Raining Buckets

“The rain came down in buckets,” my cousin said dramatically as she stared out the window. “I had so much planned for today.” 

“Tanning at the pool so Jeff can see you doesn’t really count as a full day,” I responded as she let out a huge sigh. 

“It’s important business. Those boys…” Mariah never seemed to finish a full thought when it came to Jeff. Last month it was Larry. Before that there was Jason, Henry and even a Frederick. There was no getting over her love of men. Though I wasn’t sure if the guys she was interested in could be considered men. Most were immature, never held down jobs for more than a few months and never really treated her with respect. They were just in it because she flattered them with attention. 

I knew it was bound to rain for the rest of the week with the tropical storms hovering and I wondered what Mariah would do with her free time since she couldn’t spend the rest of her precious days off basking in the sun and Jeff’s glances. I hoped she would take some time to relax and think for herself instead of letting Jeff’s every whim take over.  

“Well, we have a full bookshelf of books I don’t think you have ever read so you could start there to take your mind off the important business of Jeff. At least maybe it will help for a little while?” I looked hopefully at Mariah, wishing I could just finish the end of my James Patterson mystery before the day was through. I was dying to know who the murderer was and how he was going to get caught. 

Mariah let out another deep sigh as she headed toward the bookshelf. I didn’t know if I could handle it if she was going to sigh dramatically for the rest of the afternoon. Much less the rest of the week. I wasn’t expecting her to get drawn into the first book she pulled off the shelf. She didn’t move. She didn’t sigh. She didn’t get up at all. I was excited to see she had gotten so pulled into The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo, but when I finally took a break to get a snack, I noticed she had only stayed so still because she had fallen asleep.