Raindrops: A story of Life and Circumstance ; Chapter One: When the Clouds Roll In

   Salish was a fairly small town, even by pacific mid-west standards, with a population of only 598, soon to be 597.  Fading white plaster and, once cheerful, bleached colors coated the buildings along the main road through the middle of town. Whereas some places leaped out at you and were memorable by some small quirk or feature, Salish was quite the opposite. Its only defining trait was that it was totally, and irreversibly, bland. But It was home, for a while at least. My aunt Vivian owned a small bookstore there, and lived in the cramped, one-person apartment / storage space above it. Which she had been sharing, until today, with me.

  It was sad, in the loosest definition of the word, to slowly put each of my belongings into the small black duffel bad I had purchased for the occasion . Perhaps it was only temporary, but this place had really become my home over the last year. Slowly, I removed the traces of my existence from it. A small portrait of my family, perched precariously on the box that served as my bedside table, a worn out jacket that had never once left the coat rack since I'd put it there, a scarf and pair of gloves haphazardly wrapped around the work lamp.  I emptied out the little foot-box that served as my dresser, carefully folding and putting away the few small articles. If anything, I thought to myself,  I'll have to go shopping before I get there...   Not that there was really anywhere to shop except farther south on the highway, or farther north, or anywhere but here.  Sighing to myself quietly, and imagining the hectic scrabble in the malls before the spring semester started, I laid back on the faded old couch I called my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Peeling plaster and popcorn, like everywhere else in the house. I heard a faint click and a prolonged 'Squeak' of the door being gently opened. A middle aged woman, blue-eyed and with skillfully dyed brown hair, sat down beside where I lay stretched out on the 'bed'. She looked around sadly at the now-empty room. Unfolding her hands, she tried to pat my shoulder, but gave up midway through and turned it into a half-hearted stretch.

  "It's going to be so lonely here, with you going off to college Maddie. I really...", she took a steadying breath. "I'm gonna miss you." She sounded on the verge of tears, with her eyes glimmering wetly.

  "I'm going to miss you too, Aunt Vi." I looked up reassuringly at her and squeezed her hand. It was the truth. She was the only one who'd been willing to take me in, and she was kind and loving, if not slightly too cheery for a normal person.     

 "I.. I really wish that... I shouldn't have been the one to do this, seeing you off to college, all grown-up. I wish Reg could've seen this." Reg had been her late husband, who'd died in a house fire several years before. I squeezed her hands, letting a few of my own tears slip by unnoticed. We both had people we'd lost, and maybe that's why I got along with her so well.  She took a shuddering breath. "Sometimes, I look over at you, and all I can see is that little girl who tripped into her own birthday cake, but now... You're all ready to go off on your own, and It's just so surreal, you know." she closed her eyes and took another shaky breath. 

 " But, That's not important. is it?" She shook her head and a faint smile tugged up at the corners of her tightly drawn lips. "How are you holding up, kiddo?" She ruffled my hair teasingly. "After all, you're the lady of the hour." I managed a faint smile in response. She always managed to make something good out of any situation. 

 "I think I'll survive, but just barely. It's a four hour bus ride to Seattle from here...", something I did not feel like doing particularly, but If I didn't go today, I would miss orientation and everything.  "But it'll be fun right? First day at school and everything... So exciting..." My voice slowly trailed off, as suddenly it didn't seem quite that exciting after all. But, I wouldn't let her know that. 

 "You know, I could come wi--", I cut her off there. 

  " Aunt Vi, we've been over this before. You have to manage the shop today. Really, I'll be just fine, I promise." I patted her hand reassuringly and sat up. I wrapped an arm around her and leaned my head on her shoulder.  She patted me on my head, just like she'd done when I was little. Nostalgia was somewhat comforting, when I was about to leave for a few months. She leaned her head against mine and quietly, we sat in comfortable silence, both of us dreading the though of the lonely months ahead. But, For her sake I smiled. "I'll be just fine, Aunt Vi, I promise. And I'll come to see you come Christmas, cross my heart." She nodded and pulled away. 

 "Of course you will. If I don't see you then...", She wiped the dampness from the corners of her eyes.
"If I don't see you then, I might very well have to come up there and drag you back. After all, who else is going to help me eat the cinnamon cake?" She laughed quietly to herself.

 "I don't think that will be necessary. Besides, I think I might go on a murdering spree if anyone else touches my cinnamon cake,"I teased, eliciting another muffled giggle from her. She smiled again, and this time, it was genuine, and only her eyes were sad. 

  "We wouldn't want that., now would we?" she stood up fully and wiped off the slight spattering of dust that had accumulated as she'd sat. "Well, I'm going to go down and finish packing up the car. Come down when you're all finished up, okay?" I nodded and she turned around and stepped through the doorframe, noisily bringing it closed. I was going to miss her. I stood up myself and walked over to the corner of the room,  where an old, beat-up trunk sat. I lifted the lid, quietly blowing the dust off of the weathered wood. I gingerly picked out the only two Items I kept in it for safekeeping. A small travel photo album and a smaller velvet case. Putting both in my pocket, I closed the trunk, and It thudded closed with a sense of finality. Staring around at the peeling wallpaper and old paintings haphazardly strung about for the last time, I picked up my duffel bag, and went out the door.  

  The small apartment was the same as you might see anywhere in a small town. Half Kitchen, Quarter bathroom, and another quarter everything else. I walked past the worn tapioca colored furniture and to the staircase at the end of the hall. Carefully, I made my way down the stairs. I had learned my lesson about rushing on them. My first day, I had fallen up them and had to have Aunt Vi pull the splinters from my elbow. I smiled, remembering the panicked expression she had worn when I'd come into the apartment, arm scraped and scratched, having to calm her down and convince her not to call an ambulance.  She always overreacted, but in a rather endearing way, always concerned about others. I bit my lip, the smile fading as tears threatened to start again.  I walked down the smaller hallway, past the office-come-bedroom that Aunt Vi slept in. Past the small photos she proudly displayed, of my Birthday, the time we'd went disastrously fishing. I pushed, extra hard, on the frosted glass door that led out into the bookshop.  

  It was a tidy place, if not a little cramped. On the crammed-in counter, she had lined up the small things she had "loaned" me, despite my protests. Small things indeed, and few of them remained as Aunt Vi swept through the door like a wind, picking up as many things as she could fit in her old grey four-seater. Quickly, I ran out to the car and put my bag in the passenger seat, and grabbed one of the boxes my slightly coordination-challenged  aunt was trying to balance on top of the stack of books she already carried in her hands. 

  "Thank You dear." She set down the pile of  books into the already dangerously overloaded back seat. She Leaned against the car, panting slightly. "I...Figured you wouldn't...take long." Wearily she closed the door, and went around to the drivers side. Before she could open the door and sit down, I called out softly to her.

 "Aunt Vi"  She looked over the roof of the car curiously. 

 "Yes?" I smiled softly and tapped on the car.

 " You might need the keys to get it started." She narrowed her eyes and reached into her back pocket. 

 " Jokes on you because I made sure to--", she patted around and fished through her purse, muttering to herself. "Oh... Blast it, where are they?" I sighed dramatically and pointed back towards the still open door of the shop. 

 " On the counter inside the store you need to lock." She huffed and stormed inside, murmuring softly. 

 "Oh, miss 'I'm going to college', so smart now, aren't we..." As she went through the door, I pulled myself into the grey-plushed interior, setting my bag down at my feet. I leaned the  chair back, and tried to relax a little. Everything was going to be fine. Deep breaths in, deep breaths out.  Everything would be fine... Like a little mantra, I repeated the words in my head until At last my brain slowed down slightly. I heard the muffled sound of the trunk closing, and the sigh of exasperation Aunt Vi made as she sat down into the drivers seat and put the keys into the ignition. "Here's for luck" she said under her breath as she turned the key and the car made a noise of agony not quite unlike a cat being tazed. "Aha!" She exclaimed triumphantly as the engine finally stopped complaining and idled. 

 "You ready for this?" She asked as she put the car into reverse and pulled out of the place she'd haphazardly double-parked on the curb. I rolled my eyes and mumbled some thing unintelligible. It was supposed to be something along the lines of 'as ready as I'll ever be', but came out as more of a long and tired sounding burble. "Yeah, I know how you feel," she noted quietly, cautiously fixed on the large eighteen wheeler crossing the intersection in front of us. "It's the same way I felt when I went to get on the plane out of Sacramento," her eyes went distant. "Life can be scary like that sometimes, but It all works out in the end. I promise." She patted my hand comfortingly. We sat amiable silence as the buildings blurred around us. Quickly, we left the limits of Salish and began down the 542 West,  tall pines blanketing the road in  surreal shades of green and grey. It was almost otherworldly, feeling the moments tick by, as time blurred along its margins, both making the ride feel slower and faster at the same time. We entered a small town along the road. Some gas stations, a Library, and an Elementary school in the distance. Little more than the traffic light we were stopped at really. 

 "Hey, Maddie, are you hungry?" Aunt Vi asked quietly, breaking a long stretch of silence. She turned left as the light turned green, and we were out of Kendall, a small sign forlornly telling us to 'Come back soon'. "I know this great place to eat," she continued,"I used to go there all the time when I worked down In Deming." I sighed softly, slumping back down into the chair before groggily yawning and sitting up straighter. 

  "Yeah, Sure... I could eat right about now." In no small part thanks to my own laziness, we had left late without having eaten anything but a small bowl of cereal and a protein bar apiece. I wasn't starving, but I was cold, and something warm would be nice. Aunt Vi nodded and continued down the road, into another stretch of forested archways. Before too long, a Small clearing appeared in the trees ahead of us and she slowed down, Pulling into a small parking lot. It wasn't a large restaurant, a main building with a steeple roof, and what looked like an add-on beside it.  A smaller extension roofed in the area in front of the door, where a cheery hand-painted sign greeted customers.She pulled into a spot and opened her door, grunting slightly as she stretched out her cramped legs. I followed her example and felt the soreness in my own legs as the blood began flowing through them. After a moment or two she locked the car and we walked past the "Come on in" sign, opening the heavy glass door as a wave of warm air hit us.

  It was definitely quaint, a smallish dining room with a tall, timbered ceiling, and a set of steps leading to the right to what I could only imagine as another eating area. A small counter occupied the center of the room, With yet another artfully painted sign proudly displaying the menu. Behind the counter was a younger woman with mousy brown hair and and pale brown eyes, dressed in a cornflower blue skirt and shirt ensemble. 

  "Welcome to the...", she stopped and broke out into a big smile when she saw my Aunt. "Why Vivy, I haven't seen you in absolute ages!" She walked around the counter, swiftly running over and tightly embracing 'Vivy'. My aunt simply smiled and squeezed her back. 

  "Sherry, It has been too long, far too long since we last saw each other." The younger woman, Sherry, pulled away, and as if noticing me for the first time, had another small smile. She put her right hand on her elbow and pursed her lips, finger positioned over them quizzically.  

  " You know, you look awful familiar..." She pondered for a moment before her eyes suddenly had a spark of intuition. "I bet you're Madeline, am I right?" I nodded my head and offered a smile of my own in response, still slightly confused at the scene unfolding in front of me. She, on the other hand simply smiled and nodded sagely. "I remember. Your Aunt here always used to show me pictures of you." My cheeks heated slightly. Aunt Vi did have a nasty habit of doing that. Sherry simply chuckled at my reaction and patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry yourself," She whispered conspiratorially, "She couldn't help it if she tried. That's one of the things I like about her". 

  "Thanks Sherry," Aunt Vi said under her breath as Sherry pulled away from us and we followed her to the back of the room. 

  "Any time Vivy, any time." She walked behind the counter and picked up a small yellow pad and an old blue pen. "So,"she began, addressing my aunt, "I'm guessing you'll be wanting your regular," Aunt Vi nodded affirmatively, and Sherry wrote something quickly on the paper. "And what'll you you be having today, Miss Madeline?" I took a look up at the menu. There were a lot of options, but the sandwiches looked alright, though the names were a bit odd.

  "Is the Green Lady Sandwich any good?" I asked Sherry, out of curiosity. According to the small print underneath it, it contained lettuce, kiwi, and sliced ham. It definitely SOUNDED interesting. Sherry smiled and took a breath in to answer, but was cut short by a loud voice from the back window into the kitchen. 

  "It Is When I cook It!" The obviously masculine voice called. Sherry flashed a look of frustration in the voices general direction, but quickly turned back to me.

  "Well there's your answer." I nodded in agreement. "Alright", she shouted back to the kitchen,"She'll take one!"  There was a large amount of clanging emanating from the vicinity. Sherry started as if to speak to Aunt Vi, but paused when she saw a blue pickup truck pull up outside, and the two men who stepped out of it. "I'll be right with you,boys!" she called out as they entered the door, and she led us to a large-er booth in the corner, by the large windows. "I'll be back to chat later after I've seen to them, alright." She flashed us a winning smile and walked back to the pair and pulled out her notepad again.

 "I've always admired her, you know." Aunt Vi said quietly, so Sherry wouldn't hear her this time. You'd think a girl like her wouldn't be stuck in a place like this, but she enjoys it." She paused as the two men started smiling and laughing loudly. "And does a good job of it too." She looked out of the windows dreamily, as if reminiscing about times gone by. In the soft morning light, she was illuminated in a bluish-gray color as the sun rose through the overcast sky. "I always thought I would be stuck somewhere too. Stuck working that dead-end job down the valley." she took in a deep and shuddering breath. I remembered that much. 

 Aunt Vi hadn't been like her brother, my father. She had run away from the oppressive hand of their father, and escaped to Salish, where she met her boyfriend, who would one day become her husband. My father, on the other hand, had stayed, and inherited everything. A house,a career, a livelihood. All of which would've been mine one day. But, even after a year passing, I still couldn't bring myself to go back to the house. Not with all the painful memories I had there. So I'd moved up with my Aunt, who welcomed me with open arms, even after having just lost her house and husband. The bookstore was all she'd had before I came along, and both of our lives grew exponentially better with the two of us together.

 "Then you met Uncle Reg, right." She nodded sadly. 
 
" Then I met Reg. And everything changed." She waved her hand through the air melodramatically. "Oh, Maddie, I tell you, he could just charm the blue from the sky." She quietly looked down at the table. "He was such a gentleman too. One night, my car broke down on the side of the road, out in the woods. I started panicking like I always do, and around the bend comes a pair of headlights. A nice white truck pulls up, and out of it climbs a tall man with a kind smile. And he said to me 'Do you need some help miss?'. I was so out of it I just ran into his arms, a complete stranger. he didn't push me away though. No, he just held me close and hugged me until I'd calmed down a little." Her eyes started to grow misty. "He offered me a ride home, really nicely, and offered to wait with me until the tow truck arrived. That was the first time we'd seen each other, and yet, he drove me home that night. And drove me to work in the morning." Tears started falling freely down her cheeks. "And we never looked the other way again..." I moved to the other side of the booth, putting my arms around her. She quietly hugged me back. 
 Sherry walked over to us, a plate in one hand, and a small basket in the other. She quickly set them down on our table before putting her hands on her back and stretching. "Come on now, Vivy. Joe's done called you twice--" She stopped as she looked down, her wide grin changing into something softer. "Ah, never mind. It's my job to bring food around here anyways." She sat down across from us and puled a tissue from her skirt pocket. "Here you go," she said softly, handing it to Aunt Vi, who blew her nose with it.  My aunt quickly dried up her tears with another tissue, courtesy of Sherry, and slowly brought her breathing back down to normal. 

 " Thank you Sherry," she said quietly after recovering sufficiently.  Sherry's eyes softened and she reached across the table and squeezed her friends hand. 

 "No need to thank me. And you know what, I think I know just what'll cheer you up." She left several more napkins on the table as she left the table and walked back towards the kitchen. Aunt Vi quietly smiled at her figure walking away.

 "Like I said, a heart of gold." She moved her plate from where it had been placed to the side and pushed the basket to me. She eyed it with faint amusement. "I can't say I'd be willing to try it, but have some, and I'll take your word for it." I unwrapped the paper parcel sitting in the basket as Aunt Vi began eating her salad. It didn't seem to be too unusual, Just a normal sandwich in a Hogi bun. I shrugged and brought it to my mouth before taking a small mouthful. It was pretty good, all things considered. The kiwi was unusual, but the sweetness paired well with the ham and, a sour kick from something. Without another word, I swallowed and took another bite. My aunt Looked up from her plate, one eyebrow raised quizzically. "I take it that you like it."  I nodded sharply, not wanting to speak around the sandwich. 

  "Well that's a relief" a soft voice rumbled behind us. I turned to see an elderly man in a white apron , holding a steaming metal cup in each hand. I swallowed the bite I'd taken. "Most people don't order the Green Lady, you know," he explained, eyes twinkling merrily. "But then again, If everyone knew how great it was, I'd be out of Kiwi by the time the lunch rush came around." I nodded in agreement. He chuckled again and set down the cups in front of us. "There we are. Two cups of hot cocoa, on the house." Aunt Vi looked up. 

 "Its appreciated, but we can pay for it." He raised his hands defensively.

 "Sorry, bosses orders. Heaven forbid I say no to Sherry. I rather like my restaurant the way it is now. And besides," he added, turning around, "It would be heartless of me to leave two ladies crying alone in the corner without a nice cup of cocoa to cheer them up." 

 "Thank you." I called after him as he trundled off towards the kitchen.

 "Much obliged" He called over his shoulder. Aunt Vi simply shook her head helplessly and shrugged. "

 "Never look a gift horse in the mouth, I suppose. Or cocoa, for that matter". She supposed with a VERY convincing and philosophical air. And I have to say, It was delicious cocoa indeed, and even went with the kiwi in a strange sort of gastronomical amalgamation of flavors. We finished the rest of our meal in relative peace, and cleaned up our table before throwing away the paper from my sandwich. Sherry walked over as we approached the counter and gave us a sad smile. 

 "I'm sorry to see you two go so soon, but I suppose, you know, busy schedules and all." She wrapped my aunt in a gentle hug. "You come back soon now, you hear me." She pulled back a little. "Both of you." Aunt Vi stifled a small laugh. 

 "I'll be back this evening Sherry, don't you worry. And Maddie here will be back around Christmastime, or whenever she chooses to come around and see us." I smiled and rolled my eyes. 

 "It was nice meeting you, Sherry." I held out my hand to shake hers, but she just rolled HER eyes and pulled me into a little hug of our own. She squeezed me once before letting go and pulling back. 

 "I wish both of you good luck and safe travels. See you two later." And with that, she walked back over to behind the counter and waved once before sitting down. We waved back and went back out to the car. 

  After several attempts at starting it, and some colorful language, the car was speeding down the road once again. Past the mountains and hills, around bends in the river, until all too quickly, we'd pulled into the bus depot in Burlington. I took out my duffel bag and swung it over my shoulder before double checking my ticket. 

 "Number Five to Everton" I read off of the headline, quickly scanning the lanes until I'd found the right one. Together, we walked over, across the trickle of people coming and going about their daily lives. After waiting for several minutes, the No.5 bus pulled in, and several of its passengers filed off. I faced Aunt Vi and prepared for what might be the our goodbyes for a while yet. She simply stared into my eyes, happy and serene, but sad at the same time. Wordlessly, we both hugged each other tightly, and she patted my hair. 

 "I'm going to miss you so much. But I want you to know how proud I am of you, and that I wouldn't have it any other way." I nodded wordlessly as I buried my head against her shoulder.
 "I'll miss you too Aunt Vi." I replied, my voice muffled by the thick fleece of her jacket. But she got the message. She pulled back and looked at me consolingly. 

 "You know what, I still get to see you next weekend when I bring up your stuff, don't I?" I nodded and dried my tears on my suddenly drenched sleeve. She smiled sadly and kissed me on the forehead. "I love you. Now go get on that bus before all the window seats get filled up." I laughed and reluctantly turned away from her and began moving towards the bus.

 "Love you too!" I called behind me, and I didn't even need to look behind me to see the tears of joy rolling down her face. Without turning back, I climbed aboard the bus and took a window seat. As we pulled away, Aunt Vi gave me a sad little smile and waved goodbye. I waved back, and after she'd faded from view as we turned a corner, I took a shuddering breath and pulled out the small pillow I'd packed with me. Luckily, Burlington was the last stop on the line, so It was fairly empty, and I had an entire seat to myself. I placed the pillow under my head, Angling it so I could watch out the window. And as the Rain clouds that had been hovering menacingly since mid-morning rolled in, I sighed as the first pitter-patters of rain fell onto the fogged glass.