And it Rains and Rains

A cold winter morning at the Blake manor. A strong rain fell in the outside areas of the manor, soaking the windows and the external floor, and cooling the internal area. It was five in the morning. The sun didn't rise yet.

Giancarlo Blake, Rafael and Markus' father, was enjoying a week with his youngest son, Rafael. The old man woke up at that time and turned the TV on to watch something.

The area where the old man was had a kind of bed couch, a rack with a fifty-two-inch TV, a powerful surround sound receiver, a decoder from the TV operator the family subscribed to and a LiveStation 4 console, the most powerful gaming system made by GameLive Entertainment.

In the surround kit, there were two tower speakers at the front, four bookshelf speakers with two on the side and two on the rear, a center speaker and a powerful subwoofer, which could make the floor shake. The family loved to watch movies with that powerful sound, specially the children.

Behind the couch, there was a pool table. The family members did play it as a form of socializing, specially with guests around.

Beside the TV area, there were some couches with the fireplace and the center table, which were used when the family members wanted a calm area for reading, using laptops or something like that.

Facing that area was the dining table, where Rafael and his family had the lunches and did their family meetings, when they had important matters to discuss and set up between them.

Carl, as he was known between his military friends, turned the TV off and decided to make some coffee for his son and family, who were waking up later.

A few minutes later, after making the coffee for the rest of the family, the old man went to the couch, picked his eReader, chose a political thriller to read and relaxed, while he enjoyed the pleasure of reading a book, even if only in electronic format.

Everything was calm, the other family members sleeping peacefully, until Beatriz, the owner's wife, decided to wake up in the master bedroom.

In the master bedroom was the couple's bed, where Rafael, the owner, and Beatriz, his wife, slept. Also, a dresser for both of them, was in front of the bed. On Beatriz's side table, there were some photos and her cellphone. On the husband's, there was only his digital clock.

Looking from the bed, at the wardrobe's left side was a door that led to the bathroom, which they both used when they needed to take a bath or do their physiologic needs.

And, beside the bed, close to the wall, was a desk that the young wife used, if she needed to do some fast job, like typing on her laptop or anything like that.

Her husband had the studio in the first floor for himself, so, he left the space for her.

And also, a big window was close to the bathroom door.

Rafael's wife woke up and, when she was about to rise up from the bed, she was pulled into a lovely kiss by her husband. Beatriz was a beautiful young woman, with pretty brown eyes, dark brown hair, 35C breasts and a body on the ideal weight. She was dressing a semi-translucent pajama set. The young woman married her husband when she was seventeen years old. At eighteen, she gave birth to their firstborn and when she was twenty, Bianca came to the world. She was thirty-four years old, but still young and beautiful.

Marriages in Buckinstone happened during the start of the adult age. A seventeen years old girl was already ready to get married, according to the country's law.

"Good morning, honey!", she said, slyly. "Feeling well today?", she finished, asking her husband how he felt.

"I'm fine, just a little sleepy!", he replied, yawning. Rafael was the CEO of a eSports team, but was a player when he was younger. He accepted the CEO job when he announced his retirement from professional gaming.

"I understand, don't worry! Get some more sleep and I'll get the coffee ready for us!", she mentioned, rising up from the bed where she was..

"Look, I don't think you need to! My father may have done it already, he wakes up early in the morning!", commented Rafael, talking about his old man.

"Yeah, and... is that rain? Seems like it's raining hard outside! I think we should leave the windows closed, specially in our daughter's room!", said the Blake mother, while listening to the rain noise coming from outside the manor.

"I'd have to agree, it's really noisy!", replied the husband. "It's good that I don't have anything scheduled for today! I can spend the day with my family!", he finished.

"Own! So cute, honey!", whispered the woman to her husband, dressing some casual clothing, before blowing a kiss and going out of the room.

The lady left the bedroom and went to the hallway. The place had white walls with some paintings hooked to it. The door that gave access to the stairs to first floor was on the left, five feet away from the master suite door. She then went downstairs, passed by a bedroom and turned to the left in the living room.

Arriving at the living room, Beatriz greeted her father in law. "Good morning, Mr. Blake! Did you sleep well?", she asked.

"Yes, my daughter in law! A very comfortable mattress, thank you for the comfort!", said the old man, replying to his daughter in law.

"Good to know, Mr. Blake! You'll always be welcome in our home, when you want to spend the day with us, sir!", she commented, trying to please the old man.

"Again, very grateful! And talking about that, I made some coffee, hope you like it! I don't know if you like dark coffee!", replied the Blake old man.

In reality, Giancarlo liked to be around Beatriz, as she was in fact a good wife for Rafael. She had qualities the old man appreciated in women, like respecting the patriarch, working hard to do the house chores, and care for those who depend on her. And also, she treated Mr. Blake with the utmost respect.

For him, ladies who join big clans like the Blakes should always respect the clan's elders

"Don't worry, Mr. Blake! Yes, I drank some and it's really good! Thank you for making coffee for us!", she commented, mentioning that her father in law always made some good coffee.

"I'm only doing my best for my son's beautiful family!", he said, turning back to the program he was watching on the house's TV.

With the coffee already made by Mr. Blake, Beatriz got the rest ready. Bread with cheese and ham, fruit slices, fruit juices and everything else the family needed for a traditional Blake breakfast.

The breakfast had lots of things to eat.

At six-thirty, in a bedroom on the first floor, to the right of the dining room, the youngest Blake sibling, Bianca, opened her eyes.

Her room wasn't so big. It had the bed at one side, decorated with a thick pink blanket and pink bed sheets, and her white pillow. In front of the bed was her dresser, made in mahogany wood with some drawers for her clothing. And, above that was her TV, which she hardly used, as she preferred the living room TV to watch or play something.

To the left of her bed was her desk, with her school notebooks at one side and her laptop at the other. Beside that, in front of the desk was her chair, a gaming chair made in leather with pink stripes.

On the right of the bed was a sliding double door, which allowed the girl to go to the back yard. It was closed because a hard rain was falling outside.

She was fourteen years old, dressing a light green shirt and knee-length shorts. Bianca was considered beautiful, with well developed c-cup breasts, dark brown hair and emerald-green eyes, on the ideal weight and a gracious voice.

The girl rose up and sat on her bed. "Hm, it's raining today. Maybe my parents will ask me to stay inside, even though I prefer to stay indoors, anyway.", thought the girl, turning to her right and looking through her bedroom window. Well, Bianca wasn't the kind of girl who stayed outdoors, she was more homely, something her parents liked on her.

From her door, if she turned to the right, she would end up in her father's office, which he didn't let her in, unless she needed to do something in there.

In Markus' home, he woke up a little depressed on that day, as there was nothing for him to do, other than watching a movie on his video on demand system.

Before the movie, he prepared some coffee for himself and his breakfast.

"Ah, that's what I love!", said the guy to himself, while he drank his coffee. "Let's see what's on the TV now!", he finished, getting the TV's remote and browsing through the channels.

"Hm, there is something interesting right now!", he whispered, when he stopped on a channel that had someone talking and giving tips to RPG players. RPG is a kind of tabletop game where players perform roles they chose at the start, and the stories they take part in are called campaigns. It's a very fun game if you have a big group of friends to play with you.

"Hi, everyone! My name is Michael Burns, and this time, I'll be giving tips about what you, the game master, can do if things don't go according to plan!", started the guy on screen, introducing the subject he would speak about in that video.

"Hm, maybe it will be worth watching for me!", whispered Markus.

"So, first things first! If things go south, you can move NPCs around and randomize the items your players can get! Maybe give them a prize for trying something you didn't plan on your script? Or let them take the narrative where they want and try to continue from there? Remember people they met during their way! Always have some branches ready if players decide to take the narrative to other places! Don't try to take them back to the old branch, this will make them feel they had no importance in your story! In any way, there are lots of things you can try to minimize the risk of not having where to go from where you stopped! A good plan is the best weapon a game master has, use it with wisdom!", informed the guy, before the video ended.

"He gave some good tips, maybe I can try them with my friends when playing RPG?", commented the single man to himself, while changing the channel after the end of the video he was watching.

Back to the breakfast table, Beatriz was arranging the table for the family's breakfast.

"Good morning, mom! Good morning, Grandpa!", said Bianca, entering the dining room and sitting on a chair, not her father's chair, as he said before that he didn't want anyone to sit on his chair. One of the traditions Rafael established.

"Good morning! How are you today, sweetie?", asked her mother, turning to the young girl.

"Good morning, my cute granddaughter!", replied Giancarlo, as he heard the girl's voice coming from the door.

"I'm okay, mom! Slept and woke up well!", said the younger child. "Despite this rainy day!”, she finished.

"Good for a movie! Don't you think, Beatriz?", asked Giancarlo, before his son showed up at the dining room door.

"I agree, dad! Rainy days are perfect for watching movies as a family!", replied the patriarch, smiling at his father and hugging his wife.

"I'd have to agree, grandpa!", replied Bianca to what her grandfather said, while she ate the bread her mother prepared for her. "Always doing your best for breakfast, mom!", joked the girl, complimenting her mother's dedication to the so important breakfast.

"Thanks! I do my best for everyone, sweetie!", replied the mom, kissing her daughter's forehead.

The girl closed her eyes as she felt her mother's affection.

With that, Felipe showed up saying good morning to everyone, including his father.

"Good morning, everyone!", he said in a happy way.

"You seem to be happy today, huh? Did something happen?", asked Beatriz, curious about her son's good mood at the moment.

"Nothing happened! Just woke up in a good mood!", replied the older son, while he prepared a cup with juice and served some to his younger sister. "Here, sis!", he finished, giving the cup to his sister.

"Thank you, bro!", replied the younger kid, receiving the cup from her brother.

Well, Felipe and Bianca cared for each other as brother and sister, as, when one needed, the other came to help.

Giancarlo, while his grand kids ate, decided to tell some military jokes, some stories that happened when he was in active duty, making the family laugh.

"Did you hear the grenade story?", he started to tell. "It happened a long time ago, when I was in active duty! One day, we were training grenade throws, and a sergeant told a friend of mine to yell GRENADE in four directions! Then, I heard him yelling 'GRENADE IN FOUR DIRECTIONS, GRENADE IN FOUR DIRECTIONS'! Seriously, I couldn't believe what he was saying! Laughed so much on that day!", he finished the story.

"Oh, dad! You and your stories, I never get tired of listening!", commented Rafael, laughing.

"Me neither, honey! I think they are really funny, even more for the way he tells them, makes us laugh a lot more.

"You could write a book with those stories, grandpa!", suggested Felipe, as it was a good idea.

Giancarlo had a good past as a retired army officer.

"I agree with my brother, grandpa! Would be a great book!", agreed Bianca with her brother's suggestion.

At the afternoon, Rafael, Beatriz and Giancarlo were in the living room, talking for a bit.

"You should be proud, son! Your kids have respect for you and for me, they are well raised and wonderful!", said the old man, complimenting the way his grand kids were raised by his son and his daughter-in-law.

"We were always proud of our kids! Bianca studies a lot and Felipe acquired his father's skill with video-games! I'm pretty sure they will choose good ways in the future!", replied the young mother, to her father-in-law's compliment.

"Yeah, even though Felipe spread out to many skills, as far as I know from the last time I had the vocational talk with him!", replied the Blake patriarch.

In reality, both the father and the mother were proud of their kids, who were doing what they wanted. That's what parents usually want for their children.

In another area of Buckinstone Ridge was Travis Smith. He was doing his part to be elected the next prime-minister in Buckinstone.

He decided to do a speech:

"Hello, everyone! If I'm elected, I'll do my best to preserve the sense of traditionalism that Buckinstone had for two hundred years! I'll sanction laws that go in that direction, try my best to fight the left wing! Come with me, everyone! Let's make Buckinstone better! Let's make Buckinstone a nation of all of us! I'll work for Buckinstone! Travis Smith for prime-minister! Are you with me???", he screamed on the microphone.

"YEAH!!! TRAVIS SMITH FOR PRIME MINISTER!!!", screamed the people watching.

"Now, it's time for questions! Do you have any question for me?", he said, opening his speech for questions, like his public relations officer suggested.

"Mr. Smith?", called one reporter who was there to watch the speech.

"Yes, my friend? You have a question?", asked Travis to the reporter.

"Yes! Sir, what are you going to do with Buckinstone's social programs, like the Family Assistance Program?", questioned the reporter.

"I'll change it! Children from assisted families will have to go to school and keep both attendance and grades at a certain threshold! Also, we will do our best to teach the adults a career and make them work! If the kids get bad grades or low attendance, or the adult isn't working, the family will have the assistance money blocked!", explained Travis.

"Good one! Are you going to work on education?", asked the reporter.

"Yes, we will launch homeschooling programs all over the country and raise the quality of our education! Teachers who work now will receive more training! We will renovate schools all over the country, make a better infrastructure for our teachers to work and more better things for education! My objective is to get high level education while I'm in office!", declared the candidate.

Then, another reporter, from an opposing newspaper, asked about finances.

"Well, about finances, we will do our best to work out the finances during the first year, revoking unnecessary policies and working our own way!", he declared.

“What about health? Will the hospitals be better?", asked a journalist.

"Yes, we will solve the attendance problems, give our doctors some training, hiring outside help and some other things we have in mind!", said Travis.

He then ended the question run and went back to his planning.

Meanwhile, in the upper floor, Felipe and Bianca were in the boy's room, having a conversation about what they said to their grandfather during breakfast.

"You know, bro! Like I said before, it would be cool if grandpa Giancarlo turned his stories into a book, don't you think?", questioned Bianca to her brother.

"I agree, so many funny stories that he could write a humor and jokes book with them, like a Tales from the Barracks!", replied Felipe.

"HAHAHAHA, nice title! Let's tell our grandpa!", commented Bianca, laughing about her brother's title suggestion.

"Yeah, maybe he will enjoy writing it in a book!", replied Felipe, laughing about his joke title.

At night, the family decided to watch a movie and chose a good drama movie to end the night. Felipe and Bianca made some comments during the movie, and their parents tried to hush them, so they could hear the film's dialogue, which came from the entertainment system's center speaker.

Some situations in the movie were intense, up to the point of making someone cry. Other situations made people jump out of their chairs.

After the movie, Beatriz made dinner, so the whole family sat on the dining room while they chatted about other subjects.

They ate in silence, without discussions, or, without fighting.

Until Felipe started picking on his sister, and the problem started with the mother trying to prevent the kids from fighting. Of course, that was normal, as the first born loved to mess with the younger sister.

"Felipe! Bianca! Stop right now!", screamed the mother, scaring the kids.

"Please excuse me, Mr. Blake!", she said to her husband's father, who was at the table with them.

"It's okay, my dear! Kids will always be kids! That's completely normal!", replied Giancarlo, letting it slide. In reality, the old man didn't care too much about those things, he let them slide with no problem, as his grand kids were playing around, which entertained him during dinner.

Before going to sleep, they said goodbye to Giancarlo, who was leaving the house on that night. His grand kids said goodbye to him, as they loved their grandfather.

Rafael also said goodbye to his father, promised that the old man would always be welcome in the manor, and also promised to take the whole family to see the old man.

Upon hearing that, Giancarlo mentioned that Beatriz said the same thing to him in the morning, when he complimented the mattress he slept on for the comfort it provided.

After the goodbyes, it was time to sleep. Rafael hugged his kids, starting with the first born and saying good night to each one of them.

Beatriz also did, caressing them.

Before going to sleep, Felipe kissed his sister's forehead, and the girl replied by hugging her brother.

It was a common thing on the family the older brother kiss his sister's forehead if she is the younger.

Felipe went to his bedroom, lied on his bed, set his alarm for the following day and slept, with a rain sound in the background to lull him to sleep.

Beatriz and Rafael saw the last news for the night, before going to bed as well.

In her bedroom, Bianca got her eReader and laptop, and copied an ebook to read in the morning, as she was a avid reader, like her brother and grandfather.

Then, the young Blake kid yawned, lied down on her bed and, after some time, fell into a deep slumber, with the rain outside, strong and calm at the same time.

In the bedroom, the patriarch hugged his wife and kissed her, gently caressing her and pulling the young woman to lie on the bed, being hugged by him.

"You know, I'm happy that your father loves us so much! He is a great father-in-law, at least for me!", commented the wife, yawning.

"Hm, yeah! My father is a great man! I like that he values what we do for him! And also likes you as a daughter-in-law!", replied the husband, to the comment his wife made about his father.

Beatriz then closer her eyes, lying on her husband's sholder, whispering that she loved him, before falling asleep.

"I love you too, my beautiful wife!", whispered the husband, while his wife slept on his shoulder.

He waited for a bit, and then closed his eyes, saying a low 'good night' to his wife.

The whole family slept with the rain, which fell for the whole day, including during their sleep. And like that, another day ended with the Blakes...

THE END