1409

I need a break. I gather up some watched DVDs, slip them into Netflix return envelopes, grab a bill to go out, and head for the mailbox, only to notice the postman is there already.

I walk up to him and say, “Have you already picked up the outgoing?”
He replies, “Nope, I had a feeling you’d have some DVDs to return today, so I was waiting for you.”

Later, having drank almost all our milk and deciding to finish taking the last few Prilosec in futile attempts to control my stress-induced constant heartburn, I decide to take another break and make a grocery store run. The sun is shining directly in my face, yet there is rain coming down. My pollen covered windshield goes from dangerously opaque to might-as-well-be-painted as I dare swiping my wipers once to see if it helps. As I roll down the window to stick my head out just to make sure I’m not about to rear end anyone, I wonder briefly how bad my windshield might look if I’d skimped out and gotten the really cheap wiper blades.

Sun blinded traffic crawls through the drizzle of rain, into the grocery store lot, where, as it begins to let up, I find a decently close parking space. I have to wait for two little girls who are playing in the rain to run by my car before I can open my door, but while I am waiting, I look up and notice a hint of a rainbow barely visible in the dark gray clouds behind the grocery store. I get out, approach the store, and immediately notice a smartly dressed woman in a red suit standing out front, her back to the entry doors, no shopping bags in her hand, gazing out at the sky across the parking lot and smiling hugely. As I get closer she smiles at me and says, “Look!” as she points behind me. I turn to find a much brighter sky behind me, puffier, whiter clouds, and the rest of that rainbow, bright and clearly visible. I look at the lady again. She is still grinning very big. “Doesn’t seeing a thing like that make your whole day?” she asks, then turns and heads on into the store.

I can’t help but find myself smiling, too, as I follow her in.