Walsh Family Universe V2

Chapter 66
Rain Day

Ash woke to the sound of rain drumming on the cabin roof. Heavy, steady rain that meant the day's schedule would be different.

Brett was already up, looking at his phone. "Morning, Eagles. Weather alert just came through. Thunderstorms all day. Outdoor activities are cancelled."

Groans from around the cabin.

"Does that mean no baseball?" Lucas asked, sitting up in his bunk.

"No baseball. No swimming. No outdoor anything." Brett pulled up the rain day schedule on his phone. "But we've got alternatives. Indoor sports in the rec center, arts and crafts, workshop sessions, movie in the lodge this afternoon. It's actually kind of nice to have a break from the sun."

"I wanted to try the climbing wall again," Ash said, disappointed.

"Tomorrow. Wall will still be there." Brett started opening curtains, revealing the gray morning outside. "Come on, up and at 'em. Rain day routine—breakfast, then we're doing team-building activities in the rec center until lunch."

Breakfast in the dining hall had a different energy. Boys were less hyped up, moving slower, the usual morning chaos muted by the weather. The sound of rain on the dining hall roof was constant, almost soothing.

"What are team-building activities?" Kevin asked nervously.

"Games, basically," Brett said. "Trust falls, problem-solving challenges, that kind of thing. It's fun. Gets you working together in different ways than sports do."

The rec center was a large building Ash hadn't spent much time in yet. Inside, it had basketball courts, a stage at one end, and various activity areas. Today, it was set up with different stations—rope challenges, puzzle areas, trust fall mats, team game spaces.

Coach Peterson stood on the stage, addressing all the cabins. "Gentlemen, rain days are part of camp. We don't fight the weather—we adapt to it. Today you'll be working with your cabins on challenges that require communication, trust, and creative thinking. Not everything worth doing happens outside."

The Eagles started at the puzzle station. A counselor named Hiroshi presented them with a complex wooden puzzle—interlocking pieces that had to be assembled into a specific shape.

"Catch is," Hiroshi said, "each of you can only touch certain pieces. You have to work together, communicate, figure out who needs to place what and when."

They gathered around the puzzle, studying it.

"This one looks like it goes in the corner," Oliver said, pointing.

"But I can't touch that piece," Garrett said. "It's marked blue. I can only touch red pieces."

"I've got blue," Max said quietly. "Tell me where to put it."

They worked through it slowly. Ash could touch green pieces, Lucas had yellow, Kevin had orange. It required constant communication—describing what they saw, coordinating movements, trusting each other's assessments.

"No, left. Your other left. Down a bit. There!"

It took twenty minutes, but they solved it. The pieces locked together into a perfect sphere.

"Nice work, Eagles," Hiroshi said. "You communicated well. Listened to each other. That's the point."

Next station was the trust fall platform. One person stood on a platform three feet high, fell backward, and the other five caught them.

"I'll go first," Brett volunteered, demonstrating. He fell backward, the Eagles caught him easily.

Then they took turns. Garrett went, then Oliver, then Max. Each time, the others caught them, no hesitation.

When it was Ash's turn, he climbed onto the platform. Looked down at his cabin mates, arms outstretched and ready.

"Ready?" Brett called.

"Ready."

"Fall!"

Ash let himself fall backward. For a brief moment, just free fall, nothing supporting him.

Then five pairs of hands caught him, lowered him safely to the ground.

"See?" Brett said. "You can trust your team. They've got you."

Kevin was last. He stood on the platform, clearly nervous.

"I don't like heights," he admitted.

"It's only three feet," Garrett said. "We'll catch you. Promise."

"What if you don't?"

"We will," Ash said. "We caught everyone else. We'll catch you too."

Kevin stood there for a long moment, working up courage. Then fell backward, and they caught him perfectly.

"Told you," Brett said, grinning.

The third station was the most interesting—a large rope maze suspended between poles, about two feet off the ground. The goal was to get everyone through the maze without touching the ropes or the ground.

"This requires strategy," the counselor explained. "You can't just muscle through it. You need to think, plan, support each other physically."

They studied the maze. It was complex—openings at different heights, rope barriers, sections where you'd have to climb over or under.

"Oliver should go first," Lucas suggested. "He's tallest, he can reach through the high openings easier."

"And Kevin and Max are smallest," Garrett added. "They can fit through the tight spots."

They developed a strategy. Oliver went first, navigating the easier sections, then reaching back to help pull others through. Ash and Lucas went next, working together to get through a particularly tricky section where they had to climb over a rope barrier.

The hardest part was getting Kevin and Max through the final section—a tight opening that required them to be lifted over a high rope barrier.

"Garrett, you and I will lift," Ash said to Lucas. "Oliver, you pull from the other side. Max, you spot from behind in case someone slips."

It took three attempts and a lot of communication, but they got everyone through without touching the ropes.

"Eagles finish in twenty-three minutes," the counselor announced, checking his stopwatch. "That's the second-best time today. Well done."

They high-fived, genuinely pleased. This was different from sports victories, but it felt good in its own way. Problem-solving together. Trusting each other. Succeeding through teamwork rather than individual skill.

After lunch, the schedule showed "Free Time" until 3 PM, then a movie in the lodge.

"You guys can do whatever you want," Brett said. "Board games in the cabin, read, write letters home, hang out. Just stay dry and don't cause trouble."

Most of the Eagles opted for board games. Brett produced a stack from a cabinet—Monopoly, Risk, Clue, Uno, regular playing cards.

"Risk," Lucas declared. "Six players, perfect."

They set up on the cabin floor, dividing up territories. The game quickly became intense—alliances forming and breaking, strategic attacks, dramatic battles over continents.

Ash ended up controlling most of Asia, Lucas had South America fortified, Garrett was spreading across Europe. Oliver held Australia with an iron grip. Kevin and Max were working together, splitting North America.

"You can't attack me," Garrett protested when Ash made a move into Eastern Europe. "We had a deal!"

"The deal was I wouldn't attack until you attacked Lucas. You attacked Lucas. Deal's void."

"That's cold, Walsh."

"That's Risk."

They played for two hours, trash-talking and strategizing and occasionally arguing over the rules. Eventually Lucas won by slowly building up South America, then sweeping north through Central America and crushing everyone's exhausted armies.

"Rematch tomorrow if it rains," Garrett demanded.

"Tomorrow's supposed to be sunny," Brett said, checking his phone. "But we can play again another rainy day or during free time."

Ash lay on his bunk during the last hour before the movie, listening to the rain, feeling pleasantly tired despite not doing anything physically demanding.

This was nice. Different from the high-energy outdoor activities, but nice. Time to actually talk to his cabin mates. Time to work together in ways that didn't involve sports. Time to just... be kids hanging out on a rainy day.

Kevin was on his bunk writing a letter home. Max was reading. Oliver and Garrett were playing cards quietly. Lucas was sketching something in a notebook Ash hadn't known he had.

"You draw?" Ash asked.

"A little. Not as good as Alex from your school probably is, but decent." Lucas showed him the sketch—the cabin, surprisingly detailed. "My mom makes me do art class. Says I need hobbies that aren't sports."

"That's really good."

"Thanks." Lucas went back to sketching. "What do you do besides sports?"

"Paint, actually. Watercolors mostly."

"No way. You paint?"

"Yeah. Started a few years ago. It's relaxing."

"That's cool." Lucas was quiet for a moment. "It's weird, right? How we're all here for sports, but we all have other stuff we do too."

"Not that weird. People are multi-dimensional."

"I guess. But sometimes it feels like if you're good at sports, people assume that's all you are. Like that's your whole personality."

Ash thought about that. About being the athlete in his friend group at school. About how much of his identity was tied up in baseball and swimming and being physically capable.

But also about painting with Sophie. About his graduation speech. About standing up for Alex. About the parts of himself that had nothing to do with sports.

"Yeah," he said. "I know what you mean."

The movie in the lodge was some animated adventure film—entertaining enough, though clearly chosen because it was appropriate for the youngest campers. The whole camp gathered, cabins sitting together, counselors along the sides.

It was cozy, in a way. Over a hundred boys packed into the lodge, the rain still drumming on the roof, everyone settled in and quiet for once.

Halfway through, Kevin fell asleep against Max's shoulder. Max didn't move, just let his brother sleep. It was such a simple, tender moment that Ash felt something warm in his chest.

These were good kids. His cabin mates. Garrett with his loud confidence and competitive spirit. Lucas who was good at everything but humble about it. Oliver who was nervous but brave when it mattered. Kevin and Max who looked out for each other.

And Brett, who was somehow both an authority figure and one of them. Who made them feel safe while still pushing them to try new things.

This was what camp was supposed to be, Ash realized. Not just the sports and activities, but this. The bonding. The teamwork. The slow building of trust and friendship.

After the movie, they had dinner—pizza, which felt special even though it was just cafeteria pizza—then evening free time in the cabin.

"Letters home," Brett announced. "Good activity for a rainy night. Camp store is open if anyone needs stamps or postcards."

Ash got out the stationary Mom had packed, sat at the small desk in the corner of the cabin, and started writing.

Dear Mom and Dad,

It's raining today so we're doing indoor stuff instead of baseball and swimming. We did team-building activities this morning which were actually fun. My cabin mates are really cool. I'm learning a lot and having a good time.

The food is fine. I'm not homesick. Tell Sophie I said hi.

Love, Noam

Short and factual. Nothing that would worry them. Nothing that revealed how much he was actually enjoying this, how strange and good it felt to be away from home, how he was surprised by his own happiness.

He addressed the envelope, set it aside to mail tomorrow.

Lucas was writing too, his letter much longer. Garrett was drawing pictures on his—stick figures playing baseball with "Wish you were here" written above them, clearly meant to be funny.

Oliver was on his bunk with a book, Kevin and Max were playing quiet card games, Brett was organizing gear for tomorrow.

Normal cabin evening. Boys doing quiet activities while rain fell outside.

Ash felt something settle in his chest. Contentment, maybe. Or just the simple pleasure of being somewhere he belonged, with people he was starting to care about.

Lights out came at ten. The cabin went dark, rain still steady on the roof. It was the kind of rain that made sleep come easy.

"Today was good," Lucas said quietly from his bunk.

"Yeah," Ash agreed.

"Different, but good."

"Sometimes different is exactly what you need."

"Deep thoughts from Walsh."

"Shut up and go to sleep."

Lucas laughed softly. "Night, Walsh."

"Night."

Ash lay in the darkness, listening to the rain, to his cabin mates' breathing, to the peaceful sounds of camp settling down for the night.

He thought about the trust fall. About letting himself fall backward and being caught. About the brief moment of nothing—no control, no safety—and then the security of hands catching him.

About the rope maze, where they'd had to work together, support each other physically and strategically.

About Risk, where they'd formed alliances and betrayed each other and laughed about it.

About Lucas drawing and Ash admitting he painted and both of them acknowledging they were more than just athletes.

About Kevin falling asleep against Max's shoulder during the movie.

About all the small ways they were becoming a team, a cabin, a temporary family.

"My name is Ash," he whispered to the dark and the rain. "I'm thirty-three years old. I'm eleven years old. Today it rained and we did indoor activities instead of sports. Today I let myself fall backward and trusted five boys to catch me. Today I played Risk and wrote a letter home and learned that Lucas draws. Today I belonged somewhere."

He paused.

"Today was good. Really good."

Four thousand, seven hundred and two days to go.

But right now: eleven more days at Pine Ridge. Eleven more days of learning to trust and be trusted. Eleven more days of discovering he could be more than just the athlete, more than just the youngest Walsh child, more than just the kid with the complicated past.

Eleven more days of being exactly who he was—complex and multifaceted and still figuring it all out.

He fell asleep to the sound of rain, surrounded by boys who were becoming friends, in a place that was starting to feel like it could be home.

For two weeks, anyway.

Growing up, one rainy day at a time.