The First Summer of Forever

Chapter 28- What We Might Lose

Conrad

We ordered an uber to take us to the rental car place. When we got there, we  walked in hurriedly, time wasn't on our side.

"Hello, welcome to rent- a-car, how can I help you today?"

"Hey, um, we need to rent a vehicle." I said.

"Oof. We don't have anything left. Hold on, let me check our sister store a few cities over." She said, gently.

"Okay thanks." I said, and then we both went to sit down in the waiting area.

"Belly, I'm so sorry. I wish we weren't in this situation." I said apologetically to Belly.

"It's okay- it's not like this is something we can control, Conrad. But, we could check flights while we are waiting." she suggested. We checked the app, and to our dismay, had no luck on any flights out of Miami.

"Shit!"  I said, angrily. I could feel my pulse rising and the heat traveling to my ears. Just at that moment, the lady called me up to the counter. "I'm sorry Mr. Fisher, but there are no cars available at this time. Unfortunately everyone had the same idea that you did, it seems." She said, apologetically. Her face was soft and caring, which did help the situation, despite the circumstances. I could tell she felt really bad about the whole thing. "Thank you for checking, ma'am." I said, as I walked away, desperately running my hands through my hair as if that helped at all.

I walked past Belly and pushed the door open, a little too forcefully. I felt like I could blow up at any second. When the door swung shut behind me, and I was in the parking lot, I did my best to let out some steam. "Shit!" I said, a little too loudly.

How come all I ever wanted was to keep those that I love safe- take care of them-protect them,  and I always find a way to turn it into a shitshow. I heard Belly's footsteps in the gravel behind me. I knew those footsteps. I could point them out amongst others, blindfolded. I felt her hand touch my shoulder and give it a squeeze, then move down to my back, rubbing it softly, trying to calm me. And it did help, some. "Conrad, we'll figure out something. Don't get stressed." Belly said to me, which didn't help at all, it just reminded me to reign in my temper.

I lifted my arms and put my hands on the back of my head, my elbows pointing outward, letting a breath out. "Conrad." Belly said, now standing in front of me resting her hand on the back of my neck, and pulling my face to look at her. "We will be fine. Have some faith. Okay?"

"Okay" I said, defeated and in a disbelieving tone. She reminded me so much of my mother. Her optimism at times. "What would I do without you, Belly?"

"Probably die at a young age from stress." She said, laughing. And I couldn't help but to laugh too, because she was right.

"What are we gonna do now?" I asked her, thinking out loud.

"Let me just think for a minute." She said.

We both stood in the parking lot, quiet and reflective for a few minutes. I checked for any updates on the storm  on my phone, and it was  now a category 3. Shit. The path was still predicted to sweep straight over Cuba and head right into the tip of Florida.  Things just keep getting worse, I thought to myself.  I heard Belly say something.

" Wait..." She trailed off in thought.

"What?"

"Do you think your dad or Jeremiah would have any clients or contacts down here that might be able to help us? You know those guys are beyond loaded. Most of them probably have private planes and multiple places to stay."

"You're right. That is a good idea, but I hate calling my dad. I hate asking him for help. He'd probably just make me feel worse for sailing down this way in the summer, knowing it was hurricane season."

"Call Jere, then."

"Yeah.... I could."

"Well...do it, we don't really have any other options at the moment."

And then I picked up my phone to dial Jere's number. It rang for what felt like forever. Finally, he picked up before it went to voicemail.

"Hello?" He said into the phone.

"Hey, Jere."

"What's up?"

"Hey, did you hear about the hurricane down here where we are?"

"Oh shit. No, I haven't really been watching the news."

"Yeah, there was a tropical storm that turned into a category 3 hurricane pretty fast. It's  headed for Cuba, and then us. We sailed the boat into Miami, but all flights have been canceled and there are no rental cars left. I uh, I was wondering if you have any clients or connections that could help us out. Lend us a car, give us a lift, something. Even a place to stay if we have no choice but to stay here. You know I hate asking for favors, man, but I'm desperate.  I want to keep Belly as far away from this storm as I can, it's not just us anymore that I have to worry about."

" Let me think.... I may have a couple of people I could call. Let me take a look at my client list again and I'll call you back in just a few, ok?"

"Okay. And Jere- thank you." I said wholeheartedly.

"No problem man."

I hung up the phone and felt lighter, just a little bit. I hoped he could think of someone who could help us out, otherwise we were gonna be stuck here, in the direct path of a potential deadly hurricane. I couldn't even stand to think about what could happen- what we might lose.