Rose woke up suddenly and realized that she was still on the sofa. She picked up the remote from beside her and turned the television off. Rose got up, walked to the doorway of the living room, reached around the corner, and turned on the hallway light. Then she walked over and turned off the floor lamp.
“Oh my goodness, I didn’t realize how tired I was,” Rose yawned.
She made her way to the stairs and sluggishly walked up them. When she got to the top she shut the light off and carefully walked into her bedroom. The night air felt a little cooler so she walked over to her window and closed it. Rose climbed into her bed and snuggled under her blanket. It wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep.
During the night it had started to rain and Rose was suddenly woken by a large boom. She sat up in her bed, looked around, and tried to collect her thoughts as to what just happened. Then she saw the flash of lightning outside. Oh, it’s storming outside, she thought. She laid back down and closed her eyes. As she tried to go back to sleep the lightning cracked and the thunder boomed. Then she heard the wind pick up some, and the rain hit her window harder.
“Well it’s a good thing that Josh fixed that shutter,” Rose laid there listening.
The thunder and lightning continued for about ten minutes before it graciously moved away. The rain continued some but Rose rolled over onto her right side and finally fell back to sleep. She was able to sleep the rest of the night and was woken up by her phone ringing around 8:15.
“Hello?” Rose was surprised by who it was on the other end.
It turned out to be her old childhood friend Lisa who she spent a lot of time with when she was here staying with her grandmother. Lisa asked if she wanted company later in the afternoon, and Rose happily accepted. So after Rose hung up the phone, she stretched her arms and got up out of bed. She walked over to her closet and looked in.
“What should I wear?”
She slid a few articles of clothing aside and took out her pretty butterfly dress. With a couple of other items, she carried them into the bathroom with her so that she could take a shower. It’s a good thing that Lisa called because Josh will be here in a little while, she thought.
Rose finished up in the bathroom and headed downstairs to make some coffee. She did her usual routine in the kitchen with her coffee and waited for Josh to arrive. She was going to have him take the potting bench out of the basement and put it in the shed, as well as move a few other pieces of furniture for her. She was feeling excited too that she was going to be able to spend some time with her old friend.
Rose sat at the table and enjoyed her coffee while she reminisced about when she and Lisa were kids. The summers that they spent together, and some of the fun projects that her uncle Ralph set up for them. They spent time with her grandma too, but she was busy with her lady friends a lot. She was told as a kid that her uncle Ralph was in between jobs and that’s why he was around so much.
As she took a sip from her coffee cup, the doorbell rang. Rose got up and walked to the front door. She unlocked the door and opened it. It was who she figured it would be.
“Good morning Josh, please come in,” Rose held the door open.
“Well, the porch is dry so I took down the string,” Josh put it in his pocket.
“Would you like some coffee?” Rose guided him through the living room.
“No, thank you… I hope you don’t mind but I can only stay until noon because I have another appointment,” Josh said.
“No, not at all… I only have a few more things for you to do anyways,” she stopped in the kitchen. “First, in the basement is a potting bench, can you move that out to the shed for me please?”
“Sure, no problem,” He said.
Rose opened the basement door and told him that he would see the big, old, wood bench sitting not far from the dryer. It was too heavy for her to carry up the stairs by herself. Josh trotted down the steps and moved the pots that were on it onto the floor. Carefully he wrestled to get a grip on it. Rose watched and then trotted down the stairs.
“Here, let me help you,” she picked up the one end.
The two of them were able to carefully carry it up the steps and out the back door. They carried it over to the barn (very large shed) door and set it down. Rose opened the door and Josh lifted the bench from underneath and carried it in.
“Boy, you sure are strong,” Rose smiled.
“Thanks, this thing is just awkward is all,” Josh said.
Rose showed him what else she wanted moved and to where, and then she went down to the basement.
Please join me again for more of: Rose’s Ghost.