LS02 - Lightning Lingers (17 page)

The water around them began to recede about the same time Katherine's tears did. The storm had also passed, and in between the tall trees, he could see moonlight.

Katherine finally lifted her head to look at him. She rubbed her eyes. "Sorry. I never cry."

"I guess you were overdue. You don't have to apologize. That was terrifying."

"I don't know how you found me again, Jake. When I saw you coming toward me, I couldn't believe it."

"It was the lightning. It lit up the area and I saw you, so I went after you."

"You mean you were already out of the water and you jumped back in?" she asked in amazement.

"Not exactly. I had scrambled up a tree, but I wasn't on dry ground."

"But you still went back into the current to get to me?"

"I didn't want to be out here alone," he joked.

She shook her head, amazement in her eyes. "You are so much better than me, Jake. I let you drown all those years ago, but when you had the same choice—"

"It wasn't the same choice. Back then I was only figuratively drowning in my grief. Today, you were actually going under water, and like I said, I didn't want to be out here alone, not without a smart doctor telling me what to do next."

"I have no idea what to do next. We need shelter, and I'd love to get out of these wet clothes, but I think we're miles away from anything. And we could still run into those men again."

"You've once again clearly identified the problems in front of us."

"Sorry."

"I doubt those men are walking around in this storm. So I'm not going to worry about them right now. But I do think we should start walking again. Even though it's dark, we can't stay here. Let's head away from all this water."

"I wonder where we are now. I can still see that road in my head, but where did the water bring us?"

He shrugged. "I don't know." He got up and held out his hand to her. She stood up, holding onto him for a moment.

"I feel a little weak," she said.

"Me, too."

"But while my body might be worn out, I am mentally tough. I've been pushing the limits of exhaustion for years; I can do this."

He smiled at her mental pep talk and realized her words had imbued him with a renewed sense of purpose. He could push himself, too, and that's what he was going to do, because there was really no other option.

They walked for about a half hour. He honestly had no idea what direction they were going. He couldn't see enough of the night sky to use the stars to guide him, and he was more than a little worried that they were going to end up nowhere closer to civilization than they'd been before.

But then, to his surprise, they came through the trees and stepped onto what appeared to be a dirt road. Down that road about a mile, he saw lights.

"Oh, my God," Katherine said, putting her hand on his arm. "Is that a house, Jake?"

"I sure as hell hope so, and I hope the people inside aren't wearing uniforms or carrying guns."

"Right now, I don't know if I care who's inside."

"You care. We should stay on the side of the road, close to the trees, just in case we don't like what we see when we get closer."

"It has to be help, Jake—it just has to be."

"Let's find out."

They picked up the pace, their energy restored by the sight of lights. When they got closer to the property, he could see a house and a barn about fifty feet away.

"Look, a baby swing," Katherine said, pointing to the porch. "I think a family lives here, Jake."

Through the curtains, he could see a man and a woman in the living room, and he felt immensely reassured by that sight. He just hoped they'd answer the door and not be alarmed by their dripping appearance. His watch had stopped in the flood, but he was guessing it was about eight o'clock at night.

He knocked on the door.

A moment later, a man stood in front of them. He appeared to be in his fifties or sixties and had black hair tinged with gray, dark eyes, and weathered, ruddy skin. He held a rifle in his hands and judging by the look in his eyes, he wouldn't hesitate to use it.

"
Hola
," Jake said, giving the man a smile. "
Ingles
?"

The man stared back at them without replying, which wasn't a good sign.

"Didn't your great-grandmother teach you any Spanish?" Katherine asked him.

"Mamich always wanted to talk in English when I visited her," he replied.

"Let me try. I know some phrases from the hospital.
Nos puedes ayudar
?"

The man looked from Jake to Katherine. He hesitated and then glanced over his shoulder.

"What did you ask him, Kat?"

"If he could help us."

A woman came to the door. She had the same dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin as the man, but she appeared to be in her late twenties. "Papa?" she questioned looking from the older man to Jake and Katherine.

The man said something to his daughter in Spanish.

"What's wrong?" she asked them.

Relief ran through Jake. "You speak English."

"
Sí
. You are American?"

"Yes," Jake replied. "We're sorry to bother you, but we got caught in a flood, and we lost everything. We've been walking for hours, and we haven't seen another house. Do you have a phone?"

"The cell phone doesn't work out here," she said. "I am Gloria. This is my father, Eduardo Lopez."

"I'm Jake, and this is Katherine," he returned.

"
Hola
," Katherine said.

"Come inside. We'll get you some dry clothes to change into. It's been a terrible storm tonight."

"
Gracias
," he said, happy to have found a woman who spoke English and a house that was warm.

"You can leave your coats there." Gloria pointed to a line of hooks by the front door.

Jake was more than happy to shed his waterlogged coat and Katherine seemed thrilled to do the same.

Gloria's father said something to her, but she just waved a dismissive hand and led Jake and Katherine up the stairs.

While the older man didn't try to stop them, Jake was acutely conscious of his suspicious gaze following their every step.

Gloria led them into a bedroom. It was a small room, made even smaller by the double bed and the large dresser and desk in the room.

"This is my brother's room," Gloria said. "He doesn't live here anymore. You can stay here tonight. He left some clothes behind in the closet, Jake. Please use whatever you want." She smiled at Katherine. "I'll get you something from my room." She paused at the sound of a baby's cry, a frown crossing her lips. "I just put her down five minutes ago."

"I hope we didn't wake her," Katherine said.

"She never sleeps. Come with me, Katherine. You can rummage through my drawers while I get my daughter."

"I'll meet you downstairs," Jake said.

Katherine paused in the doorway. "Thanks for getting me here, Jake."

He tipped his head. "I'm glad we found some good luck for a change."

"Me, too."

* * *

When they entered the room across the hall, Gloria walked quickly over to a bassinet and picked up a very angry baby. The infant didn't appear to be more than a few weeks old. Gloria patted her daughter's back as she pulled clothes out of the dresser and tossed them on the bed. "You can change in the bathroom. I'm going to try to feed her again."

"
Gracias
, Gloria," Katherine said, feeling an overwhelming debt of gratitude toward this young woman who had taken two strangers into her house. She wondered if she would have done the same—probably not. Although, she would have called someone for help, but that was different than actually getting involved. Still, this was a very different world—a remote location and no phone. Maybe, strangely enough the lack of technology made people more willing to help each other.

"Bring your wet clothes out when you're done, and we'll put them in the dryer. And then we'll get you and your husband some food. You're hungry,
sí
?"

"Yes," Katherine agreed, her stomach rumbling at the thought of food. "Starving." She didn't bother to say that Jake wasn't her husband; she was far more interested in getting dry.

She took Gloria's clothes into the bathroom and indulged in a hot shower before drying off and changing into black leggings, a long-sleeved tunic, and thick socks. She felt so much better just being clean and warm and dry. But her good mood evaporated when she returned to the bedroom and found both the baby and Gloria crying.

"What's wrong?" Katherine asked, sitting down on the bed next to Gloria, who was propped up against the pillows, trying to get her daughter to nurse.

"She won't eat. I can't get her to take my breast. She's hungry, and I can't feed her. I keep trying, but it just doesn't work. She's not comfortable. I'm not a good mother."

Katherine felt a wave of sympathy for Gloria's obvious distress. "Your baby is just trying to figure it out, that's all. How old is she?"

"Ten days. The nurse is supposed to come tomorrow, but I'm afraid my daughter will starve to death before then. She sucks for a minute and then she starts to cry. I gave her some formula earlier, but she doesn't like the bottle either. She takes just a little and then she screams."

Katherine frowned. "Poor thing. It sounds like she's all mixed up. May I hold her?"

"Do you know about babies? Are you a mother?"

"I'm not a mother, but I'm a doctor. A pediatrician, actually."

Gloria's mouth dropped open. "A doctor? Do you know what's wrong with her?" she asked as she handed the squirming, screaming baby to Katherine.

"Let's take a look," Katherine said.

She checked the baby's skin color and eyes for jaundice and gently palpated her abdomen to see if she could feel any obstructions or masses, but aside from the baby's obvious distress, she didn't feel or see any abnormalities. "Was it a normal birth, Gloria?"

"
Sí
. I thought everything was fine. My friends said that breastfeeding would be easy, but I can't do it."

"Well, she's getting some nutrients; I can see that. First thing we need to do is try to calm her down."

"I don't know how to do that."

"Let's try something. One of the pediatricians I trained with showed me a little trick. There's a way to hold a very young baby to comfort them." Katherine pulled the baby's right arm to her side and then brought the child's left arm across her chest. Then Katherine held the baby's arms in place with her own hand, her fingers gently resting under the baby's chin. With her other hand, she held the baby's bottom and gently rocked her back and forth.

Almost immediately, the baby stopped crying.

"Oh, my God, how did you do that?" Gloria asked. "It's a miracle."

"Not a miracle—just a position that comforts her. Now that she's calming down, you can try breastfeeding again."

"She'll just start crying again."

"Let's try a slightly different position. First, I want you to take the baby and just hold her like I'm holding her. Bring her close to your body and just let her rest against your bare skin. Let her feel you for a minute. You both need to relax, to feel in touch with each other."

"All right," Gloria said, taking the baby. "I'll try."

"She's probably picking up on your worry and nervousness," Katherine added. "The calmer you can be, the calmer she can be. I know that's difficult, but try taking some deep breaths and just speak softly to her."

Gloria did as Katherine suggested, speaking in soft Spanish to the child who was now nestled against her bare breasts. Katherine piled extra pillows on Gloria's lap and encouraged her to shift the baby higher so they were both belly to belly, and Gloria didn't have to lean over or hold the baby up to her breast. Within a moment, the baby opened her mouth, and with a few more words of encouragement, she latched onto Gloria's breast and began to nurse.

"She's doing it. She's taking in milk," Gloria said in amazement. "I'm afraid to breathe."

"Don't be afraid. Just enjoy. And no crying," she added, seeing the tears gathering in the young woman's eyes. "This is a good thing."

"I've been so worried. I thought she hated me. She wouldn't eat; she wouldn't sleep. All she would do is cry. She has been driving Papa mad."

"It's hard to see your baby cry, but think of her cries as her words. You'll soon figure out what she really needs. You're going to be fine, Gloria."

"She doesn't usually stay on my breast this long."

"She's comfortable, and so are you."

"Thank you so much. I will be forever grateful."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you for taking two strangers into your home."

"I think you were sent here for a reason. You should go downstairs now. Papa is heating up some soup. You must be hungry."

"I am, but I can stay with you if you want."

"I'm fine now. If you take your clothes down to the laundry room, you can put them in the dryer."

"I'll do that."

"And Katherine, my father speaks English when he wants to."

She smiled. "Good to know."

Katherine left Gloria and went down to the kitchen. After putting her clothes in the dryer, she went into the kitchen and found Jake sitting at the table, studying a map. Eduardo stood at the stove, stirring something in a big pot. When he saw Katherine, he tipped his head toward the table.

"Whatever you're making smells delicious," she said as she sat down.

"Have some bread." Jake pushed the plate of what appeared to be freshly baked bread in her direction. "It's better than the chocolate bar we ate earlier."

She ripped off a piece, buttered it and devoured the bread in three bites. "You're right. I've never tasted anything so good."

"There's more coming."

Eduardo set two bowls of thick, spicy soup on the table.

"This is delicious," Katherine said, in heaven after one spoonful.

Eduardo sat down across from them and pointed to the map on the table. "You are here," he said.

Katherine followed his finger and realized they were farther south than she'd realized, which gave her hope. "We need to go to Nic Té Há," she said. "Do you know where that is?"