Rain Before the Picnic

Chapter 1The Basket by the Door

Leah put six napkins in the picnic basket. Then she took them out and counted again.

Six.

Her cousins were coming for lunch in the courtyard. She had drawn a tiny flower on each napkin and chosen a place beside the bench for the basket.

Outside, a gray cloud covered the sun.

"It is going to rain," Leah said.

Her sister Chani looked out. "It is not raining now."

"But it will."

Chani picked up the basket. "Then why are you still packing?"

Leah took it back. She did not know.

Chapter 2A Decision Before Breakfast

Mommy, wearing her neatly tied headscarf, was cutting vegetables in the kitchen.

"We should cancel the picnic," Leah told her.

"I will decide where we eat closer to lunchtime. The courtyard is right outside."

Leah wanted the decision now. If Mommy said indoors, at least she could stop wondering.

If Mommy said outdoors, she could stop looking at the cloud.

"Will you check after breakfast?"

"Yes. We will have room at the dining table if we need it."

Leah carried the napkins upstairs. A flower picnic at the dining table did not sound like a picnic.

Chapter 3The Third Look

By ten o'clock, Leah had checked the window three times.

The cloud was still gray.

She had not finished the little name cards. The basket sat open, with one empty corner where the cups belonged.

Chani was making a paper bird for the table.

"You can have it for the picnic," she said.

"There might not be a picnic."

Chani set the bird down. One wing bent under it.

Leah almost apologized. Instead, she looked at the window again.

Mommy came in with the cups.

"The cousins are still coming," she said. "They will need lunch in either place."

Chapter 4The Empty Corner

Leah fitted the cups into the basket's empty corner.

Then she finished one name card. And another.

"Can your bird sit in the middle?" she asked Chani.

Chani straightened the wing. "If it does not have to tell us the weather."

Leah laughed.

They cleared the dining table, leaving the basket ready beside the door. Chani moved a chair, and Leah put it back where nobody would bump it walking through.

The indoor place was ready. So was the basket.

Leah still hoped for the courtyard. She could pack lunch without knowing where they would eat it.

Chapter 5Two Cousins and a Cloud

When the cousins arrived, Batsheva looked at the basket.

"Are we going out?"

"Mommy has not decided yet," Leah said.

"I like the bench," said Ruchi.

"I like the dining room," said Batsheva. "Your clock sounds like a hiccup."

The clock struck once.

Ruchi giggled. "It does!"

Leah showed them the paper bird. Soon they were folding smaller birds from spare paper, trying to make one that would stand without falling on its beak.

Leah glanced outside when she fetched another sheet. Then she brought the paper back.

Chapter 6The First Drops

Just before lunch, Mommy opened the courtyard door.

A dark spot appeared on the stone step. Then another. Rain began tapping the bench.

"Inside today," Mommy said, closing the door.

Leah's shoulders dropped.

"I wanted the courtyard."

"I know."

Nobody told her that she ought to be delighted. Chani carried the bird to the table, and the cousins carried the name cards.

Leah brought the basket. It was disappointing to walk only across the room instead of through the door.

But everybody still needed a cup.

Chapter 7The Bird at Lunch

The rain grew louder while they ate.

"Our bird would be a very soggy bird," Ruchi said.

Batsheva made her tiny bird bow toward the big one. Its beak struck the table.

"It is thanking Leah for keeping lunch dry."

Leah smiled. She still wanted the bench and the courtyard air. She also wanted to see whether Ruchi could fold a bird smaller than a cup.

After lunch, the basket stood empty by the door.

Leah put the flower napkins aside before anyone spilled on them.

"Next time?" Chani asked.

"Maybe," Leah said. "Keep your bird, too."