The Rainbow (Frerard) [underwater_sky]

April - The Flood (Part Two)

            The rain we had for the past week continued until six am that morning, and then the sun came out. We took it as a good sign, and began to work as quickly as we could to get all of our boxes from one house to the new one, and then drive back across town to another apartment and get more boxes to take home again. The sun made the rain that had fallen dry up faster, but we were still surrounded by puddles and water flowing down into drainpipes. The run-off from winter was taking over the land, it seemed. Small ponds in the middle of big grassy fields kept showing up and we all stayed on the sidewalk the best we could, knowing there would be a swamp and wasteland underneath the grass if we trod too much. There was mud everywhere and more than once someone stepped where they shouldn't have and got mud up to their ankles. Jasmine's combat boots looked less impractical and more like a fantastic idea as the day went on.

            Vivian had enlisted the help of her two wonderful graduate students, Callie and Dean, who we were all getting to know very well at this point. They were now greeting us with smiles and making small talk, instead of being nervous that they were going to lose funding or a grade from doing this project right. At this point in the school year, they had gotten used to Vivian's taunts and teases and learned to appreciate her tough love. Or maybe the first nice day after a long and arduous winter of being stuck in libraries now helped them to relax. This was the first time I had seen them in good spirits, with smiles that did not seem forced, and it made the day go a lot easier. Mikey and Alexa came to help as well, letting Cassandra baby-sit their passel of children. I could not believe that Cassandra had agreed to this, but when I found out Noelle was also helping, it began to make more sense.

            It was a lot easier moving in spring, in spite of the rain and the mud, than in the winter when our hands were freezing and hurting from carrying boxes. This move involved two more intricate stops than the first one of Gerard and myself to Vivian's place, since we had to make a detour across town and get Jasmine's stuff after the first leg had been completed. We split ourselves up to make this transition go a lot smoother; Mikey and Alexa headed to Jasmine's place to help get her stuff together and load it into their truck, while Vivian and the graduate students helped us gather our things. The plan was to meet at the townhouse whenever we got there, but our move proved to be more difficult. The bed going back up Vivian's stairs was the first thing we did, and made me want to quit again. Gerard, myself, and Dean were doing it, but eventually Gerard opted out because of his knees and then his back, so Vivian and Callie had stepped in to replace him. Callie was mostly spotting as we got it up the stairs, but as soon as we took it to the driveway, she picked an end and it became a much easier burden. Having done the most difficult thing first, the rest of the basement was easy. Gerard carried boxes and held doors and whatnot, but he wasn't taking furniture. He was just too tired for that. I didn't mind at all, although I was a bit worried for him. He told me to just focus on getting our new lives started and that he would be fine. Vivian was also going up to him countless times during the day to make sure he was fine, and each time he batted both of us away. He returned to his lists, again, and it helped him feel as if he was contributing to the move. Since he had kept a meticulous inventory of what we were all packing, he became the key person who dictated where furniture and boxes were supposed to go once at the town house. Vivian had the set of keys that she had picked up for us earlier that day and gave Alexa the other pair so she and the Jasmine crew could get inside. We only had two sets between us, and while for moving day this was fine, I realized that one of our first immediate expenses would be to make a third.

            Jasmine, Mikey, and Alexa had already arrived at the house and were unloading when we arrived. Dean rushed over to help Mikey with the larger bulk items as Alexa began to take smaller hand-helds and boxes of dishes inside. I was surprised at Alexa's strength. She was wearing another one of Isaac's old sports shirts, with the arms cut off and rolled up. Her biceps flexed incredibly as she lifted one box above her head, to balance on her shoulder as she got the door for the men behind her. I realized that she must do yoga or Pilates. She was intense as she was getting stuff together and taking it inside, her eyes focused and breathing tight and controlled; sometimes she'd hold doors with her leg, her hips in an awkward position, and her face would not change at all. She was a wall of austerity and precision. I wished we had had her when we moved from the old apartment to Vivian's.