But they didn’t quite get to the games arcade. As they passed the front door Kate was the first to notice something was amiss “Oh Shit! Look at the water”
Drew looked where Kate was pointing. The water had risen alarmingly. The river which had been perhaps 50 feet from the front door earlier, was now only 30 feet away. Drew guessed the waters had risen a couple of feet since the morning. She had never seen the river so high
“We had better move our cars!” Kate exclaimed.
Drew knew he was correct. The staff had to park in a slightly lower carpark. Her car might be in danger of floating away. Given the level of the water, her car could already be awash. She assumed Kate’s car, a Mini, would be in the same predicament.
Both rushed back to the locker room to retrieve their car keys. Drew found the keys to her old Ford in her locker. Whilst there she also grabbed her now too big coat and put that on. The rain was still coming down pretty heavily so she expected to get quite wet running to her car.
Likewise Kate, hurriedly retrieved her keys from the handbag in her thankfully unlocked locker. Bad luck to the bosses suit he thought. Saving his Mini was more important.
Kate was back at the front door first and rushed out, keys in hand. It was perhaps a 80 yard dash through the clients carpark to the lower section which the staff had to use. He saw the mini sitting in fast flowing water. The water was of a level with the top of the Mini’s tyres. He noticed Drews’s old Ford at the far end of the carpark There the water seemed a couple of inches deeper.
Kate didn’t hesitate. The boss’s suit was already wet. He just ran to his car opened the door and squeezed in. He had to adjust the seat back as Miguel’s body was bigger than his own. Fortunately the car started first go. He backed out and headed to the client carpark on higher ground. He could feel the water pushing the vehicle but it had enough grip to make progress.
As he drove out, he observed Drew, wearing Kate’s own body, splashing through the water to her own car She must have stopped to put a coat on, but that wasn’t going to save her jeans and runners from getting soaked. He figured Drew should get there in time, but Drew’s car was old and unreliable. Kate hoped it would start for her. But more important was the task of getting his own car to higher ground. He decided the best place to park would be near the garbage bins by the rear entrance. That area was higher than the client carpark. Once the Mini was safe he would return and check that Drew had been able to retrieve her car as well.
Drew was running as quickly as she could towards her old car. She had never worn glasses before and her vision was getting obscured by raindrops on them. It was disconcerting. She did see that Kate had got to his mini and was safely driving it out. Hopefully she would rescue her own car as well. Trust this to be the day to have parked in the very lowest car spot. She observed the water was halfway up her car’s wheels, perhaps 10 inches deep, but it didn’t appear that it had moved the car yet. She sensed that she had arrived just in time.
Then all of a sudden she found herself looking up at the cloudy sky. She had somehow slipped. Fortunately it was a soft landing into six inches of water.
She was soaked, but there was no time to dwell on what had just happened. She had to get to her car quickly. If the water rose any further it would likely float away. Fortunately, Drew had held onto her car keys and Kate’s glasses had stayed in place. She dreaded what might have happened if she had lost the glasses remembering how poor Kate’s eyesight was.
She scrambled back to her feet and carefully walked the remaining 20 feet to her car, The water was fast flowing but not yet at the bottom of her car door. She put the key in the lock and it opened. She scrambled in, not worrying about her soaking wet clothes. A wet seat was a small price to pay.
The car did not start initially, Drew rued not getting it serviced, but the battery turned over which was a good sign. To her immense relief, on the third attempt the car started. In no time she had it in reverse and just backed up steadily into the shallower water, she could feel the pressure of the flowing water against the car recede. In the end she kept it in reverse all the way to the clients carpark, which although not dry was not flooded. There she stopped and heaved a sigh of relief.
Kate had not observed Drew’s drama. He came upon Drew sitting in her car in the relatively dry client carpark. He knocked on Drew’s window and told Drew where he had put his own car, suggesting Drew should do the same. He then ran quickly back to the front door to get out of the rain
Drew heeded Kate’s advice and took her car around to the back door. The water would need to rise a lot further to flood this area. She parked beside the Mini then began the long walk back in the teeming rain to the front door, knowing that the rear door was locked. She didn’t worry about getting wet, she was already soaked, she was just relieved that the cars were rescued.
Kate was waiting for her just inside the door “That’s a relief. We should have thought of the cars earlier”
“I never imagined the river could rise this high” Drew replied
“I think it’s still coming up. It’s certainly not dropping”
Drew had to agree with him. The rain was still coming down as heavily as ever. “I think it’s getting higher as we speak” she replied. It’s even closer to the front door than before”
“Well I don’t know about you, but I could use a shower and find myself some some dry clothes”
“Yeah me too” Drew replied. “I hope you don’t mind me showering in your body”
“I don’t think we have any choice” Kate replied. “Use the shower in the executive suite. It’s much nicer than the locker room, and I saw clean towels there. Ladies first. I’ll find some dry clothes for both of us”
Drew didn’t need to be told twice. She took off her wet coat and the soaked shoes and socks at the front door but stayed in the soaked jeans and wet top as she went back upstairs to the executive suite