CHAPTER ONE
Milt
Grabaur stared out the window of his trailer, wondering how much worse it could
get.
The
deluge poured down, gray, almost obscuring his neighbors’ homes and the barren
desert landscape beyond. The rain hammered on his metal roof, sounding like
automatic gunfire. Milt shivered a little, thinking of that old song, “It Never
Rains in Southern California.”
He
leaned closer to the picture window, pressing his hand against the glass and
whispering to himself, “But it pours.”
That
window had given him his daily view for the last six months, ever since he’d
packed up a life’s worth of belongings and made his way south and west to Palm
Springs and the Summer Winds Mobile Home Community. This same picture window,
almost every single day, had shown him only endless blue skies and sunshine. An
errant cloud or a jet contrail would occasionally break up the field of electric
blue, but other than that, it was azure perfection. Milt reveled in it. He’d
begun to think these expanses of blue, lit up by golden illumination, would
never cease.
Until
today.
At
about three o’clock, that blue sky, for the first time, was overcome with gray,
a foreboding mass of bruised clouds. Milt wondered, because of his experience
in the desert so far, if the clouds would be only that—foreboding. The magical
gods of the Coachella Valley would, of course, sweep away those frowning and
depressing masses of imminent precipitation with a wave of their enchanted
hands.
Surely.
But
the sky continued to darken, seemingly unaware of Milt’s fanciful imagining and
yearnings. At last the once-blue dome above him became almost like night in
midafternoon and the first heavy drops—fat beads of water—began to fall, first
a slow sprinkle, where Milt could count the seconds between drops, then faster
and faster, until the raindrops combined into one single and, Milt had to
admit, terrifying roar.
And
then an unfamiliar sound—the drumroll and cymbal crash of thunder. The sky,
moments after, lit up with brilliant white light.
The
rain fell in earnest. Torrents of the stuff.
The
other trailers, his neighbors, nearly vanished in the relentless gray downpour.
The wind howled, sending the rain capriciously sideways every few seconds. The
palm trees in his front yard swayed and bent with the ruthless gusts, testimony
to their strength, despite their appearance of being stalklike and weak. The
wind tore dry husks of bark from them.
At
first Milt was unconcerned, thinking the rain could only do good. It would
bless the parched succulents, cacti, and palms that dotted the rocky, sandy
landscape of the park, maybe even bring them to colorful life, forcing a
brilliant desert flower, here and there, to bloom. His decade-old Honda Civic,
parked next to the trailer, would get a wash, the thick layer of sand and dust
chased away, almost pressure-cleaned.
For
the half a year he’d been here, Milt had been amazed at how clean everything
could look when, in actuality, anything outdoors was quickly covered in a
veneer of fine sand, almost like gritty dust. Milt was forever wiping off his
patio furniture, cleaning the glass surfaces of his car. But this minor
inconvenience was more than outweighed by the stunning and almost surreal
appearance of the Coachella Valley and the desert, a wild beauty which far
surpassed anything even an optimistic Milt had dreamed of when he had made up
his mind, somewhat suddenly, to shed his old life in Ohio and move out to
Southern California.
He
stared out at the gusts of wind, the flashes of lightning, and the
almost-blinding downpour and realized he had no idea it could be like this. The
trailer park was smack up against the San Jacinto mountain range, and Milt
realized with horror that not only would the little park suffer from the
copious water falling from the sky, but it would also be the beneficiary, like
it or not, of runoff as it came hurtling down the mountain face.
As
if to confirm his notion, Milt gasped as he noticed the street in front of his
trailer.
It
was no longer a street.
Not
really.
No,
now it was a creek. A creek notable for its rushing rapids. Water was speeding
by at an unprecedented pace. Milt sucked in some air as he saw a lawn chair go
by, buoyed up by the current. Then a plastic end table. An inflatable pool
toy—a swan—that Milt supposed was in the right place at the right time. But the
damp throw pillows whizzing by, like soggy oyster crackers in soup, were not.
Milt
turned to look behind him at the sound of a whimper.
“Oh,
what’s the matter, sweetheart?” He held out a beseeching hand to the
gray-and-white pit bull mix he’d picked up from the Palm Springs Animal Shelter
over on Mesquite the first week he’d gotten here. “It’s okay.”
She
looked ferocious but was a big softie, easily frightened, shy, and with a
disposition that made Mother Teresa look like a terrorist. Ruby, he’d called
her on a whim, in honor of the kind lady that lived two doors down from him
when he was a little boy back in Summitville, Ohio. That Ruby, like this one, had always been kind but retiring, shying
from the slightest spotlight.
This Ruby, right now, was terrified,
her tail between her legs, backing toward the shadowy corners of the room, eyes
wide with fear. Milt reached out, trying to grab the frightened dog, but she
scurried away and dashed out of sight down the narrow hallway leading to his
bedroom, nails clattering, slipping and sliding on the tile floor. Milt sighed,
knowing exactly what she was doing even though he couldn’t see her—scurrying
under his bed to cower among the dust bunnies and cast-off shoes.
It
would take hours—and treats—to coax her out. Milt knew from experience….
He
returned his attention to the storm raging outside, which showed no signs of
abating.
Plus—and
this made Milt groan—there was a new wrinkle to the carnage. Not only were the
streets around his trailer now rapidly flowing rivers; Milt also realized with
horror he was about to get flooded.
He
gazed down on standing water several inches deep spread out across his patio.
It covered the outdoor rugs he’d bought, with their whimsical cactus design,
soaking them like washcloths. It rose up the sides of his patio furniture. Milt
swore he could see it getting higher and higher.
Worst
of all, Milt watched the water hover just outside the sliding glass doors,
waiting, perhaps, for an invitation to come inside.
Ah, the hell with it, the water seemed to say, why wait for an invitation? This party needs
crashing!
And
it began to seep in…. A little at first, and then faster and faster, until his
entire floor was covered.
Milt
involuntarily cried out, voice high-pitched and terrified, nothing like the
butch forty-two-year-old he thought himself. “Help! Flood! Somebody, please!”
The cry was pure panic. Logically, he knew no one would hear.
What
that helper would do, Milt had no idea, but he simply wanted someone to be with
him in his predicament. The thought flitted across his consciousness that he’d
been here six months, and it wasn’t until today and the advent of a rainstorm
of biblical proportions that he realized he didn’t want to be alone. He swore
as warm water covered his bare feet at the exact moment his power went out,
plunging his little sanctuary into murky dark.
And
at this very unnerving moment, Milt realized—gratefully—someone just might have
heard his pleas for help. There was a pounding at the back door, rattling the
glass jalousie panes. He turned, confused for a moment—he’d cast himself as a
sole survivor, a man against nature, alone.
The
pounding continued. A voice. “Hey! You okay in there?”
Milt
crossed the living room and the small galley kitchen to get to the back door.
But when he opened it, there was no one there. The wind pushed at him, mocking,
and the rain sent a drenching spray against him. Despite getting soaked, Milt
leaned out, gripping the door’s frame with both hands for balance, and looked
around.
Even
though the covering of storm clouds had made it seem as though a dusky twilight
had fallen, he could see that there was no one there.
He
wondered if he’d imagined the knocking and the voice. He really didn’t know his
neighbors, having kept to himself since he’d moved out here because he just
wasn’t ready to connect with others again. He’d given so much to his Corky
during those final tortured months…. Sometimes Milt felt he had nothing left to
give anyone again ever.
And
a dog, cowering and bashful as she might be, had been company enough.
His
little reverie was shattered by a second round of knocking, this time at the
sliding glass doors in his living room. “Okay, so I’m not hearing things.” Milt
turned away from the back door and headed to the sliders.
Outside,
a young man stood, drenched from head to toe, in a pair of neon-pink board
shorts and, well, nothing else. Maybe
there’s flip-flops. Milt couldn’t see the guy’s feet. His jaw dropped as he
hurried to open the door. In spite of all that was going on—the storm, the
flood, the risk of his home being destroyed—he couldn’t help his thoughts,
notions he’d decided long ago died within him.
I am looking at an angel; that’s
all there is to it.
He’s going to sweep me away in those
muscular arms, lifting me right up to heaven and setting me down gently next to
my Corky.
Milt
shook his head. A short burst of laughter escaped him, almost as if someone
else were chuckling in his living room with him.
The
guy was handsome, a tanned and buff
dreamboat. Corky would have loved him, saying, once upon a time, that looks
like this boy’s should be illegal, or at least sinful. Milt smiled.
Even
though his hair was plastered to his head, Milt could tell it was thick and
luxurious—right now the color of dark wheat, but Milt was certain that in dryer
moments, it was as gold as the pure, unfiltered sunshine Milt had grown
accustomed to being greeted by every morning. He had a body that made Milt, if
only for a moment, forget the storm and
the fact that he was a widower, still grieving nearly a year after losing his
man. Muscles, smooth bronze skin, and a six-pack had the power of oblivion, of
taking precedence over everything else.
Stop, he mentally chastised himself. He
flung open the slider, noticing the rain had—at last—slowed to a patter and the
winds had died down almost completely. Milt, though, couldn’t seem to put lips
and tongue together to form a greeting or ask a question or to even say
anything at all. His eyebrows came together like two caterpillars possessed of
their own will.
“Hey
there, man. I heard you calling out for help.” He jerked a thumb over his
shoulder. “I live in the unit behind you.” He smiled, revealing electric-white
teeth that made Milt’s thoughts go even more blank or even more lascivious, he
wasn’t sure which. He shivered.
The
guy gave Milt a more tentative smile, the type you’d give to the kindly
neighbor down the street who’d just emerged from home wearing nothing but a
pair of saddle shoes and a big smile. Milt wondered if the guy thought he was
encountering a person who couldn’t speak, or maybe someone whose mind had
completely deserted him. Lord knew Milt was familiar enough with people like
that, having only very recently seen to every need
of a person just like that.
“Are
you okay, buddy?”
Milt
managed a smile, despite the fact that his feet squished on the soaked
carpeting. Oh Lord, is everything ruined?
How much is this going to cost? Is it going to wipe me out? “Yeah,” Milt
sputtered. He glanced behind him. “It looks as though I’m getting flooded.”
There appeared to be at least a couple of inches of water covering the floor of
his trailer. He groaned.
The
young man leaned in to survey the damage and gave a low whistle. “Yikes!” He
leaned back out so he could face Milt. “Bet you didn’t think you needed to
worry about flooding in the desert?”
Milt
shook his head. “Well, it wasn’t foremost.” He glanced behind him again,
feeling like his sanctuary had been violated—as it indeed had. And what fresh
hell would spring forth from the damage? “What am I gonna do?”
“Well,
my opinion is you need to get yourself the hell out of there. As I said, I’m
right behind you, up the mountain a
tad, so I’m still dry. You wanna grab some of your stuff just in case and come
on over?”
“Stuff?”
“Yeah,
man, like, I don’t know, a laptop, maybe? Family pictures? Important papers?
You know, just in case. The stuff you’d run out of here with if the place
caught on fire.”
“Oh,
right.” Milt sighed. “This is awfully kind of you.”
“Hey,
we’re neighbors. At Summer Winds, we look out for each other. I’ve been wanting
to meet you, anyway. Sucks that it has to be under these circumstances. But come
on, I’ve got a dry house, air-conditioning, and enough candy to send you into a
diabetic coma.” He laughed.
Milt
stood, his mind beating a hasty retreat. He shouldn’t feel indecisive, but he
did.
“Or
if you have other plans…,” the man finally said. “Indoor pool party?”
“No.
No! I’d love to come over.” Milt looked around his place once more. Most of his
stuff was up high enough that it wouldn’t get wet, unless the trailer toppled
over or something, but there was one thing he couldn’t just leave behind. “I
need to get Ruby.”
“Ruby?”
“My
girl, my dog!” Milt snapped, as if his visitor should know. He immediately
regretted his tone, but his neighbor simply seemed to be taking his dire
straits way too lightly.
“Ruby.
Cute name. I’ve seen you walking her. She’s sweet. Go grab her. She’s welcome
too. Animals of all varieties are welcome in my crib.” He winked. “I used to
have a dog myself, a Yorkie, Bergamot, that thought he was a Doberman.” He
frowned. “But he passed away last winter. Coyote got him.”
Milt
jerked a little in horror. “I’m sorry.”
Milt
couldn’t imagine losing his dog—he’d already fallen hopelessly in love with
Ruby. He felt a deep-seated twinge of empathy. “The storm shook her up. Let me
just see if I can coax her out from under the bed.” Milt didn’t think the task
would be too tough, since it was now wet under the bed and Ruby hated water. He
turned and started away, sloshing through the hateful water. Midstream, so to
speak, he changed his mind and turned back.
He
held out a hand. “I’m sorry. Milt. Milt Grabaur. I’d invite you in, but my
place, as you can see, isn’t exactly presentable.” He laughed and then felt
like bursting into tears.
“If
you knew I was coming, you’d have baked a cake? A sponge cake?” He snorted and
shook Milt’s hand with a big calloused paw. “Billy Blue.”
Milt
smiled. “Seriously?”
Billy
shrugged. “Yeah, my mom and dad had a great sense of humor. Or thought I was
destined for the stage, instead of cashier at Trader Joe’s. The advantage of a
name like mine, silly as it is, is that people tend not to forget it.”
“I
think it’s a lovely name.” Milt met Billy Blue’s gaze—and thought how
fortuitous it was that his irises matched the color of his last name. And you’re a lovely man. Handsome, built
like a brick shithouse—and sweet as pie.
“I’ll
be right back with Ruby.” He turned and this time did manage to slosh to the
very rear of the trailer, where his wood-paneled master bedroom awaited. Before
he even stooped down in the grimy water to coax, he began talking to Ruby.
“Good girl. Nothin’ to be ascared of, honey,” Milt said in his most soothing
voice, cadence and words dredged up from his boyhood memories of living near
the river in the foothills of the Appalachians, in the northern panhandle of
West Virginia. He squatted down, wincing a little as his knees came into
contact with the spongy shag carpeting he’d hoped to replace one day, and
lifted the bottom of the comforter, which was stained dark from the water.
Underneath
the bed there was only a couple of inches of water, a pair of Keen sandals, and
a metal storage box that contained Milt’s “toys”—and we’re not talking
Fisher-Price here.
There
was no Ruby. Nor any other living creature.
Milt
got to his feet, groaning, and took stock of the entire bedroom, thinking
perhaps Ruby had retreated to a corner or hidden behind the chest of drawers.
But she was nowhere to be found, not even in the adjacent bathroom, which
looked now as though Milt had taken a long, long shower and had simply not
bothered to turn the water off.
Knowing
she wouldn’t be there, but checking anyway, Milt opened the frosted glass
shower door to find it empty.
He
made a tour of the trailer, getting more and more anxious with each step, with
each empty nook and cranny. “Ruby?” he called out several times, each time his
voice growing louder, as though sheer volume would make her appear.
But
she didn’t.
And
the thoughtlessly left-open back door gave testimony to what had most likely
happened. The poor terrified girl had probably tried to escape that way,
running headlong into a fate worse than she was trying to escape. Milt hurried
to the open door, peering out onto his little patio, hoping against hope she’d
be out there, stub of a tail sending up splashes as she looked mournfully at
him.
But
Ruby was gone.
Milt
felt as though his heart would break.
He
closed the door behind him, sighing and wondering if he should leave it open,
just in case she tried to return. Return to what? A trailer flooded with
filthy—and probably bacteria-ridden—water?
He
moved back to the sliders, looking over Billy’s broad shoulders, hoping Ruby
would appear on the doused desert landscape.
Billy
smiled at Milt’s return. “Dog?” he wondered.
Milt’s
breath caught. The day, or not really the day but only, really, the past few
minutes, had been a disaster. Disasters
happen fast and savage in Palm Springs. He wasn’t sure he could speak
without bursting into tears, without chastising himself for his own
carelessness.
If only I hadn’t left that damn
door open.
“She’s
nowhere to be found.” Milt shrugged.
Billy
frowned, and his gaze seemed to reach out to Milt in sympathy, which made Milt
want to cry even more. “She’ll turn up.” Billy changed his expression to a
reassuring smile. “She’s got it good—a man all to herself, and I assume a
limitless supply of treats.” He winked. “I wish I could say the same.”
Ah, so he’s one of us. I thought
so, but one doesn’t want to assume.
“I’m sure you’re right,” Milt said, although he wasn’t sure at all.
“You
still want to come over? I got carnitas cooking in the Crock-Pot. Homemade
tortillas. I may be blond, but I cook like the locals.”
Milt
managed a smile. The thought of food made his stomach turn, thinking of Ruby
running around out there somewhere—with threats like coyotes, black widow
spiders, and rattlesnakes all around, just to name a few. She might look
fierce, but Milt feared she wouldn’t last long up against the desert’s more
formidable predators.
At least it’s not raining anymore.
“You
wanna gather some stuff up?”
Milt
shook his head. “It’ll be okay.” Barefoot, morose, he stepped through the
sliders and outside.
“Atta
boy. We’ll get settled over at my place, and then we can do a little
search-and-rescue mission. I’m sure she’s not far away.”
“I
hope not.” Milt followed Billy Blue into the unseasonably damp day. Steam was
already beginning to rise off surfaces not under water.
The
sun was beginning to come out again, revealing blue skies.
Milt
couldn’t see it, though.
