When It Rains: The Umbrella Collection by Prudence Hayes Page A

sleep like a rock.  You know that,” he grumpily replied.
    “I could have sworn that I heard it.”

“Well, go check it out.”
    “No way!   You are the man of this house, you go,” I whispered back.
    “Fine, but if there isn’t anybody down there, you owe me breakfast.”
    “Yeah, alright.  Just go,” I said as I gave him a little nudge.  “Oh, wait,” I spoke quietly as we passed the hall closet and opened the door to grab something, “Here, take this just in case.” and I handed him a green paisley umbrella that Mom got me when I skinned my knee back in the second grade.
    “Grab one for you, too.”
    “I’m not going!”
    “You’re going to leave an old man like me to fend for himself?”
    “Yeah, I was going to,” I mumbled as I turned back and grabbed one for me.  My lightning bolt one, I call it “Harry”. 
    Pops walked silently the top of the steps with me following closely behind. I was so close , in fact, that I stepped on his heels twice in the four steps we took.  With each step we conquered the more anxious I became.  My heart seemed like it was skipping beats and beads of sweat started to form at my hairline as we both had our umbrellas raised liked baseball bats.  The bad thing about this house is that it’s a big circle; one room runs into the next.  So, you could be going one way and an intruder could be coming up right behind you.  We took a quick glance to the left, as we approached the bottom of the steps, into the formal living room.  We never went in there and quite frankly I don’t understand why we have it.  Why not change it into something we would use? 
    Then, we took a right where our eyes roamed from wall to wall of the family room.  We flipped on the hallway light, lighting up our path of the large hall that sent us into the dining room and straight into the kitchen hitting light switches as we went.  All were clear.  We walked out of the kitchen past the office and back into the formal dining room to return where we began.  Again, all were clear.  
    Pops dropped his umbrella wielding arms down, looked at me like I was an idiot, handed me back the umbrella a nd said, “I’m going to bed,” as he stomped up the steps.
    “I really heard it.   I swear!” I bellowed as Pops slammed his door shut.
    I took the steps back up to my room and put the umbrellas on the floor by my closet and Superman-ed myself back in my bed.   I was now wide awake because of all the action so I swallowed a few more of those pills to help aide my body into a lethargic state.
     
    ****
     
    “Hey Nora!” Pops screamed up the steps as he pounded on the wall, like he so often does to grab my attention while I’m locked away in my room.  I was startled for the second time tonight and burst out of bed.  As I threw on a sweatshirt, my eyes spied the clock.  “Oh shit!” I muttered.  It was three thirteen in the afternoon.  “Shit. Shit. Shit.” I kept saying.  Pops will give me such a hard time if he realizes that I just got up. There were a few more bangs on the wall and a couple shouts of my name before I finally answered after I readied myself.
      “What!” I screamed back a bit hastily as I walked to the top of the steps and stood at the landing.
    “I just wanted to say hi.”
    “Really? You made me get up for that?” I said annoyingly as I threw my arms up in the air in exacerbation.
    “Yes, and to tell you that everyone is coming to dinner tonight,” he said with a smile.
    “Alright. What’s the special occasion?”
    “Nothing. Everyone just wants to see your beautiful smile.”
    “Oh God, this can’t be good,” I mumbled
    “They will be here in two hours. Go make yourself presentable then come down and help me out.”
    “I look fine!” I stated as if I didn’t just roll out of bed. 
    “Have you seen your reflection?”
    “Yes,” I said as if he was the dumbest person on earth.  Pops looked at me as if I had two heads and I said to him,