And the Rain Came Down
SB Fisher
Sequel to The Star Gazer
Chapter 1
September 1981
The soft patter of rain drops against the window pane slowly pulled John Gage out of deep sleep. He laid there not moving for several minutes, just listening to the sounds it made. Glancing first at his alarm clock, he sat up on the edge of his bed and rubbed his eyes. Barely a month ago, Johnny had lost a dear friend and four months before that her husband had been killed in the line of duty while fighting a warehouse fire. This had left their two children, Christopher and Jennifer DeSoto, to be raised by him, their adopted uncle.
Today would be their first day of school, a first day in a new school. Johnny stood and slipped on his jeans and pulled a shirt on to go and tend to his stables. While he was walking down the stairs, he remembered the conversation he had with the principal at the middle school a few weeks ago…..
"Mr. Sanders, thanks for meeting with me today," Johnny started the conversation by extending his hand to the man behind the desk.
Mr. Sanders copied his motions and clasped the younger man's hand. "No problem. Glad I was able to fit you in. How can we help you today, Mr. Gage?"
Johnny glanced back toward the reception area of the office where Chris and Jenny both sat. Chris was looking around the room while Jenny sat with a book in her lap. He turned back to Mr. Sanders. "Sir, I'm sure by now you are aware of Jennifer DeSoto's situation from the last 5 months?"
"Yes, I am. The school she last attended had already sent her records to us last month. Very bright young lady. Such a tragedy what happened to her parents." Mr. Sanders glanced down at the file in question, then flipped a few pages. "Mrs. DeSoto was very thorough in submitting everything before….well, ….."
Johnny gave him a small weary smile. "It's ok, Mr. Sanders. We're still coping ourselves day to day."He tilted his head back in the direction of the children. "With all that's happened, I just want to make sure Jenny's not lost in the shuffle when school starts. She and her brother are both seeing a grief counselor but I think it would be good idea if their teachers were also aware, just in case something happens or whatever. The point I hope I'm making, Mr. Sanders, is that I hope no one gives them a hard time for awhile."
Mr. Sanders nodded his head in agreement. "Absolutely, Mr. Gage, I do understand. Believe me when I say we will do our best to help and support as much as we can. Now, I understand Jennifer will be starting in our 6th grade and Christopher will actually be starting in 9th grade, is that correct?"
"Yes, sir."
Mr. Sanders wrote a few notes in the folder before him. "We will be sure to let our school counselor know so she can be alerted in case Jennifer decides she needs to talk to someone while she is here at school."
"I'd appreciate that. Is there anything else we need to do get Jenny settled in before school starts?" Johnny asked as he stood up from the chair.
"Let's get her schedule together with her school books and she should be good to go."
The two children stood as the men walked out of the office. Jenny was soon set up with her classes. Johnny grinned when she asked if she could be added to the Home Economics class. He remembered her frustration a week prior when she couldn't fix the dish her mother had always seemed to fix with ease. I think that class will be a boost to her confidence if nothing else, he thought. With the schedule done, they left to get Chris set up at the high school.
Johnny reached the kitchen area and walked through to the mud room at the back of the house. He sat down and worked to pull on his boots. He had already had his right boot on when he heard sock padded feet cross the floor of the kitchen and make their way to the mud room. He glanced up and saw 14 year old Chris also dressed in jeans and flannel shirt. Chris sat down and worked on getting his own boots on. Neither said a word, a routine that had started in late June……
Johnny glanced up in the darkness and saw Chris walking toward him, already dressed. "Chris? Something wrong, bud?"
Chris shuffled his feet, stuck his hands in his pockets and looked up at his uncle. "No, sir. Just thought it was time for me to start shouldering my share of the work here." With that statement, Chris walked over to the wall where his boots stood. He sat down and worked to pull on his boots.
Johnny watched him for a moment. "Chris, when I asked you, your mother and your sister to move out here, I did it because I wanted to. You don't have to work to pay me to live here."
Chris nodded. "I know. But, dad taught me early on if I ever saw a need, a job, that needed to be done like helping you clean the stables first thing in the morning, then I should do exactly that. Besides, I need to learn how to do this. What if you got caught on a rescue during one of your training runs and didn't make it back in time to do this kind of stuff?" Finishing with the second boot, Chris stood up and looked down at Johnny. "So, therefore, I will be helping you starting today. And I will not accept no for an answer."
Grinning at the memory, Johnny had realized at that moment how much alike Chris was to his father. His throat constricted for a moment as grief anew threatened to over take him. Glancing at his young assistant, and seeing that he was also ready, he stood up and clapped Chris on the shoulder. "Let's get moving. Daylight will be here soon."
The chores completed, Johnny and Chris headed back to the house. After shedding their boots in the mud room, they walked back through the kitchen area, where Jennifer was starting the coffee and pulling out ingredients for breakfast. Like Chris, Jenny had stated she needed to fill a role as well. While some of her meals had been, well – somewhat disastrous, Johnny and Chris did all they could to encourage the young girl.
Johnny stopped briefly to place a kiss on the girl's head. "Morning, Jenny. Sleep good?"
"Yes, sir." She continued with her preparations. "Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes."
"Yes, ma'am. Come on, Chris, you heard the lady. Let's get cleaned up." Johnny ruffled the boy's head as they continued their trek to get ready for the day.
A short time later, the three were sitting in the kitchen finishing up their pancakes. Johnny picked up his coffee cup. "Ok, guys, I know today is your first day. It's going to take some time to adjust, so please don't be afraid to come to me about any problems you may have while at school." Both heads bobbed in agreement. "Alright, my schedule today includes a meeting at Rampart this morning and then I'll be at the training center going over the rosters and some paperwork. If you need anything that can't wait until I get home, you both have my pager number?"
With nods of affirmation, plates were gathering and the kitchen straightened. John walked the children to the bus and then left for day.