The Rain Began to Fall (25 page)

She lay back on
the wet, soft grass, and as he mounted her, she watched his every move with
great concentration; his handsome face, the ripple of his chest and arm
muscles, everything distinct, in such perfect detail.

She spread her
legs, inviting him in, and as he lowered his face to hers and smothered her
mouth with kisses, he slid into her. It took her breath and she gasped, moaning
loudly, wrapping her long legs around his back and pulling him in deeper. He
bit her neck softly, his breathing hot and heavy, and she dug her long
fingernails into his back. Her legs locked around him like a vice as he thrust
into her repeatedly, and she cried out in ecstasy and pleasure when she came.
And he came with her.

The rain slacked,
and she held him tightly against her breast, her eyes closed, as he kissed her
neck softly. Her breathing, and his, gradually evened out, and their bodies
began to relax. As his mouth lay against her neck, he tasted something salty.
He rose up, bracing himself on his arms, looking down at her. She opened her
eyes, and he saw that she was crying.

She reached up,
tenderly touching his face, cheeks and lips. “I’ve never been as happy as I am
now, Kyle.” She squeezed his muscular arms and touched his chest.

“That’s all I
want, Leigh,” he whispered, lowering his face down to hers, and kissing her
lips softly, “your happiness, always.”

The sun came out,
the rain returned, but they didn’t notice. He made love to her again and again
as the evening grew later, and she returned his love in the clearing in the
woods.

On Sunday afternoon,
before Leigh left for her lunch date with Mindy, Cheryl Thompson noticed a
change in her daughter’s demeanor. There was a quiet radiance about her, a
sense of contentment and ease that had been absent for a very long time.
Although Cheryl had wondered what had been going on in her daughter’s life
since the night of their talk about love and marriage, Leigh had not approached
her again, and Cheryl had not pressed the issue.

Cheryl had watched
as Leigh continued with her wedding plans after that evening, putting on a
happy face for everyone else; but Cheryl had not been convinced that all was
well. She had noticed subtle undertones of uncertainty and apprehension about
her daughter, differences only a mother could recognize. But today, she seemed
different, as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Leigh met Mindy at
Steak ‘n Shake for lunch. Over patty melts and chocolate shakes, she told her
friend about the prior evening.

“…and then we
kissed,” she related, “and it was…
amazing
, and then it started raining,
and we…well…
you know
.”

“Oh
my god!
Oh my god!”
Mindy screamed, clapping
her hands together loudly. She had been listening to Leigh’s story in total
silence for the last ten minutes, her mouth gradually falling open to a wide
“O” as she sat mesmerized by her friend’s tale.

“Mindy!
Shhhh
!”
Leigh implored, noticing customers looking at them. A man in the booth behind
them choked briefly on his cheeseburger. Mindy jumped up and slid into the
booth beside Leigh.

“Oh girl!” she exclaimed,
bear hugging Leigh’s neck. “I knew it! I knew it! I am
so
happy for you
two!” She pulled back suddenly and grabbed Leigh’s shoulders. “What about
Gene?”

“I’m going to tell
him tonight,” she responded.

“Good luck,” Mindy
said. She then smiled broadly. “I
so
knew
you were in love with
Kyle.”

“Yeah?”
Leigh replied, looking at her friend and grinning. “So did
I
.”

# # #

Later that
evening, Leigh was at home in her room, having been there for the past hour.
Cheryl walked by her door and listened. All was quiet. She decided to check on
her, and knocked.

“May I come in?”
she asked.

“Sure, Mom,” Leigh
answered on the other side.

She found Leigh
lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She walked over and sat on the end of
the bed.

“Is everything
alright honey?” she asked. Leigh continued staring blankly upwards.

“Well…yes and no,”
she answered after a moment. She rose up on her elbow and looked at her mother
with troubled eyes.

“What is it,
Leigh?” she asked gingerly. “I hope you know I’m here for you.”

“I know,” Leigh
responded, smiling, “and you were. More than you could know.” She took a deep
breath. “Things have changed, mom. I can’t go into it right now, but I’ll
explain it all to you later.”

Cheryl smiled and
took her daughter’s hand, looking at her with great love.

“I just want you
to be happy, as always,” she said. “That’s all that matters to me.” Leigh
looked at her, a tear brimming in her eye. “Come here.”

Cheryl folded
Leigh in her arms, and hugged her tightly, stroking her hair. Leigh wept softly
as her mother gently rocked her.

“
Shh
, it’s alright,” she whispered; and then softly into
Leigh’s ear: “You’re father would approve.” Leigh pulled back and stared into
her mother’s eyes with wonderment. “And so do
I
.”

Before Leigh could
respond, the doorbell sounded its ring through the house. She knew who it was,
and although she could never really be ready for this, it had to be done.

“Well, I suppose
that’s Gene,” Leigh said, wiping her eyes and sighing. She got up off of the
bed, and her mother stood with her.

Cheryl gave her
daughter a reassuring smile.

“Go do what you
must,” she said.

“Thanks, mom,” she
replied, hugging her mother’s neck and kissing her on the cheek. “Thanks for
everything.”

Leigh went to the
front door and opened it.

“Hi, Gene,” she greeted.
He started toward her, but she quickly went past him to her car. He followed
her, perplexed.

“No kiss?” he
asked. “What’s going on?” She turned around, but didn’t look into his eyes.

“I’m taking my
car,” she said. “Will you follow me?”

He looked at her
not looking at him, on his face a puzzled expression.

“What’s this
about, Leigh?”

“I’ll tell you.
Just follow me, okay?”

“Alright,” he
agreed, shrugging. “Mysterious.”

As he followed
behind his mind was racing.
What is this
?
he
thought. His worry had started yesterday when she’d called and asked him to
come over as soon as he got in so they could talk in person. She had been
evasive when he’d asked her to come out with it, telling him she didn’t want to
talk about it over the phone. Now, after she had put off his attempt at a kiss,
his worry was turning into panic. But he fought that emotion off. No sense
borrowing trouble. He was sure he would find out soon enough.

She drove out to
the park by the lake. The sun was sinking as they walked out on a pier, which
happened to be the place they had come on their first real date, Leigh
recalled. It seemed as though it were a thousand years ago. As Gene walked
beside her he stole glances at her face, but she was expressionless.
Something’s
wrong here
, he thought. She faced straight ahead until they stopped at the
end, and she looked out over the calm waters. The western sky was now a pinkish
orange, and a comfortable breeze blew off the water. She leaned on the pier’s
rail, and he leaned beside her. And though he dreaded the response, he asked:

“So what gives,
Leigh? What’s on your mind?”

She finally looked
over at him for a moment, studying his eyes, his face, unblinking. His eyebrows
rose inquisitively. She tried to feel something about the memories of their times
together; some tenderness, some sense of loss. And though she could think
fondly of her past with Gene, and would always have feelings for him, her
newfound love for Kyle was now everything to her, her future. She had wondered
how she would feel after seeing Gene, and now she was certain.

“What I’m about to
say isn’t easy,” she finally began, turning her face away from him and looking
straight ahead. He felt his heart skip a beat.

“What? What are
you talking about?” he said, trying to maintain his composure while gripping
the rail tightly.

“I’m talking about
what I’ve found, Gene,” she said, sighing, “and what I’ve lost.” She looked
over at his face, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “What I’ve lost is… an
illusion, one I’ve lived for a long time now. And what I’ve found is true
love…. with another man.” She bowed her head and held her breath a moment,
awaiting his reaction. But he said nothing, simply staring at her with his
mouth hanging open, his mind trying to catch up with his ears. He couldn’t believe
what he had just heard.

“I don’t expect
you to understand this.” She paused a moment.

“You’re right,
Leigh, I…I don’t understand,” he finally stammered. “What’s happened? You’re
not thinking right! Let’s talk about
thi
….”

“Gene,” she
interrupted, “It’s really best for us. It’s good, for your sake and mine, that
I’ve seen it now before we made a mistake.” She turned sideways to face him.

“You see, I
thought I knew what love was. But I know now that I was just staying on a
course that was sort of expected of me, that I felt comfortable with,” she
explained. “I was going to marry you because it was the logical thing to do,
the secure life. I told myself that I loved you… and I
do
,” she said
sincerely, taking his hand. He continued to stare at her blankly; but he was
beginning to comprehend her words.

“But it’s not
that
kind of love,” she said, looking into his eyes, seeking his understanding;
but he removed his hand from hers, turning away and looking hard across the
lake, shaking his head. He simply couldn’t absorb what was happening.

“Do you hear what
you’re saying?” he exclaimed, turning on her, his eyes filled with confusion
and fear. “We’re getting married in
three weeks
, Leigh!”

“There’s not going
to be a wedding, Gene,” she responded quietly, looking down. “I’m sorry.” He
took a step back. His legs felt weak, and he leaned on the rail for support.
She looked back up at him. “I know this is hard. I can’t change the past, but I
can change the future, and that’s what I’m doing now.” He searched her face anxiously,
looking into her eyes for the girl he had known; but she was gone. In her place
was a woman who seemed strengthened and definite.

“Another man?” he
asked.
“Who?”

“That doesn’t
matter,” she said dismissively. “What matters is that I’ve seen the light
before it was too late, before I made us miserable. Gene, you’re a good man,
with a bright future. You’ll go far.”

He hung his head.
He knew any attempts to change her mind would be futile. If there were any
hope, he would be arguing his case right now, doing what he did best. But her
mind was made up; he could hear it in her voice, in her words. He had been too
consumed with his career to notice, taken too much for granted. She had met
someone else and changed, and he’d never had a clue.

He slumped on the
rail, heartbroken, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. She then held him in
her arms, one last time for all the years. He wept when she removed her
engagement ring and returned it to him, and she cried too for all they had
tried to be, but ultimately were not.

Afterward, Leigh
drove the streets of Charlotte for quite some time, reflecting on how much had
changed in the last three months; how glad she was that Kyle had been
persistent, had not given up on her, and that she had finally seen the truth about
herself. It had been hard to say good-bye to Gene; but she had found the
strength to do it, because in her heart she had the power of a love that would
last a lifetime.

When they finally parted
ways on Saturday evening, Leigh had informed Kyle she wouldn’t be around the
following day; that she was meeting with Gene to say good-bye, and she didn’t
know when she would be done. He had told her to take her time and do what she
had to do. He trusted her implicitly.

Rob dropped by
Sunday afternoon, and Kyle filled him in on the good news about he and Leigh as
they cruised around Charlotte, at roughly the same time Leigh was doing the
same with Mindy.

“Alright!”
Rob exclaimed. “I knew it, man! Isn’t it crazy, the way things work out?”

“Yeah it is,” Kyle
responded, smiling. “Fate takes care of everything.” He looked over at Rob and
clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re my best friend, man. I’m glad you’re here.
Thanks for being there all these years.”

“No, thank
you
,”
Rob said.  “If you hadn’t moved here, I wouldn’t have followed, and I
would have never met Mindy.”

After they arrived
back at the apartments, Rob left to meet up with his future bride. Kyle was getting
ready to settle in when he remembered he hadn’t checked his mail at the post
office for at least a week. He decided he’d better go clean it up.

Once there, he
used his key to unlock the box, and it was stuffed to overflowing. He flipped
through the stack as he exited the building and walked to his car: A flyer from
a pizzeria, a credit card offer, a bill from the co-op, etc…

What was this? The
next envelope was from his agent, Gary Pierce, and the word “Urgent” was stamped
across the front.  He felt his heart leap in his chest.
Calm down, Kyle
ole boy
, he thought. But as he leaned against the hood of his Nova, he tore
the envelope open with gusto. He withdrew two pages, and read the first: