by J. P. Grider
“My battery died,” she said sitting down, “and I don’t have a car charger.”
“Well, you should get one.”
Rain shrugged. “I’m fine. Thanks for worrying though.” She took another sip of her water, then said, “So, what, you came back home because you didn’t know where I was?”
“Pretty much.”
She smiled, and boy was it pretty. That dimple of hers always softened his heart. “Thanks.”
He nodded. “So, where’d you go?”
Hesitating to answer, Lorraine caused Noah to assume what he’d feared—that she’d been with another guy all day. In fact, besides thinking she’d been in some bad accident, the thought that she was with a guy crossed his mind too many times to count.
Lorraine gathered her dog in her arms again and said, “It’s not important,” but her eyes lied. She was hiding something.
“Not important? You were gone fifteen hours. Without telling anyone you were going out.” Reign it in, Mack. You’re pathetic. “I mean, it had to be somewhat important, no?”
She sighed and stood up. “No. I was driving around pretty much aimlessly. That’s all. But now, I’m beat; I’m going to bed. You going back to Teaneck?”
Noah shook his head, disappointed she wasn’t interested in him enough to hang a few more minutes. “No. I’ll head back in the morning.”
She stared at him for a few seconds before she said, “Have fun at your new school, Noah.”
“I’ll be back Friday.”
Rain continued to hold her gaze on his. “Okay.”
Her stare was starting to become worrisome. No longer did he think she was flirting with him…but staring through him. “You okay?”
She responded with a sympathetic smile. “Yeah. See you Friday, Noah.” Rain took her dog and left the room, leaving Noah to wonder what the hell was going on with Rain?
CHAPTER FORTY
“Restraining order?” Lorraine couldn’t believe her ears. “But I only went there to talk.”
Even over the phone, she heard Mr. DeGrecco tsk. “Lorraine, you antagonized her. You can’t do that. Look, because of your appearing on her doorstep, ready for a fight, last Sunday, Ms. Pearson urged her lawyer to move up the court date to this week. I don’t know if her request will actually be granted or not, and one week earlier won’t make a difference, but this isn’t going to bode well for you either way.” Lorraine’s lawyer sighed. “She can’t obtain the restraining order unless you show up again. So, don’t.”
“Fine. I was just trying to get her to drop this suit. I didn’t show up to fight, y’know. It’s not fair to Norah what she’s doing.”
“Maybe not, but there are rules and laws, and we need to abide by them.”
Lorraine hung up with Mr. DeGrecco and returned to the fitness room where she was setting up for her next class. Her trip last Sunday ended up being a joke. As if Branford wasn’t far enough, she took an impulsive trip to Mohegan Sun just to continue thinking...which did no good anyway—she came up with nothing. And now she ruined things with Margaret so much that she might lose Norah even sooner. She wished she knew what to do. And where the heck was her mother to tell her?
“Hey, Rainy.”
“Hey, Suzie, you’re here early. My class doesn’t start for another fifteen minutes.”
“Oh, I know. I had to meet my ex in the lot. It’s his weekend for my son.”
“Hmmm. You share custody?”
“Well, yeah. It was part of my divorce and all.”
“Right, right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”
“No, no, I don’t mind questions.”
Lorraine finished setting up, then began class, but she spent the entire time teaching body-sculpting, still pre-occupied in thought—would Norah’s chances be better if Lorraine went for joint custody instead of sole? If this issue with the restraining order was going to ruin the likelihood that Norah remain living home, then would it make more sense to concede and request joint custody? She wished she had an answer to that. But before she knew it, class time had ended.
After returning the dumbbells back to the racks and wiping down the mats and floor, Lorraine took a shower at the gym and took off to meet her Anatomy and Physiology summer tutor—a necessity now that she failed it this past semester and couldn’t move on to A&P Two until she took, and passed, A&P One in the fall. She could blame Dean for bailing on her just because she didn’t reciprocate his feelings, but she knew it was her own inefficient brain that was the real cause. But she wanted to blame Dean, because she missed him, and that made her mad at him. Her first real friend…and he dropped her like a hot potato. It hurt. Why did it have to be all or nothing with him? Couldn’t there be a happy middle for the two of them?
Like there was with Noah. Noah knew they couldn’t be a couple, but they were able to unofficially find a middle ground for their relationship—whatever that was. It wasn’t ideal; she wished situations were different, but since they weren’t, she was happy to still have Noah’s friendship.
But he wasn’t her best friend. Dean was. And she really could use his shoulder right now.
***
“A restraining order? Against a girl no bigger than Tinkerbell?”
“If Lorraine comes near your aunt again, yes, there will be a restraining order set against her.”
Noah had called the lawyer to inform him of his move out of Brick’s house, just to guarantee Norah’s custody case went smoothly. He wasn’t expecting to hear that Rain attacked Aunt Margaret. “But...I don’t understand, when did she even see my aunt in order to have attacked her?”
“She drove up there, Noah. Last Sunday. And verbally assaulted her in her own house.”
“Verbally a…Lorraine did? That doesn’t sound like her at all. She’s so…sweet all the time.”
“Keeping your feelings out of this,” DeGrecco said, “maybe you can see a side of her that would do something like this? It’s going to be used against her.”
“My feelings have nothing to do with it; she is sweet. And kind. She doesn’t even curse. I can’t imagine her verbally assaulting anyone. What specifically did she say to my aunt?”
“Well, I don’t know specific words that were used, but she did file a complaint with her local police department, and she contacted her lawyer, who contacted me.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be defending Lorraine? It doesn’t sound like you are.”
“Of course I am. But she needs to know that if she shows up at Ms. Pearson’s house again, after being told not to, it will be considered harassment.”
“Right. Like Rain would harass anybody.” Noah hung up with DeGrecco confused; he could not have been talking about his Rainy Morning. No way.
He planned on going home right after class on Thursday, since the summer session was a Monday-through-Thursday-only schedule, but after the phone call with the lawyer, he decided to skip his afternoon class altogether and make some phone calls.
***
Her tutoring session over, Lorraine drove straight to Dean’s house. Without giving it a second thought, she rang his doorbell, hoping he was home.
Dean answered the door.
Lorraine smiled her widest smile, and she didn’t even mean to. “Oh my gosh, Dean. I miss you so much,” she said to a surprised Dean.
His lip quirked before it opened into an honest-to-goodness grin. With open arms, he embraced her. “I’m sorry, Rainy,” he whispered into her hair. “I was a brat.”
“No you weren’t. I understood.” Into his warm chest, she uttered, “But you’re my best friend. I miss you when you’re not around.”
Dean kissed the top of her head. “I missed you too.”
Lorraine stood back and looked at him. “And you’re okay with keeping our relationship platonic?” Was Lorraine asking too much of him?
Dean nodded. “I’m okay with keeping it platonic.” He kissed her forehead. “I’d rather have you in my life as your best friend than not at all.”
“Ah,” he held up a finger, “but I was just going to send you a text.”
“Liar.”
“No. Truther. Come.” He waved her in to follow him to the end table next to his couch and handed her his phone. “Look. Unlock my phone. Same code as always.”
Lorraine frowned but did as he said. As soon as she unlocked his phone, there it was—the start of a long text to Lorraine. As she read it, her heart felt the pain behind his words. He’d missed her, and he was willing to put his feelings for her aside to keep her in his life. His life was bitterly empty without her, and he was sorry for being a butthead, and he hoped she’d forgive him for being an immature knucklehead.
Lorraine handed back his phone. “So which are you, a butthead or a knucklehead?” She chuckled and said, “You weren’t being immature, Dean. I was inconsiderate of your feelings. Maybe, maybe I was wrong for coming here. I didn’t mean to—”
“No, no.” Dean took hold of her shoulders. “No, Rain. I want you here. I’m glad you’re here, and I didn’t get to finish my text. I also wanted to apologize for that blatant display of stupidity when I tried to get Noah to believe that we’d, well, that we’d had sex. I’m sorry, I was jealous. I should have never, ever disrespected your honor like that.”
“My honor? Stop.”
“No, really. And I should have never even considered that you would be involved like that with your brother. I’m ashamed of myself. You forgive me?”
“Of course.” Lorraine hugged him again, ignoring the brother comment. Technically, she supposed he was right. Isn’t that the whole reason Lorraine was refusing to truthfully acknowledge her feelings for Noah?
“Hey,” Dean said, breaking their embrace, “wanna get a bite to eat?”
“Oh, now? Well, I should get home to the kids. They’ve been alone all day. How ‘bout you eat dinner with us? Like old times.”
“I’d like that. But, is Noah going to be there? I’d hate to start troub—“
“No. He moved out.”
“He did?”
“Yeah. He’s going to Fairleigh Dickinson now. In Teaneck. So, he moved closer to campus.”
“But it’s only July.”
“He’s taking summer classes to make up what he’d missed last semester.”
“Oh. I guess I owe him an apology next time I see him, huh?”
“Probably.” She shrugged.
Lorraine told Dean she’d meet him at her house and then she left. When she got home, her first stop was Norah’s room. “Hey, Nor.”
“Hi, Rainy,” Norah said, pulling out her earbuds and pausing her music. “Where were you all day?”
Lorraine sat in the corner seat. “I had to fill-in for vacations at work, then I had my first A&P tutoring session. What did you do?”
“Wait. A&P?”
“Anatomy and Physiology. I failed, so now I hired a tutor to help me before I take it again in the fall. So, did you spend the whole beautiful day cooped up in here?”
“No. Ashley and I went for a walk, then we went to AJ’s for ice cream.”
“Is Carter home? He wasn’t downstairs.”
“No. He and Kara walked to McDonald’s.”
“Oh. For dinner?”
“Probably for a snack or something.”
“Okay. I’m gonna make chicken parm. Dean’s coming over tonight.” Lorraine smiled.
“You’re talking to him again?” Norah seemed as pleased as Lorraine was.
“Yeah. I caved and went to see him.”
“He’s your best friend. Someone has to give in, right?”
“Right. Thanks, Nor.” Lorraine got up. “Wanna help with dinner?”
“Sure.”
Preparing dinner with Norah was suddenly making Lorraine sad. What if Margaret Pearson did win custody of Norah? She’d never be preparing dinner again. Lorraine hadn’t told Norah that the lawsuit was still on, because she thought it couldn’t be possible that Margaret would follow through with it, nor did she think Margaret had a real leg to stand on. But now, she was scared. She almost wished Margaret hadn’t showed Lorraine those papers...that letter. And who the heck knew showing up at her house was considered harassment. She was only trying to help their situation. Now she may have ruined it. But again, Margaret may have a better chance at getting Norah no matter if Lorraine drove up to Connecticut or not. Should she tell Norah about the custody case, now that the possibility of losing her was no longer a longshot?
***
“Well, look at the happy family.” Noah couldn’t believe what he saw when he walked through the backdoor of his family’s home. Rain, Norah, Carter, Kara…and Dean sitting down to family dinner. Nice.
“Noah,” Rain and Norah said simultaneously.
“I thought you were coming home tomorrow,” Rain continued. “You want some chicken parm? I made a lot.”
He shrugged and said, “Sure,” but he wasn’t happy about it. When he sat down, he made eye contact with Dean.
“Noah.”
With gritted teeth, Noah responded with a grumbled, “Dean.”
Noah was pretty sure the tension surrounding the table wasn’t there until he should up, but he couldn’t help it—Lorraine was back with Dean. Shit.
“How was your first week?” Tinkerbell asked.
“Fine,” he said in a clipped tone, then backpedaled with, “It was good. I like my two classes. How was everything here?” He was trying to hide his disappointment in Dean’s being here. He was. Definitely. Trying.
“It was good,” she’d said.
Norah piped up with, “Ashley asked if I could go on vacation with her and her family in two weeks.”
Lorraine looked as shocked as Noah was. “Vacation? To where?” she asked.
“Ortley Beach. Her mom said it was okay with her if it was okay with you guys.”
“Whatever Rain says, Nor. She should be the one to decide.” Noah didn’t want to think about the fact that Norah may not even be living with them in two weeks.
Rain’s eyes widened at Noah’s reply. “Oh. Um, well, I guess. Can you have her mother call me?”
“Okay.” Norah was smiling, and the tension at the table subsided, even though Noah was now also worried about Norah.
When the table was cleared, Noah went to his apartment out back; he was uncomfortable being the third wheel once the kids left the kitchen. Since he had nothing else on his busy agenda, Noah took out his books and perused his notes, hoping he didn’t miss too much due to his skipped class that afternoon. He knew skipping just one summer-session class meant missing a full three hours’ worth of information, but he needed to make those calls, and he was lucky that he found someone available to help him.
***
Later on, Rain knocked on his door and let herself in. “You busy?”
“No. What’s up?” Noah stretched back into the couch, attempting to play it cool. He could do this. He could ignore the fact that all he wanted to do was hold his Rain in his arms again.
Rain sat at the opposite end of the couch. “So, I guess you saw that Dean’s back.”
“Is that what that ugly thing was sitting in my spot at the table?”
“Your spot? We don’t have spots.”
“So, why’s he back?”
She shrugged and looked down at her twiddling fingers. “I missed him, so I went to his house.”
Noah did not like that answer. “What did he say when you went there?”
“He was glad. He missed me too.”
Noah only nodded, because he couldn’t speak. Not without getting upset with her.
“Are you mad?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She finally took her eyes off her lap and looked at Noah. “I care what you think.”
“I don’t like him.” There, he said it.
“Why?”
“There’s something creepy ab
out him.” He was really trying to keep his emotions out of this conversation, but he was having a hard time. “I don’t like the way he looks at you, Tinkerbell.”
“Tinkerbell?” Rain looked offended.
“’Cause you’re sprite-like. It came to me this morning.”
“It came to you? I have a real name you know.”
“Yes, Lorraine, I’m aware of that. Now, back to that creep-hole you’re dating again.”
“I’m not dating him. He’s my friend. My best friend.”
“Best friend? What’re you twelve?”
Rain huffed. “You know, I’m trying to be nice here. Why do you have to be such a jerk?”
“Because I am a jerk.”
“No, you used to be a jerk. You’re not anymore.”
Because the back of his neck was starting to ache, Noah rubbed at it, squeezing the building tension that was racing through him. “Well, a leopard doesn’t change his spots, so…I am what I am.”
“Geez,” she muttered under her breath and leaned into the back of his couch.
“Look, Lorraine, who you’re dating or friends with is none of my business. You made it clear you don’t want me, so do what the hell you want.”
She turned toward Noah and tucked her foot under her leg. Her bottom lip quivered. Damn.
“Rain. It’s fine. But it’s the truth. It’s not my business anymore…never was I guess. Listen, I’m kinda beat. Been studying all night, and I’d like to go to sleep now,” he lied. Noah closed his school books, which were on the coffee table, and got up, assuring he made it clear to Lorraine that he was going to bed. Wishing it were with her.
Rain got up and bit that lip to stop it from trembling. “Okay. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
