Her words stung like a slap. Rain had pegged me right.
CHAPTER 2: RAIN
“Welcome to Middletown, Rain. ‘Small town, big hearts.’ The mayor coined that motto. It’s corny, but it’s actually true.”
As soon as I laid eyes on the small town below us, I knew I’d found my new adventure. For how long? I didn’t know. My time was always ticking.
Rolf seemed to read my thoughts.
“I’m pretty sure you’ll get bored soon. There is not much entertainment around for a woman of the world like you.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Small towns have their charm that lures us to enjoy the simpler, quieter things in life. Everything’s slightly slower and more relaxed. Simple life, simple people.”
I could see he didn’t like what I said.
“Is that how you see me? Simple?”
My lips curved into a smile. “You? Of course not! I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“None taken.”
I knew Rolf thought I was just saying it for his benefit, but I truly believed he was special.
I had become really good at reading people. He was not a simple guy, but a rather complex one– he was a good, decent guy with a lot of heart; he was caring and generous; he was smart, but didn’t flaunt it. All his life he had played it safe and done the right thing, but I was sure he had an adventurous side.
“There is just one problem, Rain– you’re never going to find an empty place. It’s peak season. Everything is booked here,” Rolf said, driving around Main Street.
“A place to stay? I thought I was going to stay with you…” I said, making him blush. He looked really cute when he blushed.
“Ah… Okay… Sure… You can stay with me.”
I liked his charmingly naïve style.
“Don’t worry, Rolf. Your virtue is safe with me. I promise.” I said, raising my right hand.
He twisted his mouth at my words, but said nothing ’til I laughed. Then he laughed with me.
“Can you take me to the lake?”
“Of course, we can go there in the morning.”
“In the morning? Why wait? Let’s go now. I bet it’s beautiful at night.”
Rolf looked at me. It was a look I had seen before. He was thinking I was crazy, but he was too much of a gentleman to say something. So he just shrugged, smiled at me, and nodded.
I wanted to walk, but he insisted on going in his car.
We reached there in no time. Rolf parked his car near the lake, and we made our way down to the water’s edge, walking hand in hand.
“Well, here it is.”
The lake was like glass and the calmness was broken only by the ripples the loons made, and the fish jumping up after large water bugs.
“It is breathtaking. Look at the beautiful reflection of the moon in the water,” I said, absorbing everything.
We stood on the wet sand, before edging closer and letting the small waves break over our feet and ankles. It was cold, but at the same time, it was refreshing and delicious.
I could have stayed there all night, staring out into the darkening sky, inhaling the fresh air, and reminding myself how lucky I was to be here.
I pulled my skirt up, winding it around my fingers, so it wouldn’t get wet. The air was brisk and chill.
“Do you swim?” I asked Rolf.
“No, I don’t know how to swim. I was never cool enough to hang out at the beach like the other kids at school.”
I could tell Rolf was not feeling sorry for himself, but simply stating a fact. He was comfortable in his own skin.
I sat on the cold sand and patted a spot on my side. Rolf quickly sat down, and I rested my head on his shoulder.
“I almost forgot there were so many stars,” I said. “You can’t see them in the big cities. Out here, without all the light pollution, you get a better picture of just how many other worlds, how many solar systems and galaxies there are in the universe, and how small we truly are.”
Rolf wrapped his sweater around my shoulders, and looped an arm around me, drawing me close.
“How amazing is that on all the grains of sand, in all the universes, we somehow find ourselves here,” Rolf whispered in the dark.
I turned my head to look at him in surprise. “That was beautiful!”
“What?” he asked, blushing again. “I can be poetic too, if I want.”
I smiled at him. “I like this side of you.”
His cheek went a bright shade of red.
“Are you a season, reason, or a lifetime?” I asked him.
“Come again?”
“You said we found ourselves. The universe joined us. I am asking if I came into your life for a season, a reason, or a lifetime.”
“You lost me there,” he murmured thoughtfully.
“Well, someone comes into your life for a reason, when they come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.”
“Like a physical therapist that helps you to recover from an injury.”
“Kind of. Sometimes is more subtle than that. A person, you met by chance and helps you to make a difficult decision, or opened your eyes to something you were missing. Then, at some point, when the need has been met and the work is done, the person leaves.”
“I get it,” he said, moving his head up and down slowly.
“Some people just come for a season,” I kept explaining to him. “I had friends in whom I can confide. I had friends with whom I had a great deal of fun. I had friends who taught me important lessons about the world and myself. We enjoyed our time together immensely. But it was only for a season.”
“Like a coworker you are close to, but then you change jobs and the relationship changes or vanishes.”
“Something like that. Your best friend from high school or your college roommate fits in this category. I knew a lot of people during my travels, and I am still in touch with some of them, but our relationship is not what it once was.”
“Have you met many men in your adventures around the world?”
I nodded and said nothing else because I suspected what he wanted to know.
However, he insisted.
“Have you been ‘close’ to many of those men?”
I let out a long sigh. Men could be so dense.
“Look, Rolf. I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t kiss and tell. What I do with my life is none of your business.”
“You’re right, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“It’s okay. I just don’t want you to get the idea that I have slept with a crowd of men. Let me tell you about Lukas.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“I want to. As I said, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me. He was an Austrian guy I met on a train when I was backpacking through Europe. I stayed with his family. I became quite close with all of them. He and I shared a love of dance, and spent a good deal of time together because he was a great dancer, and gave me lessons in the Viennese waltz, a dance I had always wanted to learn.”
Rolf nodded slowly. I could tell he was jealous of a guy he never met, and that wasn’t part of my life anymore. Males are such possessive creatures.
He had a jealous blue eye, into which he seemed trying to put a friendly light.
“One of my favorite memories of Austria includes dancing a long Viennese waltz with Lukas down an almost-empty train platform.
“Now it’s your turn,” I said to change the subject. “Think of someone who came into your life for a reason.”
Rolf was quiet, deep in thoughts.
“Um,” he paused, rubbing his chin. “The first person that comes to my mind was Mr. Carpenter, my baseball coach in school. I thought I was a shit-hot baseball player and was heading towards the Big Leagues, but he soon dissuaded me of that idea. He didn’t dance around the truth, and he didn’t pander to kids or their parents. If a kid was good, he told them, and if a kid wasn’t good, he told them that, too. Turned out I was a crap player.”