A poor man takes his family into his old trailer during a storm and the next day finds a dozen boxes near his house.
An alert for bad weather comes on as Adam and his family turn on the radio to enjoy dinner. As the night goes on, the storm gets worse, and the family has to take cover in the old caravan in their yard.
Adam then set the table for dinner by getting bowls from the cabinet. He was working on a fish stew with his wife Maggie in their small kitchen, which only had two plates.
“Parsley with fish stew, yes or no?” she asked.
Adam replied, “Yes, my mom used either coriander or parsley.”
Maggie took the parsley from the yellow pot sitting on the edge of the ledge. She loved growing her own plants and vegetables. She said it was what she did on the weekends. Even so, Adam knew that the real reason was so she would always have fresh vegetables on hand for dinner. This is how their family will always have food.
He heard kids laughing in their room while he set the table and took some bread off of it.
Adam winced when he thought about how badly his ankle hurt at work, but then he smiled again. It rained on his work boots, and he was worried about how he would get them dry in time for work. There would be less money for him to work and he would have to spend more time in the office sorting papers. Besides that, he had to buy Maggie’s seizure medicine.
“Supper is ready.” Could you please get the kids?” Maggie asked him a question that took his mind off of his worries.
“Of course.” Could there be some music playing while we eat?”
Maggie turned on the radio with a smile.
Emma, eight, was lying on her bed in the kids’ room, and Charlie, five, was coloring a dinosaur picture.
“Drew that Meghan?” Adam made the question.
She said, “I did, Dad,” while sitting up. “I did my drawing for Charlie to color after finishing my work early.”
Before inviting them to dinner, Adam told them to wash their hands and praised her hard work.
Maggie had the bread and stew ready to go in the kitchen. She lit two candles to give the simple design for their kids a little something extra. Adam watched her as she leaned against a chair to steady herself.
“Kids, are you okay?” Emma sat down and asked.
Maggie said, “I am,” in answer. “Today has been really long, and I’m tired.” She went back to the kitchen to get a pitcher of water.
“But mum, you need to eat first!” Charlie said while he broke off a piece of bread.
Adam said, “And that’s exactly what Mom is going to do.” The last time she skipped a meal, her blood pressure dropped so low that Adam had to take her to the doctor.
“Are you okay?” he asked Maggie.
She said, “I just feel this intense pressure in my head.” “The last time this happened, there was that huge storm.” So, it looks like there will be a storm tonight. That’s it.
That’s what Adam did because Maggie had read most of the epilepsy books at the town library before she was identified. Since then, she’s become very good at dealing with it. If Adam had to think about it, she hadn’t had many seizures since she started learning about epilepsy.
“But other than that, you’re fine?”
Yes, of course. As she walked back to the table, she said, “All I’ll have to do is be careful if there is lightning.”
She sat down and asked the kids, “So, tell us about school.”
“I’m about to start a science project.” Emma said, “We could make a volcano or a tornado.”
“Dad, how do we make a tornado?” she asked Adam.
He said, “We could try to make something out of steel wool.” He always liked working on projects with the kids.
As they ate, it started to rain, and the radio played a severe weather warning over the music.
“There is a tornado watch in place.” Please find safety right away. Stay inside. Do not go outside. Make sure your windows are shut. “People, please be aware that this situation is dangerous and uncertain.”
Maggie and Adam looked at each other worriedly. They were both worried about how weak their roof was.
“What’s going on, Dad?” I asked Emma.
She told Emma, “There’s a storm warning, but we’re ready.”
After they were done eating, they didn’t say anything.
Adam looked out the window in the kitchen at the rain that was getting worse. Maggie said as she was cleaning the dishes, “At least my head knew this one would happen.”
Adam was stressed out about the roof and his hurt ankle.
Maggie saw that Adam was worried and told him, “Adam, we’ll be fine.” “All we have to do is keep the kids calm.”
Adam looked outside again and saw that the weather was getting worse. He had to call a family meeting right away.
As Adam sat down next to his kids, he said, “Okay, family meeting.” “We’re not going to sleep in pajamas tonight; we’re going to wear clothes.”
What did Charlie want to know?
“You heard the weatherman,” Adam replied. “Everything could happen.”
Maggie said, “That’s right.”
It had been a few hours since Maggie and Adam went to bed. They had dressed the kids in their coziest and warmest clothes. Maggie demanded that the whole family sleep in the same room.
Adam woke up in the middle of the night and went through the house. Since the power had gone out a while ago, he pulled out his trusty old flashlight. He was glad Maggie was sleeping with the kids. With the thunder and lightning going off, he wasn’t sure what to do about Maggie having a seizure.
Adam heard leaking as soon as he walked into the kids’ room. When he pointed his flashlight at the ceiling, he saw a leak starting to form. He said, “Damn it,” and then slid a bucket under the leak. But things were not going well. The roof could get damaged at any time.
He woke Maggie up and told her things were getting worse. “Do you agree that we need to leave?” Maggie asked, startled.
Maggie was getting food and drink when Adam told her, “I’ll clean out the caravan.”
The wind and rain didn’t stop Adam from getting to the camp. As soon as he got inside, he started setting it up as a makeshift refuge.
Adam got the broken-down wagon from a friend. He didn’t have the money to fix it, but he wanted to so that the family could take car trips. In the end, the wagon was used to store tools and other unexpected items.
Adam found the mold inside the wagon while he was making room for his family. He didn’t want to raise his kids in that kind of place, but he had to. The cold and rain made his ankle hurt more, but he kept going.
Maggie saw him clean up the mess in their trailer while they were waiting. She knew that his swollen ankle was making him feel bad. After getting Charlie and Emma up, Adam came back, and they quickly went to the caravan.
The way was led by Adam, who hid Emma from the rain. Maggie was ahead of Charlie. Adam went back inside to get more clothes, towels, and other things he needed.
While Emma and Charlie watched the storm, Maggie washed the cots in the caravan.
She waved and said, “Come on over here.”
A grumpy Emma answered, “When Dad comes.”
Maggie had no reason to think they were to blame. While the house was just across the yard, the storm and rain made them realize how bad things were.
“There he is!” Amy screamed when Adam came back, wet.
Adam tripped over his boots and swore. Maggie helped him take them off, but she wished she could do more. As the storm got worse, the family moved in.
After Adam’s family went to sleep, he saw the storm destroy their house. He couldn’t keep their house together. He passed out behind the wheel.
By morning, it had stopped raining, and the sun was shining brightly. Adam and Maggie looked out of the caravan and saw that their house was in bad shape.
Maggie was worried about money, but Adam told her, “We’ll fix it.”
“Where is the roof?” Emma asked as she looked at the damage.
“Honey, it was the storm,” Adam said to be clear.
“What is that, Adam?” Maggie asked as she pointed to a group of boxes under a blanket that was right next to the trailer door.
Adam opened the boxes one by one and found food, drinks, and other things he needed. He even found pain killers in one of the boxes.
Maggie, meanwhile, found a note with the goods that said:
“The storm didn’t hurt the library.” “Come here when you’re ready,” it told them.
The family chose to find out more about it, so they walked over to the library. When they got there, they saw people moving around. Inside, there were tables set up with different goods in case anyone needed them. There was also a play place for kids.
Maggie’s friend and librarian Diane said, “I was so worried,” as she walked up to them. “I heard the storm hit your part of town the hardest!”
Maggie told her, “It was pretty bad.” “We stayed in the caravan until things calmed down.” That being said, we saw this morning that most of our roof had fallen in.
“No way!” She cried out and grabbed Maggie’s hand.
Adam told them, “I’m going to take the kids to the playground,” and then he left.
“Adam is really stressed out about the whole thing,” Maggie said.
To which she replied, “I get it. Did you get the boxes?”
“Was that you?” Maggie asked, squeezing her hand even tighter.
She said, “Yes, but I asked my son to drop it off because I had to set up here.”
Di, thank you, Maggie told her.
Maggie’s eyes got wet. Maggie and Adam could finally chill out because they knew someone was looking out for them. They could relax because their kids were safe and sound in the library with adults and other kids in the same situation. Maggie was pleased with that.
“Listen, I know you’re worried about where to go,” Diane told her. You should know, though, that my house is open for your family to stay. Also, it’s not just a temporary place until you find something else. Maggie, you are welcome to stay for as long as you need to. I really do.”
Maggie waved her hand and took Diane in her arms.
Maggie told Diane about her hair, “I wouldn’t know how to thank you.”
Diane smiled and said, “I could use your help cooking.” “You know I don’t like cooking.”
Maggie laughed.
While this was going on, Emma and Charlie rushed to play in the library area set aside just for them when they saw other kids from their school. Adam was by himself and watched them. When a nurse came over, he smiled.
“Sir, do you need anything?” she asked.
He stopped and replied, “Uh.” “Yes, in fact.” He said, “My ankle.” “I hurt it at work yesterday, and I haven’t stopped moving since then.” Could you take a look at it?
“Of course, come with me,” she said.
Adam let the nurse show him where the medical supplies were in the library, which was in a different area. She checked out his foot.
She yelled, “Oh, what a boy!” “This must be painful.”
He agreed and said, “Like hell.”
Adam was given strict orders by the nurse before she let him go after taking care of his ankle. “Okay, I get it. You want to see your wife and kids.” “Find them, though, and sit down,” she said.
After thanking her, Adam left.
He found Maggie having tea with Diane.
“Diane brought the boxes, Adam,” she said.
He crossed himself and sat down next to them. “Thank you.” Then how can we repay you?”
“By staying at my house until your house is ready.” My kid is going back to college on Monday, so I’ll be spending time by myself again. It will be nice to have your family here.
Adam smiled and took her hand. He said, “Thank you.” “Really.”
