The early morning rain beat an angry tattoo against the windowpane. The accompanying gusts of wind rattled the glass in the old wooden frame awaking Lydia from a heavy sleep.
A sudden flash of bright white light blinded her momentarily as she struggled to sit up in bed. She had taken a sleeping pill at midnight after a recurrence of the dream. Groggily she tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes. A deafening rumble of thunder sent her twisting around to find Dan, but his side of the bed was empty. The sky crackled with lightning. A piercing boom sent her rushing from the room. She ran to the living room, but it too was empty. She stared vacantly at the sofa trying to make sense of it.
The keening wind in the chimney sent a chill down her spine, driving her to find a place to sit down. She gripped the arm of the chair willing her rising panic to subside. The storm was directly overhead; the flashes of lightning intermingling with booming claps of thunder frightened her. She drew a pillow close to her chest. She felt her chest tighten as she struggled to control her rapid breathing. To Lydia, it seemed the storm lasted an eternity, but soon it passed onward.
Even after the storm was over, Lydia clutched the pillow close, as she tried to tame her raw nerves. She had always been afraid of thunderstorms. Slowly, she gained her feet, moving through the townhouse making sure everything was okay. Reaching the kitchen she discovered the electricity was off. She had to tell Dan, but where was he?
She moved back to the living room and sitting down on the sofa her mind cleared. She remembered their argument of the previous evening over the trip to Maine. Dan had insisted that they go to Bar Harbor as planned, but she had refused, thinking Stokes was right and they should stick close to home. Lydia had felt Dan was being unreasonable while he said the same of her.
Dan had threatened to sleep on the sofa. Lydia remembered saying ‘he was welcome to it,’ and had gone to bed, slamming the bedroom door behind her.
Lydia gritted her teeth as she dressed in the semi-darkened apartment. Her jaw was aching as she left the bedroom. “Coward,” she mumbled, “couldn’t stay to see the fight through.” She paused wondering who she was referring to, Dan or herself.
***
Lydia wandered the apartment aimlessly, unable to settle down anywhere. “You never appreciate electricity until the power goes off, and then you realize just how much you depend on it,” she said as she made her way down the dark hallway to the kitchen. “I could kill for a cup of tea,” she mused wondering how long the power would be off.
The kitchen was the brightest room in the townhouse so she sat down at the table staring at her hands. “Why is Dan so angry all the time?” she whispered, turning her fingers over. It was her nightmare, not his, but he seemed unable to handle it. She frowned, wishing she could have some tea. She noticed her breathing was more regular now that the storm had moved away, and felt childish for her immature behavior. “I’m so glad he wasn’t here to witness it,” she said straightening the cloth on the table.
The power came back on without Lydia noticing. It wasn’t until Dan came home that she realized it was back on.
“Lydia?” he called closing the front door behind him. “Where are you? That was quite a storm, everything all right here?”
“The power’s been off, but other
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