Read When It Rains: The Umbrella Collection for Free Online Page B

fine.”
    The front door opened once more and Dad poked his head in, “Psst.  Hey Nora.”
    “Yeah?”
    “I love you,” he spoke with a wide smile mounted on his face.
    “Love you, too, Dad,” and they were gone.  
      That was the last time I felt my Mom kiss me goodbye and that was the last time I heard my Dad’s voice.  From what I have found out by Jack and Miranda, they got to the restaurant the same time they did and had a good time.  Mom ate a Chicken Caesar salad and I can bet she removed the croutons.  She hated those things.  Dad ate a steak, as usual, a true carnivore that man was.  They talked and laughed inside, but outside the weather went from a sprinkle to a downpour.  Once they were finished, they kept waiting for a break in the rain to leave.  Mom told them of the promise that she vowed to me and she was eager to keep up her end of the bargain.  While they stood underneath the awning, there was a break and they decided to hit the road.  Dad was driving and Mom sat in the passenger seat.  The Garrison’s were right behind them being that they lived in the same neighborhood as us.  They said half way home the rain started to come down hard again.  Their speed slowed down to almost a crawl and when they got to the light at the intersection at Mason Street, they stopped at the red light.  Jack said the rain held up a little where they were able to see in front of them now.  All of a sudden, he saw a yellow truck slide and slams into Mom’s side of the car.  After the collision, the truck ended up in the middle of the sidewalk on the other side of the street.  My parents, after spinning around a few times landed in the middle of the intersection.  The car was mangled, with its pieces barely holding together.  There was smoke exiting the vehicle as the Garrison’s ran over to them.  Miranda checked my Mom and Jack checked my Dad, they were both gone.  A small fire ignited in the engine and at that same moment the rain began to pour again.  Miranda looked back at the yellow pickup truck that caused this and she saw a man stumble out of the truck and he sat down on the curb getting soaked by the rain.  While Jack called the police, she ran over to him and tried to talk to him, but he was made no sense and stumbled over his words.  She thought he might have hit his head or was internally hurt, but as the blood tests came back later, he was just incredibly intoxicated.  The police came, along with a slew of ambulances, to interview the Garrison’s and put the driver into the back of the cop car. 
    When I awoke the next morning, I noticed Mom wasn’t in bed with me.   I got up out of bed and first checked their bedroom, but it was empty.  I, then stumbled downstairs, still groggy, and called out for my Mom, but I got no response from her.  Pops answered instead.  He was sitting out on the front porch, rocking back and forth in his rocking chair, holding a cup of coffee and staring blankly into the yard.  I opened the screen door to walk out and Pops turned to me.
    “Morning,” he said as he looked over to me perhaps wondering if I was fully awake or not, “ I know you just woke up, but we need to talk about something,” his eyes were bloodshot; I noticed as I walked passed him and sat in the rocker next to his.  
    “Where are Mom and Dad at?” I asked, but I had a strong feeling that something happened last night that I wasn’t aware of and that’s what he needed to talk to me about.
    “Something happened last night.  They were in an accident.”
    “Are they okay?” I said as I stared at him with my heart beating fast.
    His face dropped down and he stared at the half empty coffee mug that he held in his hands.  When he raised his head up again he took a deep breath in and uttered, “No, sweetheart.  They aren’t.  They passed away.”
    There was a sudden pain in my chest and a numbing feeling enveloped my body.   The tears that were filling up my eyes began