...Oh, It Rains.

The puddles are for walkin in.

Rain continued into the early morning. I got to the library early, finding a light blinking on the answering machine. I hit the button and began to go through the book drop as the message played.

“Hey, boss,” Dave’s voice said, “I won’t be in for a bit. Dad took a turn for the worse last night. He died at the hospital. I’ll be back on Tuesday.”

I replayed the message. Dave’s stoic tone broke at the the words “worse” and “died.” If you did not know the man you would not have heard it, but Dave and I have been partners at this library for nearly ten years now. I heard the pain in my friend’s voice.