“Drake’s allergic to horsehair, and we can’t split up.” He caught his breath. “Listen, there’s a rain tarp behind the farm, which is also visible from the road. We’ll take shelter there, and I’ll call the camp to send a van.” He started to remove his backpack and unload little blue packets. It took me a second to realize they were emergency disposable rain pouches. He started throwing them toward the kids, then one at me.
“Put these on,” he commanded.
We all quickly threw them on. I helped a few kids into them.
“Okay, everybody grab hands and follow me.” He grabbed two hands on either side, and they instinctively grabbed one on theirs. I followed the same pattern.
“We’re right behind you,” I yelled back.
As we ran through the misty, blurry field, I was relieved that they were all wearing water shoes. I suddenly remembered the kayaks. So much rain was falling, I worried they would drift off into the river. Overwhelming guilt rushed through me as I thought about what Rick had been saying earlier. He was right. The whole thing should have been cleared with him first. Maybe if I hadn’t agreed so quickly, he would have had a chance to argue against it. I shook it off and tried to concentrate.
In the foggy distance, I spotted a dark-green triangular rain tarp sturdily tied to three metal rails. It was big enough for a group three times our size. We finally made our way under it. By the time I’d caught my breath and looked up, Rick was already dialing.
“Everyone okay?” I asked the campers.
“What’s going to happen to our art pads?” Ashley asked.
I forced a smile. “We’ll come back for them. They’re going to be safe and dry in the shed until the rain clears up.”
“The van will be here in five minutes,” Rick announced.
I sighed with relief and looked at him. The misty background behind him became a blur, and all I could see was his hair dripping in front of his face. He was looking back at me and still breathing heavily. At that moment, as if the pouring downfall hadn’t been enough, the rain intensified to a full-on monsoon, and our gaze broke simultaneously. We both turned to a squeaking of the metal on one of the railings. He ran to the site, reached to the top of the rail and held it in place before it could collapse. I rushed over to help and held the lower end tight while he tried to tighten the latch.
“What can we do?” I asked, looking up at him. We were intensely close, and although we were wet and cold, I could feel the heat of his body.
“There’s nothing we can do. This tarp wasn’t built for a storm like this. This is going to come down any minute.”
“Then we’ll have to stall it. Maybe I can hold the other end?” I asked in a low voice, looking back at the rail, hoping it would stay put for just a few minutes longer.
He didn’t respond.
“Hey when the rain gets stronger like that, doesn’t it mean that it’s about to stop soon?” I was not only hopeful, but trying to snap him out of his daze.
He looked down at me and smiled nervously. “Not always.”
We both turned at the sound of a loud car horn. An over-sized gray van pulled up. The driver, Rob, whom I recognized from the camp, ran out and met us under the tarp.
“I got here as fast as I could,” Rob said, looking around. “Everyone okay?”
Minutes later, all eight kids were safely in the van. I jumped in to make sure everyone was safely buckled and ran a quick count. I grabbed a clean towel from Rob, running it over my face and hair.
“Rob, I have to stay back with Rick. He’s going to need help with those boats.”
“You sure, Amy? It’s a mess out there.”
“I can’t leave him alone.”
“Call if you need me,” Rob called as I jumped out.
The van took off as I ran back to catch up with Rick, who went to grab his backpack from under the tarp.
“What now?” I yelled through the rain before joining him underneath.
He flipped around, startled. “Amy, what are you doing? You should have stayed on that van.” He yelled over the thunder.
“I’m staying with you. You’ll need my help.”
He shook his head. “Look, I’m sorry about my attitude earlier, but this isn’t your fault. You don’t have to stay back with me. I can handle it.” Although he was under the tarp, water was trickling down his jaw and chin as he spoke.
