Summer Rains

An After Work Reunion

"May as well clock out a bit early, Sullivan." Amy looked up as her boss, Hal, rounded the corner, sighing in frustration. Amy mirrored the look of annoyance on his face. It was the third time this week that the Caldwell delivery had not shown up without so much as a call to cancel. "Shall I call the Burtons again? Their solar panels are three weeks past due, as is the tankless water heater for the Gardners." Hal waved his hand. "Nah, I'll take care of it. Did Georgie and Mike take care of that repair over at that new place - where was it..?" He stopped to think. "Over on Clover? Yeah. they finished that job and the install on 24th Street." Amy answered. Hal put a hand to his chin as if trying to think of anything else that needed to be done before they closed up for the night. Hal had opened his installation business, naming it Hal & Sons, when really it should have been Hal, Sons, & Sullivan's Installion and Accounting Firm. Amy Sullivan had been a godsend: took care of the books, didn't mind helping unload the trucks, hell even went on some of the installs when they were short staffed. And that kid of hers was cute as a button. Every time Amy brought April by the office for get togethers or when his wife invited Amy over for dinner with the family, that child got treated like the little princess she was. In fact, that's how his wife started watching April on the regular.

After Hal had made the calls and apologized profusely to both customers, he and Amy locked up the shop, climbed into his old pick-up truck, and drove back to his house. They found Hal's wife, Minnie, and April covered in flour as they finished pulling fresh cookies out of the oven. April noticed them first and ran racing to Hal, jumping into his arms. "Pop Pop!" Hal laughed and scooped the floured scamp up into his arms. "April shower! Why are you covered in flour?" April giggled at the rhyme. "Mimi and I made cookies!" She grinned up in pure delight. Amy walked up behind her daughter and began tickling her. "Well, from what I remember, the flour is supposed to stay IN the bowl, silly goose." The little girl squealed with laughter and wriggled as Amy tickled her sides.

Hal gently loosened his grip and allowed Amy to take April from him as the little girl settled down. "Pop Pop, Mama, you're back early. Where's Unca Georgie and Mikey?" As if on cue, Georgie and Mikey walked in. "Damn that Caldwell installer! Whoever put that air conditioner in, I'd like to string him up by his...." Georgie stopped mid-rant as he looked to find all eyes were on him, especially a certain four year old. "Babycakes! Come give your Uncles some lovin'" April gladly jumped into Georgie's arms, followed by Mikey, while Amy looked on. She was so grateful for this family that she had found three years ago.

Amy thought back to that fateful day. She had been shopping with April, not even able to afford formula, when she finally hit a breaking point and just took some from the shelf, sneaking it quickly into her bag. Her ex had left her with nothing, had wanted nothing to do with the baby, and had just walked out when she had found out she was pregnant. She had given up everything for him: her family, her friends, her career. When he left, she had to rebuild everything. Her family was still half the country away from her and could do little to help, but at least they kept in touch now. It was the same story with her friends, and both had sent what money they could in those early months. The real challenge was finding a job after not working for three years because her ex wanted her to play housewife. She worked whatever jobs she could get in those first 18 months, but they just didn't pay nearly enough to put a roof over their heads AND pay for food. So there she was in desperate need of formula, she had just slipped it into her bag when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around only to find Minnie Harrison offering to buy her the formula. After talking to Mrs. Harrison and telling her story, Minnie called her husband, Hal, and the next day, Amy was working for Hal and Sons.

Amy was jogged from the memory by April tugging on her arm. "Mama, Park picnic for dinner?" Amy looked down at her precious daughter. The park wasn't usually safe after dark, but since it was still mid-afternoon, indulging April with a visit to the park wouldn't be an issue. "Oh, well." Amy sighed dramatically. "I suppose!" April giggled at her mama as Minnie brought over a bag of freshly cooled cookies. "Freshly baked and perfect for a picnic in the park!" Amy smiled as she took the bag. "As always, thank you so much, Mrs. Harrison." Minnie waved away the comment."How many times do I have to tell you to call me Minnie? Now go on and take my Grandbaby to the park." April laughed as Minnie scooped her up into a giant hug and then pushed her towards the open door where Hal was waiting help to load her into Amy's mid-sized sedan.

On the way to the park, Amy pulled into a KFC drive thru. As was tradition for their park picnic dinners, she ordered an extra large popcorn chicken meal with extra mashed potatoes and gravy on the side. For their drinks: large sweet teas. Once the food and drinks were secured, Amy drove them to the little park down the street from their apartment. It wasn't much of a park, but it had a nice walking path, a playground with swings, and a paved area that was great for bouncy balls. That was where April liked to play, trying to get her bouncy ball to go higher and higher. Amy parked next to the entrance of the park and began to unload April and the other picnic items. She handed April her ball and grabbed the food and drinks from the front seat. Making their way down the walking path, they began heading to their favorite picnic spot by the paved bouncy ball area.