A Turbulent Union

The sky was dark and ominous the night Harry and Jess drove through Iowa. They were engaged and looking for a venue for their wedding when the car suddenly stopped in the middle of nowhere.

“Why are you slowing down?”

Harry hit the gas again.

“I don’t know what’s going on? Something must be wrong with the car.”

Jess rolled her eyes and sighed furious with the situation.

“Did you remember to put gas in it?”

Harry’s dead pan expression said it all as he turned and looked at her. Jess looked away putting her hands in the air as if she was done with the conversation already. Harry popped the hood of the car and looked for something wrong. After a few minutes Jess got out of the car and handed him a bottle of water.

“So what’s the prognosis?”

Harry looked up “not good. Alternator is dead and I have no idea where to get another one around here.”

Harry checked his phone. “I don’t have reception out here, do you?”

“No, and mines about to die. So now what?”

Harry looked around. “Guess we keep going until we find something.”

Jess looked down the road and spotted an old barn.

“Looks like there’s a farm not too far from here. Hopefully, someone’s home.”

The two pushed the car to the side of the road and began walking toward the barn. Winds picked up as they walked. A storm was coming in and fast. By the time they got to the barn it was raining sideways. For a moment you had to talk over the rain hitting the roof of the barn. Harry starts looking around the barn.

“Must be something we can use in here to dry off.”

Jess bends over to shake out her hair. When she stood up, she was half-way done putting it in a bun.

“This place isn’t bad. I like the old look to it. When do you think it was built?”

Harry turns around “It looks at least 60 years old babe.”

Jess smiles “This would be a nice place to get married. Have the front and back door open, let the sun bathe you as you enter and leave. It reminds me of the ones we grew up on.”

Harry turns again “Yea, too bad they both had to be sold.”

As he turns, he sees a red rag on the floor next to a bail of hay. He wiped some hay off it and hands it to Jess.

“You might be able to dry off with this.”

Jess took the rag.

“Thanks. Maybe I'll lay it out, and we can snuggle on it latter.”

Harry laughed. “Yea there’s plenty of room.”

He went toward the front of the barn to see what was on the other side. They had come through the back running in to get out of the rain, so they didn’t see much as they got in. Just then they heard a thump. They turned left to see a dent in the side of the barn. Harry walked over to it while Jess looked out the back of the barn.

“This is a tire. Why is it halfway through the barn right now?”

Jess gasped then yelled at Harry “stay away from the walls!”

He looked confused but obeyed. Then he walked to the back where she was and looked outside. The rain had picked up along with the wind. They both went out to look around the barn just in time to see a tornado touch down.

Jess turned to Harry “Back in the barn!”

The two ran back in and shut the door. Panicked, Harry starts looking for something to put in front of the door. He sees a tractor is close to the door and begins pushing it in front of the doors on the rear of the barn. Jess found some rope and tied the front doors together on the front.

“What are we going to do?” Jess sounded as scared as Harry looked.

“We will stay in here and make it through the night.” Harry gives Jess a big hug.

The two fell to their knees where they stood. Rain and debris crashing against the barn. As the storm got closer, the noise got louder. They moved to the middle of the barn in case something can flying through part of the barn. Pieces of the barn began to break and as they happened Harry looked for way to plug the holes that were made. A tree branch fell through a window, and he pushed it back. Then covered the hole with part of a tarp and some duct tape. Jess was able to push the tire through the hole it made and found some crates to stack in front of it. Luckily, the hole was about knee-high, and the tire didn’t go all the way through the wall.

The two met back in the middle of the barn. Huddling together for warmth and hoping that the storm would die down soon.

Jess looked up at Harry “I’m scared.”

Harry smiled “we’ll be alright. The storm is almost over.”

Just then the rope holding the front doors broke and one door flew open, revealing the winds carrying flying debris and lightning strikes. A house was across from the barn but the lights were out. They assumed no one was home.

Harry stared at the house. “I think we can make it.”

“NO! We shouldn’t risk it. The barn is safe enough to wait out the storm.” Jess yelled.

The door is blown shut and the two fell asleep in each other’s arms until morning.

The sun shown bright on Harry’s face when he woke. Looking around, there was no new damage to the barn. He went to get to his feet but woke Jess in the process.

“Is it over?” Jess said, groggy as she awoke.

“Yea. We made it.”

The two laughed and saw the barn door in the front open. In walked a tall slender man with a bushy mustache and a cowboy hat.

“Who are you two?” the man asked.

“Our car broke down last night and this was the closest place we could find shelter from the storm. We’re sorry we broke in here.” Harry looked nervous explaining why they were there.

“Well glad you two are OK. I’m Randy O’Malley and this is my barn.”

Harry and Jess looked relieved seeing that Randy was a nice guy.

“Did you two make these renovations to my barn?” Randy said pointing to the tarp taped to the window.

“Yes. A tree branch felt through the window and a tired broke the wall. My fiancé and I moved them and plugged up the holes.” Jess got up and brushed the dust off her.

“Thank you both very much. The last storm that came through here made hole in this barn and animals got in. took me a few days to get them to stay out afterwards. Is there anything I can do to thank you?”

Harry and Jess looked at each other.

“Well, we are looking for a barn to have our wedding in.” Jess said curiously wondering if he would say yes.

“I’ll tell you what, help me fix up this barn properly and you can have you wedding here.”

Harry and Jess could not believe it. They had found the perfect venue for their wedding and all it took was surviving a tornado.