Hell to the No

Summer Rain

We eventually join the adults outside on the lower cabin, visiting with them for a while over bowls of various snacks. Roman and Sage seem to be a magnet to the little cousins, especially the girls, which I find increasingly adorable. One particularly affectionate one, a 4-year-old blonde cousin of Roman's, has taken a liking to me. Jainey is her name, and she likes to climb up on my lap whenever I'm sitting. She has a wide-eyed fascination with my hair, and plays with it constantly. I have zero babysitting experience, and am a little stiff and awkward with her 4-year-old lack of personal space. I have never been a huge fans of small children, but the brood here is generally very sweet. Especially Jainey.

We sit in conversation with an aunt and uncle of Roman's, his mother, and Sage's parents for a while. Other groups of adults of the family trickled off to go down to the lakes, or hike with some of the children, stuff like that. After a bit, we all pitch in to help grill hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch, accompanied by more laughing and visiting.

"Allie! Play birdie with me!" I raise my eyebrows and smile as I lift my empty paper plate that I carry on my way to a trash bag at the end of a picnic table in the front lawn, peering down at the blue-eyed Jainey.

"What's that, hun?" I say in a sweet voice as she tugs at my shorts.

"Biiiiiirdiiiiiie!" she crows excitedly, waving a badminton racket up at me, pointing toward a net set up beside the big shed.

"Have another racket?" I ask as I let her lead me by the finger to the net. She scrambles to grab me one, and we stand on opposite sides of the netting. As 4-year-olds tend to do, she fumbles with serving the shuttlecock, and soon just tosses it over the net that's been lowered to accommodate all these small children. She has such a hard time hitting it, that we end up ditching the rackets to just toss the birdie back and forth.

"Are you kicking her butt, Jainey?" Roman's voice floats in a laugh from behind me. The little girl screeches as she tosses the birdie my way, and I make a show of diving for it and missing.

"She's an all-star, wearing me out!" I call from where I lay collapsed in the sun-heated grass, and Jainey ducks under the net to pounce on me. She squawks and giggles as I tickle her, and out of nowhere, we're both assaulted by Roman. Ganging up on me, Roman holds me securely on his lap while Jainey's tiny fingers tickle my sides. I'm practically in tears as I beg for mercy. Sage leaps in to my defense, scooping up Jainey in a trail of little-girl laughter as he twirls her around in the air. I overtake Roman by using his own fatal weakness of tickling.

The whole day is spent just at the cabin property, kicking balls around, visiting with everyone when we get tuckered out, romping over the large boulders on the hill in the back yard. By the time dinner comes, the parties from hiking and the like are back to join everyone. We dine in the lower cabin, where the kitchen and large-family dining room are, and eat delicious steaks grilled by Amy's brothers and Sage's dad.

After dinner, Roman and Sage and I sit on the stairs of the lower cabin porch, watching the little kids play a variation of volleyball with a blown-up balloon and the badminton net. The setting sun is covered by rumbling clouds that roll in overhead.

"Your little cousins are so cute, Roman," I say as I nudge him.

"You should see them when they act like terrors. They're in the sweet phase now," he smirks, jabbing me back with his elbow.

"Now, which ones are yours and which ones are Sage's?" I ask, still not being able to keep track.

"Well, all three of my siblings have brown hair," Sage says with a chuckle, and I recognize the small brown-haired girl that clung to Roman's leg earlier.

"Yeah, all of my uncles' kids have that blond gene, makes it easy for you," Roman adds with a grin. I scoff at him.

"Someday I'll learn everyone's names," I chime with a sneer.

The sound of high-pitched squeals from the flock of children on the sloping lawn below draw our attention. It has started to sprinkle, to the delight of the kids, and they run around screeching in excitement as they play in the rain that increases in intensity with each second. All three of us raise our heads to the dark clouds above, watching the rain start to come down in torrents. I give a laugh as I extend my arms out to catch the thick, chilly drops on my palms. A body slams against mine, sending me off the steps and into the rainstorm with a sinister cackle. I give a shout as the downpour instantly soaks through my clothing and makes my hair stick to my face as my assailant pins my arms to my sides to securely keep me in the rain.

"It's just a little water, Allie!" Roman's voice shouts in my ear over the rushing sound of the rain and wind as I flail about in his grasp. A streak of forked lightning rips the sky above, and the excited laughter of the small children turns to screeches of terror as a monstrous thunderclap shakes the ground in the lightning's wake. Roman releases me quickly as some of the older kids scatter, ducking for the lower cabin and the safety of adults. The younger ones are reduced to being frozen in terror, wailing in fright as the lightning continues to light up the area in brief flashes. Sage and Roman are instantly down into the yard, scooping up a terrified toddler here, taking the hand of another there. I slip and stumble down the soaked lawn to join them, guiding one of Sage's tiny, sobbing sibling as the summer thunderstorm refuses to be gentle. The heavy rain makes it harder to see, but we get all the children safely into the lower cabin, where the adults soothe them and dry them with towels and instant hot chocolate from the pantry.