Another Small Rural Town:
Lux hears the rain pelting the top of her van. She looks up at the ceiling and watches as the rain hits the skylight she installed. She wanted more natural light in the van's living area and decided to install two skylights so she could let in more light and watch the sky at night. She watches as the rain hits the clear dome of the skylight.

Lux hears her cellphone beep, as a new text message arrived. She picks it up and looks at the message. It was from Frank and said, “You have the day off.”

A smirk appears on Lux’s face. She knew why she had the day off from doing maintenance. When it was raining outside, as it was, they put off all maintenance jobs unless they were packing up. They still have six days until they leave.

Lux knew, she wasn’t performing tonight either. When the weather was this bad, they cut back on the clowns and certain performances. Mr. Goldman didn’t want anyone to get hurt during the performances.

Since Lux wasn’t going to be performing or working on anything, she didn’t bother to get dressed. She converts her bed back into a sofa and fixes breakfast for herself. She heats some sausage patties and premade biscuits, and fries up some eggs.

Lux watches Die Hard 3 on the big screen television set she uses for her laptop when she plugs it in. She added a Blu-ray player and soundbar when she installed it. Normally, she wouldn’t have bothered buying a big-screen television, but it was on sale. The one she had been using to watch her favorite movies and television shows had broken down. So, she went ahead and bought a new one.

Lux checks the temperature in her van and notices it's 70 degrees. She wasn’t cold, but she does think about lowering it some. Instead, she leaves it where it is and turns the mounted fan on to circulate the air in the van. She checks the solar batteries to see how much charge they have.

The batteries were currently fully charged. She still had the generator and the other alternator she added to the van, in case she needs power. She sits down on the sofa and checks her email on her cell phone.

A smile appears on her face when an email from her friend Tony back home appears. He got accepted at Michigan State on a football scholarship. Her friend Gail was accepted to the college she applied to. Most of the people from her high school were either going to the college of their choice or were taking time off for a while.

She couldn’t blame some of her friends who were taking time off before making a major life decision. Some liked the idea of either going to college or a trade school. She would have continued her automotive and engineering training at a trade school.

She sends out some emails and posts a few messages on the group Facebook page and on TikTok. Once Lux was done, she flipped through the channels until she found a movie to watch. She listens as the rain slackens outside.

During the day, Lux takes it easy. She still had leftover chili she could heat up for lunch or dinner. However, she was thinking about making a Philly cheese steak for dinner. The Hendersons' four RVs, down from her trailer, taught her how to make an authentic Philly cheesesteak that would make anyone from Philly proud. She had everything she needed in her refrigerator.

She had gone to the grocery store, along with several other employees from the circus, to buy items. Sometimes, if they were near a Costco or Sam’s Club, they would go there to buy items in bulk rather than in small quantities. A lot of times, they buy items in bulk and keep some on hand. That way, when they go to a smaller town that doesn’t carry large quantities, they will have it on hand.

For dinner, Lux reheats some of the chili instead of fixing a Philly cheese steak. She decided she would rather have it for dinner tomorrow. After dinner, Lux takes a shower and relaxes by watching one of her favorite movies on television. She didn’t have a bunch of laundry to do, and according to the weather forecast, it was supposed to rain tomorrow.

So far, it hasn’t been very profitable being in this small town. The weather was the biggest factor that was causing them to lose money. They still have three days left to perform before they move on to their next town.

The next morning, it was still raining, but lightly. It still prevented any work on anything electrical, but some mechanical jobs could still be done. It wouldn’t be the first time she has worked in the rain.

Lux puts on her work overalls and a t-shirt with the circus name under it. It was a short-sleeved t-shirt, so her arms would get wet. She grabs her clear rain poncho and puts it on. She was going to wear her rain boots instead of her boots.

Lux grabs her lunch box and makes her way to the maintenance box truck. She couldn’t believe how muddy it was. She almost slipped a few times. By the time she arrived at the truck, Frank and Victor were there.

“I hate rain.” Lux looks at Frank and Victor when she says that.

“Well, wait until winter arrives. You’re going to be saying you hate winter as well.” Frank knew winter in some states suck.

“I’m from Texas, and the weather there always suck. When it’s hot outside, it sucks. When it’s tornado season, you have to be on your toes, plus
there’s winter as well. So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Lux was ready to get to work.

She fixes a cup of coffee while Frank looks at the work orders they have. The pile contained a bunch of small jobs that would only take them a few hours to do.

Here are some jobs we can do. Most of them will take only a few minutes. So, don’t feel rushed to get them done.” Frank hands a third of the work orders to Lux and another stack to Victor.

“Meet back here after you’re finished.” Frank looks at both of them.

“Okay.” Lux takes a sip from her coffee cup and picks up her work bucket.

She walks out of the box truck and heads for the first job. It was a leaking water connection. It doesn’t take her long to fix. She moves on to the next job after noting what she did on the work order.

Throughout the morning, the rain was light. The mud made things difficult, and when she went inside some of the tents or the performers' private trailers or RVs. She had to be careful not to track mud inside them.

Around lunchtime, she stopped at one of the concession booths that had opened and refilled her coffee cup. Lux waves to Debbie as she moves to her next job. By two in the afternoon, Lux was done and was eating her lunch back at the box truck.

“Already done?” Victor walks into the back of the truck with a container from one of the food trucks traveling with them.

“Yep. I’m all done. What did you get?” Lux noticed the container in Victor’s hand.

“Smothered pork chop, on top of a bed of creamy chives mashed potatoes.” Victor loved his pork chops.

“I should have thought of that.” Lux looks at the lunch she brought.

“Hey, at least you are saving money by bringing your own lunch.” Victor sits down and opens his food container.

Frank joins them a few minutes later with his lunch. He stopped at one of the food trucks and bought himself some lunch.

“Watch you get?” Victor looks at Frank when he asks.

“A gyro over at Dinos.” Frank sits down at his spot in the truck and starts eating.

Lux shakes her head in disbelief and enjoys her homemade lunch. She continues to eat her lunch and watches as the rain falls. She hopes the rain stops soon.

It was late in the evening when the rain stopped. Lux was in her van when she heard the rain stop. She looked out the window and couldn’t believe it. She finishes fixing herself a Philly cheese steak, with a side order of onion rings. The rings were store-bought, instead of Lux making them.

Once her dinner was fixed, she stepped out of her van, sat at the table outside, and enjoyed the rainbow a few miles away.