my face. "Mmmmmm, baby, that feels soooo good!"

"I used to do this for the little girl next door when I babysat. It calmed her down and put her to sleep." She smiled. "Don't go to sleep, though." And it could have been perfectly innocent and so very caring.

Finally I sad, "Nikki, If I don't get up and shower, I'm gonna go to sleep right here in your lap."

Her smile was sublime. "That wouldn't be THAT bad. But you'll sleep better if you shower."

I got up. She usually showered first, but tonight I went ahead. Twenty minutes later, I was out and she went in. "Don't worry," she said. "I sewed my own pajamas today." And she did. My oversized pajama bottoms were altered to fit her much slimmer and shorter frame. She sat on the sofa and I was safely in my chair.

I looked at her. Her eyes were softer, a subtle change in the way she looked at me. I wrote it off as fatigue on my part. I was mentally fatigued.

"Dan," she said, "When you go out, are you going to be able to get to someplace where stores are open?"

"I dunno. Why?"

She said, "I'm gonna need some things."

"What kind of things?"

"I need another bra and some panties. And anything I can get for clothes. I can write down my sizes."

"I can do better than that. I can take you."

"Take me?"

"Yeah. When the roads are open, we BOTH go to the office. You stay there for a few hours while I visit some clients, then I come get you and we go to Houston and get what you need."

"Can you do that? I mean, they want you there bad."

"And I'll be there. But I have to take care of you, too."

"Dan, I don't have money."

"I got an empty platinum card and a full bank account. I think I can get you fitted out."

Squeal. And she launched at me and kissed me on the lips. Perhaps a little bit too long. But she backed up like it was the most natural and innocent thing she'd ever done.

"Now get off my bed," she said.

And we both went to sleep. The next morning my alarm went off and I woke to the smell of coffee and bacon. I walked into the kitchen rubbing my eyes. "Beat you!" she giggled.

Mid-morning I was busy answering email and she came in all excited. "Dan! There's a bulldozer comin' up the road!"

"Come on!" I said. "Let's go see." We drove my truck down to meet the dozer.

"Uh, yeah," said the operator, pointing at my big four wheel drive pickup. "That'll make it out just fine."

"I'll be coming back later."

"You got an emergency pass?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." The company had sent out an email with letters to grant access to me as "emergency personnel" and I had copies in the truck. "We need to make another pass through the house and then we'll be back here."

The grizzled operator snorted. "They'll get out of your way. There's a big washout a mile up the road, but you can get by on the good part."

"Great! Thanks! Hey, you wanna cold coke?"

"Nah, thanks," he said. "I got an ice chest full." He pointed to the box beside him. "But thanks! Really!"

Nikki was excited as we went back to the house. I shut the computer down. And I called Steve and told him that I was going to be offline for the rest of the day. We checked Tommi's food and water, then shut the generator down and locked up the house.

"Nikki," I said, "You got the sheriff's card?"

"Sure," she said, pulling it out of her pocket.

I dialed the number on my phone. It rang.

"Sheriff Richard, can I help you?"

"Yessir," I said. "This is Dan Granger."

"Oh, hi, Dan. Trouble?"

"Nope! Just wanted to let you know that we're getting ready to make a run to civilization. We'll be back tomorrow, most likely."

"Road crew made it that far, then," he said.

"Yessir. Just got here." "Somebody'll come by and check on your place, then. Be careful out there."

"Okay, thanks!"

I had an overnight bag packed, and my camera and my laptop computer. And Nikki was in the middle of the cab, buckled in next to me. Like it was the way things should be. She could've been all the way on the passenger side, but I didn't question it because honestly, it kind of felt good.

The drive out on our little secondary road was slow going. We dodged a couple of washed out sections, easing by crews at work repairing them. They stopped and stared at this big silver truck coming out of an area they thought was empty of humanity. Nikki waved.

Once we hit the main road, things picked up a bit, but there were still sections that needed care. And finally we hit the interstate highway and headed west. Eighty miles up the road, you wouldn't know there even WAS a storm. And fifty miles later, Houston was, well, Houston. It took me several tries before I found a hotel room, and it was a bit pricey, but we were glad to get it. And I took Nikki to a mall.