Page 45 of Love in Mission City: The Shorts

Rain lashed across the window.

I headed over that way.

The day was gray and dark, with the clouds hanging low.The rain pelted sideways in the strong winds.

The ocean side of Vancouver Island sometimes saw hurricane-force winds, and I wondered if we might today.Why hadn’t I checked the forecast?

Because Marisa said she’d take care of it.

Why hadn’t I called her?

Because she said she’d be here.

Marisa lived up near Campbell River and had gone home for a couple of days.She was supposed to meet me here.We were going to surf, then we were scheduled to head back to school for some wrap-up sessions.But exams were over.We were essentially finished.

Marisa had secured a job teaching in her old hometown, and her parents were thrilled.

I was under the distinct impression she was not.I didn’t see how she’d survive being back in a small town, but she was a big girl.And if she didn’t like it, she could join me.

Not that Mission City was big.But its proximity to Vancouver offered plenty of options.Campbell River was in the middle of Vancouver Island.Basically, the middle of nowhere.

I yanked my phone from my back pocket.

Finally.

An apology text from her.Blathering on about how she’d been too busy to check the weather reports, and now her parents wouldn’t drive her down to Tofino and how the first thing she was buying with her first paycheck was a car…

I typed out a simpleall goodand left it at that.I wasn’t going to tell her about Isaac.The woman was way too good at ferreting out personal details of my life I never intended to share.I eyed my new roommate.Well, at least he was pretty to look at.

Chapter Four

Isaac

The low hum of the television sat in my consciousness.I stared at the meteorological charts and winced.

Three storms in a continuous line from Hawaii all the way to southern British Columbia.The second one had been veering south of us toward Washington State, but the trajectory changed an hour ago and was now on a path to hit the west side of Vancouver Island and Vancouver’s lower mainland.

November had been unusually dry, but much of British Columbia had been scorched during the summer wildfires.That combination meant unstable ground and the likelihood of landslides.Between that and the anticipated gale-force winds, we weren’t going anywhere.

Even if things calmed enough between storms for me to get out to the island, Ronnie would be taking the risk on the return journey.No, better to wait.

An email from headquarters in my inbox assured me she was fine.She’d weathered storms this bad before and would likely again.

The intensity seemed to grow every year.Climate change.Or so they said.

I powered down the laptop and glanced at my watch.Seventeen-thirty-three.My unexpected roommate sat on the bed, propped against the headboard.I pivoted and found him watching the weather channel.

He glanced at me and raised the volume.

A shot of one of those crazy news reporters standing out in the storm, reporting on how bad the storm was.Nuts.The woman was nuts.Whoever thoughtthatwas a good idea?Her bosses needed to have their heads examined.

That being said, if I had an equipment failure or something like that, I’d be out as well, so maybe just…doing her job?

At the end of her segment, Ben shut off the television.“Do we go down to get food or do we order room service?”

I eyed Buddy.“There’s a restaurant here that allows pets, believe it or not.Well, dogs.Not cats.And you’re not supposed to feed your dog from your plate, but people do it.”

Buddy perked up at his name.

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