Southern Attraction (9 page)

             
She didn’t sit back and watch Mick and Principal Thomas call everyone for assistance, but she got on the other line and made some calls of her own.  She contacted some of her previous teachers and coaches from Manhattan and asked for their help.  She called some of her friends’ parents that had plenty of money and asked for donations of money and clothes.  She called Larry, her parents financial advisor.  She asked him to spread the word of the town’s disaster, hoping to bring in more donations.

             
She contacted everyone that she could think of that could provide some type of contribution to the cause.  She called people until six o’clock that evening.  She was emotionally drained and exhausted, but wanted to go to the hospital to visit with Stephanie and Jake.  After eating dinner that Ms. Thomas had cooked, she told Mick, in private, she was going to the hospital to visit with some friends.  She didn’t want Shawn to overhear what she had said, because she wanted to go without him.

Chapter Thirteen

              Heather spent an hour talking with Stephanie about what she had done that day and about how Shawn had opened up to her about his feelings toward her.  Stephanie wasn’t surprised at what she said, because she had suspected it already.  Shawn had become a new person after Heather came to town.  He wasn’t the same smart alec, distant guy that he once was.  He tried to make friends with people he had never spoke to before.  He seemed to have a heart that he never allowed anyone to see before. 

             
“I think he’s a good guy deep down and I’m happy for you,” Stephanie said.  Deep down Stephanie envied her friend and wished that she wasn’t so attractive and appealing to boys her age.  She couldn’t stand the fact that boys were ensnared by her good looks.  Stephanie was somewhat jealous of her.

             
“Whoa, wait a minute.  I didn’t say that I felt the same toward him.  I just said that he told me that he likes me.  I don’t know how I feel about him, yet.  I told him that I needed some time to decide about my feelings toward him and I wasn’t ready for a relationship.  This disaster, that we all went through, did a number on me.  I want to have time to calm down and sort out my true feelings,” Heather replied.

             
“I understand completely.  You never really understand your true self, until something like this happens to you.  Maybe that is why God allows us to go through things like this.  It gives us some perspective about who we are and what really matters to us.  I know that my dad meant a great deal to me and I wish I could have told him that,” Stephanie said.

             
“Stephanie, your dad knew how much you cared about him.  I believe you made a good point and I believe you are right.  I never really understood who I was until this happened.  I didn’t care about anything before but myself.  Now I know that there are more important things in this life, than us and what we want.  There is a greater purpose and it is up to each one of us to figure it out,” Heather replied.

             
“So what are you going to do now?  I mean with Shawn and how to decide on what you really want,” Stephanie inquired.

             
“I am going to take things slowly. I know that when it is right, I will know it.  I feel like I want things to come naturally and not forced.  Shawn told me about his feelings toward me, it pressured me to some degree, for some reason. I don’t know if that meant that I don’t feel the same way toward him or that I just need more time to sort it all out.  I did tell him that I would make tell him about my feelings towards him, when I knew what they were exactly.”

             
“Is there someone else that you think you might like?” Stephanie inquired. She noticed that Heather talked to Jake during school quite a bit.

             
“Maybe, but like I said, I don’t really know right now what and who I want.  I’ll make sure to tell you when I do.  What about you?  Who do you like?” Heather asked. 

             
“I don’t know.  I don’t want to upset you by telling you, but I have always had a crush on Shawn.  I do not plan on making any kind of effort to win his attention, but since you asked.  I wanted to be honest with you and tell you how I felt,” Stephanie said.

             
“So, you like Shawn,” Heather replied.

             
“Yea, I do.  I promise not to do anything about it though.  I don’t want to hurt our friendship,” Stephanie said.

             
“It must be burning you up inside that he likes me,” Heather said.

             
“Yea a little, but I care more for you as a friend.  I don’t want anything to jeopardize our friendship,” Stephanie replied.

             
Heather didn’t know what to say.  She was dumbfounded by what Stephanie said to her.  “I…I am glad you told me how you feel.  I’m not mad at you, but maybe a little relieved.  I don’t know if that makes sense to you or not, but I am relieved that someone else does like Shawn.  Is that crazy?” Heather asked.

             
“Maybe that is your answer.  Maybe you don’t have the same feelings for him that he has for you,” Stephanie replied hoping it was the truth.

             
“Maybe, but who knows.  I’m going to go visit Jake.  He is in the hospital in a coma.  I didn’t want to tell you at first, because I didn’t want to upset you,” Heather replied.

             
“I’m glad you did.  I hope he is all right.  Please let me know how he is after you see him,” Stephanie replied.

             
“I will, but promise me that you won’t tell anyone that I went to visit him, especially Shawn.  I don’t want to upset him or have him think that I was keeping things from him,” Heather said.  “I promise.  Your secret is safe with me.”

             
“When are you getting out of the hospital?” Heather asked.  “They say tomorrow if my test comes back fine.  My mother is going to try to have a funeral for my dad tomorrow.  I’ll call you and let you know for sure.  Good luck with your visit with Jake,” Stephanie said as Heather was leaving the room.

             
When Heather walked down the hall to Jake’s room, she felt guilty.  She didn’t know why, but she didn’t want Shawn to find out about her visit with Jake.  She felt herself sneaking down the hall, looking around to make sure no one saw her.  She didn’t want anyone to see her that would report back to Shawn about her visit.

             
As she approached Jake’s room, she peeked inside.  She did not see anyone in the room except Jake.  She walked up to his bed and pulled up a chair.  She watched for several minutes observing him.  His skin color looked more natural than the day before.   He had more color and his face had some pink to it.  His breathing was more relaxed.  He looked as peaceful as a small baby lying in his bed.  The room had a smell of cologne in the air.  She suspected someone had sprayed the cologne so that the room wouldn’t smell bad.

             
She looked around to make sure no one else had entered the room when she started to talk to him.  “Jake, it’s Heather.  I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you.  I hope you get to feeling better.  You need to wake up so we can talk.  I miss our talks that we had when no one else was around.  Wake up Jake and argue with me.  Wake up and tell me what I can do to help you,” she said.

             
After Heather sat by Jake’s bedside for several moments, she decided it was getting late, and she wanted to get back to Shawn’s house before it got too dark.  She wasn’t use to driving in the dark in Huckleburg.  She had to rely on buildings and road signs to get her to where she was going.  When she caught a whiff of chicken poop, she knew she was getting close to Shawn’s house.  His neighbors had three long chicken houses that couldn’t be misinterpreted as anything else.

             
When Heather returned to the house, Shawn was inquisitive to where she had been.  She told him that she had drove around the town to survey all the damage and then went to visit Stephanie.  She left the part out where she had gone to visit Jake.  She didn’t want him to get jealous or upset.  She was afraid he would interpret her visit as more than what she thought it was.  Just a friendly visit to check on a schoolmate.  Maybe a little more.

Chapter Fourteen

             
Stephanie’s father was buried in the church cemetery the next day.  Heather and Shawn tried to comfort Stephanie and her mother as best as they could.  People from all over the county came to pay their respect.  The floral sprays and greenery lined the front of the church as a couple of women sung hymns.  An eulogy was read before the service began.  After the preacher delivered a thirty minute sermon, people were allowed one more time to say their goodbyes before six pallbearers carried the casket toward the exit.

             
Sobs could be heard all over the church.  Heather could not hold back her tears, so she walked out the side door of the church.   

             
Heather saw Shawn come out the door toward her. 

             
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t stand it any more.  The funeral was reminding me of my parents.  I know how Stephanie is feeling right now.  I know she is  going to have a hard time with this.  We need to stick by her as much as we can,” Heather said.

             
“I know, and we will.  I’m sure she will have a lot of support.  She seems to have a large family,” Shawn replied.

             
“Yes, she does.  Shawn do you mind if we leave now?” Heather asked.

             
“No, not at all,” Shawn replied.  They walked back toward the truck and drove back to his house.

xxxxx

             
Many people came from all over the state to help rebuild the school.  They started rebuilding the necessary areas of the school to be able to start operating without too long of a delay.  Trailers were brought in for kids to be able to have class in, while the rest of the school was rebuilt.  After a few short weeks, classes returned to normal, and kids held classes in the newly structured classrooms.

             
Coach Jones called for his team to start practicing again, trying to help everything return to a normal routine as quickly as possible.  Coach Garner followed Coach Jones’ lead and asked the girls to come to practice again too.

             
Since her father had been a lawyer and well liked by his clients and law firm, Heather had raised over two hundred thousand dollars.  She persuaded Larry to ask his lawyer friends for donations.  Media and newscasters came to the town and brought in more publicity than she expected.  Heather talked with the reporters about their school and football team.  She told them how much her school needed funds to rebuild and asked them for their help in broadcasting the news to the public.  Famous actors and singers helped by holding public appearances and donating the proceeds to the town.

             
The amount of money raised went to building the school, city hall, and homes that were lost.  Many farmers didn’t have insurance, so money went to help them rebuild their farms.  Mick was given enough to help him rebuild his home and barn.  Heather was amazed at how much she accomplished by calling just a few people.  She knew she didn’t do everything by herself, but she had contributed and that made her feel a sense of accomplishment.

             
Heather knew that the tornado had brought a lot of publicity to the school; so she used the media to help her school football team gain a little exposure.  Money was given for new school uniforms and equipment.  Coach Jones and the team were excited about the new supplies which motivated the team to practice harder. 

             
People from all over had heard about the tornado disaster of Huckleburg.  Other school principals and school officials contacted Principal Thomas to set up games with their team.  Coach Jones gladly accepted the offer, hoping to help gain his team some extra exposure. 

             
Several teammates decided to devote extra time to practice, because they were determined to forget about the stressful time that they were all going through.  Many pulled together during the crisis and devoted time to volunteering with the cleanup, and giving extra encouragement where it was needed.  The town became stronger, because of the town’s devotion to helping others.  The media helped by airing the catastrophe on several occasions on all channels world wide. 

xxxxx

             
Heather continued to visit with Jake and she became better acquainted with his mother and father.  She liked Sue, his mother, quite a bit.  She sat and talked about Jake with his mother.  She learned how he had been as a small child.  They talked about his hopes of getting a scholarship, but Sue was afraid that he would not be able to now.