On Horseback

Chapter 27: Let The Rain Fall Down

Twins. It was certainly one of the biggest surprises in my life, if not the biggest. Carlos and Amber were probably the two greatest editions to my life. But two kids meant double the responsibility. Farming, kids...life was difficult, but life was still good.

Jack and I watched the sunrise from our farm on New Year's Day. It was absolutely gorgeous. Even prettier than last year. We both poured two wine glasses and toasted each other. Of course, Jack got his down first, and I became wired for a tiny bit. We were both unsurprised.

Spring came. The flowers bloomed, the birds sang and the grass was bright green. Everyone loved Spring, especially my sister-in-law. I visited the ranch one day and saw flowers everywhere. Dad told me that he knew it was going to happen. Popuri had just held off for a bit of time before doing the actual planting.

I would take Carlos and Amber over to the ranch every few days for them to play with Mint. If Karen wasn't busy, she would bring Sally over and the four kids would play for sometime. Then I'd have to change one of their diapers, which Karen couldn't stand doing. Popuri was nice enough to change Sally's just for Karen. My best friend thanked the lord.

On Spring 9th, one day after the Sowing Festival (Jeff became the new king), the first spring downpour was forecasted. Jack was glad, since he wouldn't have to water the plants the following day. I was a little unsure of myself, because animals tend to be afraid of thunder. It was loud in their ears, and sometimes startled them to death.

Luckily, later in the day, the downpour transformed into normal showers for the season, so I no longer had to worry. That was good.

Spring 10th ended up being one of the worst storms in Flower Bud Village history, though. We all assumed that people over in Silver Sapphire were getting this too, but we couldn't be too precise.

It wasn't a typhoon, but it sure sounded like one. Carlos and Amber were constantly crying, and I tried my best to comfort the two of them. Jack literally boarded up our front door. He said that the winds could knock the door in, and that he didn't want to take any chances. Our kids were the most important thing to us right now.

"What about the animals? Won't they starve?" I asked in a worried voice.

Jack shook his head. "Thanks to my big brain, I put three helpings of fodder into the animals' bins. That should get them through tomorrow and the 12th. As long as they don't eat each others food, then everything should run as smoothly as possible."

I was just hoping that Jack was right. If one of his animals did die, I would probably flip out and do something that I shouldn't do...but that wasn't going to happen, so I should just shove that thought out of my head and get on with life.

The next day was just as bad. I wanted to look out the window, but didn't, only because there was a vent in front of it. If lightning struck the house while I was standing on the vent, there was a high possibility of me to get electrocuted. Obviously I didn't want that happening, so I just stayed away from the window.

Turning the television on was limited in the house. We would only watch the weather and the news. The forecast continued to call for rain and chances of thunderstorms. Cold fronts were passing by, dropping the temperature down to the freezing point of 0 degrees Celcius. It would remain to hover around that spot for the next three days.

Jack was ready to panic, since the barn animals only had one more days worth of fodder remaining. I looked in his eyes and said, "Please don't go out there. Anything could happen. You know that, honey."

I rested my head on my husband's shoulder, and said, "Will the rain lift in time for your father to come in the Summer? I mean, I want it to be a pretty day. I don't want it to be muddy or wet. Well the morning dew is an exception since that can't be helped, but...you know what I mean, right, honey?"

Jack nodded. "Don't worry; all will be fine."

Spring 12th, and the rain continued to fall. I hadn't seen Dad, Gray, Popuri and Karen in days. It hurt me a lot, since they were the closest people next to me, next to Jack, who I was with basically 24/7 now. I needed to get out of the house, but Jack needed to get out even more.

"I am going out. The animals need to be fed. You know that."

I let Jack go out, even though it wasn't easy. The rain was just pouring, and the fog was heavy. The visibility was absolutely poor. I couldn't even see up to the barn, which wasn't good. He would get back though.

Amber let out a loud yawn, and I went over to the baby bed, and picked her up. She had a small smile on her face, and let out another yawn. I wasn't really sure if she wanted anything, so I picked up her pasifier. It seemed as though as I was right, because she took it and started playing with it. I wasn't sure if pasifiers were for playing with, however. Weren't they only for the mouth?

After putting Amber back in the bed, I walked into the kitchen, and got some eggs out of the refrigerator. Breakfast was going to have to be made, and it looked like I was the one who was going to be making it. I mumbled under my breath, "Sorry, if these taste bad, Jack."

I liked my poached eggs. They were probably the best breakfast meal that I had made since I'd met Jack. He really taught me how to cook. But we never made ice cream anymore. That all came from the bakery, as last time it turned out being something it wasn't supposed to be.

Jack walked in a second later, and said, "Poached. Let's see how they taste." He grabbed his fork, and stuck a huge piece of egg into his mouth. I held my fists together, shaking. "They are splendid! Best meal you've made so far! We should have a cooking contest here in Flower Bud. You'd probably win!"

The next day arrived. The 13th, and it was raining. Luckily, it was just a small rain. There wasn't heavy fog or big lightning flashes anymore, which eased the two of us. Jack could go out and do his normal business for the day, and I would do the cleaning, since the house had turned into a super dust collector since Carlos and Amber were born.

Plus, the house was full of toys that I would have to put away.

Karen stopped by around lunchtime, and offered to help with the cooking. The two of us were both naturally bad cooks, but we'd grown on it since the two of us had gotten married. Karen was a little better than me, like she always had been, but that never bothered me except for the time that she said she didn't start a fire. I had once, and I felt offended, in a stupid sort of way.

Jack and Karen double-kissed when he came in, and we all sat down to eat. Karen and I had made chicken and rice. The perfect kind of leftovers for later on. We chatted about the important things and things that weren't a big deal at all.

"How is the vineyard? With the rain and all?" I asked Karen, half way through my lunch.

"Kai is real mad right now. The grapes are beginning to get water logged. If this rain doesn't stop anytime soon, we're all going to flip out. Especially my father. It'd better clear out."

Karen and I put the dishes into the dishwasher when the three of us finished, and we went into the our room, and continued to converse for a little longer. Carlos and Amber were sound asleep, and I intended to keep it that way. I didn't want them waking up all of a sudden, not when my friend came over for the first time in a few days.

After another hour or so, Karen said that she had to scoot. I gave her a hug, and she left the house, waving until she entered the vineyard.

I was just hoping that the damn rain would stop within the next few days or something.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I wrote this chapter while listening to My Immortal about twenty times easily. I've never done something like that before. But, yeah, the story is almost finished. Only two more chapters to go.