The Current Between Us

One minute, he sat watching the video, the next the gallery plunged into total darkness. Gage looked around the gallery and every laborer working came to an abrupt stop. The air conditioning guys came from the basement door, heading toward his office.

“We blew a breaker,” one of the two said.

“Did you reset it?” Gage called out through the open office door.

“It’s not resetting,” the other replied.

“No one leave! Let me get Coop Electric out here,” Gage said, jumping up from his desk and making his way toward the door. He knew he needed to make it clear no one could leave before every one of these guys loaded up and hightailed it out of there for the night. He palmed his cell and dialed the number he’d saved after their first meeting about the panel change. He stood outside the office door, blocking the way to the front in case anyone made a run for it.

“I have a couple of generators around back for those who need something right away,” Gage said as he listened to the sexiest masculine voice he thought he’d ever heard answer the phone. He couldn’t stop the silly grin from spreading across his face or his heart from thumping wildly in his chest. Both were reactions he shouldn’t be having, especially since his aggressive remodel had come to a complete stop due to lack of electricity.

“Trent, it’s Gage Synclair.”

****

Trent popped the top and chugged a double shot espresso while weaving through the exit doors of their crowded local grocery store. Past the point of exhaustion, a yawn ripped free from his lips, clearly to prove the feeling. The few hours’ nap he’d planned for when he got home this morning never fully materialized. Emalynn couldn’t contain her excitement and bounced off the walls. She couldn’t let him sleep for more than five minutes before bursting in, asking if it were time for him to get up yet.

After about the third interruption, he finally forced himself up and got them ready to go. The first stop sent them straight to Party City, where they spent an hour and a half going through row after row of decorations, letting Em look at everything before she decided on a Barbie themed party, which happened to be the center display when they first walked in the door. As Rhonny suspected, every piece was saturated in hot pink, which fit Emalynn perfectly. Hunter chose the Hulk party plates and balloons for his place setting, officially making his children as different as two could be. With all that, and a hundred dollar bill later, they were out the door of Party City, loaded down, ready to decorate.

The next stop pointed them in the direction of the neighborhood bakery down the street from their house. Em got to taste three different cakes before deciding on a chocolate cake with buttercream icing, just like she always preferred. Of course his little girl talked the decorator into making the entire cake hot pink with Barbie’s face drawn on top matching her decorations. Their third stop for the afternoon, a quick hair cut for Hunter. And the fourth stop, the local grocery store for their weekly groceries. It took them about an hour in the store, most of the time spent navigating through the masses of people, before they were able to check out and get the heck out of dodge.

Em sat in the front of the cart like normal, and against his better judgment, Trent let Hunter talk him into walking outside the cart, holding the sides with his hand. Trent only needed to remind him about thirty times to hang on to the side and not get distracted away. Emalynn chatted her little head off the entire time about all the selections she could have made at the party store and why Barbie was the very best. The benefit to Em’s chatter, she never really required him to talk back to her. She could hold the entire conversation on her own, never feeling the least bit slighted if he didn’t respond. Hunter, on the other hand, needed constant watching for fear he might wander off if something caught his eye.

As they made their way outside, Trent squinted in the bright sun. He pulled the cart to a stop. The parking lot was jammed packed with cars everywhere. He needed the minute to remind himself where he may have parked. Spotting the truck, he pushed them forward and got about halfway through the parking lot when his phone began to ring. He palmed it from his belt, moving them out of the way of any oncoming cars so he could answer.

“Hunter, I said hold on to the side. You’re gonna get hurt, son,” Trent said when Hunter bent down, looking at something sparkling in the sun, lying on the ground beside them.

“Sorry, Daddy, I forgot,” he said, looking over his shoulder, taking the side of the cart again, but he turned back, keeping his eyes focused on the ground. By the third ring, Trent finally looked down at the phone screen and hesitated, not recognizing the number.

“Daddy, can I add the Barbie doll to my birthday list? She’s so beautiful,” Em chatted on. When she didn’t get his attention right away she began to tap her hand on his arm. “Daddy, you aren’t hearing me.”

“Hunter, get out of the street and hang on to the side of the cart or you have to get in the basket. Em, hang on, honey.” Trent thumbed the phone connection open on the fourth ring. “Coop Electric.”

“Trent, it’s Gage Synclair.” After a momentary pause as Trent registered what he heard, his heart plunged to his feet right before it slammed back into his chest. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

Everything came to a stop in the middle of the fast-paced parking lot. Emalynn sat in the basket looking at him, her mouth moving, but he heard nothing she said. He reached down and grabbed Hunter by the back of the collar, pulling him up, keeping a tight hold on his shirt to draw him in closer. He never let go of the back of Hunter’s shirt and centered into the call.