Dream

Chapter 24

Lucy and Etta were staying in the kitchen. It wasn't fully completed, but it had the basics which allowed them to cook up all the food they had brought with them. They had beat the curfew by an hour, and not long after they had arrived Zeb's sister, Zelda, had arrived with her daughter Eden and Gianna, whom had claimed to need a safe place to stay during the storm.

Gianna must have imagined a romantic scene between her and Zeb as they survived the storm together because she was shocked when she walked into the full house. Zeb had given her a friendly enough greeting, although there was no smile, and informed her she would have to share a room with Zelda and Eden. Neither Eden or Gianna looked pleased at the idea.

Hope had been civil so far, they had shared a friendly greeting between them, but Lucy hadn't felt brave enough to ask her if she could hold the baby, and Thomas had been too busy with last minute preparations to insist that she should.

Thomas was in the same situation that Lucy was with her grandmother. His father refused to leave, insisting that the church would need to open immediately after the storm to provide a safe place for those who would need one. Thomas had begged Hope to take the baby and leave, but she had no interest in leaving him or traveling alone with a new born.

The storm was still about six hours out, but the wind had picked up and the rain had started as the outer edges of the storm bands had started to reach them. Eden thought the entire thing was an adventure and had settled into the kitchen to help Lucy and Etta. Etta was cooking a gumbo to use up the seafood and sausage she had frozen. It would provide a hot meal, maybe the last for a few days once the power failed.

Lucy was making biscuits and scones for breakfast the following day, using up the rest of her butter and milk in the process, and Eden was enjoying cutting out the shapes for the pastries.

"There you are," Zelda said as she joined them along with Gianna. She walked over to her daughter and placed a kiss on the top of her head while she watched her work.

Lucy wondered what had happened to Eden's father, but she couldn't figure out a polite way to ask the question

"Where is the child's father?" Etta asked, not worried about being polite.

"Etta!" Lucy hissed in warning.

"It's fine Lucy. He died shortly after Eden was born, Ms. Etta." The oven beeped, and Zelda walked over to remove the biscuits that were done, picking up another tray and sliding them in to bake.

"Eden, I think those biscuits need a taste test." Lucy suggested as she reached into the refrigerator and pulled out some of Etta's homemade apple butter.

Eden grinned as she waited while her mother helped her prepare the biscuit.

There was a sudden gust of wind and the lights flickered causing the atmosphere in the room to change as everyone suddenly remembered the storm that was bearing down on them.

"Gianna, would you like a biscuit?" Zelda asked, taking a bite of Eden's.

"No, thank you," she pursed her lips. "I think I'll just go make sure Zebadiah doesn't need any help."

"Who peed in that girl's cheerios?" Etta asked as she added some extra spice to her gumbo.

Zelda coughed on her bite of biscuit, her eyes meeting Lucy's with amusement.

"I think she's upset that there are so many people here," Zelda said in order to play peacemaker.

"She fancies your brother?" Etta asked.

"Probably, most women do," she agreed.

The lights flickered again, and Eden grabbed her mother's hand as she realized that it might not be all fun and games.