Glancing up at the sky, Julie shook her head. It just had to rain today, of all days. The weatherman had been predicting rain for weeks with nothing to show for it. Everyone had been waiting and praying for it to come. She had been praying for it to come.
Now, the only day she had to walk home was when it was actually going to rain.
And if the darkness of those clouds was any indication, it was going to be a deluge. She hugged her thin sweater closer.
Stupid weatherman. She had given up on the weatherman’s predictions of rain. This was all his fault. If she died of a cold or being side swiped by a car in the pouring rain, she was going to haunt him for the rest of his life.
The first few days that he’d predicted rain she had brought an umbrella and her thick warm coat…and drove. Now, she was not prepared to be soaked for the 20 more minutes it would take her to hurry home. And that was if she really moved and didn’t stop for anything.
She kicked at a rock and hurried faster.
The rain had started as barely a mist with the occasional drop here and there when suddenly the heavens opened and began to dump water in droves. And it definitely wasn’t a delightful, warm summer rain that’s fun to run around in and splash in the puddles. This was icy cold rain that pelted slivers of freezing water through the thin material of her clothes. She was shivering in seconds.
“Jenny!” A voice called from the open window of a passing car. Must be nice to be in a car. Although, with his window down, he probably wasn’t much warmer than she was.
Julie ignored him and continued trudging.
“Jenny. Come on.”
Julie glanced around to see who this guy was talking to. Yet there was no one else out there on her side of the road.
The car slowed next to her and she finally looked over. And there was David, reigning champion track star of their high school, grinning at her.
“Hey Jenny.”
Hugging her sweater closer to her body she tried to keep the shivering to a minimum. He pulled his car over but stayed inside. “Are you crazy? What are you doing out here in this rain?”
“My name’s not Jenny.” Julie tried to wipe the water out of her eyes but it was useless. The water just kept coming.
“What?” He leaned his head out the window as if it would help him hear her better. All he was rewarded with was wet hair and water in his eyes.
Smiling, she stepped closer. “Nothing, Dwayne.”
“My name isn’t Dwayne.” He flashed her a grin. “It’s David.”
“Oh really?! Imagine that.”
“Can I give you a ride?” David motioned to his passenger seat.
Julie couldn’t do anything more than nod.
He pulled further off the road. “Climb on in.”
As she walked around the front of the car she could see his window rolling back up. With a sigh of relief, she plopped down in the passenger seat, wincing at how wet she was making his car.
Quickly he turned up the heat on her side and grabbed his dry jacket that he must have thrown on his back seat. Once she was situated, he grabbed the wheel and smiled over at her. “Well Jenny, where to?”
She couldn’t help a little eye roll. “My name is Julie, not Jenny.”
“No.” He stared at her. “Really?”
She would have been mad at him except he looked and sounded so surprised.
At her nod he smacked his head on his steering wheel. “Ah. That’s why you called me Dwayne. No wonder I could never get your attention when I said hi in the hall. I feel so stupid right now.”
Julie shrugged with a sheepish smile. “Would you feel any better if I admitted that I never heard you calling me or I would have responded.”
“Well then, I am glad I happened to stop and see if I could give you a ride home.”
“Thank you for stopping.” She paused. “And for being persistent in trying to get my attention. That rain is cold.”
He nodded and pulled back onto the road.
“So what were you doing walking in the freezing rain without even something warm to keep you from getting sick?”
“My car wouldn’t start this morning.”
“Aww man. So you had to walk to school too?”
Julie found herself nodding, eyes on her lap. Now that she was warming up she was noticing how tired she was. With a sleepy blink, she focused on the road and the storefronts they were passing.
“Do you need a ride tomorrow?” He broke the silence as if it had never been there.
She groaned. “I hadn’t even thought about it.”
“Well, before you stress any more, now that I’ve brought it up, can I offer you rides to and from school until you don’t need me anymore?”
Julie so easily could have stared at him in open-mouthed shock. That was a generous offer.
“You don’t even know where I live, or how far out of your way you’d have to go to come get me.” She blurted.
He nodded, eyes staying on the road. “This is true. Speaking of which, we are going to be heading out of town soon, so if you don’t want me to get lost I could use the directions to your house now.”
“Oh yeah. Sure. Turn right in two streets.” She pointed up ahead.
There was more pointing and directions interspersed with wonderfully not-awkward silence.
She had just pointed out her house when he tapped her knee. “The offer still stands. I’ll come by tomorrow morning just in case.”
“You just want to spend more time with me.” Julie laughed at her joke as she climbed out of the car.
But David didn’t laugh. “I wouldn’t say that I don’t. See you tomorrow, Jenny.” With a wink, he pulled out of the driveway and drove off as she stood there, stunned.
