Will immediately jumps up and closes in on his brother. The rest of us slowly rise and shine our phones on Jim. He looks a mess. He is soaking wet, a puddle forming at his feet as water is running down his clothes. Pete rushes to grab some paper towels while Rick and I just look on. Blood is running down Jim's face from multiple spots. Nothing too serious, but then I'm not one of the two doctors in the restroom.
"Jim, what happened?" Will asks, as he starts taking some of the towels from Pete and starts examining Jim's face.
"It was horrible out there. Can I sit down, first? That storm took a lot out of me." Jim starts heading to the back and sits down on the first stall.
Jim takes off his left shoe and pours the water out onto the floor, where it runs towards the back of the stall. He puts it back on and takes off the other one before he starts talking again.
"It took me a minute to go after my wife. I guess she slapped me harder than I thought. Anyway, she had already took the elevator down by the time I reach it. She must have punched the buttons for every floor, because the elevator was taking forever to come back." Jim puts the shoe back on.
"It took me a minute to find the stairs and start down. On the second floor, I could see her running through the parking lot. I should have realized something was up. It shouldn't have been that bright. I ran down to the first floor, winded. I barely noticed bumping into some short, bald guy as I raced through the door. That's when I finally noticed that all of the lot's lights were on, way too early. I looked up, and the sky was almost pitch black. Dark gray clouds were just flying by. I didn't think about them as I hobbled my way across the parking lot."
Jim is taking off his jacket and trying to shake some of the water off, to little effect.
"I'm really out of shape, and those dress shoes weren't helping, either." Jim continues, rubbing his large belly through his drenched shirt. "You know, I could piss myself right now, and you couldn't tell, these clothes are so wet. In fact, I think I may have a little while the worse of the storm came though. I made my way to the street, almost going the wrong way. I had ran a few yards before I turned around the right way and saw the storm coming. That's when the thunder started in earnest, as well as the tornado sirens. I might have heard one thunderclap when I left the center, but now it was revving up. I could see the sheets of rain approaching. I ran back to the hotel, crossing the street just as the lights went out. Fortunately, there were no cars out, or I would've been trouble."
"The hotel's doors were locked, or broken, or something. I banged on them, but they wouldn't open. Because the power was out, I couldn't tell if there was anyone in the lobby to help me in. That's when the first raindrops started. I quickly decided that going back to the center was the best option, as opposed to staying at the main door or finding another entrance to the hotel. The hail and the wind started before I got back to the parking lot. At least these extra pounds helped keep me planted to the ground." Jim rubs his belly again, before reaching down to take his shoes off again, and then takes off his socks. He starts to wring them before stopping and just placing them on the tank behind him.
"I stayed away from trees and poles, due to the lightning. I weaved through the few cars left in the lot, trying to keep out of the worst. I made it back to the door, but it was locked too. I tried to huddle up behind one of those huge planters by the door, but it barely helped. I kept getting hit by hail and debris. I moved after I realized I was by one of the drains. Finally, a large hunk of something flew by and hit the door, shattering the glass." Jim was looking right at Rick when he said that last part.
"Very lucky that you were able to finally get in," Rick responds.
"Yeah, it was," Jim answers. "I knocked out a few last pieces of glass, before I was able to make my way in. The storm was mostly over by then. I must have been out in the rain for about twenty minutes. I made my way down the hall to the men's room."
"We heard a hard crack of thunder a while ago. That must have been you coming in."
"Yeah. I guess I through open the door a little hard. I shuffled my in, and I heard Will talking about what happened to him. I kept quiet to listen to the story. I am so sorry Will. If I only knew. You should have told me this sooner."
"I know. It was just. Well, Ray was pretty much your only friend, and you were his. I didn't know what to do." Will begins to shake. "I didn't know."
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