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The heavens had opened on Friday morning and the rain hadn't ceased all day, crashing against the windows as heavy droplets thundered onto the pavement and bounced off the tarmac, puddles rippling in the dips in the road. The sky was thick with pregnant clouds that hung low over the town, a rainbow of grey that turned to black as it stretched to the horizon. Outside, hardly anyone was to be seen as people hunkered down in shops, waiting for the weather to ease up before they braved the sheets of rain that battered the ground.
Gaia sighed as she leant on the counter, staring out at the abysmal weather, and her eyes wandered over the scattering of customers throughout the shop. Some had been there for a while now, whiling away the day in the comfort of the warm café with a coffee in their hands and a cake in front of them. Several people had waited in line at least twice already, refilling their mugs as they patiently awaited the parting of the clouds, though it didn't look like that would happen any time soon. Some had been forced to leave when their time had run out, racing out with coats pulled tight over their heads and umbrellas being ripped from their hands.
"Well," Max said, joining Gaia with her elbows on the counter. "Feels like July, eh?"
Gaia chuckled. "Feels like an English summer," she said, and she checked her watch. It had just gone five thirty, and the usual post-school rush had been non-existent. The furthest of Farnleigh's three high schools, the one that Zara attended, had broken up at midday and there had been a steady stream of students at lunchtime, though many seemed to have opted to go straight home. The two state schools still two weeks left of term, a handful of tired students trailing in at quarter past four, but nothing like the normal scram. In this type of weather, people just wanted to be at home.
It wouldn't be long now until that was Gaia too. She had no intention of staying too late to tidy up when she just wanted to get home and get supper on the go, already craving the stir fry she planned to throw together once she got back. Max would be coming home with her tonight, honouring her offer of a decent home-cooked meal, and she had charged Evan and Zara with making sure the house was presentable. Baby debris was excusable, toys and bottles scattered like the remnants of a blast, but she didn't want to see a dirty plate in the kitchen or a stained wine glass on the coffee table.
"Are you sure about tonight?" Max asked. "I can stay a bit later here if you want me to tidy up, I really don't mind."
"No," Gaia said, her voice firm. "I'll come in early tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I'm already dying to get home and eat."
Max smiled. "I'm ready," she said. "I really can't thank you enough, Gaia. You've been way too good to me. You really didn't have to have me over, but I really appreciate it."
Gaia chuckled. "You say that now, but you might not feel the same way when Alfie's begging you to read him a story and Zara's fighting with you over seconds," she said. "I can promise decent food, but not much else."
