Alex's body twisted and turned as the sheets wrapped around her legs, binding her limbs in the bedding. The pounding of her heart yanked her out of a dead sleep as she glanced frantically about the room. Nervous sweat poured from her forehead as she tried to untangle herself from the sheet jungle that had taken over the body. She could only see snippets of the dream that had woke her up from a deep sleep, but she knew it had been enough to cause her heart to pound.
The bedcovers eventually let loose as Alex was ejected onto the floor. She lay there trying to catch her breath as she tried to determine why she woke up, to remember more of the dream. Then she heard the wind whistling through the gaps in her window sills. Pulling herself off the floor, she wrapped a quilt around her shoulders and made her way to the glass panes which overlooked the street.
The infamous Chicago wind was blowing the snow flurries around the pavement and sidewalks in front of her apartment, slowing occasionally to allow the white precipitation to accumulate in drifts. Alex poured herself a cup of yesterday's coffee and warmed it in the microwave. She settled on the couch and flipped on the television, turning to the weather channel so she could determine what to expect the next few days and weeks for the buses.
"The big news for this morning is that what meteorologists have been calling the 'bomb-cyclone' has hit the east coast. Frigid temperatures, some that could feel as cold as minus 30 degrees, moved across the East Coast as the region attempted to clean up from a massive winter storm that brought more than a foot of snow, hurricane-force winds and coastal flooding. Forecasters predict strong winds and record-breaking cold air will sweep the region, from the mid-Atlantic to New England, and hang around through the weekend."
Alex went still in her chair, eyes glued on the news station. "Airports are expected to be closed until early next week along with most major freeways, subways and trains. It will be a while before we dig ourselves out of this one."
Phone in hand, Alex paced as she repeatedly dialed and re-dialed Piper's number which consistently went straight to voicemail. Facetime was not successful in connecting either.
"FUCK!" Alex swore out loud. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Her mind was twisting and turning in fifty directions at once. She threw herself back on the couch, burying her head in her hands. Her mind went back to a winter just last year. All she could do was envision a dirty, shabby homeless woman who was going to be swallowed in the first huge blizzard of last snow season in Chicago. That woman was now the love of her life.
Alex was frantic not being able to get in touch with Piper. She tried Piper a few more times before giving in to the knowledge that communications were grossly overtaxed in that area. Alex flipped over to a local news channel in hopes of finding a forecast for Chicago. While it was not as grim as what was happening on the east coast, it was still going to be damned cold.
Once her mind processed all of the bits and pieces of information running through it, she knew what their community needed. Something akin to what she had done last year when searching for Piper, albeit more organized. Alex made a command decision and sent out a group text to Nicky and the girls – Buses won't be running showers for a few days. Team meeting at the apartment in one hour. I'm bringing tacos.
When Alex arrived at Taystee and Poussey's apartment, the full team was there – weary eyed but there. Alex dumped a few bags of breakfast tacos out on the table. Everyone clamored for their favorite. Nicky disappeared into the kitchen and returned with orange juice, water, and sodas.
Everyone enjoyed the meal while Alex laid out the plan for the upcoming freeze days. "Tricia, I know that the showers provide a much-needed service to our target population." Alex tried to mask the frustration she felt as she tried to get her point across.
"Look Tricia, do you remember the night we first met last year, under the bridge? I was looking for Piper the night of that big blizzard."
Tricia crossed her arms and threw herself back in her chair. "Yeah? So?"
Alex closed her eyes while choosing her words. "What was I doing? Other than looking for Piper?"
"You were handing out stuff. I got some thermals, socks, and some other stuff. You hooked me up." Tricia paused as her own words sank in. "I guess you saved me that night boss. I see your point."
By this time, everyone around the table understood what Alex was saying. Each of them had spent cold nights on the streets and knew how absolutely horrid it was – dangerous as well.
Alex handed out the quickly made plan she had devised earlier. "Nicky, you and Lorna are going to hit up all these outdoor and sporting goods stores. I want you to buy up all the socks you find. Preferably those thick full calf socks, but the thinner socks will work as well. Also look for those metallic survival blankets. While you are in the camping section, see if they have any of those weird pop-up cardboard structures. I don't want to get tents, but I saw some coffin-like things that hikers can put in their bags for emergency situations. Non-flammable hand warmers and thermals, of course."
"Got it boss." Nicky slung her arm over Lorna's shoulder. "Let's go babe."
"Oh and pick up as many of those disposable plastic bags you can get your hands on… and newspaper. All of you. Don't worry about buying too much. It can always be put to good use."
"Taystee, Poussey… take the company van. The seats should be pulled out. I've mapped out all the area Army/Navy surplus stores. Like I told Nic, buy them out. Jackets, wool socks, wool blankets, pants, long sleeve shirts, t-shirts, anything in any size. Swoop up their duffel bags, too."
Alex looked Taystee in the eye as she pressed a wad of cash into her hand. "Not all the surplus stores will trust a credit card they think may be stolen. Sorry, but cash will always talk. Make sure you take business cards and introduce yourselves before you start raiding their stock."
Poussey rolled her eyes with the comments about the credit card but nodded in agreement.
"On it boss, let's go Amanda – we are on a mission."
Alex turned to the new-hires. "Newbies you are with me. We are going grocery shopping. But first – my fabulous social media gurus. Here are some examples of somethings I found on a website. I'd like for you to design instructions for our customers – both written and with drawing – on the best way to use the things we are going to give them in the duffels. Here's a list of what I want to put in the bags. Show them how to layer their clothes and using plastic bags over their socks to keep their feet dry. Me and the new girls here are going food shopping. Cheese, canned beans, fatty soups like cream of mushroom, water, trail mix, etc. So, expressing the importance of going to sleep with their tummies full is important as is staying hydrated. It's all right there in what I printed off the internet."
"Include the usual Cinderella Foundation information as well as addresses and mini-maps to all of the regular and cold-weather shelters. Then send it to the print shop. I'll let you know when I'm heading back to make sure it's done. I'll pick them up so nobody else has to get out. As everyone else makes their way back, start an assembly line to stuff duffels."
Alex motioned the new girls towards the door and to her car. Flaca grabbed her by the arm. "Hey Al, boss lady. You okay? Where's Piper?"
Alex stiffened and turned back to Flaca and placed her hand over the woman's. "She's in New York… in that bomb-cyclone freak east coast storm."
Flaca gasped lightly. "Oh shit Alex; have you talked to her? Is she okay?" Alex sadly shook her head. "I'm sure you will hear from her soon. She'll make it through just fine. She's a street rat, just like us."
"Thanks Flaca. Hey – and could you call the shelters on our regular routes and let them know that we won't be doing showers but will be delivering cold-weather supplies instead. Anyone on the shower list is guaranteed a bag. But we will also be hitting the streets, bridges, and tunnels. I appreciate you girls."
With this, Alex turned and lead the new recruits to her car
Piper resisted the urge to throw her phone against the wall. She'd been trying to get in touch with Alex since last night. No calls were going through. The internet was down, too, so she couldn't Facetime or even send an e-mail to let her girlfriend know she was okay.
Frustrated, Piper sank into the overstuffed chair by the window of her hotel room. Outside was near white-out conditions as the wind whipped and whistled outside the windows of her 35th floor suite. Of course, the urban development center meeting had been postponed. That's about the only thing that had gone right for Piper the past few days.
Guilt had been ripping at her gut for the way she had left things with Alex. Announcing to Alex that she was going to potentially move to New York to expand operations with the Cinderella Foundation must have come as a shock to her girlfriend. Piper could kick herself for not even having a conversation about it. She just assumed Alex would come with her. But the look on Alex's face when Piper told of her of the opportunity told Piper all she needed to know. Alex was not about to leave Chicago, at least not anytime soon.
As Piper waited for her laptop to boot, she re-read the proposal and began to make notes in the margin of her copy. Ideas began rolling through her mind and soon she was furiously editing not only the hard copy but also the soft copy of the document on her computer.
A few hours later, she again pushed away from her desk. She needed a break, to get out of the hotel room even if only for a small time. Trying her luck, Piper headed down to the lobby to see if one of the hotel's three restaurants was open. With luck, she was able to find somewhere to eat without venturing out into the blizzard.
Stranded tourists and business persons alike were lounging in the lobby and restaurants, each with their own level of anxiousness about the storm coupled with boredom of not having anything to do and not knowing how long they would be trapped.
Piper finished her meal, wandered around a bit then went back to her room. She tried calling Alex again but the phone lines were still jammed and the internet still inoperable. Luckily, she had downloaded some episodes of The Originals from Netflix onto her iPad. With any luck, the internet would be back up before she ran out of shows to watch.
Eventually the full team was assembled back at the apartments. When Alex came this time, she was bearing deli trays of veggies and sandwiches. Any good boss knows the best way to get a crew to work is to keep them well-fed. Even Taystee didn't complain when her and Poussey's living room got turned into a huge warehouse of clothes and supplies.
The organization of the group was flawless. Each set of duffels was laid out then women each grabbed their items and made sure there was a correct stack of stuff laid in front of the bag before the food, water and instructions went in last. As each round of bags got stuffed, a different pair of women volunteered to brave the cold and stack them in the back of the cargo van.
It wasn't long before the van was stuffed to the gills. The assembly line continued until there was no room left in the apartment. Everyone seemed to still have gas left in their proverbial tanks, so Alex and Nicky took the van to the warehouse and stored those duffels in the warehouse space to make room for another set of duffels in the van. Eventually the supplies grew thin and the woman stopped their task but not before there were enough bags to fill the van three and a half times over.
Everyone was getting weary at this point and it was supposed to be dark soon. So Alex agreed to take one load of bags around to their regular shelters to distribute to the people who were on the original shower lists for the day. Then the group agreed to start out early in the day to come up with a plan for the rest.
"Hey Nic," Alex nodded her head at her best friend. "Want to join me? I could use the company. We can come back later and grab our cars."
Nicky could tell that her best friend was still pretty down about the whole Piper thing, so agreed to join Alex to keep her company.
After a few mindless episodes of vampire drama, Piper decided to proof-read her revised proposal for expansion of the Cinderella Foundation. She desperately wanted to run it by Marka but knew Nicky's mom would just smile and tell her to do what she felt was best – best of herself and for the Foundation.
After making a few minor changes, she decided that the proposal was as good as it was going to get. She saved the changes and took a long, hot bubble bath. Since there was no telling how long she was going to be trapped in this forsaken blizzard, she might as well enjoy the hotel.