Here comes the rain (Buddie) - English

Chapter 10 : The ones who live

The black pickup truck has passed by the Blue Mountain neighborhood sign at least three times without ever entering. The fourth time, tired of wasting his fuel unnecessarily, the driver pulls onto the sidewalk and turns off the engine. He rolls down his window to let in some fresh air and leans on the edge of the door. It's daylight, and the sun beats down behind the glass, but the recent rainy days and the end of autumn had convinced him to bring a coat with him.

He observes the small house, squeezed between two white-fronted houses. The lawn of the one on the right had been mowed that morning, or the day before. It still smelled of freshly cut grass and turned earth. A sedan was parked in the driveway in front of the garage, revealing the wheels of a motorcycle under the ten centimeters of opening of the white door. A cat grooms itself on the second step of the porch, oblivious to the dog watching it from behind the window, jealous. The curtains are drawn, the rooms are dark, the owners have gone for the day in their family car. They've probably gone to enjoy the last few days of good weather for a walk along the Marina.

The second house, on the other side of the small house, is more lively, less perfect.

The front door is open, and children's shouts can be heard from inside, while a dog barks unrestrainedly at the mailman who passed by there a handful of minutes ago. The trunk of the six-seater car is open, and a man appears in the doorway, dragging behind him two suitcases and leaning to the right under the weight of two Target bags. He loads them into the trunk, orders one of his children to bring down the winter sports equipment, and packs everything into the car. It groans under the weight of the luggage and trembles a little when two doors slam shut, and the two youngest children settle into their seats, without putting on their shoes and still wearing their pajamas. A teenager, helmet around his neck and a large sweater hanging down to above his knees, appears in turn, handing two bags to his father who seizes them vigorously and gets into the car without a word. As soon as seated and buckled up, he turns up the volume of his music in his ears and closes his eyes. Behind the kitchen window, a woman is on the phone while watering the brown plants hanging on the metal rack by reaching her arm outside. She orders the dog to be quiet more firmly than the old woman coming out of the house holding onto the terrace railing. She grabs her stepson's hand, who accompanies her to the car and advises him to watch his head as he gets into the back. Immediately, the children pounce on him, asking him for the hundredth time to tell them about their trip to Paris with grandpa before he died.

The trunk is loaded, the flowers are watered, the dog is taken to the Rollins' across the street, and the door is locked. The father glances at the facade of the house, makes sure the windows have been closed properly, and checks the garage door. Walking back to the driver's side, he thinks about buying the beige paint cans he saw with his wife at the hardware store to repaint the wooden fence.

The car leaves the driveway of the house, turns onto the street, makes a U-turn at the small roundabout at the end of the cul-de-sac, and passes by the house again before turning onto Holly and heading towards the highway, which leads north.

The occupant of the pickup truck gets out of his car, leaves his sunglasses on the seat, and crosses the street. He reads the name on the mailbox and walks up the stone pathway to the small house nestled between the two houses. He climbs three steps, carefully avoiding the crack in the middle of the last one, and approaches the door. He knocks twice, but deeming his attempt too weak, he tries again with more flair this time. He steps back a bit, observes perfect silence, and listens intently. He hears footsteps inside. From the kitchen window, a curtain flutters, and the face of a woman in her fifties appears behind the dirty glass. She says something he can't hear and then disappears. A few moments later, a bolt is turned, and a young girl appears in the doorway.