Natural Disasters
By Alexis Schaitkin, first published in Ecotone
A young woman and her husband move from New York City to Oklahoma. While visiting a home for her new job as a real estate copywriter, a tornado hits.
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Plot Summary
A young woman, Jen, moves from New York City to Oklahoma for her husband Steven's job as a chemical engineer. Unaccustomed to country life, and without a job to distract her, Jen grows depressed. One day, she finds an ad in the local job newsletter for a real estate copywriter. She applies immediately and gets the job just two days later. Jen's new boss, Bethany, needs help writing home profiles and so, the two women begin to visit homes in the area that are for sale through the real estate company. After a few weeks, Bethany is assigned a home that's much farther away than the rest. Upon arriving, Jen can't believe her eyes. The house is stunning and unlike any of the other homes she has seen. Jen meets the owner, Mac, who, unlike other homeowners, seems reluctant to give her a tour. Jen takes in the home but can't stop thinking about the mysterious and handsome Mac. Once she thinks she's seen enough, Mac brings her up to an all glass 360 degree observatory at the very top of the house. From there, they both spot an incoming tornado. They rush to the tornado shelter in the backyard and in it, Jen sees an Army cap. Mac explains that it belonged to his brother who died a few months ago, as did the house. Once the tornado passes, Jen heads home and reads about Mac's brother on the internet.
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