house. If you can get to a cellar, there’s cots to sit on and blankets. They’re to wrap around you in case the power goes out in the storm and it turns freezing cold.”
Anything other than stifling heat and humidity in Texas in August would break all kinds of weather records, Teresa thought as she took a seat in one of the chairs. “Why did you want me to bring pillows?”
“To put over your pretty face if glass starts flying.” Miss Janie shook her head in disbelief. “I thought I taught you girls all this when you lived here with me.”
“Yes, ma’am, you did, but we forgot,” Kayla said.
“Oh, no!” Miss Janie’s hands flew to her cheeks.
Teresa was instantly on her feet. “Did we forget something?”
Miss Janie shook her head. “No. We’ve got what we need, but I’m so sorry that you forget things.” She removed her hands and wiped a tear. “The doctor didn’t tell me this disease I have was hereditary.”
Teresa bent and hugged Miss Janie. “It’s not, Mama. Kayla meant that it’s been a little while since we were here, and we might have let a few of your good teachings slip away from us.”
“Well, thank God for that,” Miss Janie said.
When Teresa sat back down, Kayla leaned over and whispered, “Guess we better be careful about using that word—forget.”
Teresa nodded.
Noah had cracked the front door to peek at the storm, but he came back to sit down beside Teresa. Their chairs were close enough together that his knee brushed against hers every time he crossed or uncrossed his legs.
“You’re fidgeting,” Teresa whispered. “Are you afraid of storms?”
“No, but I don’t like spaces with no windows,” he admitted. “I feel like I’m in jail.”
“How would you know what that feels like?” Teresa asked.
“Maybe someday I’ll tell you,” he said.
Before Teresa could say another word, Kayla said, “Miss Janie, why didn’t you take other kids into your home after we left? I figured that you’d have a couple more when I got here.”
“I didn’t want just any girls. I wanted you two,” she answered.
Teresa was afraid to blink for fear she would lose Miss Janie altogether. “What about Kayla?”
“I thought I’d hit the jackpot when they told me they needed a foster mother for her. That made my family complete.” Miss Janie smiled. “I’m waiting on a sandwich. If we don’t eat the food in the basket, the storm won’t ever pass. That’s part of the ritual.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kayla handed her the first sandwich she’d made and went on to make another one. “You had retired when you brought me home. Did you ever regret having two arguing teenagers in the house?”
“Lord, no! I loved every minute of it.” Miss Janie bit into the sandwich. “You girls kept me from going crazy, at least for a little while. I hate this worm in my head that lets me get all confused. I’m glad that you girls aren’t going to inherit it from me. What were we talking about, and why are we in the hallway with the doors closed? I like to feel the breeze. Open the doors,” she demanded.
“The storm,” Noah said. “We have to keep the doors closed until the storm passes.”
“We go to the cellar if the radio says there’s a tornado,” she said. “Not when there’s only wind and rain. This is a very good sandwich, but I’d rather eat it at the table. Where is Sam? He doesn’t need to be outside in this weather.”
Noah stood up and pushed the wheelchair toward the kitchen. “He’s gone home, and I’m sure he’s inside his house, where he’s dry and safe.”
Again, Miss Janie drew her brows down. “After we have our afternoon snack, I think I’ll be ready for a nap. Rain always makes me sleepy.”
The storm pounded the house hard for an hour before the rain slacked up. Noah peeked out the door and checked the progress several times during that sixty minutes. At one time he started upstairs to his office, but Miss Janie became so agitated that he sat back down in a chair. They ate peanut butter sandwiches and drank milk from plastic cups until finally the thunder and lightning subsided. Noah opened the doors at both ends of the long hallway, and then pushed the wheelchair out of the kitchen.
“I’d like a nap now,” she said. “We’ve survived, and that’s a good thing.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kayla stood up and pushed the wheelchair toward the bedroom.