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“Beast, sit.”
The dog obeyed.
“Okay, Maddy you can approach.”
“Slowly,” Twister said.
“This is Maddy, Beast. She’s a friend.” Brawler’s attention was tightly on the dog, he then looked at her. “You can hold out your hand and let him smell you.”
She did as she was told, and Beast sniffed her then looked up at her. That same laser focus was there, but he seemed more relaxed.
“Are we friends now? Can I pet him?”
“Yeah, he’s accepted you. Go ahead.”
She reached out and smoothed her hand over his head. He closed his eyes and his tail started to wag. She smiled.
“Shark is holding my equipment. We need to swing by and pick it up. It’s a bit heavy.” They got back into the car, and she drove over to the hangar. Shark was standing near a flat dolly.
“Stay,” Brawler said as he and Twister got out of the SUV to help Shark. She got out and released the back hatch, and they loaded her equipment, then got back inside. She remained next to Shark while he pushed the button to close the back.
“Thank you,” she said, holding out the key fob.
He took it from her, his fingers warm as they brushed hers. “You’re welcome.”
They stood there for several seconds as the reality of him washed over her. It was nice to savor something instead of rushing past it to get to the new thing, letting herself think about and enjoy the moment. In the midst of this new experience of just quieting all her bullshit, sadness started to creep in, and it made her panic a bit because that sadness meant something she wasn’t willing to explore right now. It scared her too much to keep thinking about it. And her inability to explore her own feelings made her feel so empty deep inside, because something was definitely missing. The realization made her feel ashamed and scared all over again.
“I’ve got to set up this equipment. I don’t want to get behind schedule.”
He nodded. “We better get going then.”
He moved with her when she went to the passenger side of the vehicle, and she was confused until he opened the door for her. Oh, gentlemanly behavior. Warmth settled in her chest, a genuine, heartfelt feeling of gratitude for his thoughtfulness. “Thanks.”
He gifted her with one of his almost smiles, then closed the door when she settled in.
She turned around toward the back and said, “We can go to the house and drop you guys off, so you won’t have to tag along with me on a boring errand.”
“That stuff is pretty heavy. I can give you a hand,” Twister said.
“You have no idea how many times we just sit and wait. It should be in our job description. Beast can use the exercise. We’ll help, too.”
“Great. Thank you. I can lift some of the stuff, but it will make quick work of it if you all help out.” Shark drove out of the airport and got on the main road. “We need to go to the epicenter of the last earthquake, a 7.1 shaker near Léogâne about fifteen miles from here. I then want to go to Petit-Trou-de-Nippes which is about sixty miles from Léogâne. That work?”
“Affirmative,” Twister said, and Brawler nodded.
“Good, we can get lunch somewhere in between. My treat,” Maddy said. It was the least she could do for these guys who were so sweet in helping her move her equipment.
“Why two places?” Brawler asked.
“Well, mostly because it’s more data, and I need data for my research. Do you guys know anything about earthquakes and how they happen?”
Head shaking all around. She smiled. “Most people don’t. It’s all about tectonic plates. The earth is made up of constructive, destructive, and conservative or transform plate boundaries. Constructive is when two plates separate, and magma rises through the gap and creates new earth when it cools.” She used her flat hands side by side to show the separation. “That’s how Hispaniola was formed.” She changed the direction of her hands, so the fingers of her right hand were touching the ones of the left.
“Destructive is when two plates move toward each other and subduct, which means one plate goes under the other, pushing the crust upward, lifting the mountain block skyward while dropping the valley floor.” She slipped her right hand under her left and allowed her left hand to fist. “This seismic activity creates mountains, so think about the pressure it took to form, say the Grand Tetons, which have been uplifting for about ten million years.” She noted the rapt attention on their faces and got giddy thinking about how much she loved this stuff. It was nice to have an interested audience. It’s why she enjoyed teaching so much.
“Conservative is when plates move horizontally past each other without creating or destroying the earth’s crust.” She set her hands side by side again and pushed her right hand forward along the edge of her left hand. “Haiti lies to the north of the Caribbean plate and the North American plate rides directly horizontal. So, as they creep past each other at approximately 0.8 inches per year, stress builds up on a fault line, which is a fracture between two blocks of rock. This island sits on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault. When the pressure builds to the breaking point, the rock along the fault gives way causing a sudden release of energy, which triggers the earthquake.”
“I had no idea.”
