On Tuesday evening the storm came...

We were midway through cooking on the BBQ, meats painstakingly marinading in delicious juices, a tabbouleh zinging with olives.

The wind was hungry and the rain was horizontal. My brother-in-law, Emi, and I gripped onto the gazebo, pulling it tight from BBQ flames, holding it down from gale force gusts. The rain lashed and I had one dry rib. The children whimpered in cars and tents. We gripped with white knuckles against the elements.

Suddenly an almighty gust blew the BBQs into the air! Emi’s stoic smile thus far switched to fear and mirrored itself in my own face. We extinguished flames with rolls of tinfoil. But suddenly a tent was collapsing! I dashed to support it, leaving Emi to hold the now hovering gazebo. Time passed.

Suddenly a patch of blue appeared and the sun poked through. We hugged a hero’s hug, drenched wet through. Family emerged from cars, giddy with their own experience.

A huge rainbow drew itself across the horizon and mocked us.