Melissa Good - Storm Surge

"I know." Kerry played with one of her colorful pencils. A stack of them were in a cup on her desk in every color of the rainbow, and she'd selected her favorite, purple, to mess with. "So where do we start?"

Mari got up and straightened her skirt. "Remember you volunteered," she warned. "The first team meeting is tomorrow night after work, at the Biscayne ballpark down the street."

Kerry held up her pencil. "No problem for tomorrow, but you know we're out of town for a couple weeks after that, right?"

"I know," Mari said. "Tomorrow is just a kick-off meeting. We've got to get everyone shirts, hats, and the shoes...and get bats--Practices don't start until the third week in September. You should be back by then, right?"

"Right." Kerry saluted. "I'll be there," she said. "We're providing the shirts and hats?"

"Of course," Mari waggled her fingers, "see you later."

"Bye." Kerry watched the older woman leave. She chuckled and set her pencil down, getting up and grabbing her cup as she headed for the door. She poked her head into her assistant's office on the way out to the kitchen. "Hey Mayte."

The slim young Latin woman looked up. "Oh!" She smiled. "Good morning, Kerry," she said. "How was your weekend?"

"Great," Kerry said, pausing when she heard her cell phone ring. "Hold that thought." She unclipped the phone from her waistband and opened it, gazing at the caller ID before she half shrugged and pressed the answer button. "Hello?"

"Hello," a woman's voice responded. "May I speak with Kerrison Stuart?"

Uh oh. Kerry winced in pure reflex. "Speaking," she reluctantly admitted, glancing at Mayte. She held her coffee cup out to her and mimed filling it.

"Of course." Mayte leaped to her feet with gentle grace and took the cup from her. "No problem!"

"Yes, my name is Allison Barker," the woman said. "I doubt you remember me."

Five seconds. Kerry closed her eyes and put her early training to use. "Actually I do," she managed to produce after a count of four. "You were the class president the year I graduated high school."

"Yes, yes I was." The woman sounded pleased. "I'm so glad you remember. This makes things a lot easier."

For you. Kerry sighed and took a seat on the edge of Mayte's desk, not wanting to take this unwanted phone call back into her office. "What can I do for you?" She glanced up and smiled in response to two accounting clerks who waved at her as they passed by.

"I bumped into your sister at church today."

Kerry tipped her head back and gazed at the ceiling, hard pressed to come up with a scarier statement than what she'd just heard. "Really?"

"Yes. She told me you were going to be in town next week, and you know, we're having our school reunion."

Kerry was silent.

"Hello?"

"Sorry." Kerry cleared her throat. "I was trying to remember what the penalty was for fratricide in Michigan."

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind. Yes, that's true. I will be in town next week, but I'll be very busy helping Angie move. I don't really have time to attend the reunion." Kerry looked up as Mayte returned holding out a steaming cup to her. "Thanks."

"Well, yes, she told me that," Allison responded, not at all put off. "And I'm sure you'll be very busy, but you see, I've been asked to contact you and see if you could make some time to stop by during the banquet and give the keynote speech."

Kerry had just taken a sip of her café con leche and stopped, holding it in her mouth as she stared at her cell phone.

"Kerry?" Mayte saw the expression on her face. "Are you all right?"

Kerry swallowed. "Excuse me," she said into the phone. "you want me to what?"

"I know this seems odd," Allison apologized, "and I do understand, really, but the senior class is participating in the reunion and they asked for you."

Kerry put her coffee cup down and shifted the phone from her right to her left hand. "Okay," she said. "Are you saying the senior class of my all Christian girls' high school wants me to speak to them?"

"Well...yes. I mean, after all, you're a very successful businesswoman," Allison said.

"Have you read the newspapers in the last few years?" Kerry covered her eyes. "Listen, Ms. Barker, I knew about the reunion. I decided not to attend. Please respect that."

Mayte's eyes widened.

Allison sighed. "Ms. Stuart, believe me, I do understand what you're saying, and yes, I know very well what's been going on around your family the last few years. But you know--"

Kerry mouthed a curse, making Mayte's eyes widen even further.

"I think you have a modern, relevant message, and the girls here, they want to hear what you have to say." Allison went on, "we didn't solicit this and, believe me when I tell you, I had my reservations before I decided to call you, but I thought it was important."

Kerry took a breath to answer, then paused.

As though sensing an opening, "You don't have to be at the whole reunion. I know that would probably be uncomfortable for you."

"For me or for the rest of you?" Kerry's mouth twitched into a faint, wry smile.

It was Allison's turn to be silent for a moment. "Well, we're not all that uptight."

Kerry looked over at Mayte, who had her mouth covered by one hand and was watching her in fascination. "So, the senior class wants to hear what I have to say, huh?"

"That's what they said."

What would it take, twenty minutes? She could probably stop by there between packing and getting some dinner with Angie and after all, she had talked Dar into going to hers, now hadn't she? Hypocrisy stunted your growth sometimes. "All right," she said.

"All right?"

"I'll stop by and give a piece of my mind," Kerry said. "But let me just warn you, Ms. Barker, I take a lot less bullshit now than I used to."

A sigh of what might have been either relief or resignation sounded on the phone. "Fair deal, Ms. Stuart. I'll tell the committee," Allison said. "So we'll see you the night of the 10th. The get together starts at eight p.m., we'll have dinner, then the speakers."

"Okay." Kerry gave in with a bemused shrug. "See you then. Bye." She waited for the click on the other end, then closed her phone and leaned over Mayte's desk to punch her phone pad.

A ring, then Dar's voice growled through the speaker. "Yes, Mayte?"

"Sorry, honey, it's just me."

Dar chuckled softly.

"Do me a favor?" Kerry tapped her cell phone against her jaw.

"Sure."

"Turn around and look out the window and tell me if it's snowing."

There was a moment of dead silence on the phone, and then the squeak of Dar's chair sounded clearly. Kerry waited patiently, listening to soft scuffles and sounds of the air conditioning cycling on and off. "The window behind you, hon."

"Is it SNOWING?"

The answer came right into her ear accompanied by the sudden warmth of Dar's body against her shoulder, making her jump nearly off the desk. "Yeek." Kerry cut off the intercom. "Well, after what I just got asked, it damn well should be." She picked up her coffee. "C'mon. You won't believe it."

Dar followed her into her office, pushing her sleeves up after exchanging puzzled looks with Mayte. "I can't wait to hear this."

Mayte watched the door close and went back to her work, muffling a smile.

"UGH." KERRY TOSSED the mail on the dining room table as she passed it scrubbing her fingers through her hair as she headed for the back door to let Chino out. "Yes, honey. I'm coming," she told her excited pet, who was whirling around in circles near the door. "Cheebles, you're going to smack your head against the wall one of these days."

She unlocked the door and watched the dog ramble down the steps into the small outdoor garden. She then headed back across the living room and trotted up the stairs to her bedroom.