LJ Idol Week 16: Thunderclap

[flipflop_diva]

The weather report said it was going to be in the high 80s all week. Bright, sunny, not a cloud in the sky.

We grinned at each other as we selected “sports car” under the rental car options. We grinned even more when the agent handed us the keys to the bright red Mustang the following day.

My sister and I had been getting closer ever since our mother passed away two years prior, but this was a big step. We were in Austin, Texas, to find my sister an apartment. She was off to grad school at University of Texas in the fall.

It was the sort of thing my mom would have done. My mom had gone with me when I needed to find an apartment in Boston for the same reason. My mom had driven us both to college every single year. And my mom had driven with me to my new apartment in Northern California when I had gotten a job there out of school, six months before she died.

So now it was my turn, to come with my sister, help her find a place to live. It was time for us to just be together, no friends, no boyfriends, no distractions.

So we rented a sports car to drive around — after all, it was 80 degrees in February! And in five days, after the lease agreement was signed, we were going to end our stay with a Kenny Chesney concert downtown. Just the two of us, in the sixth row, drinking beers, singing loudly and creating new memories.

It all went to plan for the first two days. We drove around, checked out more apartments than we could count, found one that seemed close and nice and big and cheap. We went back on day three to drop off the lease agreement.

It was a beautiful afternoon. Warm and sunny. We decided to take the scenic route back to the hotel, to drive down south and see what was there.

We had no idea it was the wrong decision.

We had no idea that just thirty minutes later, a clap of thunder so loud it made us jump in surprise would sound overhead. No idea that within minutes of that, the sky would start to turn dark and gray, that the temperature would start to plunge.

We pulled off on the side of the road, to put the top back on the car. Then we turned on the heat, shivering now in our shorts and tank tops, and frantically studied the maps to see if there was a faster way to get back.

There wasn’t.

The sky grew darker, the thunder grew louder and drops of rain started to appear on the windshield.

Traffic slowed down, cars suddenly backed up for miles. We were still so far away from where we needed to be. And now we had to pee.

We found a strip mall, after what seemed like hours. There was an Outback.

“We’re closing,” the guy who was standing by the door told us. “An ice storm is coming.”

“Can we just use the bathroom?” we pleaded. Luckily, the guy consented.

We got back in the car, inching slowly back to the hotel. About an hour after we left the Outback, the first drop of ice hit the car window.

“That is not rain,” my sister said.

We watched the road, saw the water that landed on the highways start to form into ice. My sister gripped the steering wheel harder, her knuckles white.

It seemed to take forever, getting back to the hotel. By the time we did, it was almost completely dark outside. The temperature had fallen drastically. Ice was already starting to cover roads and roofs.

We hurried inside the hotel, ran to our rooms and dove into our beds, trying to get warm. And then we watched, from our window, as the ice storm began in earnest, chunks of white falling, clanging from the sky, to the ground below.

We woke up the next morning to a white paradise. The world was covered in ice and snow. The city was shut down, the roads too dangerous to drive on.

There was a Walgreens across the street, a movie theater in the same parking lot as the hotel. We braved the cold to head to Walgreens so my sister could buy some socks (she’d only packed flip-flops). We also bought sweatshirts. Then we went to the movies since there was no chance for sightseeing.

That night, they cancelled the concert. We had a feeling they were going to, but it was still sad. So instead of watching Kenny Chesney, we sat in our hotel room and ate pizza and watched TV and talked and laughed the night away.

Two days later the snow was cleared, just in time to fly home.

“We’ll go see Kenny another time,” my sister said, as the plane started to take off.

We did. About sixteen times. Each one a really good memory, but none of them ever as good as the first memory of the concert that never was, when it was just me and her, stuck in a hotel room and laughing about the winter storm that no one had ever seen coming.


Thank you for reading! Fun fact: In Kenny Chesney's song "Somewhere In The Sun", there is a line that goes "Stuck here at a Holiday Inn near Austin, Texas. Seen all the road that I want to see. God I hate the snow, they even cancelled the show." Guess when he wrote that song? :) This was written for therealljidol Week 16. If you would like to read other takes on the prompt, please go here. Voting will be up Thursday night.

Comments

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

What a great memory! Such a well-written retelling - really enjoyable.

[bewize.livejournal.com]

Ahh, southern weather.

I really enjoyed this. Thank you for sharing.

[j0ydivided.livejournal.com]

I loved this. Great story, well told! :)

[shadowwolf13]

LOL A true Texas welcome!

[dmousey.livejournal.com]

Is this a true story? I believed it was, until your footnote. Now I'm confuzzled, (laughing) which is almost a permanent state with me! Anyhoo, this was entertaining, and if truth, then you and your sister have created wonderful memories that weekend. Hugs and peace~~~

[swirlsofblue.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing such a lovely memory. Sometimes it's the unexpected times that can be the best.

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

I think it's awesome you two managed to keep a sense of humor about it. This are always the best stories.

[messygorgeous.livejournal.com]

A great story! Isn't that life, forcing you to change plans at the last minute, but offering you something unexpectedly even better? Too cool that y'all were also stuck in your hotel room when he wrote the song!!

[eternal-ot.livejournal.com]

Sometimes unexpected events turn out to be great memories and this was a wonderful re-telling of one such occasion. A nice read!

[my-name-is-jenn.livejournal.com]

Wow, what an adventure. I'm glad you made it back to the hotel in one piece.

It sounds like you had a great time at that concert that never was. :)

[murielle.livejournal.com]

What an adventure! I'm so glad you shared it with us. Sudden storms are incredible, especially unexpected snow storms. Glad you were able to get back to your hotel safe and sound. Did your sister get the apartment?

[beldarzfixon.livejournal.com]

glad that worked out all right, driving in an ice storm is tricky!

[rswndrlst.livejournal.com]

I love road trip tales and this one was fun to read

I am glad you guys made the best of the unexpected storm and look back on it as a good memory!

Great Entry!

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

WHat a fine memory! I enjoyed reading this! Sister bonding time is precious!