Raindrops

Quicksilvre

I mentioned this before, but thank you for reviewing. And if you haven't, well, what are you waiting for?

I sat down about a week ago and made a rough sketch of how I want this story to go. I've got a pretty good idea where I'm headed. I ought to be done by the end of April.

)-)-)-)

"Hey, kid." Jai bumped into Summer as she carried a basket of oranges into the Tongau's kitchen. He took a freshly fried plantain slices and popped it into her mouth. "Have a snack. Now–"

Summer furrowed her brow as she tasted it. "Sonn cooked this, didn't he?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I can tell. He puts way too much salt on these things. One day he's going to have a heart attack and die again."

"Well, just scrape off what you don't want. Now Summer..."

"How? It's in my mouth already."

Jai put his hand over her mouth. "Summer! This weekend, me and you and Sonn are going to close up the inn for spring cleaning. We aren't going to have any guests for about a week. On the first night, I'm going to cook us a nice, big feast just for us three. Real fancy. Wear those clothes that you just bought; I'm not sure if you'll have a whole lot of other opportunities." Jai looked right into her eyes. "Okay?"

"Okay!" was her muffled reply.

"Good. Leave those on the table. By the time you get the next crate in, it'll be about lunchtime. You might want to wash up after you do."

"All right. See ya in a few." As she was leaving, Summer turned back around. "You're cooking lunch, right?"

Jai laughed. "Of course."

"Good." Summer walked out, and Jai watched her stride out. He recalled how she was when she first came. She was so different than the broken girl that Sonn had carried in. No longer was she the stereotype, the valley girl who cared for nothing more than shopping and clothes and trends. Now she was just as gorgeous as ever, but strong and confident and warm, too. A wonderful person. He had started to think of her as the daughter he'd never had on earth.

It would be so painful for him to leave her behind. Sonn, too.

)-)-)-)

They didn't have to kick anyone out. The high turnover rate at the Tongau ensured that once they stopped taking new people in, the rooms rapidly emptied out. Within three days only a few guests were left, and a few days after that even they were gone.

Day one was supposed to be the easy day–laundry and bedding. All of the beds were stripped and mattresses were patched up. Any torn or frayed sheets were hemmed up–Jai was surprisingly good at the needle. Summer fluffed and re-stuffed pillows. Everything white was dumped into a big tub of diluted bleach, making them pearly and almost new. Everything that could not be salvaged went to Sonn, to be ripped into bandages and rags. It took a while to get everything together, given the volume of stuff that had to be cleaned, but once the three of them got into a rhythm, they moved through it all easily. By late afternoon, everything was stacked, folded, washed, and dried, leaving Summer and Sonn just enough time to clean up and Jai enough time to cook.

It had been a long while since Summer had been able to dress up for anything–up until recently, she had no good clothes to wear, just some work clothes. The Tongau's good luck in spring harvest changed that. To dinner, Summer wore a black sleeveless top and a blue skirt, both just purchased and never worn before. Sonn was well dressed too, in a silk shirt and his best pair of khakis.

"Wow, look at you." Summer took a good look at her friend. "I have to say, you clean up very well. Who knew?"

"Yeah, thanks. You do too." Sonn looked at her admiringly. "Guess I have to stop telling people that you're my brother."

Summer punched him in the shoulder. Sonn just laughed.

Both of them tried to help Jai out in the kitchen, but he was eager to prevent them, pushing them out and toward the porch. There they found what he had been doing while they were getting ready: he had cleaned his desk, slid it outside, and covered it in a tablecloth (really, one of the freshly bleached sheets). There were lit candles flickering in the darkening evening, a bottle of wine, glass goblets...and the same paper plates and napkins that the Tongau used for everything.

Sonn and Summer were just about to help themselves with the first taste of wine when Jai brought out dinner–glazed shark, a gigantic green salad, rolls, and the always-present plantain slices. "Children, I bring you grub. Don't stab each other getting the best of it."

Sonn playfully poked Summer with his fork. She tried to kick him under the table, but instead stubbed her toe on the desk, making the whole thing shake. It failed as revenge, but succeeded as entertainment.

)-)-)-)

Jai's dinner was exquisite. He cooked everything perfectly, well enough to rival any chef. All three of them helped themselves until they were full, and even then they found a little more room for Jai's last treat: a tub of chocolate ice cream for dessert.

It was then, when the three of them were finishing their bowls, that Jai tapped his fork against his glass. "Sonn, Summer, thank you for this lovely evening."

"Likewise, Jai." Summer wiped her lips. "You deserve the credit. You did all the cooking and all the setting up."

"Yeah." Sonn took the last spoonful from his bowl. "You should've let us at least do the table."

"No. I insist." Jai sighed and looked off into the distance, in between Sonn and Summer. For a moment, Summer though she saw a funny look in his face. It appeared as if his lips quivered for just a second.

"Jai?" Her voice came out low. "You okay?" She put her hand on his wrist.

"I'm more than okay, kid." He took her hand and gently tapped the top of it with his fist. "I'm just glad we could do this."

"Yeah." Summer looked at him and Sonn.

Sonn nodded. "Yeah. It's a nice family that we have." He looked at Jai, then back at Summer. Summer offered him her other hand, and he took it as well, curling his fingers between hers. For a few moments, they sat there, linked together by Summer's hands.

Jai was the first to speak next. "I'm too lucky to have what I have. Especially you"–he looked at Sonn–"and you"–at Summer. "You guys, I think, showed me the rest of the way to where I needed to be."

He fell silent again. The sky was covered by clouds, and anyway, the sun was set, and the flickering candles offered the only remaining light. A few gulls called off in the distance.

"Oh, Jai." Summer bit her lip. She started to realize what he was going to say, and it seemed overwhelming.

"I'm at the end of my journey, kids." Jai wiped his eye with his free hand. "I found out last week. Found a sign, a dream–one of the uniform guys told me that I clear out tonight. I wanted to make sure that the inn emptied out before I went, you know, so you guys don't have to deal with any of the guests if you don't want to. And, I wanted it–telling you–to be just like this."

He looked at Summer. Only at that moment, when she felt his gaze, did she realize she was crying. "Oh, Jai. That's..." She let her voice tailed off. No words seemed good enough to say. "That's wonderful, Jai." She looked over at Sonn. He was trying to keep a stoic face, but when Summer squeezed his hand, tears rolled down his face as they did on hers.

In a moment they were all standing. To Summer time seemed to melt away, and everything seemed to happen all at once. Summer saw herself holding Sonn, holding Jai, kissing Jai on the cheek, burying her face into his giant chest, all while she cried like a baby and watched the guys do the same. Every action seemed to float together and happen all at once, until they found themselves on the beach at the moment the sky opened up. All at once rain poured down on all three of them, not a few sprinkles but buckets, as if someone had turned on a shower.

Even the sky was crying.

The three of them scurried back inside. They were linked together as they had been at the dinner table, by Summer's hands.

)-)-)-)

It finally happened when Summer and Sonn were asleep, though the action itself woke them up.

One moment, Summer was asleep, and the next, she was awake–but not quite awake. She detected that something very odd was happening all around her, but it took a few moments for her to realize what. She thought she was awake, but she couldn't see a thing–like when she died and lost sight for a while.

She realized she was blind because she was surrounded by light. It was unbelievably bright, but not painfully so. It was so brilliant, it washed out every other sense. She heard nothing; she lost the feeling of the bed beneath her. She would have thought that she was floating around in ethereal space, but somehow, she knew that she was still in her bed.

And in a moment, it was over. The light faded almost instantly, and everything flooded back–the bed, the sheets around her, the room, the smell of the ocean, the sound of waves breaking.

She got up and ran to Jai's room. When she arrived, Sonn was already there–but Jai was nowhere to be seen. The depression from his weight was still on his mattress; Summer could see the shape of his head still pressed into his pillow.

Sonn sat down on his bed. "He's gone." His voice seemed unnaturally quiet.

Summer at down next to him. She could feel the warmth of Jai's body in his sheets. "Yeah." She rubbed his pillow. "We'll meet him again."

She looked right at him. There was some way that she said it, and that Sonn looked back at her, that made them both feel as if it was certain.

Sonn simply nodded. "Yeah."