Under the Weather

In today's story, Under the Weather, the neighbors are watching

Today's prompt was chosen at random from a list of idioms. Note: the occasional background sounds are thunder from the rainstorm that was raging during recording. It was much louder in person!

If you enjoy today's story, please share it with your friends and leave a review for Freely Written. You can also send me  a prompt suggestion, and I'll be sure to credit you in the episode. Thank you!

More about Susan Quilty

Susan Quilty mainly writes novels, including two standalone novels and her current YA series: The Psychic Traveler Society.  Susan's short stories for Freely Written are created during quick writing breaks and shared as a way to practice her narration skills before she dives into recording audio versions of her novels.

Website:  SusanQuilty.com
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Transcript

Below is the transcript for Season 1, Episode 144 of Freely Written, a podcast by author Susan Quilty:

Welcome to Freely Written where a simple prompt leads to a little unplanned fiction.  

[Light piano music]

Hi, friends! I’m Susan Quilty and today’s prompt is Under the Weather.

For today’s prompt, I decided to search for a list of idioms and use whatever phrase was third on the list. An idiom is an expression that has a different meaning than its literal words. In this case, under the weather means to be mildly sick. As in, “I’m a little under the weather, so I’m going to skip the party tonight.”

Of course, that meaning seems too obvious so maybe I can get by brain to stumble into some other way to use that phrase. As a reminder, here’s how my Freely Written process works: I sit down with a prompt and write whatever comes to mind, with no planning and very little editing. Then, I record the story and share it with you.

As a sidenote, it’s pouring down rain while I’m recording. I don’t know if you’ll be able to hear it in the background, but its good timing for this prompt!

Now, let’s get on to the story:

Under the Weather

The clouds began to gather over Hector’s house around 2 in the morning. No one saw their arrival except for a raccoon that was pilfering seeds from a bird feeder at the edge of the yard. The raccoon paused to watch the sky darken, sniffed the air, then went back to his late-night snacking. By the time the rain began, the raccoon had wandered off in search of unsecured trash cans. 

“Oh, dear,” Debra said when she looked out her window over breakfast. “Looks like Hector has a cold.”

Without looking up from his phone, Dan said, “We should have him over. The lawn could use watering.”

“Oh, Dan!” Debra sighed in a show of annoyance, though her smile let him off the hook.

Like the rest of the neighborhood, they were used to Hector’s affliction. It couldn’t be helped. He was just one of those expressive people, more closely in tune with the world. Dan had a second cousin who was so down to earth he practically crawled as he slunk about. And Debra had a co-worker whose flawless skin and blond hair perpetually glistened, as if bathed in a literal ray of sunshine. 

“How bad is it?” Dan asked, still scrolling on his phone. “Hopefully just a cold and not that monsoon that came with his flu last year.”

Debra peered out the window, scanning the dark clouds and the light rain that was falling just over Hector’s small white house. 

“Not bad at all,” she confirmed. “At least for now. Though some of those clouds look a bit menacing. Maybe I’ll make him some chicken soup.”

“That would be nice,” Dan agreed. “Make enough for lunch while you’re at it.”

Debra rolled her eyes and bit back a retort. It both amused and annoyed her that Dan would think she was making chicken soup from scratch. She was going to heat up a can and bring it to Hector in a thermos. Though there was some leftover roast chicken she could add to the soup, along with some cooked carrots. 

Two doors down, Debra’s friend Carol was also looking at an isolated rain cloud, but it wasn’t Hector’s house that had caught her attention. From her place at the curve in their street, Carol could see the dark clouds over Hector’s house. She could also see a curious patch of rain a few houses down the block, just around the bend. 

“You’ll never believe this,” Carol told Debra as soon as she picked up the phone. “There are two of them! Just a few houses apart!” 

Though she had seen Hector’s rain clouds, Debra didn’t make the connection. 

“The new woman!” Carol practically shouted when Debra asked what she was talking about. “The one who bought Sam and Jodi’s place. There are clouds gathering over her house, too.”

Debra hurried back to the window, craning her neck to see down the street, but her view was obscured by the curve in the road and a large maple tree. 

“There’s rain over the new woman’s place,” Debra told Dan excitedly. 

“Really?” Dan looked up from his phone. “Can you see it?”

“No,” Debra told him, “but Carol can!”

“How bad is it?” Dan asked and Debra blinked.

“I don’t know,” she told him before turning her attention back to the phone. “Dan wants to know how bad it is. The rain, I mean, at her place.”

“Not nearly as bad,” Carol answered quickly. “Definite rain, just not as much and the clouds aren’t as dark.”

“Can you take a picture?” Debra asked, wanting to see the two distinct rainclouds for herself. 

“Let me see it,” Dan said, getting out of his chair to meet Debra by the window.

“She hasn’t sent it yet,” Debra told him before trying to see down the street again. 

“I can’t get a picture,” Carol said. 

“She can’t get a picture,” Debra repeated to Dan, as Carol was still explaining. 

“The houses are two far apart to get them in one shot.”

“The houses are two far apart,” Debra repeated. 

“She can use panoramic mode,” Dan suggested, distracting Debra from whatever Carol was saying next. 

“What?” Debra asked, not clearly speaking to either Dan or Carol.

“Panoramic mode,” Dan repeated. “You know, where you move the phone?”

“Oh, right!” Debra exclaimed, again speaking over Carol. She turned back to the phone and said, “You could try panoramic mode.”

There was silence on the phone.

“Carol?” Debra asked, looking to Dan questioningly.

“I’m here,” Carol said tersely. 

“Oh, did you hear what I said? About panoramic mode?”

“Yes,” Carol snapped. “You said it while I was telling you that I couldn’t even get it in panoramic mode.”

“Oh,” Debra said sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Should we go over?” Carol asked, getting to the real point of her call.

“Go where?” Debra asked in confusion. 

“To meet the new neighbor,” Carol clarified. “And tell her about Hector, of course.”

“Where does she want to go?” Dan cut in. “Not to tell Hector?"

“No, not to Hector,” Debra explained. “To the new woman.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sakes,” Carol interrupted. “Just put me on speaker phone!” 

Once Debra had the speaker phone sorted, they decided to make a double batch of soup, bringing one to each of their ailing neighbors and feeling out how to make an introduction.

“I’m staying out of it!” Dan decided, going back to his phone, but Debra knew he’d be all too eager to hear the outcome. 

An hour later, Debra and Carol met outside of Carol’s house. Debra had two thermoses of soup in a cloth bag. They stood on the sunny sidewalk together, looking at the two patches of rain centered over each of the houses.

When they rang the new neighbor’s doorbell, she answered promptly and greeted them with a friendly smile. After introducing themselves, and learning her name was Moira, Debra pulled out a thermos of soup and offered it awkwardly. 

“We thought this might help, if you’re feeling a little under the weather.”

“Well, thank you,” Moira said warmly. “Though I’m feeling fine.”

“Oh, you are?” Carol and Debra exchanged a nervous look. “But the rain…”

“Oh, that,” Moira said with a touch of apprehension. “I suppose that is strange… but it’s not the first time that’s happened. Is there someone nearby who is, um, nature sensitive?” 

“Yes,” Debra answered quickly. “Hector, my across-the-street neighbor. He gets a rain cloud overhead whenever he’s under the weather. We have soup for him, too.”

“I see.” Moira looked down for a long moment. When she looked up, the friendly smile was back on her face. “I’m not nature sensitive, but I am people sensitive. So, I’m probably picking up on him.”

“Oh.” Debra and Carol exchanged another questioning glance. 

“Well, that’s still very similar,” Carol decided matter-of-factly. “Would you like to meet him?

 “Um, meet him? Hector?” Moira shook her head lightly, more in surprise than as an answer to the suggestion. Though she then said, “Maybe not today. Since he’s under the weather. But maybe another time.”

“Yes, of course!” Debra said, delighted by the possibility. 

As Debra and Carol walked to Hector’s house, they chatted about when and how to arrange a meeting. Maybe a cook-out for Dan’s upcoming birthday. They stopped at the sidewalk to pull up their rain hoods and assess the patch of rain that fell perfectly around Hector’s house.

“This is shaping up very well,” they agreed, sure that they were on their way to making a perfect match. 

The End 

Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed that matchmaking tale. As always, I had no idea where this story would lead, but it fell into place more easily than expected. Some stories are like that. 

If you’re enjoying Freely Written, please share it with your friends. It would also mean a lot to me if you would check out my novels and other books. You can visit SusanQuilty.com to learn more or search for “Susan Quilty” wherever you buy books. There’s also a link in the show notes. As an indie author, I really appreciate your support. 

Until next time, try a little free writing of your own. Let go of any planning and see where your imagination takes you. 

[Light piano music]