A Weird Storm...

She let the tears fall, though she didn't feel sadness but she did feel a release of sorts by letting them fall. A purging of her negative emotions.

After a while she looked up and did not recognize any part of the beach. Whipping her tears on her sleeve she checked her phone, she'd been gone for more than an hour. To be honest she didn't know when she'd left Rich back on the beach. Not that it mattered.

As she contemplated heading back she spied a bench on a shelf of volcanic rock. She headed for it and sat down. There was nothing around, no homes, no buildings just a swinging bench under a woven palm leaf shade. It was the perfect mix of shade and sun light.

The ocean off this point was deep, no shallow reef just dark blue/green ocean as far as the eye could see. Seagulls called out over the surf searching for whatever they could find to eat and steal from each other, but it was peaceful when mixed with the surf. She dozed.

"I'm glad you like my bench" a voice said startling her out of her sleep. She had no way of knowing how long it had been. However, in that instant she didn't care.

He was six feet tall, muscles in all the right places, blond shoulder length hair in a loose pony tail. It was his face that took her breath away. He was nearly identical to the younger, virile hot version of her husband. That or her mind was playing a cruel trick on her. To make it worse still, his name was Rich.

"Hi, I'm Rich. I own the house on the cliff up there." His finger pointed to what appeared to be a light keepers bungalow and a lighthouse.

Since 'GPS' Light houses were less and less useful but they made quaint cottages for those who could afford to convert them. "Uh, oh hi I'm, I'm Laurie. I'm sorry I was just resting. I'll..um...I'll just be on my way" she said feeling small and flustered.

"You don't have to go. I came down to invite you up to my place for some iced tea or would you prefer a beer?" Rich asked rather more smoothly than was necessary.

Laurie was torn her head shook to indicate no...but her voice said "Beer sounds good"

He took her hand and led her to the trail that went up the cliff. It was at this point she noted his attire. Rich had a pair of Bermuda shorts, leather sandals and a beige silk Hawaiian shirt. A very tropical and not bad looking mix, but it wasn't like he'd dressed G.Q. on purpose.

As they climbed the steps which were carved out of the rock, she noticed his ass, legs and the small of his back whenever the breeze would blow the shirt up enough to expose this muscular back. "Laurie what are you doing? What are you doing?" she thought.

"Laurie!..LAURIE!!"...Rich stood in his red crocks, shaking her awake. "It's getting dark...We need to head in, o.k.?"

At no time prior to this had Laurie been more disappointed. That was a dream that would have been nice to finish. Maybe, oh I need to get to bed, she thought to herself.

Laurie slept soundly, except for when she had to jab Rich in the ribs for snoring. Thankfully he didn't wake up in a huff or storm out, he just rolled over and kept sleeping...silently. However, the dream she had on the beach...eluded her.

Part II

Next morning she woke early, very early. She enjoyed sleeping in and it was unusual for her to wake early. Today she woke suddenly fully alert and well rested but her clock read 5:30am. Normally she would have rolled over to sleep longer but not today. Something was different though she couldn't put her finger on it. She felt vibrant, unusual for this hour. Excited! She was excited. Pulling on a robe and slipping her Crocs on she quietly left the bedroom.

The house they were using was an older Hawaiian plantation house with wooden floors and white washed planking that clearly showed age but somehow worked in favor of the decorative theme. As she walked down the hall floor boards creaked and groaned as she stepped.

In the silence of the early morning they were amplified considerably. She winced as the loudest and most irritating squeak blasted the morning quiet. Once past the mine field of loose, squeaky boards she made it to the kitchen where she made coffee.

In minutes the pleasant aroma of freshly brewed Kona coffee filled the air. When it had finished brewing Laurie poured herself a cup and walked out on the porch. Dark clouds were rolling in and the surf was heavier than usual.

As violent as the surf was it had a calming affect on her. She could feel the concussion of each wave vibrate through her washing her stresses away. She was content, for the moment anyway. Laurie had always dreamed of exactly this, sitting on a porch and watching the surf.

Only that dream included a patient, calm and studly husband with whom to share the moment. She would have settled for 'patient and calm' but then she'd take 'studly' and forget the rest if needs be. As it was she had none of the above. 'Shit' she muttered into her coffee.

Her thoughts fell onto the walk on the beach the day before. No, it had been a dream..she had dreamed that she had taken a walk on the beach. She clearly remembered getting up to take a walk but she also remembered Rich waking her from what she came to realize was a dream.

"Was it a dream?" she thought to herself. "It seemed so real?" She had no recollection of dozing off. It was like reality had melded with her dreams.

She sighed remembering 'Dream Rich'. She would like to have seen where it was headed. Shaking her head "Laurie, you are a married woman."

Admonishing herself for dreaming about something she was already planning to do with Greg. The idea of which did not cause her any guilt..none what-so-ever.

She found it strange that she would feel guilty about a dream and have none at all for a real life adventure she had planned. Just then 'Reality Rich' let out a horrible snore/grunt from somewhere deep inside the house. Exasperated she looked back into the house, disgusted, irritated, lonely. It was quiet again.

Sipping from her cup she was surprised to find her coffee had gone cold. How long had she been sitting there? Dumping it on the grass she went in to get more. Returning to the porch with steaming cup of coffee, perfectly sweetened Laurie took her former seat on the top step. This time she did not let her thinking interfere with her coffee.

As she finished her coffee rain began to fall. Reaching out several huge, wet drops hit her hand. It felt warm, like a shower. Taking a walk in the rain seemed like a good idea so Laurie went inside put on a pair of loose vacation shorts and one of Riches Hawaiian shirts, a white one with yellow flowers. Somehow it was the least offensive of Riches collection of tasteless shirts.

As she dressed she noticed her body in the mirror. She liked what she saw, appreciating how hard she had worked to keep the figure she had. "not bad for a mother of three" she thought. She even liked the bikini wax she had done the first day, it was still sore she noticed. Rich hadn't seen it yet. 'Would he?'

Laurie had hired a personal trainer six months before vacation and had succeeded in becoming one of the 'hot moms' she had once envied. Smiling at her reflection she opted out of wearing a bra.

"You're perky enough now" she whispered. Pulling on her shorts and buttoning up the shirt she slipped her Crocs on and her baseball cap with her pony tail hanging out the back.

Walking down the hall she avoided the squeaky boards and closed the door behind her. The clock on the wall read 6:30am.

Laurie enjoyed the warm rain as it hit her body. After a while she realized that white cotton was probably not the best color for a walk in the rain. The white cotton shirt was now translucent. She might as well have been topless for all the coverage it provided. Thankfully the flowers were positioned to give some coverage to her obvious concerns.

No one else was on the beach so she didn't stress over it. If anyone did happen to see her..so what? Looking up she let the rain drops hit her face. Through the haze of rain she saw the light house from yesterday...no her dream. Her heart stopped. Had she dreamed it? She stared at the familiar lighthouse not knowing what to think. It was not a similar looking light house, it was the same light house she had seen the day before, the very same.

Her sister had something of a gift, foresight that came to her in dreams. Her mother also had such dreams but until this moment Laurie had never actually dreamed of future events. Shaking her head she walked toward the light house...drawn to it by an invisible magnet. Her heart beat violently trying to burst from its cage as her mind raced with the thrill of excitement. She felt like a kid on Christmas Day. It was as if she 'knew' something was about to happen.

As she got closer to the lighthouse her heart beat faster still. She remembered walking 'here' on this beach the day before. This was a hard wired memory. She remembered the feel of the sand under foot, the dark unusual shade of sand and, she turned and saw the swing. Had her jaw not been attached it would have hit the sand.

Laurie wasn't easily spooked....but this,.... well, this was weird. Everything was identical except for the rain. As she tried to wrap her mind around the situation the wind picked up suddenly and the rain which had been falling steadily came down in torrents so that she could only see a few feet away.

Regaining herself she ran towards the swing. Once under the canopy she turned around everything was gray behind a sheet of rain that was getting heavier by the second. She couldn't see five feet from where she stood. Taking a seat on the bench she waited for the rain to quit.

20 minutes later the rain was coming down harder, if that was possible, and the wind had picked up considerably. Far from being fearful Laurie was concerned about how she was going to get back. Just as she was about to dash back down the beach someone approached from out in the rain.

When they stepped under the awning she recognized 'Dream Rich'. Laurie was beyond freaked but did not show it. Her brain was screaming "Oh shit, oh shit...oh shit" There was no way this was happening...there was..just..no...way"

"I saw you walking down the beach before the storm hit, I didn't see you leave so I came to see if you were still here. You had better come with me. The storm surge is a half mile out and moving in shore fast!" He said grabbing her wrist.

"But I have to get back to my place!!" Laurie said.

"There is no time!!!!" he screamed.

He had to yell the last few words because the wind had picked up in those few seconds. They both ran out into the rain his hand gripping hers tightly leading her to a set of stairs cut out of the cliff face. The steps were protected from the wind but had become a waterfall from the torrential rain which threatened to sweep both she and Dream Rich off their feet and down to the beach.

When the storm surge hit a huge wall of water was funneled up the stairs and knocked them both down as seawater rushed up the steps sweeping Laurie off her feet and slamming her body against the nearest wall breaking her grip on Rich.

Time slowed as she realized her situation, her eyes locked on Riches a she felt his grip tighten painfully around her wrist. At the same time his other hand was gripping the hand rail which looked as though it might pull away from the wall at any second. Laurie felt her Crocs come off her feet and her baggy shorts were pulled off her body by the retreating water.

She did not notice as she was again slammed against the wall hitting her head rather hard causing her to see stars but the pain did not register as she was still reaching with her free hand for anything that would keep her from being pulled out to sea. She hooked her fingers in the waist band of his shorts and latched on.

It was then she noticed that his feet were also no longer on the steps. He to was being sucked down by the retreating water his grip on the hand rail being the only thing between survival and being sucked out to sea and drowned. She was engulfed in sea water which was pulling her down. Laurie opened her mouth to scream but swallowing sea water instead which choking and gagging her.

The spasms of her coughing nearly broke Riches grip on her wrist. She dare not release her grip on him for fear of never gaining another. Panic gripped her as she thought "This is how people die"

Then as quickly as it had had begun the water was gone. Neither realized it until the were both lying on the steps. Neither dared move until they were both certain the danger had passed. Even then neither released the grip on the other, until Laurie's hand started to hurt from his vice-like grip on it. Panting Rich looked down at her smiled weakly, released his grip on her wrist and said "Sorry". Laurie' released her grip only after they were on the top step.

Once at the top the wind nearly blew her back down the stairs. She grasped Riches arm and held on tight. His taught lean muscles did not escape her attention. Her hands lingered on his arm enjoying the feel of his taught muscles just long enough to not be obvious. Moments later they entered his house.

The heavy door closed behind them as the wind began howling fiercely outside. At the moment he was about to latch the door it blew open knocking him back. They both pushed against the door and successfully latched it and set the dead bolt. Even then the storm threatened to break down the door.

Laurie was panting from the exertion and the adrenaline rush that came from getting caught on the leading edge of a hurricane. Just as the adrenaline rush was easing Laurie's phone rang causing her to jump. Answering it she heard a frantic voice ask "Where are you?" It was 'Rich her husband.

"I'm o.k.", I took a walk on the beach and got caught in the storm." she answered.

He sighed in relief. "Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm in the light keepers house. I guess a mile or so up the beach" she replied.

"Its more like three miles but you'd better stay there. This storm is pretty bad and getting worse by the minute. The storm surge just washed the chairs out to sea and surf is breaking on the sea wall, there is no beach right now."

Laurie looked down to where she had been. The beach was nothing but surf. The swing where she had taken refuge from the rain was now under water. She paled at the thought of what might have been. "Yeah, I can't see the beach here either" she replied in a quaking voice as her knees weakened from shock.

Had she been walking or running down the beach the storm surge would have washed her out to sea. A thought struck her in that moment "How many people had been on the beach when it hit and how many of them died?" She shuddered at the thought. Her husbands voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Stay there until the storm passes. They say it might take a day or two to pass. This is a huge storm. They're calling it a C5 hurricane so do not leave until the all clear is given o.k.? As long as you are safe I'll rest easy. I'll call back in a few hours. You might want to turn off your phone to save the battery. Turn it on in two hours and I'll call" he said in his stern 'dad' tone.

Laurie hung up the phone and turned it off. "At least he is good in a crisis" she thought to herself.

She then remembered she was drenched and cold. Which was evident through the cotton Hawaiian shirt she wore. Crossing her arms across her chest she began to shiver. It was then she noticed that her Crocs and shorts were also gone. She was naked from the waist down. Luckily the shirt she wore was long enough to cover things, at least while standing.

Rich had disappeared and returned with a large towel which she used to dry her hair and then cover her shoulders which effectively covered her up. "You might want to change out of those wet things. You can wear some of my wives old things." he said.

Turning from the window she noted a stack of clothes consisting of a sweat shirt and well worn jeans and a pair of canvas shoes. "I washed the shoes, don't worry." he said.

"Thank you. Uh, where is your wife? Do you think she would mind?" she asked looking around.

He smiled a gravely and said "She was killed in a car accident six years ago." In an instant he looked old.

"I'm sorry" was all Laurie could think to say shivering violently. She took the clothes and asked where the bathroom was. He told her and she left to change. Apparently his wife had been a 'Big Woman' because the jeans were way too big forcing her to hold them up so they wouldn't fall down and the sweatshirt drooped over her like a tent without poles.

When she returned Rich laughed "I'm sorry, I got you her bum around cloths. She liked to wear over large jeans when cleaning the house for some reason. I forgot I still had those. Sorry" he said as he left to get different clothes.

Laurie decided to keep the over large sweat shirt because it was warm and comfortable. Once changed into better fitting jeans she returned to find coffee ready and the storm much more severe.

"Here coffee might hit the spot." He said softly. She nodded and took it from him. It was perfect. He offered her a seat near the fire place which threw off enough heat to remove the damp chill from the air.

It felt good. The house was sparsely furnished but comfortable. The windows were at least 6 inches thick but she could see perfectly through them.

The house itself was made of heavy stone masonry, like the lighthouse tower. Whoever had built it expected it to stay here a long time. Rich noticed her glances around the house unaware of Laurie's struggle to keep her eyes off of him.

"My grandpa was the keeper here back in the 1950s. He bought this lighthouse off the Hawaiian government before Hawaii became a state and somehow secured tax free status for the property so long as it remained family owned.' He smiled. 'Back then this place was pretty run down so he bought it cheap. In fact they practically paid him to take it off their hands. The military had taken over during the war and had used it as an observation post and left it in shambles."

Moving toward the fireplace he warmed his hands and continued. "We are the only house along this coast that still has our lights because Grandpa built this place to be self sufficient. The first thing he did was buy a military surplus generator which he got for $50 bucks and wired the house to it. He even bought a surplus distillation plant used by the navy to make their own water on islands where fresh water was non-existent. The tank is right behind the garage hidden in a grove of palm trees. The only real problem lies with the need for diesel fuel. If the supply is disrupted I'm in the dark without water" he smiled slightly as he stared into the fire.

"It's a lovely house" Laurie said. As she said this what appeared to be a sheet of plywood flew past the window before smashing to bits against the lava wall next to the house. Rich turned as he heard it smash and rushed to the window.

"Shit, my work shed is gone and I just finished building it" he said as the remnants of what had been his shed washed down to the beach. A muffled 'crunch' met their ears as the wood was torn to bits by water and wind.

Suddenly Laurie felt tired. Her adrenaline, now spent was immediately replaced by fatigue, both physical and emotional.

Her eyes locked on the fire and she leaned her head against the soft cushions of the couch, a glowing warmth filled her as the heat from the fire penetrated her body. Exhaustion over took her as fog filled her eyes and Rich covered her with a warm blanket. The wind and rain lulled her to sleep.

Her phone rang and she woke up. It was her husband. "Hey, I dozed off, sorry I didn't call" she said automatically.