The Hurricane. Part One.

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"As winds pick up, reaching almost 80 mph, it seems inevitable that the eye of the hurricane is fast approaching. Residents are advised to stay indoors and take every precaution they can including taping up big picture windows, securing loose items you may have in the yard, and having rations of food and water; ultimately we should all be preparing for the worst.

"Meteorologists are predicting record highs in wind speed and rain that could possibly hit within the next day or two. We'll provide breaking news on Hurricane Nikki as it happens, until then be ready and stay safe."

Kate pointed the remote towards the TV and clicked the power button. The news report sent a shiver down Kate's back as she walked to her window. She reached for a roll of masking tape and began reinforcing the glass as shooting drops of rain beat furiously against the window pane. Kate's wedding was in two days. The guest list and menu and location and bridesmaid dresses were excruciating thorough decisions. Kate wanted this day to be perfect and she imagined every worst possible scenario so she could prepare for it, but a hurricane had never crossed her mind. Rain would have been bad, even a thunderstorm would have been an inconvenient hassle, but a hurricane, a hurricane was a disaster; and naturally it had to happen to Kate.

The rain was coming down so hard and the wind was blowing so strong that Kate barely heard the phone ringing,

"Hello?" Kate heaved while breathing heavily after she dashed to the phone.

"Kate! Oh Kate, it's terrible, absolutely terrible. Oh Kate, what will we do," the woman's voice on the other end of the phone was panicked and frazzled. "Why is this happening, oh this is really bad."

"Penny! Calm down. Just calm down and tell me what's going on." Kate could hear deep breaths as Penny tried to regain her composure. However, instead of calming down, Penny burst into tears, pleading with Kate to forgive Mother Nature for the unfortunate events.

"Penny, look, these things happen, well not really, but never mind, we'll work through this."

"Oh Kate, I don't know. The caterer called and he said they won't be able to set up tomorrow if this continues. With the winds picking up, they'll never be able to get the tent up. What are we going to do," Penny spoke heavily as the last of her tears poured out.

Kate felt like crying and just accepting the fact that her wedding was ruined. But she knew she had to stay positive with her maid of honor already having a meltdown she was the one who had to stay strong if they were going to make it through this.

"Penny, look, the news predicted the eye hitting us soon, so this situation is only going to get worse. I think we just need to sit tight and wait this hurricane out and then assess the damages and plan from there. It's no use worrying about things now, tomorrow may present us with a whole new set of problems, so just hang in there. Please, I need you to be strong for me. Can I count on you for that Penny?" Kate spoke these words slowly and steadily because she knew that at any moment, her voice might crack and her real feelings would come pouring out. At least she could try to convince Penny that things would get better, even if she didn't believe it herself.

"Of course Kate. You're so strong, all things considering, yes we just need to stay positive and hope for the best. OK, I'm with you. I need to get myself together and prepare for this storm. Take care and call me if you need anything."

The Hurricane. Part Two.

Penny hung up the phone and wiped her tears away. Almost immediately her worry about the hurricane was gone and a mischievous smiled took over her face. Penny sat back and watched the sky get darker and darker as the winds howled and whipped the tree branches violently back and forth. The was perfect. Penny couldn't have planned it better. All the schemes to sabotage the wedding from telling the florist to use Calla Lilies that Kate was allergic to and sending out 600 invitations with the time an hour later paled in comparison to Hurricane Nikki. Unfortunately for Penny, Kate had to stick her nose in every detail and caught all of Penny's "accidental mistakes" so none of her evil conniving panned out. Of course Kate didn't know that Penny did it intentionally, she just assumed it was her absentminded nature. Yet, Penny's meticulous attention to detail always seemed to go unnoticed by others. It was no matter to Penny, in fact she preferred it that way so people never thought she was the mastermind behind unfortunate events. She was always the innocent bystander caught in devastating aftermath of her plotting. But now two days before the wedding, the Gods were shinning down on Penny and this beautiful storm that was an absolute blessing.