A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Chapter XXVI: Too Pooped to Popplewell

I was never leaving home ever again.

Our week at the rental house in Scotland had come to an end and we finally made it back home to our beloved Australia. The entire rest of our time there it had rained so most days were spent inside putting together the swan puzzle or sitting by the window with our tea and chocolates. We ate a lot of soup. Neither of us complained. Time ran out before we could finish the puzzle and we left it there on the table, unable to undo all our work. That was disappointing. 

It was April now and from the looks of our neighbourhood it had been raining here too. Everything was wet or covered in mud. Our garden looked okay, watered if not drowned. The Rolls Royce belonging to the Popplewells was gone, and I could only assume Sheryl was at school and her folks were at work. 

Thank fuck.

The first thing I did after getting home was throw all our clothes into the wash and check on my fern. It survived the week and I watered it immediately. Aside from a few ants searching the kitchen for any dropped crumbs the house looked to be in good shape. Angus passed out on the bed and slept the rest of the day and through the night.

I didn't wake him.

**********

Clouds dotted the sky while the rain took a small break. Wet, orange leaves covered the street and a street cleaner had to come through twice a week. Angus and I had been outside all day debating about rearranging things. Putting a bench over here, planting a bush over there, digging up a spot for a pond, and things like that. I pulled my jumper sleeves over my hands and shivered. "Ya' think we have room for all that?" Angus asked. I shrugged.

"I'd like a small bench out here," I said. "I'm just not sure how well I can care for a pond." Angus stared at a small patch of grass surrounded by weeds. "Maybe the backyard could have a pond instead of the front."

"Or the bench could be in the back," Angus said kicking over a rock with his shoe. He looked at me, squinting from the bright sunlight peeking from behind the grey clouds. "Or we could jus' move back in to a flat."

I gave him a measly smile. My indecisive arse couldn't settle on anything and I was getting a bit touchy. Why couldn't anything be easy? Why did the birds have to shit all over their birdbath instead of bathing in it? Why couldn't that patch of grass be level with the rest of the yard? Why was it elevated and uneven? Why did the paint on our gate have to be chipping, showing the brown wood underneath? All these minor inconveniences that shouldn't have been a big deal were bothering me. I took a deep breath, knowing the responsibilities of being a homeowner. Knowing how lucky I was to even have a home, and a nice one at that. My fingernails dug into my palms as I got upset with myself for even being upset. 

"You alright?" I looked over at Angus who was frowning at me. Relaxing my hands I stuffed them in the pockets of my jeans and nodded. 

"I'm fine." 

"Angus!" We both turned around and saw a little girl with silky blonde hair and a crisp uniform push our gate open and come running towards Angus. His expression lit up and he knelt down to scoop her up. 

"Good to see ya', Sheryl," he said. She clung to him. I looked in the direction of her house and saw the Rolls Royce returned to its spot and Sheryl's satchel lying abandoned on the footpath. No sign of Wanda. "Been a long time, hasn't it?"

"You've been gone for a million years!" she said poking him on the cheek. 

"It hasn't been that long, has it?" he asked looking at his watch. "Well I'm back now, an' I'm stayin' for a while. I've still got some miles on me but I need a break." I wasn't sure Sheryl quite understood what he meant, but she heard the word "break" and that was good enough for her.