The Storm

The storm was approaching; fast and determined. Katherine sat at her window looking out at the dark clouds gathering outside her home. Inside, the storm that had been brewing downstairs finally exploded in a volley of screams and crashes louder than any thunder or lightning Mother Nature could beat out.

Dad was home from his "business trip" in Seattle. But not before Karen had called to inform him that he had forgot his tie in her hotel room.

"What the hell were you doing in her hotel room, Derrick?" Mom's voice rang out over the patter of raindrops now hitting Katherine's windowpane.

Dad's voice soon followed, low and steady. It crept up the stairs, gathering in a puddle in the hallway before just barely slipping under the crack in Katherine's door. "Would you stop screaming at me? Jesus! Calm down."

Something broke against the wall. Probably a wine glass. Or maybe one of their wedding dishes. Katherine had always hated that pattern. One less hideous dish to wash. She thought.

"I will not calm down until you tell me what the hell happened in Seattle. Did you sleep with her? Is that it?"

A long stroke of lighting flashed in the distance. Katherine studied it's crooked form. It looked as though there were too much energy within the bolt and it haphazardly fell to the ground, streaking the horizon with a brilliant white light.

"Answer the damn question!" Another broken glass.

I hope she doesn't think I'm cleaning that up.

"Watch where you're aiming, damn it!" Now Dad was yelling now too. He never yelled. At least not at Katherine. Like any man, he yelled at the tv during football games or in traffic. But never at her or her mother.

The rain was coming down in sheets now. It was hard to see the mailbox at the end of the driveway.

"Are you sleeping with her?"

"Anne, how could you ask--"

"Are you?!"

A loud clap of thunder shook the house to its very foundation. Katherine jumped back from her window, lunging for her stuffed turtle. She held Mr. Slowpokes close to her chest, squeezing the metaphorical life from him. How she hated storms. And the worse part was still the come.

"I can't talk to you when you're like this."

"Like what? Like what, Derrick?! When I'm right?"

The rain was coming down harder than ever. And both her parents shouting over it-- over the rain, over the thunder, over their own insecurities.

"Arrgh!" Something vibrated downstairs. Dad had punched the wall. "You're my wife. We have a daughter--a family! You think I would throw that away?! We were working late. The restaurant in the hotel closed at nine and there were still forms due by morning. Karen's room was closest, so we worked there. I took off my shoes and tie. Nothing else!"

The rain began to subside. The violent storm was beginning to die away. The house was quiet long enough for Katherine to hear sirens in the distance. There were always accidents during storms. People drove recklessly, not taking the necessary precautions needed. She had heard her dad gripe about the people who insisted on speeding on the slick roads. "You see that car there? Mr. Gordon there will be wrapped around a telephone poll before long." he would say.

"Nothing else?"

The raindrops were slowly sliding down Katherine's window. She raced two of them, seeing which one would join its friends at the sill first. Her guess was wrong. But she took solace in that the storm was subsiding.

"Nothing else. I love you."

Sobs echoed from the kitchen. Her mother was crying. "I'm sorry. I just..."

"Shhh. It's alright. I should have called home more. I'll never give you a reason to worry again."

Outside, things were silent. Just like that, the storm was over. The calm was beginning to set in. Katherine lay on her back with her hands folded behind her head. Mr. Slowpokes' beady black eyes stared back at her from his perch on her stomach. She sighed, "I hate storms."

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.