Rain plastered a smile back on her face, oblivious to the brief insight she’d just given me. “You know, in a way you’re so right. I’ve led a very charmed life. A life that’s led me to you and this awesome town! And I’ve made a new friend today. Theodore is a very interesting person.”
“You met Theodore just today,” I argued. “You hardly became friends with him.”
“A friend is just a stranger you haven’t met yet,” she quoted.
“Rain was completely and utterly crazy. And I was completely and utterly in love with her.”
When we got home, Rain went into the kitchen, and I finished some work on my computer.
I heard her singing in the kitchen as she prepared dinner. She had a beautiful voice, high and clear. She seemed to be okay, and I pushed my fears to the back of my mind.
Dinner was delicious. Somehow, she knew all my favorite foods.
Summer passed in a dream. Rain always looked on the bright side in everything and saw the good in everyone. As a result, people were naturally drawn to her sweet and charming nature.
She was the most sociable person I’d ever known. During the short time she had been living in Middletown, she had made more friends than I had made in my whole life. She made friends everywhere she went and snatched up acquaintances in every corner. Every way I went, I had people asking me about her or sending her their regards.
She started going to the gym with Georgina, Middletown High gym teacher and the wife of my nerd friend, Daniel. At the gym, she met Grace, the town’s realtor, and Derek and Bella, the gym’s owners. Very quickly, she became friends with all of them.
Through them, Rain met Laura and Percy, owners of the only Bed and Breakfast in town. Rain spent a lot of time at the B&B kitchen, sharing recipes with Laura and her Aunt Molly. Rain was amazed by Molly’s artifacts collection, and sooner than later they were drinking tea and exchanging tales about their trips around the world.
My social life increased quite a bit. We were constantly being invited to dinners and gatherings. I started going to the gym with her.
While the nature of these friendships might seem superficial to the eye of the idler observer, she knew the family stories of all of them. And she left a lasting impression on all of them.
Rain spread love around her with random acts of kindness. Like the time she was late for dinner and I found her talking with Mrs. Rowland, a lonely-widow neighbor. She was having tea with her.
“There are so many lonely people who have nowhere else to go and no one to share their lives with,” Rain said. “She lived a fascinating life.”
I felt ashamed of myself for all the times I walked by my old-lady neighbor without saying more than ‘have a good day.’ I didn’t even know her first name.
Rain’s boundless energy and positivity were inspiring. She talked me into taking dancing classes at the community center. I always wanted to learn how to dance but I’d always felt clumsy and uncoordinated.
In my first class, I was very anxious. But thanks to Rain’s patient and positive personality, I did it great and my self-confidence improved.