Jay's Umbrellas

Shoving his feet into his rain boots, Jay grabbed his umbrella and stumbled out of his front door, remembering to lock it behind him. Quickly, he zipped up his jacket and opened the umbrella. Immediately the pitter-patter of the rain hitting the red plastic filled Jay's world, and he sighed contentedly. The drops of water couldn't reach him now.

He walked down the porch stairs, being careful not to scuff their already peeling paint, and cut across his yard to the sidewalk, making sure to avoid the piles of dog poo scattered in the grass. There were puddles everywhere on the concrete, perfect for splashing in, but he walked past them. He was on a mission.

Wind blew at him from behind, tugging at his umbrella. Jay tightened his hold on the handle and sped up. He wasn't going to let some nasty weather jeopardize his mission. But his awkward rain boots failed him, and he tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and his umbrella slipped out of his hand, spinning away from him on the sidewalk.

Ignoring the muddy stains on his pants, Jay scrambled to his feet and lunged for the umbrella. But another large gust of wind picked it up and carried it off before he could reach it. Jay watched it spiral up into the air, and it became just a red blob in the sky. Then, the wind dragged it around a corner, and he lost sight of it.

Frustrated, Jay kicked at the ground as rain splashed around him, soaking his hair. How was he supposed to complete his task now? He needed that umbrella. His whole mission depended on it. Briefly, he wondered if he ought to keep going without the umbrella. But no, that wouldn't work. The rain would soak him and his package within minutes, even if he was wearing his raincoat.

Tears sprang to his eyes. This was important, possibly the most important thing he'd had to do in his ten years of life. And now he wouldn't be able to do it, because of some silly old wind.

"Hey! You there, with the yellow raincoat!" Jay heard a voice call from one of the houses lining the street. He turned to see a big kid, one of the girls who went to the high school, waving at him. Looking up at the cloudy sky, she pulled the hood of her dark green sweatshirt over her head and walked over to him.

Jay knew most kids his age would be scared when confronted with one of the high school giants, even the boys. But for some reason, he wasn't nervous at all. He looked up, up, up at the girl's face. She was pretty, with eyes the same color as the storm clouds, and she looked like someone who laughed a lot. Sure enough, she looked down at him and smiled.

"I saw you lose your umbrella," she said. "I found this old one in the back of my closet the other day." She held out a faded blue umbrella, just a little bigger than Jay's red one. "Do you want to take it?"

Jay stared at her. "You mean, to keep?" he asked incredulously.

The girl smiled again. "Sure, to keep. I don't need it anymore." She handed him the umbrella, and he opened it. Once again, the rain drops pitter-pattered on the old plastic, and now Jay was the one smiling.

"Thank you," Jay said.

The giant with the cloud colored eyes smiled. "See you around," she said, and turned back towards her house. Jay watched her until she closed her door behind her. He thought about what his friends at school would say when he told them he'd talked to a real high school girl. None of them had ever even come close to one. Then he shook his head, trying to focus back on the job at hand. If he hurried, he would have just enough time to finish and get home to change his pants before his mother arrived.

Quickly, Jay walked down the street, turning corners until he reached the supermarket. He shook the rain off his umbrella and closed it as he entered. An old lady looked at him strangely, but he kept walking.

Blinking in the sudden brightness of the store, Jay walked directly toward the bakery. The bagels, muffins, and donuts were all stacked in neat rows, but he walked past them until he reached the cookies. He spotted the ones he wanted and picked up a box, then hurried over to the checkout.

"Are you here on your own?" the man at the checkout asked as he scanned Jay's cookies. Jay nodded and handed over his ten dollar bill. The man looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but in the end, he just sighed and gave Jay three dollars and twenty five cents in change. Jay tucked the money into his coat pocket before taking the cookies and walking out again.

Once outside, Jay opened his new umbrella. One hand holding tight to the cookies, the other clamped around the umbrella handle, he started his walk home. The wind blew at him, but he trudged on through the rain until he made it home.

Stumbling through the door, Jay closed his umbrella, leaned it against the wall, and slipped off his shoes. He ran up the stairs and set the cookies on the kitchen counter. He went to his room to change out of his dirty pants, then made it back to the kitchen just in time to catch his mother coming through the door.

"Hey, Jay," his mom said, smiling tiredly. Then she spotted the cookies on the counter. She gasped delightedly. "Oh, my favorites! When did you get these? Did you go out in the rain all by yourself?" She noticed the faded blue umbrella by the door. "And where did you get the new umbrella? Isn't yours red?"

Jay just smiled. "Happy birthday, Mom."