“Hi, I am Rain. I am staying with Rolf.”
His face was stretched in a broad smile full of wrinkles.
“Please to finally meet you, Rain. I’ve heard about you. I am Theodore. How do you like Middletown so far?”
“I love it,” I blurted out. “It is so quiet, peaceful, beautiful, and very friendly around here. It’s magical, too.”
“It is all that and more, if you don’t mind the gossip.”
“Nah, I expect it,” I said, laughing. “I love your store. It looks like the ones you see in Old West movies.”
“Thank you. It has been in my family for three generations.”
“Wow! That’s truly impressive,” I said, taking a closer look around.
Theodore projected very positive energy. He was a genuinely warm and friendly person.
When I told him so, he replied. “You’re positively glowing, too. Maybe that has something to do with Rolf?”
Yeah, friendly and nosy, too. I had stayed in enough small towns to know how fast and far rumors can fly.
“Maybe a little,” I giggled. “He is cute and a great person, but we’re just friends.”
I handed him the list of items I needed. While Theodore looked for them, a young woman walked straight into me.
She looked at me from head to toe. Her eyes seemed to ask, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
I didn’t like the vibes I was picking from her. Toxic energy. She was giving me a headache.
“Good morning! I am Rain, Rolf’s friend. I’m staying at his place. Nice to meet you,” I said, offering her my hand.
“Morning…” she grumped, ignoring my hand.
Okay. I definitely didn’t like her.
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” I sing-songed.
It was obvious she didn’t like me. Some people won’t like you no matter what you do, so I never wasted my time and energy trying to win them over.
Theodore came to my rescue. “Tania, you’re being rude to my client. If you can’t behave yourself, I’ll have to ask you to leave,” he said in a firm tone.
“Whatever,” Tania rolled her eyes before muttering that she preferred to go to the mall. She turned around and left the building in a rather hasty manner, leaving me and Theodore alone.
“Sorry about that,” he said, his voice just above a whisper. “Tania always had a thing for Rolf. She probably heard the rumors about you staying at his place and…”
“Assumed we were together?”
Theodore nodded.
“Well, I can’t blame Rolf for not going after her. She certainly needs a lesson in manners. And a good aura-cleaning session.”
Theodore let out a short laugh.
“Well, when it comes to ladies, Rolf can be a little bit…”
“…clueless?” I offered.
The old shopkeeper moved his head to the sides. “Rolf can be quiet and reserved, but he isn’t stupid. I’m pretty sure he knows Tania has feelings for him, but he just doesn’t reciprocate them, and he is too much of a gentleman to ever mention it.”
“Oh, I see,” I smiled. Rolf was undeniably growing on me.
Theodore handed me two paper bags. They felt very heavy in my arms, and I juggled them, feeling a little lightheaded.
“How much do I owe you…?” my voice trailed off.
“I’ll put everything on Rolf’s tab. I’m sure he would like it this way… Rain!”
I heard Theodore crying my name, but it sounded to me like he was calling from a faraway distance. I felt myself sway, dropping the bags and barely noticing the contents rolling away as I wobbled on my feet. Then something cold and hard hit my head and everything went black.
CHAPTER 5: ROLF
“Are you sure you’re okay, Rain?” I asked, holding her in my arms.
Rain nodded, pressing the ice pack Theodore handed her against the egg-sized lump it was forming on her skull.
“Yes, I’m fine. My ego is a little bruised, though.”
“You fainted. We should call an ambulance, or go to see a doctor,” I suggested. “You could have a concussion.”
Rain paled at my suggestion. “No! I’ve likely got a mild concussion. I just got a little lightheaded because I didn’t eat a lot for lunch today, that’s all.”
“Why are you so determined not to go to the emergency room?” I asked, genuinely confused. “People don’t just faint, Rain.”
She looked at me, her lips pressed together.
“Listen,” Rain said finally. “I know what doctors are going to say. I have low iron levels,” she confessed, keeping her tone as reassuring as possible. “It’s nothing really.”
I hesitated and frowned, still not convinced. I could tell she was hiding something from me.
“Theodore shouldn’t have called you. You were busy.”
“I would have never forgiven him if he hadn’t called me.”
“I fainted for a few seconds. I hit my head, but I’m okay. You don’t have to make a big deal out of it, Rolf. I swear, I’m fine.”
Rain couldn’t hide the slightly annoyed tone in her voice.
I nodded, but I didn’t calm down. “Do you faint often?”
She rolled her eyes.
“It had happened to me before. As I said, I have low iron. Google it. It’s quite common, especially for girls.”
“I heard about that,” Theodore stated. “My sister, rest in peace, had anemia and was fainting all over the place. She had to eat copious amounts of red meat.”
“See?” Rain said, “No big deal.” Handing the ice pack back to Theodore, Rain climbed to her feet.
Theodore had already put her grocery items back in the bags, and they were neatly packed, waiting for me to collect them.
“Are you truly okay?” I asked, watching her carefully. Rain forced a smile to her face.
“I am fine, worrywart.”
Heading out to the street, I made a mental note to give her Tylenol as soon as we were back in the house. That would make her feel better.
“It’s just her iron levels,” I told myself as we walked back home. But I didn’t believe it.
She went home singing and prancing and telling me about the fabulous dinner she was going to cook for me.
“Are you always this happy?”
Tilting her head, Rain regarded me, choosing her words carefully before she replied. “I am happy. I’ve always tried to get the most out of life. We decide to be happy… Or not.”
“You have given me a very simplistic answer to a very complex subject,” I objected.
“No, I didn’t. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional,” she stated. “I didn’t say that, by the way, it was Buddha.”
“Let me guess, you’ve spent some time in a Tibetan monastery.”
She looked at me, and giggled, “Maybe.”
“You’ve obviously lived a charmed life.”
I glanced over at her in time to see a shadow pass across her face and her smile falter slightly.
“I never knew my biological parents. I grew up in foster care. It was traumatic, but not in an everyday-you’re-miserable kind of way. It’s like a thought in the back of your head where you know this isn’t your family. These people don’t love you, and one false move will have you packing in a minute. I was about thirteen years old when I decided not to get attached to anyone again. Imagine that. Most girls at that age are worrying about having a new phone or their math homework. I was mending my broken heart…”
I mentally slapped myself for my thoughtless words. “Rain… I had no idea. I am sorry. Me and my big mouth! Please forgive me, I shouldn’t have said what I said…”
She waved her hands to stop me.
“Stop it! Apology accepted.” She smiled at me and placed her hand on my heart, “You didn’t mean to hurt me, Rolf. You’re a good man with a good heart. I know that.”