Page 13 of Wait For Me
“Zapped by what? The sun?” She glanced up at the burning ball of fire in the sky and eyed it warily.
“Energetic particles I would think,” he said. “You’ve got the charge from the solar radiation mixing with local conductivity. We’re on a hot bed of igneous rock here in Southern California. Couple that with the dry desert air and it’s the perfect environment for massive static energy. You should have given it a few hours for the charge in the troposphere to return to normal before you fired up a multi-circuited device.”
Tessa snapped her jaw shut. “I’m not going to pretend I understand half of what you’re saying, but why did Landon’s truck work fine?”
“Less computerized components? Less conductors to turn into inductors I assume.” Arthur shrugged.
“Hang on.” She took a step back. “How do you know all this? I thought you were a retired Marine.”
“Are you saying Marines can’t be smart?”
“I’m just saying I’ve got some extra packs of crayons laying around if you’re hungry.” Tessa cringed. Why did I just say that? Six months with minimal adult contact and she was already making awful jokes. The silence hung in the air between them. She really wanted to leave.
“Only if they’re the red ones.” He tried to keep a serious face, but the laughter in his eyes gave him away and she sighed in relief.
“So, you still think Landon is coming home in a few days then?” The question, and the way he phrased it, caught her off guard, lowering her defenses, and unwanted tears filled her eyes.
She blinked them away and tried not to give into the fear that was pushing at the edge of her sanity. “That was the plan as of yesterday.”
“When was the last time you talked with him?” Arthur pulled off his cap and ran his hand through his hair. He was exactly the kind of man Landon would have made friends with. A tough old vet who asked pointed questions. She didn’t like where this was going.
“He told me he was leaving Hawaii a few days ago.” She left out the rest of the details. The message she’d sent after reading his email. The thought crossed her mind that maybe Landon did read it and chose not to respond. Does he hate me now? She hated herself for what she’d said.
“Hey now.” Arthur looked away and she wiped her eyes, embarrassed for being so outwardly emotional in front of a complete stranger. “I’m sure he’s alright and on his way back home. Those ships are floating faraday cages.”
“Faraday what?” She tried to change the conversation.
“It’s hard to explain.” Arthur sighed. He glanced from her to the kids, his jaw working as if he was having some internal dilemma. It made the whole situation even more awkward. The screen door creaking on its hinges was a welcome sound. Emily and Mason jumped out of the way to give Sally room with their eyes glued to the wax paper wrapped square she held in her hands. The kids thanked her in unison as she handed the package to Mason and he turned his gap-toothed smile toward Tessa.
“You kids are sweet.” Sally pat Emily on her head. “Be good for your mom.”
“We will,” Emily beamed and skipped away.
“Thanks for this.” Tessa wrapped her arms over the kids’ shoulders as they turned to leave. “And if you ever need water, let me know. I think I’m going to make some jerky this afternoon so the meat in the deep freezer doesn’t go to waste if they can’t get the power back on in the next few days. If you want some of that, I can bring it over in exchange for the fudge.”
“Don’t you dare think you owe us. That fudge is a gift.” Sally wagged her finger and smiled. “Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you bring the kids over for Sunday dinner tomorrow? I need to clean out what’s left in the fridge and we can have a real feast. Feel free to bring anything you want to get rid of.”
“Sally,” Arthur spoke her name as a warning before Tessa could turn down the invitation.
“Can it, Art.” She glared at her husband and the big man seemed to shrink inside himself. Sally returned her attention to Tessa, her eyes sparkling with a youthful mischief. “There’s a whole box of popsicles in the freezer. It’d be a shame if they went to waste.”
“Can we, Mom?” Mason begged as he tugged on her arm.
“Please,” Emily echoed.
“Thanks for the invitation, but we’ve got some chores to do.” Tessa glanced at Arthur, but he was busying himself with opening the hood of the truck again.
“But Mom,” Mason whined.
“Enough,” she whispered just loud enough for him to hear.
Sally opened the screen door and waved them off. “Well, if you finish early, come on over.”
Tessa glanced back over her shoulder as she guided her kids down the driveway. The hairs on the back of her neck were raised like someone was watching them. Awesome. Now you’re paranoid too.