Noah
We’ll be there
See you then. Some of the Moons might come.
I copy the address and text it to Nash. “Send this address to the Moons and see who wants to meet us there at two o’clock.”
I’m amazed by how blue the sky is. It’s like the dark gray clouds from last night never existed, like I imagined them all. How could the sky be so calm after 140 mph winds whipped through it just twelve hours ago? The trees that are still standing are a little short on leaves, and a lot of the trees that fell across roads have already been cut up and hauled away. All my neighbors are outside cleaning up falling sticks and debris when we pull out of the garage after having to manually open it. Nash and I waved on our way out, and to be honest, I don’t remember the last time I did that. Since I never planned on staying, it didn’t seem important to get to know anyone. But now…
I slow my truck down as the GPS says we’re approaching the address of the house of the elderly couple. The street is lined with cars already.
“Just pull up to the curb.” Nash points to a spot a few houses down. “We’ll walk it.”
So I do and we hop out. Colin got this sanctioned as an official Hurricanes thing, so I’ve got my Hurricanes t-shirt and ballcap on. Nash is wearing a Moons t-shirt and rainboots.
We walk up to the house and the rest of the guys are already here.
“What’s up, man?” asks Colin.
“Nothing much,” I say back as we clap hands and each other’s backs.
“All good?”
“Yeah, not too bad. Just no power, but we’ll take you up on your offer and camp out at your place until it comes back.”
“Okay, dope. Chrissy is at home cooking for everyone.”
Nash is greeting her teammates as well. They’re all hugging each other and laughing. I don’t think she’s seen any of them since they won the championship. Everyone kind of took a break and then we were out of town. This is one hell of a reunion.
I say hello to Jaden and Mack before a man I’ve never met comes through the front door of the house and speaks to us. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for coming. My name is John, and I own a clean-up company. Today we are here pro bono helping out the Pattersons. We started early this morning and are glad to have you here to help this afternoon. Half of you will be relegated to helping rip up the floors, and the other half will be helping to haul debris outside to the curb. Please come take a mask before you go inside.”
I look over my shoulder and back at the curb where piles of trash are already forming. Who is going to come get all of this? How long will it take to clean up?
We line up and take our mask from John. The inside of the house is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The water only went up a couple inches, but the drywall is cut out to almost the bottom of my knee all the way around the house. There areprobably ten other people in here all carrying shovels full of wet carpet, or handfuls of ruined walls.
Someone puts the local classic rock radio station on a speaker as we get our teams. Nash and I are put in separate groups, so for the next couple hours we just pass by each other. It’s a quiet type of labor. I don’t know if it’s the reverence of being in someone’s house that was basically destroyed, or if it’s from the backbreaking work. My muscles aren’t just for show, but everything weighs a thousand pounds when it’s wet.
Colin stands with his hands on his knees sucking in air, something we’re not allowed to do on the field. Jaden is taking a break on an upside-down bucket guzzling water. I scan the room for Nash and spot her with Mrs. Patterson who is showing her the pictures that haven’t yet been taken off the wall.
At around six o’clock, John calls an end to the day and asks us to gather around him. I stand in a semi-circle with Nash, and both of our teammates and friends and look at what we were able to accomplish in just one afternoon with the help of so many hands. “We so appreciate your help today. If you’re available and interested, you can come back tomorrow to help us finish the tear out and start spraying bleach. We’ll start at eight AM.”
“Thank you for letting us come crash your work site,” says Colin, reaching out to shake the man’s hand.
“We’re lucky to have you.” He points playfully at Colin. “Thanks for the signed Hurricanes hat.”
“It’s no big deal.”
We all wave as we head out the front. Nash says goodbye to the Moons who are all staying at Simin’s parents’ place that is far enough out of the city that it still has power.
Colin takes a headcount of who is going to his house, and basically everyone else raises their hands.
I head out to my truck to grab a sports drink from the cooler we packed for ourselves, not knowing what would or wouldn’t be provided here.
“I’ll take one, too,” Nash says from behind, startling me. I hand her the blue one—I know that’s her favorite flavor. We lean against my truck, drained.
“I’m glad we could help, but I’m exhausted.”
“Big bad football player can’t stand some actual work,” she teases.