Where was Kristen?
With her hands gripping her head, she looked around to figure out what to do next. More instinctively than anything else, she grabbed some towels and opened windows and doors to let in the heat. Then she went outside, walked around the house to check the damage from outside the laundry door. Fortunately, the problem was easy to fix.
“Friggin’ stupid gutter,” she cursed. A sudden chuckle bubbled out as she remembered her husband had always told her about the importance to keep them clear. Shoulders slouched and head hanging low, she took a moment to recover from her grief. She missed him so much.
Exhaling a long breath, she picked herself up and rushed to the shed to get the ladder. With some difficulty, she placed it against the house wall and quickly rectified the problem, or at least as much as possible. Ten minutes later, the gutter was clean, although twelve hours too late. She looked down at herself after returning the ladder, sticky from sweat and drenched from head to toe. Yet, the sound of a car driving into her driveway put a little smile on her lips.
“Good morning,” Kristen greeted as she climbed out of her vehicle.
Molly had to hold back the urge to run into her friend’s arms to finally give into the tears. When Kristen held up a cup of coffee from the bakery in one hand and a croissant in the other, Molly gave in and choked back a sob.
“This is worse than I expected. I don’t think there’s much you can do except call the insurance company.”
Molly angled her head to the side, staring at her friend, mouth open.
“You haven’t called the insurance company yet, have you?”
