Matecumbe by James A. Michener Read Free Book Online Page B

you think everyone here would be able to get away, safely, from another hurricane?”
    “I’m not sure,” Joes continued, pensively. “It’s true that we have a better communication system these days, compared with 1935, what with so much television and radio. So, everyone ought to know well in advance that a hurricane is due to strike. The federal government, though, would probably have to help us out by sending in some fast boats and helicopters.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “There are just too many people living on the Keys now, Melissa. With the permanent population gradually creeping upward and the trend today toward year-round Florida tourism, you might be talking about putting tens of thousands of people on only one highway, at the same time, going in one direction.
    “From Key West all the way back to Miami, where they could get some decent shelter, is about a hundred and fifty miles. So if Key West were the site of a hurricane’s probable landfall, that could mean a hundred and fifty miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic.”
    “As a policeman, then, you wouldn’t be allowed to jump in your car and go along with the crowd, would you?”
    “No, I’d be obligated to stay. First, I’d have to knock on doors to make sure that everyone knew about the storm. Next, I’d have to arrange some sort of cooperative transportation for those people who had no way out—car pools, maybe. And, finally, I’d have to wait until the last of the traffic had passed through. There are some eighty miles of highway from Key West to where we’re standing in Islamorada. And no doubt some of those frightened, scurrying tourists would have car trouble somewhere in this town.
    “I’m afraid, Melissa, that I’d be one of the last to get out.”
    “Charming thought,” Melissa added, wryly, in commiseration with Joe’s dismal projection. “Obviously, a monster hurricane would be God’s way to even the score after blessing this place with so many days of warm, delicious weather.”
    As she spoke, Melissa wondered, silently, about the level of Joe’s concern over hurricanes. Was it something he dreaded constantly, or just occasionally? Or did he consider it only a remote possibility that really didn’t affect him at all? While she pondered, he answered.
    “I’m probably foolish, but I’m probably also like most of the other people who live here. We very rarely think about it, we never talk about it, and deep down inside we have this cocksure confidence that we’re quicker and craftier than any hurricane nature can muster. A little bit of wind and rain, that’s all they are.”
    This answer didn’t quite dispel Melissa’s suspicions that something else lurked behind Joe’s statement. It was almost like he was trying to convince himself of his ability to overcome a hurricane. That wince of pain that flickered through his eyes as he spoke about hurricanes seemed to speak to a deep sorrow. Melissa suspected she was about to tread on dangerous ground, but this was the “new” Melissa, and if she was to have an open relationship she was determined that there’d be no secrets.
    “Joe, I can’t help but notice that the mention of hurricanes brings some real pain to your eyes. Is there something you’re not telling me?” Melissa grabbed Joe’s hand instinctively, but let her eyes drop to the ground, afraid to watch Joe’s reaction to this question.
    Joe shuddered slightly, then pulled Melissa down to sit on a nearby bench. He looked out to sea for a few minutes before he spoke again. “It’s been a while since I have talked about this to anyone, but many years ago, back when I was based at Quantico, I was engaged to a nurse who lived in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, not far from my uncle in Somerdale.
    “We had met one summer at a local bar there while I was visiting my uncle, and we just clicked. Before I knew it, we were engaged. We were planning to get married right after my tour of duty was over. Becky was a pediatric