Eastern District School

Chapter 34 - A storm is coming

The radio always kicked in when her music player wasn't plugged in. Which was irritating when the the sky was as dark and heavy as it was now. Rose turned the volume down as she started the wipers going to keep up with the raindrops hitting the windscreen. She pulled out of the drive and onto the main road. 

In a state of panic, as always she acted first and then thought about the consequences after. Usually en route. She realised she did this even before this week, but she sure was stretching it out now. What was she going to accomplish? Did she want to interrogate her only remaining grandparent over some random facts? Just because her mother wouldn't ask her questions.

How was she going to present herself? She didn't have a plan, she didn't know what she really wanted from her Nan. Was she really going to just go in guns blazing?

Try as she might, however, she couldn't think of a plan. Each time she started to think of the situation, and play it out in her mind, her mind began to wander. Instead of planning how to gently even address her Nan to speak of, she was thinking of Eastern District. Of the  photography room.  In all honesty though, she hadn't seen her Nan for a couple of months now, which wasn't nice of her at all, considering how close they lived to her. Of course her mother would have seen her a few times during the week, helping her with shopping and the like.

So she was just going to see her Nan. Take it in her stride, play cool, and just visit her Nan!

"Rose?"

Her Nan's face clearly shocked at her grand-daughter's sudden appearance.  Rose smiled in response, as she held her jacket over her head. The weather certainly hadn't improved, in fact it looked like they were going to be in for a long run of the same. 

"Come in out of that rain! Is your mother okay?" Rose's Nan waved her in and stepped to one side. She was shorter than Rose at around 5 ft, if she hadn't shrunk more in past few months that is. Her long white hair was tied in a plait going down her back. She often resembled a wise woman from an Indian tribe. She couldn't deny that people did in fact come to her for advice. However, she had enough secrets within her family that she was trying to work out...she did not need to add to them, by making up a secret life for her Nan.

"Oh no, no, nothing is wrong Nan, I just got back from work, but haven't seen Ma yet. I thought I would come up to see you." she said bringing the jacket back down to her shoulders, as she stepped into the cottage. The front door opened up to the open layout of the cottage. The stairs were directly opposite, and the living area was divided to either side of the front door. To the left there was an addition to the house, which from the front of the building always looked just like a garage of some kind, but it was in fact a very large kitchen.

"It's not my birthday!" came the reply, as her Nan shut the front door. She turned her back to her and slowly walked into the kitchen. Rose followed her.

The sarcasm was not missed. There was no doubt it was where herself and her mother got their attitude from. She resisted the urge to bite back...barely!

"Do you think there's a storm coming?" she asked almost casually, but she was generally curious.

"Chit chat will get you no where, but helping me bring in a few more logs may stop me from being concerned at your sudden appearance." She said as she sat down on a large sturdy armchair set aside of the pop-belly furnace at the far side of the kitchen.

The kitchen was small simple, with dark wooden cupboards and a black finished worktop around. A table with four odd chairs set one side by a window, behind her seated grandmother.  It didn't always look as dark and dreary as it did now being that it was so large, but that was definitely to do with the weather, Rose thought. Most of the DIY work in this cottage had been done by her father, but this kitchen had only recently been redone, by someone Rose knew in the trade, of course designed by yours truly. So although it had a slightly more modern feel to it, they had still managed to keep it in theme with the late 1800's cottage.