“Hey.”
Sean met her on the steps of her office building, dressed casually but in a button-down shirt, a dripping, folded umbrella beside him, a few raindrops on his shoulders, and a warm smile on his face.
She stopped, momentarily dazed. “Hello. I wasn’t expecting you to… you… hi.” Lundi finished lamely, all eloquence depleted after a difficult day at work.
“I thought I’d take you out to dinner tonight. Are you busy?”
“Busy? No… no, of course not.” she smiled, her first real smile that day. “I’m just a little surprised – pleasantly, that is.”
“Let’s go then.” He unfolded the umbrella, watching her expectantly. She quickly put on her coat, and looped her arm around his as he took her briefcase from her chivalrously.
“Have you been waiting out here long?”
“Nah, not really. It’s nice outside anyway – I know you love the rain.”
She laughed lightly. “That I do. The weather’s wonderful today. I wish it were like this more often.”
“Same. Would you like me to drive you home first, so you can change? I’m not sure you want to go to dinner in such a stuffy suit…”
“Oh, that would be lovely. Thank you.”
He turned the radio on to his favorite station, and drove out of the parking lot, as Lundi hummed along quietly, pleased.
They got to the restaurant and were seated promptly. It was a relaxed and quiet place, though Lundi had never been here before.
After they ordered, they made small talk over the light piano music.
“So. How was your day?” He asked.
She took a deep breath, the first of a tirade, then decided against it and sighed. “Let’s… not talk about my day? How was yours?”
“Not much happened – I had the day off, remember?”
“Oh yeah. God, I need a day off sometime. Thank you, by the way, for bringing me here. It’s nice to just, have a nice dinner. Away from work.”
Just then, her cellphone rang.
“Ignore it.” he said.
She was reluctant: she already had the phone out. “It could be important…”
“Give it to me.” he took her phone away from her with little resistance, flipped it open, and hung up. “It’s your night off, alright?” he said with a bright smile.
“Thanks.”
“You do deserve a night off, I think. They’ve been working you to the bone.”
“Yeah, they have. You encounter any difficult cases since that last one?”
“No, it’s been pretty quiet for a while now.”
Their food came just then; they thanked the waiter politely and ate quietly; their dinner was interspersed with conversation, but Lundi wasn’t very talkative. Instead, she was often lost in thought, and when asked if she was okay she just shrugged it off as fatigue from a long day at work.
When they finished, Sean insistently paid for both of them, then went and got the car, but after they were driving for a while, Lundi noticed that they were going a different route.
“Hey, are we going home now?”
“I was thinking I’d take you to the seaside and walk a while. You need some fresh air.”
She smiled, evidently pleased at his considerate nature. “Yeah, I suppose I do.”
They reached the sea just before sunset – the sky had mostly cleared by now, and though coolness lingered in the air and puddles in the concrete, they didn’t need an umbrella to walk around anymore.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
She smiled – sunsets tended to have that effect on just about everyone. “Yeah. This is just what I needed. Hey look, a rainbow!” She pointed at the distance, where a light, effervescent rainbow had formed.
“You’re right, there is a rainbow.” He looked at her now, lovingly. “If you like, I can take you here more often.”
“If only I had time!” she complained, but more easily now.
“We’ll make time. What do you say? Date tomorrow, same time, same place?”
“Why not.”
He leaned in close and kissed her lightly, surprising her. She laughed, and kissed him back, all her worries momentarily forgotten. It was amazing that, however many days since they’ve been together, he could always make her feel this way.
The continued to walk along the beach until sunset, watching the sun sink below the horizon. It was a bad day, then a good day, Lundi decided. He made everything better.
He drove her back promptly after dark, not failing to give her a chastely tender kiss goodbye. She watched his retreating figure quietly, lingering outside until he was only a speck in the distance… He felt, to her, like a good rainstorm. Some people might think her silly for comparing her love to rain, but she often did it made sense – after all, she did love the rain.
And then there was his ever present smile, his promise to appear, even when she least expected him, and brighten up her day.
It wasn’t the best of days. But it was, because of him, not nearly the worst of days
Thaein Community Member 
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