Legacy of the Dreams

Chapter 54 - A Flood is an Act of God

Susan sat down at her desk in their home office in the cottage on the Tuesday morning following the holidays. She turned on her computer intending to work and came face to face with a particularly long list of emails that needed her attention. Most uncommonly, Greg was working at his desk too, studying a script with a cup of coffee in his hand. The rain pelted down from gray skies, splashing against the windows as they worked, obscuring their view outside as the water ran down the glass. It distracted them now and then, but they both managed to work steadily until mid-morning when Greg heard Susan sigh. He looked up with a questioning expression and caught her eye.

Susan smiled a wry smile. "The holidays felt particularly long this year," she remarked as she got up to stretch.

"That's probably because they were," Greg told her while they worked. "We had houseguests the week leading up to Christmas; then we spent a full week with various members of my family for Chanukah, spilling over into the first few days of this week too. Given it's already Wednesday and we've only been home one day, it's not surprising you felt we were off work longer than usual this year."

"I suppose that is part of it," Susan said.

"What's the other part?" Greg asked.

"Lots of people from work are still on vacation. I could spend the entire day reading and replying to emails and returning phone messages, but no one is answering. I don't feel like I can get too much done," Susan said.

"Well, do what you can and we'll relax this evening," Greg promised.

"Sounds good," Susan told him. She took a moment to study a particular droplet of rain on the outside of the glass in front of her, watching as it grew before running down the window beyond her view. Susan quieted another sigh and turned her attention back to the work in front of her for the rest of the day.

c

That evening after dinner, the family decided to relax by watching television together until it was time for the children to get ready for bed. After consulting their various selections, given all the rain they'd had, the most interesting thing on ended up being the news.

"Maybe they'll tell us how much more rain we're supposed to get," Susan remarked once they decided on a channel, settled on the sofa and were ready to watch. "Maybe it will stop soon."

"Yeah, it needs to, Mom. The creek under our house is like a river these days," Zack said.

"Our playground is too wet for recess," Jessie complained.

"It's too wet to play outside everywhere, Jessie," Susan said. "Melody has been complaining about it too."

"Is it supposed to stop pretty soon?" Jessie asked. "My class is supposed to have a field trip on Friday."

"Maybe it will. It stopped for Matt so he could ask Ashley to marry him, and it mostly stopped for the Rose Parade. Maybe it will stop for your field trip too," Zack said.

"Will they tell us about the rain on the news, Mama?" Jessie asked as they got ready to watch.

"I'm sure the weatherman will," Susan told her.

"I hope it's going to stop for more than a day when it does," Zack said as he watched with them. "I know this is California and we generally need rain, but enough is enough. Even Dad said so when he left here last Friday. We've been getting more rain than Seattle and they get a lot of rain!"

"Well, let's see what he says," Susan said.

And so when the news started, they were ready to watch, eager to find out just when the rain, which plagued them through the holidays, would end.