Once Upon a Rooftop
(Part 4)
I position the vacuum inside my fireplace in the living room. Going outdoors, I lug the ladder and brush to the eaves. The wind whips my hair into my eyes. Sam is right. The clouds are decidedly stormy. I don’t care. Maybe a little rain will help cool me off.
Leaning the ladder against the house, rung by rung, I battle the wind to climb to the roof. My goal is the chimney. It is hard to walk with the long brush in my hand, so I crawl until reaching my brick smokestack and grab hold. A gust of wind nearly blows me off the roof. I sit down and lean back against the chimney. Rain pelts my face and runs down my back. Below me comes a clatter as my ladder hits the ground, a victim to the storm’s rising fierceness. Is this more luck of the sweep–stuck on my own roof during a thunderstorm? I am torn between hoping no one sees my dilemma and hoping someone does.
“Can you use this?”
Sam’s head appears above the eaves. He is clinging to the ladder with one hand and holding my top hat with the other.
“You forgot your hat again, Sally. That has to be the reason your ladder fell.”
He inches toward me on hands and knees across the roof, my hat held in his teeth, looking for all the world like a drenched puppy coming to make amends. The sight is so ridiculous that I laugh.
“I thought you were afraid of heights,” I say as he reaches the chimney and hands me the hat. Jamming it on my head, I let go of the brush which rolls quickly down the roof and vanishes.
He nods.
“Then why are you here?”
“Because you need someone to bring you inside where it is safe and dry. That would be me.”
His courage is impressive. I scoot over to give him room to lean against the partial shelter of the chimney.
“I want to tell you the truth, Sally Grant. I included you in my book because I hoped you would think that was a good enough reason for me to keep seeing you.”
“Why should I believe you?” I mutter.
“Why should you not?” he asks.
Lightning sizzles across the clouds followed by a thunderous boom. I jump and grab Sam’s arm. My top hat goes sailing.
A metallic rattle and crash follow the sound of the thunder.
Blinking rain from my eyes, I squint up at him. “You realize, of course, that the ladder is once again on the ground and we are stuck up here on the roof. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s lightning and wind and rain and how are we going to get down? This is not a normal situation. We may be in mortal danger.”
“I see your neighbor peering at us from his window. If he doesn’t want to come out in the rain, maybe he will at least call the fire department,” Sam says.
And right there on the rooftop, with rain drenching us and thunder shaking my wonderful old house, Sam kisses me. Nice. I wave at Mr. Shelby and he waves back. Sam’s arm around me is strong and warm. Without warning, the music of Chim-Chim-Charee weaves its way through my head and I agree. “A chimney sweep’s lucky as lucky can be.”
– The End –
Copyright by author, Blanche Day Manos
This story was so much fun to read. Thank you for sharing.