The Rain Began to Fall (10 page)

Writing also kept
his mind from being constantly on Leigh, whom he had not spoken to or seen
since the races on Summerville road a week ago. He’d fought the urge to call
her several times after that night; he knew it was a sensitive time for her,
fraught with confusing emotions, and it would probably be a mistake to be too
aggressive. At this point, she could bolt and run as easily as fall completely
in love with him. And although it was terribly hard to sit on his desire for
her, he knew that if there was anything in her heart for him, absence would make
it grow fonder. He could only imagine how her fiancé’ was lavishing her with
attention, cajoling and buying his way back into her graces. He just had to be
patient.

As Kyle typed
away, his cell rang. He looked at the caller I.D. display expecting it to be
his mother, who had called every other day since he had left. She never failed
in their conversations to express concern about her boy being “so far away from
home.” He always did his best to assure her everything was fine, but he knew
she would worry anyway. She was a mother, wasn’t she? It was in her job
description. But the screen flashed the name “Rob.”

“Hey Rob!” he
answered cheerfully.

“Hey bro!” he
replied. “How’s everything in Charlotte? Haven’t heard from you in a few
weeks!”  Rob had been spending so much time with Carla that Kyle hadn’t
heard from
him
for two months before he left Boonesville. But he didn’t
bring that up.

“I’ve just been
settling in, you know?” Kyle replied.

“Did you find a
job?”

“Yeah,” he
responded. “I landed a job at a parts business a couple of weeks ago. It’s
work. Keeps the cash flowing.”

“Hear ya.”

“And hey, you’ll
dig this. I met a couple of guys that wanted to run against me, and we got it
on last Friday night.”

“Cool! So how did
it go?” Rob inquired.

“I won, at least the
first round,” Kyle responded. “I had to show them how we do it in Tennessee,
ya’ know?”

“Don’t know why I
asked,” Rob joked, “of
course
you won!  I guess that means the Nova
is in top form, huh?”

“She’s running
good
,” Kyle replied. “We eliminated that first night, and
now it’s down to me and this idiot named Wade. He’s got a bottle green Impala,
‘72 model.”

“‘72
Impala?
That’s a beast. Is he good?”

“Apparently he’s
top dog around here,” Kyle stated. “I just wish you and that
Chevelle
were here so we could really show these guys a
thing or two!”

“Well, as it turns
out, you might get your wish,” Rob replied.

“Come
again?”  Kyle had laid out two slices of bread on the counter, and was
spreading peanut butter on one of them. He would add pickles and create one of
his favorite sandwiches, the PB&P.

“I broke up with
Carla.”

“You’re kidding!”
Kyle responded with surprise, stopping in mid spread.

“Nope.”

“What happened?”
She and Rob had dated for almost two years, and Rob had told him just six
months ago that he was thinking of asking her to marry him.

“Well, we had a
few fights, some disagreements,” Rob explained.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.
And I started thinking about it, you know, the whole marriage thing, and I just
got to the point where I couldn’t imagine it. It just wasn’t there,” he said.
“I just finally realized she wasn’t the one.”

“I bet she was
pretty upset,” Kyle said.

“Yeah,” he said.
“She’s called me a couple of times, but I’m not going there again. I’m ready to
move on.”

“You’re a real
heart-breaker, you know that?”

“Me? That’s the
pot calling the kettle black!” Rob exclaimed. “You’ve left too many hearts in
the dust to count, my man!”

“Just meeting my
quota,” Kyle responded, placing pickles on top of the peanut butter.
“So back up.
What did you mean when you said, “I might get
my wish?”

“Well, there’s
nothing around here for me now,” Rob replied. “I think I need a fresh start,
too. What do you think the chances are of my getting a job where you are?”

“Are you talking
about moving here?”

“Yes I am,” he
affirmed. “That is, if Charlotte’s big enough for both of us!”

“We’ll fit,” Kyle
assured, laughing. “Man, this is great news!”

“So
what about the job?”

“Well, I’m in
pretty good with the Human Resources manager, so let me do some talking and see
what’s available.”

“Sounds
good.”

“I should be able
to find out something soon.
So what about your current job?”

“I’ve already
talked to my boss about leaving, and he’s cool with it. He said he would write
a referral letter for me.”

“You’re a big loss
for him,” Kyle opined. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Dead
serious.
You’ve inspired me, my man.”

“Well, I’ve got to
get on the ball then!” Kyle responded, slapping the top slice of bread on.

“One thing,” Rob
asked. “This HR manager wouldn’t happen to be female and pretty, would she?”

“Now whatever
would give you
that
idea?” Rob laughed heartily.

“Listen, give me a
call and let me know, okay?”

“We’ll do,” Kyle
said, and they hung up.

He ate his
sandwich, washing it down with a glass of milk, elated by the unexpected news
that his best friend may be coming to Charlotte. He had to find a way see Leigh
and do some talking for Rob. He then burrowed into his novel, typing away, with
his hopes high again that this time it would be different; that this time, his
work might be accepted.

Wade was making a
lot of noise this Friday morning, while Kyle was keeping busy and attempting to
ignore his loud mouth. He attacked the boxes in front of him, piling them onto
skids. Upon completing a skid, he would slap them and holler for “Pick up!” He
was working industriously enough that the front end wasn’t able to keep pace.
Behind him, Wade and Billy incessantly bragged that he didn’t stand a snowballs
chance in hell, why bother showing up? If he had listened too closely to their
braggadocio and believed all he heard, he would go out and set fire to his
Nova, promptly lie down before Wade’s Impala, and allow himself to be run over
by his Highness. He tuned out their seemingly endless rants. He did his talking
at race time, and that was when he would answer Wade’s current round of
predictions.

It was Friday,
payday, and the weekend was finally here. Everyone felt chipper, naturally, and
Kyle himself was full of pep after his conversation with Rob last night. As he
lifted and placed boxes, he thought of his mission today: to somehow see and
talk to Leigh. She had come down at break that one time for a Dr. Pepper, but
he hadn’t seen her since. Had she stopped drinking her mid-morning Pepper? Not
likely. He guessed she had been coming down early to avoid him. He decided he
would find out.

He glanced up at
the clock on the wall and saw it was 9:40 am, five minutes before break. As
usual, he was way ahead of schedule in his packing.  He sat the box down
he had been lifting onto the skid and looked around for the plant manager. He
was nowhere in sight, so he started toward the break room.

“Hey, where’re you
going?” Wade hollered behind him. Kyle waved him off, and went on.

He walked around
the corner, silently pushing open the swinging door leading into the break
area, and spotted Leigh inserting change into the vending machine. She looked
stunning in a form fitting, knee length lavender skirt with a split up the
back, and a white silk blouse under a matching jacket. She pushed a button, and
the soda fell to the opening with a rolling clank. The door he had come through
was behind her, and he had snuck successfully across the room, out of her
sight, until she bent over to retrieve her drink. He quickly tip -toed the rest
of the distance, and leaned against the machine over her. When she rose up, she
practically ran into his face, and she shrieked in fright.

“Whoa!” he
exclaimed, laughing, as she drew in a sharp breath and stepped back a couple of
steps. He reached out and steadied her, grabbing her elbows.

“Hi, Leigh,” he
said, with a grin. “I don’t guess you expected me, huh?”

“Well….no. It’s
not... break time yet… is it?” she responded breathlessly.

“You’re right,” he
replied. “But I figured this was the only way I was going to get to see you.”

“You scared me to
death
!”
she exclaimed, patting her chest, something he would love to do for an extended
period.

“Whoops. Sorry
about that,” he apologized, as he smiled and released his grip on her arms.

“You should be!”
she exclaimed, recovering. “What are you doing here before break anyway?”

He didn’t
immediately reply, but simply stared at her, smiling, soaking in her beauty.
She stared back, at his unshaven face, sporting a day’s worth of stubble,
glistening with a slight sweat from his morning labors. His hair looked soft
and untamed as he was. He wore a blue tee-shirt that revealed his muscular
arms, and a pair of jeans that fit him snugly, flattering his manhood
. He’s
just crazy hot
, she thought.

“I wanted to see
you,” he replied finally.

“You could get in
trouble, you know, leaving your station.”

“It’s a chance I
wanted to take, or I wouldn’t be here,” he said, smiling.  She looked at
him and grinned, remembering her own words, and appreciating his deft use of
them. “You won’t tell, will you?”

“You’re safe. So
what’s up?”

“Work and play,”
he replied. “I’m assuming that was your fiancé who caught you last Friday
night?”

“Caught me?” she
repeated. “I guess you could put it that way.” She glanced at the clock on the
wall, then back at him. “He was a little miffed.”

“And he didn’t
appreciate finding you at such an event, right?” he added. He noticed she was
fidgeting, nervous.  “I’m sorry if it got you in trouble.”

“Oh, I don’t think
you are!” she exclaimed, smiling. The break bell would ring soon and the
employees would be pouring in. He had to make it quick.

“Listen, what are
you doing for lunch today?”

“I can’t see you
Kyle, if that’s what you’re asking,” she replied firmly. “I’m having lunch with
Gene, and...”

“Well, what about
after work? Can you meet me on the grounds?” he pleaded. “I’ve got something
important I have to talk to you about. I won’t take much of your time, okay?”

She touched the
fingertips of her right hand to her forehead, looking down.
I shouldn’t
agree to this
, she thought. She had begun to gain control of her life over
the last several days, putting everything into proper perspective. Gene had not
worked late a single evening, had been a real prince. Things were getting back
to normal. She would be risking that stability to meet with Kyle for even a
short time.

“What’s this
about?
she
asked, sighing. She looked at him, at his
hair, his chest, his arms, and suddenly she just wanted to grab his face and
kiss his lips off!
Lord
have
mercy
! 
“Kyle, I’m engaged, okay? I can’t be....”

“It’s work
related, nothing about...you know...whatever.
Promise.”

She looked into
his pleading eyes.

“Work related?”
She had her doubts.

“Yeah.
Swear. No fingers crossed.
Or toes.”
He showed his
hands, fingers apart. “I’ll take off my shoes if you want.”

“Can’t you talk to
me now?”

“Not enough time.”
The break bell rang overhead. “See?”

“Okay,” she
agreed, for no other reason than she apparently couldn’t say no to this guy to
save her life. “But I can’t stay long, alright?”

“Got it,” he
responded.

She walked away
hurriedly, disappearing just as the first of the plant employees came through
the door. He smiled to himself, and then put change into the soda machine to
get a drink of his own.

At 3:55 pm, Kyle
sat at a table on the company grounds awaiting Leigh’s arrival. He had brought
along a copy of the first half of
The Fishing Trip
, and he was leafing
through it. He had only a couple of chapters to go to complete it, and he felt
really good about the message of the story and the character development. He
was always amazed that he could be filled with new hope again after numerous
rejections. Would there come a time when that wouldn’t happen? Considering his
feelings after
Terrence Tried
, he thought that time may not be far
off.  And what would he do beyond that day?
Let the chips fall where
they will
. The sun, shining from a spotless blue sky, was still a couple of
hours from setting. The evening air was crisp, and, taking a moment to look
around at nature’s beauty, he reflected on Charlotte and how nice the city was.
And its grandness was magnified a hundredfold by his meeting Leigh. He had
returned to reading the manuscript when she walked up and sat down across from
him.

“Hi,” she said
simply.

“Glad you could make
it,” he responded, turning the manuscript over and placing his hands, folded,
across the top.

”Well, I’m more
pushed for time now than before,” she replied. “Gene called, and he’s taking
off early.”

He bristled at
that, not caring to be reminded that she was spoken for. He hoped it didn’t
show on his face, but it was a natural reaction he couldn’t help. He was
starkly aware of the situation, his place in the scheme of things, but his
desire for her was real, regardless.