“Okay, thanks for the call, you stay dry, and we’ll see you in a few days.”
Sarah tucked her frizzy damp hair behind her ear and turned her attention back to the kitchen. The bean and vegetable stew was bubbling and it gave the farm house a pleasant aroma. The bread was being reheated in the oven and two jams already sat on the table. Sarah finished off her drink and poured another.
The door swung open; Maya, Jake and Arrow bustled inside. Maya’s red hair was wet, curly and cut short. She hung her raincoat on a hook and slipped out of her muck boots. Arrow followed Jake into the far-room; they left a muddy trail across the hardwood floor.
“That’s a hell of a rain,” Maya greeted.
“I just got off the phone with Val, she said River’s floodin’ right now up in Selinsgrove.”
“Shit…How bad is it?”Without washing, Maya threw the Swiss chard and Kale into a bowl and set it on the table.
“Too early to tell; that’s where the Garber’s folks are from, they live right on the River…along with the rest of the town.” Sarah stared out the window and listened to the pounding rain; Maya finished setting the table for dinner.
“How’d the truck run today?” Sarah looked at Maya as she asked.
“Same as last time, second gear is missing and it smells hot.” Maya paused; smiled, “and the windshield’s still cracked; still no insurance.”
Sarah chuckled. “Want a drink? The bottle still has plenty.”
“Not a chance staying dry tonight,” Maya poured a drink. “I hope the folks upriver are safe. Have you been down to look at her?”
“Yeah, I walked down about an hour ago. It’s higher than I’ve ever seen. How’d we do at market today?” Sarah changed the subject.
“The eggs and the mesclun mixes sold out; not much else sold, slow from the rain I guess. Oh, and Richard says Hi.”
“How is he doing?”
“He’s worried about our place tonight, JAKE!” Maya called to the other room;
“TIME FOR DINNER!...He might come over tonight to help out.”
“It’ll be past his bedtime.” Sarah smiled.
“Anything from the road today?
“A few quarts of the romas and three jams.” Did you remember to pick up Arrow’s eye meds?”
“Shit, I forgot; I’ll grab it tomorrow, do we need anything else at the vets?”
“No,” Sarah took a drink of whiskey, and the rain fell hard.
Outside the west window the green hills ran down to a swelling brown-river. No trains were running. To the south lay the Mason Dixon Line and the River lazily twisted its way to the Chesapeake Bay. 50 miles north, the ridges and valleys of the Pennsylvania Appalachian Mountains soaked up the hard rain. On the land-side of the tracks grew three acres of organic vegetables, and 50-some hens did their best to stay dry. The rain brought a relentless pounding, and the River slowly rose.
The family ate and drank quickly; steam escaped from the pot and Arrow sat by the door with anxiety. The spouting carried the water off the house and downhill, toward the River.
“Jim dropped off the bales and sandbags this afternoon; he could barely get up the lane with an empty load.” Sarah dipped her bread in the stew. “I figure we’ll be down there most of the night. I better make more coffee.” She tightened her lips and showed her forehead wrinkles.
“You don’t think it will rise over the...?” Maya whispered.
“It never has before,” Sarah took a breath. “Jake how was your day?”
“Uh, good, Mr. Jacobs said it hasn’t rained this much in 50 years. Is that true?”
“Could be, it’s not done yet” Sarah replied
“He also said that school will be called if the roads flood,” mentioned Jake, caught somewhere between excitement and fear.
“Good, we could use some help around here,” joked Maya. The lights flickered off then on again.
“Jake would you please red off the table and wash up?” Sarah asked and stood up, “I need to grab some candles, and then you’re Mom and I will need to head down to the fields in a bit.”
Jake nodded; and asked. “Is it gonna flood?”
Sarah and Maya held eye contact for a brief moment; Maya answered,
“We don’t know, honey. It depends on how the River rises, but we could be down there late, you and Arrow can look after the house. If the electricity goes out, there are candles on the mantle… Make sure they’re out when you go to bed.”
“Okay”
She hugged him.
Sarah and Maya put on their raincoats and boots and walked down the hill to the River.
