In Parched Gardens: Book 1

Chapter 17: Like Lightning

The three walked together out of the side door of the grocery store, heading towards The Creamery to get ice cream after work. Isaac clearly stood above the other two. His broad, but slender shoulders moved first through the doors. When the doors opened, a slight gust of wind rushed through them and his copper hair brushed back down either side of his head. Fin and Evan, just behind Isaac, were similar heights. Fin just barely stood taller. His hair also brushed back in the gust, even slightly longer and shaggier now than it had been. He still hadn't gotten a haircut since being back in Allbrook, but he wanted to. He just needed to make the time.

"What a day of work," Isaac said, pretending to be cheerful. "I really put my heart and soul into this place," he added.

"What do you actually put your heart and soul into?" Evan asked, joking.

"What do you actually put your heart and soul into?" Isaac repeated, mocking, but playful. "Well let's see," he held up his fingers as he counted. "Leading my roommates toward a better life, for one. Gathering knowledge," he said, nodding his head academically. "Helping you two weirdos make something of yourselves. Being a pillar of the community," he paused, "just to name a few."

"Right," Evan said. "That makes sense. So then was it your help that caused your roommates to need the fire department yesterday?"

Isaac looked at him quickly. "You heard about that?" he asked.

Evan laughed. "This is Allbrook, friend," he said, patting him on the shoulder.

Isaac took in a deliberately deep breath. "I was just laying in my bed," he started. "Hoping beyond hope that they might be quiet and I might go to sleep peacefully at a reasonable hour. Then, of course, I hear screaming, like full blown shrieking, coming from downstairs. At first I just rolled over and put the pillow over my head, but they wouldn't stop. So I got up and went downstairs. I swear to you," he paused, looking at the two of them in the eyes, "when I got into the kitchen, Charlie's standing there with a literal pitcher of water, spilling it everywhere, looking at the stove. At the stove, Zipper's standing there..."

Evan cut him off. "Zipper?" he asked.

"Everybody calls one of my roommates Zipper. It's John Walsh's little brother. Anyway..."

Evan interrupted him again. "Why's he called Zipper?" he asked.

Isaac stopped walking to look at him. "Hey buddy, you mind if I keep going with the story you asked about? Plus, you really don't want to know," Isaac answered, shuddering. "Anyway, Zipper's at the stove, frozen in place, as a small inferno blazes over some unidentifiable food item in a pan. I figured it was a grease fire, so I started to tell Charlie to put the water down, but does he put the water down? No, he does not. Well, sort of I guess. Apparently he panicked because he didn't just pour water on the fire. He threw, like discus tossed this glass pitcher at the fire. Glass flies everywhere. And I'm not joking when I say Zipper was inches from being engulfed in flames." He had to talk over Evan and Fin now as they laughed. "Now I start screaming at them to just get out of the kitchen and to call 911. Then I start frantically looking for the baking soda. Of course, where is the baking soda?" he asked, looking over both of his shoulders, perplexed. "The baking soda's in the freezer, under a mountain of popsicles. I tear it out of the freezer and start pouring it on the fire as I hear the firetruck pull up outside." He took a deep breath. "And this is why, Evan, they need me. These are full grown man children. I'm like their mother. If it weren't for my heart and soul there, there would most certainly be no house standing at 315 Third Street."

"I'm sorry," Evan added, laughing, "but I really hope you don't move out of that house for a long time. These stories are amazing."

"True as that is," Isaac started, "let's move past my recent traumas." As he spoke, the three walked up to The Creamery near the southeastern edge of Allbrook Circle. It was a quick walk from the grocery store. They entered the ice cream and coffee shop and a small bell rang above them. The line was surprisingly short so they moved quickly up to the counter.