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Mark and Rain didn't see much of each other over the next two weeks, both spending time with their families for the Christmas holiday. When she came in town, Mark did briefly speak to Rain on New Years day when she came over to exchange presents with Micheal. He was hoping to talk to her for a while longer but refrained from it...Mark knew she was there to spend time with Micheal, not to shoot the breeze with him. So Mark wished Rain a happy New Year, said his goodbyes, and headed out to spend the afternnon with a friend. As Mark drove, he tossed ideas back and forth on what to do next...should he try to pursue a friendship with Rain or should he leave well enough alone and not try anything with Rain. There was one thing Mark couldn't get out of his head...the only reason he and Rain had a nice evening was because he had been drinking. If not for that, he would have left right after dinner, nothing would have happened, and he wouldn't have learned anything about her...on other words, he still would have been at square one. After they had played Monopoly for a while, Rain had opened up a little to him, but did she do that because she knew she was stuck with him for the night or because she felt she had to be nice to him since he was a guest?
Mark also couldn't forget the fact that he had been invited to dinner ONLY as an apology in the first place. If she had been any other woman, Mark would have known exactly what to do after such an enjoyable evening. He would have called her after a few days, invited her to dinner or a movie...whatever interested her. The point being he would have talked to her more and tried to spend more time with her. These things were not a possibility with Rain...the more he tried to talk to her or tried to spend time with her, the more likely Rain was to back away and put more distance between them. After all, she had done the same thing before. ~If I decide to pursue a chane or frienship with her, I need to take things slowly with her, give her a chance to see I'm not going to deliberately hurt her if at all possible, to see I am someone she could learn to trust. She automatically thinks I'm going to run away, but if I'm patient with her, let her take her time, she'll see I'm not like that~.
Rain was struggling with things herself. The last thing she was looking for was another friend, but it looked like fate had plans if its own. Rain had to admit she had fun that evening with Mark, more fun that she had first anticipated, but was she willing to try another run at friendship and risk disappointment yet again? Rain's instincts were screaming at her to just go for it, but her experiences...her experiences were screaming at her to do the opposite, to run away as fast as she could. ~Maybe I'll just spend time with him and Micheal...get a feel for what he's like, the kind of person he is, and then go from there~.
Over the next six months, this is exactly what Rain did. He wasn't with them every time they went out, or when they were at each other's houses, but Mark did spend a decent amount of time with Rain and Micheal. Micheal knew that Rain was attempting to learn more about Mark, but that she felt more comfortable doing this with him around. To say Micheal was happy to see Rain talking to Mark didn't do it justice...he was ecstatic. Whenever possible, Micheal would conviently slip out of the room or say that he had to be somewhere at the last minute, trying to get Rain and Mark alone and talking to each other. Rain read him like a book, knowing exactly what he was trying to do, and when Micheal would rejoin her and Mark, she would give him a look that said 'You're fooling nobody. I know what you're doing'. It didn't matter to Rain, though. She was enjoying Mark's company tremendously and finding that he was the great person Micheal had said he was. Was she rushing to this conclusion too quickly? Rain hoped not...there was still a part of her which reminded her constantly to move cautiously, to never forget what rushed judgements and numerous mistakes had cost her in the past, but for the first time in since she met Micheal, Rain felt optimistic...and this both excited and frightened her.
Rain knocked on the front door of Micheal's house and took a step back, waiting for someone to answer the door. It was a beautiful day...there wasn't a cloud to be seen for miles around and a light breeze made the day all the more pleasant. This was only a brief stop for Rain, she had to give some papers to Micheal and then she was going to hop in her car and just drive with all the windows down, taking advantage of the weather. She had planned on asking Micheal if he wanted to come along with her and visit some of the antique shops you could find off the interstates. Rain turned her attention back to the door which had still yet to be answered and knocked once more. She thought Micheal would be home, but as the seconds ticked by, Rain came to the realization that her assumption was wrong and silently lectured herself about not calling first to see if he was home. ~Well, three times a charm~. Rain thought and knocked for a third time...of course nobody answred. Giving up, Rain turned around to leave, figuring she would leave the papers in his mailbox and tell him later. She had just placed her foot on the last step when the front door blew open. Rain looked over her shoulder and saw Mark standing in the doorway...clad only in a pair of sweat pants with his hair going in every which direction and his eyes squinting against the afternoon sun. Rain covered her mouth with her hand so that Mark couldn't see the amused smile on her face. She must have awakened him from his 'beauty sleep'.
"Um...sorry to wake you. Actually, wait a minute...it's two in the afternnon. Why are you still in bed?" Rain asked with a chuckle.
"It's Saturday." Mark said with a yawn, as if that were answer enough.
"Okay...is Micheal here?" Rain asked.
"No. I don't know where he is or when he'll be back."
"Darn, I needed to give these to him, and I wanted to see if he was up for a drive and some shopping." Rain remarked.
"I could give them to him if you want." Mark offered as he rubbed his eyes.
"Thanks! That would be great." Rain said as she handed Mark the papers. "So what are you doing for the day?"
"Going back to bed."
"You're going to stay in bed on a day like this? That's such a waste." Rain said. And before she knew it, for ther second time since she met Mark, words flew out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop them. "Why don't you come with me."
"Come with you where?" Mark asked.
"Anywhere...just get in the car and see where we end up. I like to visit the small shops you can find off the interstates. I know guys and shopping usually don't mix, but you're welcomed to come along." Rain answered with a smile. "That is, if you're planning on doing something with that hair and maybe putting on a shirt."
Mark smirked at her and stepped aside so she could come into the house. "Just give me a minute and I'll be more presentable."
"Looks like it's gonna take a lot to tame that stuff on top of your head." Rain laughed and walked into the kitchen. Mark shook his head and headed towards the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, Mark walked into the kitchen, his hair loose and still wet from his shower, wearing black boots, pants, and a shirt. "The wonders a shower and a comb will do." Rain remarked.
"You're just a barrell of laughs today, aren't you?"
"I'm sorry, but after the way you looked....I couldn't help but to throw out a joke or two." Rain put on her best frown. "I didn't mean to hurt you feelings."
Mark rolled his eyes causing Rain to laugh out loud. He picked up his keys and looked at Rain. "After you." Rain smiled and Mark led her to her car.
With one hand on the steering wheel, Rain leaned her head back and hung her other arm out the window, holding her hand up and feeling the force of the wind push against it. The wind felt great as it rushed through the car, brushing against her face and causing her hair to fly all around her. ~It doesn't get any better than this~ Rain thought to herself, allowing a small smile to appear. She and Mark had been on the road for close to two hours...well, and hour of that was spent in various shops along the way. Rain briefly glanced over at Mark beside her. He had the passenger seat reclined back and was quietly napping, his arms folded across his chest. She still couldn't believe Mark had willingly subjected himself to a day of shopping with her, not complaining one bit or looking irritated at being with her. If they were in a particular store, he would either walk around with her or go off on his own and look at what was available. Mark's patience with her was amazing...never looking at his watch or impateintly sighing when she was having a hard time deciding on a purchase...even Micheal wasn't THIS pateint when he came with her.
Rain pulled off the interstate after seeing a sign for a store she wanted to visit. She figured she would look around this store and maybe visit one more before heading back home, not wanting to stay out too late. Rain parked the car and turned to Mark who was still sleeping...he hadn't even stirred when she had turned the car off.
"Hey! Wake up sleepy-head!" Rain yelled in his ear and puched him in the arm. Mark sat straight up in the seat and looked around with a sleepy and confused look on his face, trying to figure out where they were. When he saw the store in front of him, Mark shot Rain an unhappy look.
"You couln't just gently shake me to wake me up or softly whisper 'We're here' could you?" Mark mumbled. "No, you had to try and give me a heart attack."
"Now where would the fun be in that?" Rain asked. "Maybe that will keep you from falling asleep. The next time, I may not be so nice....perhaps I'll just blow a whistle in your ear."
"You're such a kind and angelic person." Mark sarcastically said as he opened the door.
"I try." Rain remarked back at him with a huge grin on her face.
Once they were in the store, Rain immediately headed to the section of the store where the dolls were kept. Her mother collected all kinds of dolls...old dolls, new dolls, small or large, and she especially loved the kind of dolls you could find in most antique shops. Rain could hear her mother's voice in her head, preaching of how wasteful people were...'Why would anybody throw something as lovely as this away? Just because she doesn't cry or sat 'mama' people think they're not worth keeping anymore...such a shame. All you need to do is clean them up a little and they would make a great gift for some girl'. That's what her mother did most of the time...she would fix up some of the dolls and give them to kids who probably wouldn't have received a present otherwise. Her mother was such a kind and generous person, always putting other people's needs above her own. Rain found a few promising dolls to go along with the ones she had bought earlier in the afternoon. Her father would probably kill her when she gave them to her mother, mumbling under his breath 'Not another damn doll...can't sit down without sitting on one, can't look up without a pair of glassy eyes staring back at you'. He was absolutely right...there were dolls in chairs, on tables, on the floor, and and the walls. Her parent's house fell just short of resembling a museum dedicated to the history of dolls.
After gathering the ones she knew she wanted to buy, Rain slowly strolled through the rest of the store, trying to see if there was anything she wanted to buy for herself. Rain was sifting through a bin full of books, not finding anything very interesting or worth buying, when a certain book on the bottom caught her attention. The cover was decorated with numerous pictures of different motorcycles, it looked like a book that basically dealt with the history of motorsycles. Rain picked up the book and flipped through several pages. As each page passed, a different kind of motorcycle would appear, the text explaining when each was made, who made them, and other kinds of trivia. Searching for a price, Rain found the book only cost ten dollars...not bad for a book that was about two hundred pages long and a pretty decent size. Rain's eyes roamed the store in search of Mark, and she found him on the other end of the store talking to an older gentleman. She looked down at the book and back at Mark.
~Wonder if he would like this~ Rain pondered, ~or just think it was a stupid present~. Rain argued back and forth on whether to buy the book . After deciding she would and seeing that Mark was still occupied, Rain walked over to the cashier and paid for the book and the dolls. ~I can't believe you're doing this. What is it about this man? What is so different about him that has made you talk to him, give him a chance, BUY stuff for him? If it had been any other person, you wouldn't have given them the time of day. You would have walked away from him the minute he appeared with flowers in his hand and never looked back, never to talk to or see them again. Why has he caused you to act like a completely different person~? The cashier had just placed the book in a bag you couldn't see through, per Rain's request, when Mark appeared beside her.
"Find something you wanted?" he asked as she picked up the bag and they headed towards the car.
"Yeah I did...and something I wasn't expecting to find."
"Surprises are always good...they make life fun and interesting."
Rain gave a small 'humph' and got into the car after placing her stuff in the back seat. "I think that'll be the last store...try to contain your enthusiasm. I know you're probably ready to go home."
Mark smiled at her last comment. "If we're done shopping then I have an idea I want you to consider."
"And what would that be?" Rain asked as she started the car and rolled down the windows.
"Would you consider going to a carnival?"
"A carnival?"
"I was talking to this man in the store and he told me a town not too far from here is right in the middle of their annual summer carnival. Sounded like it would be fun to go to."
"I don't know." Rain hesitantly said. She wasn't sure she wanted to be around a lot of people for the evening and suffer through the endless parade of points and stares, Why ruin what had been a very pleasant day? "I don't know if I'm up to that."
"Have you ever been to a carnival?" Mark asked. Rain shook her head no. "Then were going there...and don't give me that look. You know you'll have fun. I was told there would be all kinds of rides and games, and the food's not bad either."
"Look, I just want to go home where I don't have to be bothered with a bunch of people...and if I don't want to go, then I'm not gonna go, regardless of what you may think or say."
"You're gonna go home and do what? Read a book, watch a little TV, and then go to bed? I could see why you'd rather do that...who wouldn't." Mark said with a hint of sarcasm. "Scared I may be right...that you'll end up having fun and you'll have to admit I was right?"
Now Rain was pissed. "I don't know who the hell you THINK you are talking to me like that! So what if I want to go home and read a book or watch TV? It's my choice and I see nothing wrong with it. Maybe I don't find your idea as great as you do." Rain was having to take several deep breaths to control how angry she was becoming. She was gripping the steering wheel so tight, her knuckles were turning white. "You are two seconds away from finding yourself out of this car and walking home."
"In that case..." Mark reached over and turned the car off, pulling the keys out and taking them with him. He sat back with a smug look on his face, jingling the keys in front of him. "Now...if you want these back, all you have to do is agree to come with me to the carnival."
"Give me the keys back, Mark." Rain calmly said, which was taking every ounce of strength she had.
"Are you coming with me?"
"What do you think?"
"Then no, you can't have them."
"GIVE ME THE DAMN KEYS MARK!" Rain yelled. She was trying to keep him from getting to her, but he was making that very difficult.
"No." Mark stepped out of the car and slowly strolled in front of it, whistling some kind of tune. If she had had the keys, Rain would have run him over then and there. Through narrowed and beyond angry eyes, Rain watched as Mark moved to her side of the truck.
"You're making this harder than it has to be." Mark shrugged his shoulders. "All you have to do is say you'll come with me."
Rain only stared at him, planning how many ways she was going to make him pay for this. "I said no."
Suddenly in one swift motion, Mark opened the door, moved her out of the car, sat down in the driver's seat, and closed the door. "Now who's gonna be walking home?"
Rain could only stand there shocked, for lack of a better word. ~I know he didn't just take me out of my car. This is some kind of bad dream, I'm going to wake up and I'll be back in my car and he will be strapped to the roof like the bad person he is~. But all Rain saw was Mark still sitting in her car.
"I'm going to drive around for a couple of minutes, and when I came back, you'd better be ready to go to the carnival." Mark started the car and pulled away, taking Rain's care she could only guess where.
Rain slowly counted to ten and walked back into the store. ~Might as well get something to drink while I'm waiting for that idiot to come back~. She bought herself a big cupfull of ice water and walked back outside to wait. Five minutes later, Mark pulled her car up beside her.
"Are you ready?" Mark asked. Rain got into the car and took a sip of her drink. She then proceeded to throw the remainder, which was basically all of the drink, directly into Mark's face. It made her feel...somewhat better, though this was only the tip of the iceberg of what was coming to him. Rain smiled when she heard him gasp and start cursing under his breath.
"Now I'm ready."
"You didn't have ti do that!" Mark said as he brushed ice of himself. "A simple yes would have sufficed."
"Well you didn't have to act like an a\$#hole just a couple of minutes ago but that didn't stop you." Rain simply replied. "Besides you deserved it. Just be glad you weren't standing in the front of me...you would have WISHED I had thrown water on you." Rain hoped he got the hint.
Mark understood her perfectly. "Hey, no need in getting personal or violent here. I just thought I'd try a different approach to get you to come with me...looks like it worked."
"Wait a minute...you intentionally pissed me off, just so I would go to some stupid carnival with you?" Rain asked in disbelief. "You need to seriously work on your kissing up skills. I would have considered going with you had you asked nicely and given me a minute to think about it because it did sound like an interesting idea, but nnnooo, you couldn't do that. You had to make fun of me and get me mad. I think you have some very serious problems. Only you would act like this."
"I could have been been nice about it, but that wouldn's have been fun and you're so entertaining and cute when you're mad." Mark said with grin.
"Now you're calling me cute?" Rain feigned disgust. "You really want me to hurt you. That the only reason I can come up with as to why you are acting this way." Mark started to say something, but Rain placed her hand over his mouth to prevent him from saying anything else. "Don't...don't talk anymore...just drive. You need to dry off anyways."
Very pleased with himself, Mark put the car in gear and headed for the interstate.
Mark had just pulled off the interstate onto the exit he needed to take when his stomach let out a big growl, reminding him of his neglect to eat anything before he left. This was closely followed by a growl from Rain's stomach...reminding her she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Mark and Rain gave each other foolish grins.
"He told me there was a restaurant close by which had food worth dying for." Mark said. Looking to his right, he saw the small family owned restaurant. "There it is."
"This man told you everything, huh?" Rain remarked.
"Yeah, including some romantic places to take my 'lady friend'."
"You wish." Rain said and got out of the car after he parked it. She heard his faint chuckle as she closed the door.
Walking into the restaurant, Mark and Rain looked around and waited for a hostess to seat them. There weren't that many people in the restaurant, but those who were there immediately stopped what they were doing, be it eating or working, and stared at the interesting couple who had just walked in the door. ~They probably don't know who to stare at most~ Rain thought, ~Me with all the scars or Mark, this huge man wearing a soaking wet T-shirt with tattoos all over his arms.
"Follow me." the hostess said, leading them to an unoccupied area of the restaurant. Mark held Rain's chair for her as she sat down and then sat down himself.
"Ever the gentleman." Rain remarked as she picked up her menu. "I guess they wanted to get the freak show as far out of view as possible."
"Nah...they probably thought we wanted to be alone." Mark said and winked.
"You're so full of yourself." Rain said.
"Hey, a man can hope and dream."
~Could the man be anymore direct than this? I have to admit it's very flattering seeing as how no man has even dared to pursue me for about six years, but...I don't think he'll ever understand that I don't want anything more than friendship...or am I just trying to convince myself of that...~
Rain began to skim the menu, letting Mark's statement just hang in the air to be forgotten. The waitress came over to take their drink orders and then left, giving them a few more minutes to decide what they wanted to eat. Rain didn't think she would leave soon enough, and once she did, Rain burst out laughing, completely read-faced and struggling for air. When the waitress had asked what she wanted to drink, Rain answered 'a nice big glass of ice water'. Of course this elicited a groan from Mark and caused him to hide behind his menu...he wasn't about to get water thrown on him for a second time today. The menu stayed in front of his face when the drinks were placed on the table and even while he ordered his food. He reluctantly handed the menu, his only weapon against her, back to the waitress and looked across the table to see Rain still laughing at him.
"You look a little uneasy Mark. Is there a reason why?" Rain teased.
"As long as you have that drink in your hand, I'll continue to be uneasy."
"Mark, I would never do that again." Rain said in her most angelic and innocent voice. "Because that would be wrong."
"I still don't trust you."
"Why? Because I might do this?" Rain made a move like she was getting ready to throw her drink on him but stopped just short of actually doing it. Mark raised his arms, expecting to get drenched, but dropped them when he heard Rain laughing loudly...and so hard her eyes were watering and she almost dropped the drink on herself.
"That wasn't funny." Mark said unamused. This only made Rain laugh even more. She managed to calm herself down after a minute, but lost her composure when she saw the wounded look on Mark's face. Somehow she was finally able to get herself under enough control to eat dinner...which ended up being wonderful. Mark and Rain were so full, they were barely able to get up and walk to the car. Rain allowed Mark to drive again and soon they were on their way to the carnival.
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It was quite a sight when they walked through the admission gates, there was a bustle of activity around Mark and Rain. Rain took in what was available...numerous games, a ferris wheel, a few roller coasters, and some other small rides. They decided to postpone any rides until after their dinner had time to settle, and went straight for the games. A friendly competition soom arose between Mark and Rain for who could win the most stuffed animals by the end of the night. At one point, they were doing everything to distract or sabotage the other person...including tickling and 'accidentally' bumping into each other when the other person was trying to win a game. After forty minutes of this, Rain found herself ahead by one, white, floppy-eared bunny and declared herself the winner. She then dragged Mark to what would turn out to be an hour worth of roller coaster and ferris wheel rides. When they had been tossed and turned from side to side and up and down to their heart's content, Mark and Rain sat down in the food area for a moment of rest to share a funnel cake. After sharing some laughs and stories while they are, Mark and Rain strolled around the grounds and watched what was happening around them. It was during this walk when Mark spotted a horse-drawn carriage which was offering 10 minute rides around the area to the carnival goers. Mark pulled Rain over to the carriage, and after a healthy dose of convincing, Rain found herself pulling away in the carriage with Mark.
The driver steered the horse along a dirt path which led away from the bright lights of the carnival towards the quiet of the countryside....the light of the moon illuminating everything around them. With the soft clicking of the horses hooves on the ground filling her ears, Rain took in the beauty of what was around her...tall oak trees, wheeping willows, large ponds, and skies dancing with millions of stars. Though she would have never said it to his face, Rain had to admit that Mark was right when he sarcastically implied that reading and watching TV couldn't compare to what she was doing right now. Mark was taking in the breath-taking view as well, but it couldn’t hold his attention as much as the delicate beauty of the woman who sat beside him. He couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze away from Rain as she looked outside the carriage...and he silently prayed Rain wouldn't catch him staring at her, knowing how she felt about people staring at her...even though it was a gesture of his admiration for her.. Not wanting to push his luck at irritating Rain, Mark forced himself to turn away from her and focused his gaze on the sky and the moon which was in it. He felt something on his shoulder and instead of turning to see what it was, Mark only stretched his arm out across the back of the carriage. What he didn't know was that Rain had leaned her head onto his shoulder...and what Rain didn't know was that Mark had wrapped his arm around her and was gently stroking his fingers through her hair. The driver pulled back on the reigns, stopping the horse and signaling the end of the ride. He turned expecting to see his two passengers getting up and off the ride, but he only saw that the couple had yet to notice that they had even stopped. The man and woman looked to be in their own world, completely oblivious to anybody else who was around them...content in knowing the other was holding them. ~Seems to be a couple in love~ the driver thought. Seeing as how nobody else was waiting, he pulled on the reigns allowing his passengers to spend some more time with each other.
Rain wondered how long they had been riding around...she thought the ride was only suppose to last about ten minutes, but it felt like it had been so much longer. ~Like it matters...I wouldn’t mind if this lasted all night, actually~. There was an overwhelming sense of calm which Rain had never felt before, or at least not in a long time. Nothing could have made her feel bad at this point...all the rude remarks or stares wouldn't have phased her...but she was clueless as to why she felt this way. ~It's not like anything has changed in my life recently, except for Mark being in it...and why would that have any impact on how I feel~? At that moment, Rain felt something moving through her hair. Curious as to what it was, she looked to her right and that's when she noticed she was leaning against Mark. Slowly turning her head to the left, she saw what was running through her hair...Mark's fingers. Rain jumped back from Mark as if he were fire, in total disbelief of what had happened. ~Why can't I remember this happening? How could I have lost control like this~?
Mark was jolted from a dream he was having, a dream in which Rain was in his arms...willingly in his arms, when he felt Rain jump away from him. He noticed her troubled and embarrassed expression right away and groaned. ~Please...please tell me that was only a dream and I didn't have her in my arms. Because if I did...I've...I've ruined everything~. Mark knew the answer as soon as he saw Rain's reaction to him...she refused to look at him. The ride couldn't end soon enough for Rain, and she barely gave the horse time to stop before she was off and running, stuffed animals filling her arms. ~I just need to go home. I just need to get home and away from him~. Mark didn't even try to catch with Rain...space was the best thing he could give her right now, and he still had the keys to the car so he knew she wasn't going to leave him. Once they were in the car, Rain fastened her seatbelt and closed her eyes, pretending to fall asleep. Mark thought of saying something to her...an apology or an explanation, but seeing how pointless that would be, Mark started the car and began the journey home. Rain opened her eyes to see Michael’s house standing in front of her and to hear Mark getting out of the car.She moved herself to the driver's seat, still not allowing Mark eye contact, and started to drive away when she remembered the book she was going to give Mark.
"Wait Mark." she called to him. He stopped his trecks to the house and walked back to the car. Rain reached into back seat, pulled out the book, and handed it to Mark. "I hope you enjoy it." She didn't even give Mark any time to open the package or say thank you before driving off. Mark unwrapped the bag from around Rain's surprise and pulled out a book about motorsycles. ~She was beginning to let you into her world and you turn around and screw things up~. He would have done anything for the book to have been given under better circumstances. Now all he could do was wait and see if the consequences of his actions meant a few weeks of silence or a lost opportunity at friendship...and perhaps something more. As Rain drove, she asked herself the same question for the second time that day...what was it about Mark that was so different from the other people who had tried in vain to get to know her? Why did he have such an effect on her?
Rain didn't know the answers but one thing was for certain...she would have to spend less time with Mark, this couldn't happen again...she had to break the growing hold he was having over her. A picture of Mark flashed into her head at that moment, soaked with water and cursing up a storm...the look on his face not to be forgotten for years to come. Other pictures of her and Mark laughing and teasing each other at the restaurant, the carnival, and on the rides also appeared...and then there was the carriage ride and the soothing feeling of Mark's fingers as they slowly ran through her hair. Rain shook her head, trying to rid herself of the last thought. ~I don't want this. I don't want this. I don't want this~. Rain kept repeating to herself in an effort to convince herself of how wrong Mark was for her...and that's when Rain knew she was in trouble.
Chapter 6
Rain kept her promise to herself and over the next month, she barely spoke to or saw Mark. If he happened to be home when she was over at Michael’s, all she offered Mark was a polite 'hello' and nothing more. Rain couldn't tell if Mark was upset or irritated at her treatment of him...he never let on or never tried to talk to her if Rain didn't acknowledge him, and this had an unexpected effect on Rain. She should have been relieved that Mark wasn't pressuring her to talk to him or spend time with her, after all, that's what she had wanted so things would calm down...but instead, the opposite happened. Rain was disappointed when Mark actually stayed away, wondering if he had other motives for his previous persual of her and found in the end that he really didn't care to know her or be her friend, wondering if her was no different than the others. Rain, however, dismissed this as soon as she thought of it, knowing Mark was only doing what he figured Rain wanted him to do, and if she didn't like it, she should stop playing games with him, stop being hypocritical and stubborn, and just talk to him.
Being away from Mark wasn't helping the situation as she thought it would. Rain still thought of him most of the time and she kept going back to that night at the carnival, remembering how right it felt being with him. Rain found herself fantasizing about other situations...what would it be like to dance with Mark, to fall asleep in his arms? How would it feel to be loved by someone who wasn't ashamed to be seen with you, who thought you were beautiful when you were anything but, who seemed to accept you for the person you were? Maybe all these thought were due to the fact that it had been so long since any man had shown any interest in her and, as much as she said she didn't need or want a man in her life to love, deep down that's exactly what she wanted, and Mark was forcing her to realize this. In the end, Rain just missed Mark, even though they hadn't spent that much time together, and she knew ignoring him or staying away wasn't the answer. She found herself wondering whether she should let go of her fears of failure and disappointment, let go of what happened to her in the past and let things go where they may, giving Mark a chance to show her some happiness which kept alluding her and that she could trust someone else.
Mark sat in his office, trying to clear some of the paper work, which was piled high on his desk, but his mind kept wandering away from this to Rain. ~Out of all the women you could have become interested in, you pick the most difficult one...the one with a painful past who distrusts you from the get-go, a woman who expects you to hurt her, a woman who may never allow you to get close to her or may never allow anything more than friendship. Mark struggled with whether he could accept this...the possibility of never getting close to Rain as he wanted, and even if he did, could he deal with the fact that she may never fully trust. He knew trust was a big thing for Rain, and her trust had probably been broken and betrayed several times in her life, so to earn her trust would require a lot of effort and patience...she wasn't going to just give it to him...but Mark needed to know that if they did become close friends or more than friends, that he his trust would be returned and she wasn't always waiting for him to hurt her or expecting the worse from him. Mark thought about just giving up and leaving Rain alone, maybe that's what she really wanted...but he couldn't do it. It wasn't a part of his personality to give up and he wanted to prove to Rain that he wasn't going to run out on her.
Mark sat back in his chair, giving up on the idea of doing any paperwork for the moment...it would get done tonight anyways because he was planning on coming back to work later that night since Michael would be with Rain to celebrate her birthday with her parents. ~Wonder if I should give her anything~?, Mark thought, ~I don't think it would upset her too much if I gave her flowers. Besides, I could give her the gift I've been holding onto for a while now~. Looking at the clock, Mark figured he could get in an hour worth of work and still have enough time to run an errand or two for Rain's birthday. ~Then I'll just leave it at work for her as a surprise~.
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~I'm never going to finish this stupid car if the stupid people at the store don't start sending the right stuff~. Rain wearily thought. She had been trying to finish the car for the past hour and a half, but the task was proving to be next to impossible because twice she had called the parts store to send her something and twice they messed up the order. She was now waiting impatiently for the THIRD time for them to come out to the shop and deliver the RIGHT part, which would have been a welcomed surprise. This time, Rain had stayed on the phone until they found the part, made them read the number and name of the part over the phone, and THEN told them to deliver it. ~I'm just ready for this day to end and then I can go to my parent's house and just forget about everything~. Rain knew her mother was fixing her a big dinner filled with all her favorite food for her birthday...and that dessert would consist of red velvet cake, perhaps the best thing ever created since sliced bread. Her mother was always a barrell of laughs when she and Michael came to visit...and the first thing out of her mouth was always 'You two are nothing more than bags of bones...get your a$#es in that kitchen and eat! Lord only knows what you two would look like if I didn't feed ya at least once a month'. And so the lecture of taking care of yourself would begin...and Rain loved every fuss, every hand on the hip, and every lecture because her parents had been there every time she needed them.
Bringing herself back to the present situation, Rain walked out of the work area to catch a breath of fresh air and heard the familiar sound of the part's store delivery truck pulling into the parking lot. Rain walked over to the delivery man, ready to light a fire underneath him and give him a piece of her displeased mind. She was too busy preparing her speech to notice Mark slip in the waiting area of the shop. Michael raised his head when he heard the door to his office close and he saw Mark standing there with a dozen sterling silver roses and a gift-wrapped box.
"Well honey, it was sweet of you to bring me flowers, but my birthday isn't today." Michael teased.
"Funny." Mark replied with a grin. He set the flowers and the box down in a chair and took a seat beside Michael’s desk.
"Hoping to earn a couple of brownie points by getting her something for her birthday?" Michael asked, pointing towards the flowers.
Mark shook his head. "Thought it would be nice to surprise her with a gift...the worst she could do is throw it away, and at least I won't be around to see that if she does."
"So are you going to tell me what happened when you guys spent the day together? All I know is you were fine before that day and you've barely spoken to each other since...and I can't get either one of you to tell me why." Michael was sure that whatever occurred didn't hurt Rain, which was what really concerned him, because she would have told him immediately. No matter how many times he tried to pry the truth out of Mark or Rain, they wouldn't tell him...but he had an idea why. He bet Mark had been able to get through a couple of walls Rain had built up and now she was scared of letting him in even more, so she backed away from Mark...she had done the same exact thing to him when their friendship became more serious.
"I just did something I didn't intend to do or even knew I did until it was too late, so I'm letting her decide what she wants to do about it." Mark answered. "But if the flowers and the gift get her talking to me again, hey, I'll take it." Looking out into the parking lot, Mark saw Rain talking to a man by a truck. It couldn't have been a pleasant conversation because Rain was pointing at the man and gesturing with her arms while the man held up his arms, trying to defend himself against her tirade. Rain finally took the box away from the man and walked away from him in a huff. "I need to go before she sees me. I'll see ya later."
"Should I tell her who they're from?" Michael asked as Mark opened the door.
"She'll know who it's from." Mark answered, and disappeared to his truck.
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"I'm ready to leave this place of hard work and frustration and head to a place that's less stressful and to eat until you hate the idea of food. So come on, let's get a move on things!" Rain said as she came into Michael’s office.
"Okay, okay...I have to do one more thing and then I'll be ready."
Rain sat down in a chair and immediately noticed the flowers across from her. She broke out into a smile and picked them up, loving the smell of them, and looked at Michael. "Are these for me?" she asked, setting them back down and picking up the box. Michael nodded yes and went back to what he was doing. "They're beautiful, Michael. Thanks!"
"I'd like to take the credit, but they're not from me."
"Then who are they from?"
"The person said you'd know who it was from."
Slightly confused, Rain removed the wrapping paper and opened the box. Her jaw dropped when she saw what was inside...a silver hematite bracelet, the exact same one she had seen at an antique store when she was with Mark. "How did he know?" Rain thought out loud, stunned beyond belief. Michael walked over and saw what Mark had given her.
"He did a nice job, I see."
"But Mark couldn't have known that I wanted this...I didn't tell him."
"Well, somehow he knew." Michael remarked as he got ready to leave. "We'd better hurry since we need to stop by my house, or else your mom will have my hide if we're late."
"Yeah." Rain said, her mind elsewhere. If Mark was there, she intended to ask him about his gift...and how he knew to get it.
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Rain had just changed into a pair of black pants and a light, long-sleeved black shirt with a pair of black boots, when she sat down to do something with her hair. Her hair was too wild to just let it stay down, so she decided to pull it back into a silver clip, allowing a few curly strands to frame her face and the rest to flow down her back in a cascade of curls. Rain didn't even bother with make-up...she believed there was no reason in wearing any since no make-up in the world could make her face look better. Taking one last look in the mirror to make sure her hair was okay, avoiding looking at her face as much as possible, Rain gathered up her things and walked into the kitchen to wait for Michael, who was taking a quick shower. She was sitting on one of the bar stools, the box with the bracelet in it in her hands about to put it on her wrist. When Rain heard the front door open. She jumped off the bar stool and turned to see Mark standing in the entrance of the kitchen.
"I see you got my present." he replied. Mark half expected Rain to throw the box back at him, not wanting to take anything from him.
Since Mark made no attempt to walk into the kitchen, Rain walked over to him, holding the box in front of her. "How did you know I wanted this? I didn't say anything to you about it or about wanting it. I mean...I...I don't even remember if you were beside me when I saw this. And even if you were, my eye could have only lingered on this bracelet for a second longer than any of the others."
"You kept going back to the display where this was, so I knew there was something there you liked. The last time you went back to the display. I followed you to see what you were so interested in...and that's when I saw the bracelets." Mark explained.
"But that still doesn't explain how you knew to pick this particular bracelet."
"I looked at what you were wearing...an opal ring, an onyx ring, and a silver onyx necklace...all unique stones and all silver, so I knew not to get the gold bracelets or stones such as diamonds...and that left this bracelet. I've never seen a stone like that in a piece of jewelry before."
"It's hematite, and it's usually very hard to find anything with this stone. That's why I kept going back and forth on whether to buy it or not."
"You don't have to worry about that anymore now." Mark said. He took the box from Rain, removed the bracelet, and motioned for Rain to hold her wrist out for him. Mark fastened the bracelet around her wrist then raised her hand to his moth and gently kissed it. "Happy birthday, Rain."
Rain started to say something but found her ability to speak had suddenly disappeared and run out on her. She was sure Mark could hear her heart, which was pounding loudly in her chest and her ears, and her breathing was becoming more shallow by the second...and she also felt like someone had turned up the heat in the room.
"Rain? Or you okay?" Mark watched as her eyes finally focused on him and noticed the blush which crept across her face.
"I...I'm, uh..sorry. I seem to have forgotten my manners. Th-thank you for the bracelet...and the flowers." Rain's cheeks felt as if they were on fire, and she could only guess how red they were. "Th-they were a...a nice surprise."
"I'm glad you liked them." Mark heard the door to Michael’s room open and knew Michael and Rain were getting ready to leave. "Maybe we could do something later if you want." Then Mark leaned down and kissed her cheek...the one which bore the worst scar on her face. When she looked back up at him, Rain saw neither disgust nor sickness on his face. "Have a nice evening at your parent's."
All Rain could manage was a small nod of her head in response. Once Mark had left the room, she slowly raised her hand and touched her face where Mark had just kissed her...a girlish smile passing across her lips.
~I'm REALLY in trouble now~.
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"Michael, I thought you were taking care of and looking after my daughter...she looks like she's losing weight, and so do you. Now you two get into that kitchen so I can fatten you two up." Rain smiled at her mother's usual greeting, not even bothering with 'hello' when she opened the door.
"Hi, mom." Rain said as she hugged her.
"Happy birthday, honey." Her mother gave her a once over as any mother did with their child, but her eyes lingered on the new bracelet Rain was wearing. "That's a lovely bracelet, Rain. Did Michael get it for you for your birthday?"
"No he didn't." Rain answered and laughed when she saw the expression on her mother's face that read 'I want details and I intend to get them later'.
"Aren't you gonna give your dad a hug?" her father’s voice said behind her. Rain turned around and gave her dad a big hug as Michael gave 'mom' a hug of his own. Rain's parents had always considered Michael to be a part of the family.
"Enough of this hugging stuff...now I meant what I said, get into that kitchen and eat while it's still hot." Rain's mom ordered, ushering everybody towards the kitchen. Laughter filled the house as everyone sat down at the table and began to load up their plates.