The Effect of Rain

This story is about two women and how they became a couple. It rains a lot in the UK!

All of the people involved are over 18, fictitious and products of my imagination.

Damn weather! I gave my coat a shake to get rid of the worst of the rain that was cascading down outside before handing it over to the receptionist. Another member of staff took me back to the sinks.

I was miles away, trying to solve a work issue that had been bugging me all day, and hadn't realised that the lady working on my hair was asking about the water temperature. "Sorry, I was miles away, the water's fine. Thank you."

The scalp massage as she worked the shampoo was wonderful and for the first time that day, I felt relaxed and by some miracle, the answer to the problem popped into my brain. Most of the water was towelled off and I was taken to sit in front of a mirror. The coffee that I'd been offered was placed in front of me and for the first time, I paid attention to the lady who'd washed my hair as I saw her in the mirror. She was a young woman, twenty at most, shorter than me, five feet four inches, nice figure, tight leggings showing good legs, a pretty face, very pretty with a blond mop of curly hair. Gorgeous, I thought as she walked away.

I studied myself in that same mirror, maybe a little tired looking, but I'd had my nose to the grindstone for a few weeks. Thirty-four, five feet nine, long blonde hair, slim, tight ass, not pretty but attractive. And now single again.

There was little conversation as my hair was trimmed and dried. I liked my hair long but it needed a trim every few weeks to keep it healthy.

I paid my bill and received my coat, clearly, they were closing up and the rain was still teeming down. I opened my umbrella and paused waiting to see if it would slow a little. The lady who'd shampooed my hair was standing next to me in her coat and muttered, "Bloody rain."

"Have you got far to go?" I asked.

"My bus will be here in twenty minutes, I'm going to Ashfield."

"Look I live in Redford, it's not far out of my way I can drop you off. I wouldn't force a dog outside in this. My car's just over there."

"No really, it's okay." She tried to protest but her heart wasn't in it.

"Look, it's no trouble. Your scalp massage was great and solved a problem for me. Come on." I grabbed her arm and almost dragged her to the car.

"This is too much."

"It's fine. I'd been struggling with something all day and when you massaged my hair the answer appeared."

"That's good, glad to help. What was the problem?"

"I'm an Accountant and I was trying to solve a tax issue. I could explain it all to you but it's so boring you'd be asleep before we got very far and frankly I'd rather shoot myself than think about it anymore today."

We got stuck at another set of traffic lights and a sudden thought hit causing me to laugh. "Something wrong?"

"No, not really but I just remembered that I got a letter this morning confirming that my divorce was completed. Nothing important. I'm Sarah by the way."

"I'm Anna, Anna Bligh. Your surname is Glenn isn't it?"

"Yes, Sarah Glenn, Accountant, single and needing to celebrate. What about your plans for this weekend?" I burst out laughing and glanced at Anna who looked puzzled. "That's a standard question hairdressers always ask." I saw her smile.

"It is, but I try to say something less stupid. No, I don't have any plans. TV and a quiet weekend, no other option."

"Why not? A young girl like you, they should be queuing up to take you out."

"I'm not ready to date again and I'm skint, permanently."

"That'll never do. How about we go to my place, order a takeaway and open some wine. You can help me celebrate my divorce and we can be two sad buggers together."

"That's kind of you to offer but we don't know each other and my latest bus is at nine."

"Okay, but my offer stands. From what you said you don't have money for a taxi but I'd pay for it or you can stay in the spare room. No pressure and I understand if you feel that we don't know each other hardly at all."

Anna was quiet and I saw that she was crying quietly.

"Is it that bad? I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, my life is shitty, nothing has gone my way for a while and suddenly a stranger is being nice to me."

"My offer stands and if you want to stay I'll take you home to change before work tomorrow or I'll lend you some stuff."

"Are you serious? You don't plan on keeping me in your basement do you?"

I laughed. "No, not the basement, but only because I don't have one."

Anna laughed as well. "Okay, as long as you're sure. Oh, I'm gay by the way."

"Well, that was more information than I needed, but it doesn't matter to me."

When I opened the door I saw Anna's face. My house was a stone semi-detached two-storey house. The interior was modern, light and bright. It was my pride and joy, clean but homely. "Come on in. Hang your jacket there and let's get a seat and a drink. On second thoughts, come with me."

We went upstairs, two good sized bedrooms with a huge bathroom that I'd created by getting rid of the smaller third room. "You can use this room and you'll find towels, toothbrush and whatever you might need in the bathroom cupboards. Just have a look and help yourself."

She gave me a puzzled look. "You don't know me and yet, you're kind and open your home to me."

"I don't know you, yet. I have a feeling that you have a story, that you're going to tell it to me and then I'll tell you about 'the bastard' - my now ex-husband."

I heard her in the loo as I looked out the takeaway menus. When Anna came back down she'd taken her shoes off. "This place looks so lovely. I think that it might be nice to stay if you really don't mind?"

She stared out of the window and I walked over to her with a glass of wine. "Is this your garden as well?"

"Yes, it's nice in the summer and I'm lucky, really lucky."

After the food was done Anna started to open up a little more. "My Mum dumped me when I was eight. She left me at my aunts and never came back. I have no idea where she is."

That left me with my mouth hanging open but somehow I knew that there was more. "My aunt was great, but she struggled and we didn't have very much only each other. Then she died when I was sixteen. Things were tricky for a while but I managed to hang on to the rented flat that we lived in and stayed at school."

Anna took a sip of wine and looked as if she was sorting her thoughts. "I fell in love with a friend. We'd known each other for years and after a daft game we kissed and that was it. Love, I fancied a woman and that seemed right."

"You don't have to do this all at once or at all if it's difficult."

"No, it's okay. I knew that I wanted to be a hairdresser. University didn't appeal to me. Hazel managed to get a job here, in retail and the local college is great so we moved and rented the flat that I live in. It's small, one room plus kitchen and bathroom. It was cosy, we were in love and everything was fine for eighteen months. Then six months ago I arrived home to find all of her stuff gone and a note."

I put my arm around her shoulder; this seemed to be very sore for her. "She'd been having a fling with her boss and I knew nothing about it. Her boss had been offered a transfer and promotion to another store. Hazel went with her."

"That must have been awful."

"It was. I cried for a week but then I gave myself a shake and a good talking to. I stood in front of the mirror and had a conversation with myself; I asked questions and answered them. It would have been hilarious if anyone had been watching."

"Have you ever heard from her?"

"Hmm, yes. A letter, they're in love and very happy. She said that she was sorry. I've never replied and I never will."

"I'll get more wine I think that we're going to need it."

I opened the bottle and tried to think how I'd have felt in Anna's situation but it was beyond me.

"I'm at college three days a week and work at the salon for three days. I earn just enough to pay the rent and utilities. I shop for bargains, food that's just about reached the sell-by date. There are no frills and I manage, but just. Don't feel sorry for me, I don't want pity. I can manage like this for another year and then I'll be fully qualified, I'll look for a better place and a decent job. I can do this, I will do this."

"You've been dealt a shitty hand, no doubt about that, but you seem to have a determination to manage. Have you thought about a part-time job at all, in a pub maybe?"

She laughed. "Yes, but that didn't work out so well. The manager of the pub in the village was very handsy, I hated it and one day he tried to corner me. I don't know what he was going to do but I wasn't waiting to find out and he didn't realise that I was holding a bottle of vodka, at least he didn't until it hit him in the balls. It was a cracker, I'd be surprised if the swelling still hasn't gone down and that was three months ago."

I laughed at the thought of it and so did she. "I'd love to have seen that. I assume that you left."

"I ran. I enjoyed the work and I'd love to find another pub but the last bus to the village leaves at nine and no one wants a barmaid that has to finish before the pub shuts."

We sat in silence for a while and then she asked, "So, what about 'the bastard'?"

"Ah, Rick 'the bastard.'" I took another sip of wine as I thought about where to start. "We met when I was doing my training for a big accountancy firm. We dated, eventually fell in love and he proposed, it was romantic, a meal, flowers, a nice ring. I said yes, I thought that I was in love and I don't have a family. Mine died a few years before that, a car accident."

"Rick was in sales; he had all the patter and was good at it. He found his niche in cars and made good money. He enjoyed the money and liked to gamble. He didn't like to lose but that didn't stop him. He liked a drink as well."

Anna tucked her feet underneath her, she was a good listener and had a lovely smile, that smile reminded me of someone but better not to go there.

"I thought that there might be trouble and so I manoeuvred all of my money into a safe place and when he found out he went mad. By then I was qualified and wanted to establish my own firm. I run my own company now and I'm very proud of what I've achieved. We have good clients and I make a decent salary in return for the hard work."

"My success and his anger about it started him drinking more. His career took a nosedive not helped when he was caught with his pants down shagging the bosses daughter across his desk. He went crazy when he got home drunk that night and he tried to hit me. I'd didn't have a bottle in my hand; I wouldn't have broken a finger punching him if I had. I walked out, went back the next day packed my stuff and moved into a hotel. A month later I bought this place."

"How long ago was that?"

"Five years ago. I've done lots of work to get this place as it is. Rick disappeared and it took me a while to trace him so that I could get a divorce. He tried to get back with me but that ship had sailed."

We continued to talk until quite late before going to bed. I lay there wondering what it was about Anna, she was gorgeous but ...

I made coffee the next morning and gave Anna some clean underwear and a blouse before dropping her off. I thought about her all week but had no plans to contact her.

I heard my phone ping to indicate a text message but I was busy on another line and it wasn't until much later that I saw the message from Anna.

-Thanks for Friday, I really enjoyed myself. Wanted to send this message earlier but had to wait until I got back to the salon to get your number. Hope you don't mind, I could get in trouble. Thanks again. Anna.

That was nice of her so I replied:

-Just read your message, that was kind. I enjoyed your company as well.

I put my phone down and looked at some emails but something irritated me. I picked up my phone and typed.

-I enjoyed it a lot. What about the same again this Friday. It would be nice. Sarah

Her reply came back half an hour later.

-Is that a good idea? But if you're serious I'd like it. Anna

I waited outside the salon and she jumped into my car. "Hello, Sarah. Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, or I wouldn't have asked you."

"Thanks, I splashed out on a bottle of wine. It's not too fancy but I thought it was the right thing to do."

"It is a nice thought but you didn't have to. Thank you anyway."

I tidied the plates and food wrappings away and when I went back to the lounge Anna was looking at my photos on a wall unit.

"Who are these people? I assume that's your parents. Is this your sister, you never mentioned one?"

"They're my mum and dad, they were nice people. That's Georgia, we were at university together."

She seemed to sense that it wasn't a good idea to say more so we were quiet for a while.

"Sarah have I said something to upset you? Ever since I looked at your pictures you've been miles away."

My mind was in turmoil at the memories some of those photos had stirred up. "Georgia and I were at university together, we were room-mates from the time we started until we graduated. She had a burning desire to go to work with marine wildlife for a year before starting real work. She went to Costa Rica."

"Didn't she come back?"

"No, she didn't." I let go then, tears that I'd held onto for a long time all came out. I shook as I sobbed, Anna took me in her arms and whispered "sorry" over and over again. Eventually, I pulled myself together and blew my nose.

"I wasn't entirely honest. We were lovers for four years and we agreed that we'd be together after she'd done the thing that she wanted to do so much and came back home. A year turned into two. She became a dive instructor as well as her other work. Then one day, on a dive, she didn't come up again, no one is sure why. I helped to scatter her ashes in the sea off the beach where she died. It broke my heart. I was low and Rick came along soon after that."

"So are you gay?"

I laughed. "I don't know what I am. I was in love with a woman, wanted to be with her forever, then I married a man, I missed Georgia for a long time and that certainly didn't help my marriage. I don't know what label you want to give me. I'm single and happy, but lonely from time to time."

"Tell me about her. I want to know all about her."

"Really?"

"Yes, it might be good for you."

I spoke about Georgia for almost two hours and during that time I cried and laughed. Anna listened and sipped her wine. When I finally finished I looked at Georgia's photo and then at Anna. "You know for the first time in ten years I feel so much better about her, I understand things better. Thank you for listening."

As I dropped Anna off at the salon the next morning I put my hand on hers as she was about to open the door. "Thanks, I enjoyed last night and you helped me. Same again next week?"

Her eyebrows met as she frowned at me. "Really? I enjoy your company but ..."

"I'll be in touch."

I spent the next few days thinking about Anna. I was lonely and she made me feel alive again. I wondered if she'd like to move into the spare room. It might be good for both of us.

We had another nice evening together the following Friday. We talked about books and music, her career plans and cooking. I changed the music playlist whilst she was at the loo and I was surprised when the Toreador song came on. I had tickets for a production the following week and had been catching up on the music.

"Opera, what's that song?"

"It's from Carmen, the Toreador song or 'Toreador, en garde' to give its proper title. A friend and I have tickets for next Saturday."

"I've only ever seen opera on TV and it seems a bit odd, but it must be spectacular on stage with live music."

"Yes, it is. It's not something I do very often but it is spectacular."

I played a few more tracks, several of which she recognised.

It was a lovely evening and I went to bed with a smile on my face again.

Just after lunch the following day I got a call from Mary apologising because her husband has to go to Paris for the weekend and he'd asked her to go with him. It took me no time to send a text as soon as the call ended.

-My friend can't make the opera next Saturday. I'd love for you to accompany me.

-If you are sure I'd love to. See you Saturday then. Anna

-What's wrong with Friday evening?

-Thought you might be fed up with me both evenings.

-No, pick you up Friday as usual.

As usual, it seemed usual and far more than just three times.

Anna came with some dresses and when I saw her bag she reddened. "I hope I'm not being presumptuous but I brought several dresses. I wasn't sure what I should wear tomorrow."

After we ate she tried on some of her dresses and one of mine. A black dress that showed some cleavage and some leg through the slit at the side. After zipping it up, she turned around and I gasped.

"Bloody hell, that's the one. It never looked as good on me."

She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Are you sure about this, it looks stunning?"

We headed for the bar at the interval, Anna had her arm in mine and she was animated. "My God, it's so dramatic, so ... I love it, thank you so much for bringing me."

"It is good and it's a pleasure sharing it with you. Now, I ordered our drinks and they should be over there." We sipped on them and I was about to say something when I felt a hand on my arm, I turned to see an old friend, Julie and her husband, Patrick.

"Julie, Patrick nice to see you both. Are you enjoying it?"

"Yes, it's wonderful."

"Sorry, this is my girlfriend Anna. It's her first opera." Julie's eyebrows went so high I thought that they might disappear and I felt Anna twitch. 'Shit that came out unexpectedly.'

"Nice to meet you both, I think this is incredible."

Then Julie spoke to me and I nodded but I'm not sure I heard her properly. My head was spinning, what had I done?

We went back to our seats and I was surprised that Anna hadn't said anything. I watched the rest of the performance but my head was elsewhere. No doubt that I'd called her my girlfriend, what is she? The answer came to me eventually. She wasn't my girlfriend but I wanted her to be. I fancied her a lot, I'd dreamt about her. Is she too young for me? Did I feel sorry for her? Yes, I did, but she impressed me at how she was determined to get through her problems and despite them, was still good fun to be around. Our conversation later was going to be testing.

All the way home Anna talked about the performance and how much she'd enjoyed it. She never made mention of my slip, was it a slip?

We sat on the sofa with our drinks. She looked at me, "So, girlfriend?"

"Yes, a friend who's a girl." It sounded lame.

She smiled a really lovely smile. "That's not how Julie heard it and not how you meant it either, is it?"

I shook my head and kept my eyes down. "Want to talk to me about it?"

I looked up. "Not really, I'm embarrassed. I'm sorry."

"If you didn't mean it so am I. If you did mean it I'd be happy."

"You'd like to be my girlfriend?"

"That was the dumbest thing I've heard you say, of course. I fancy you like crazy but I didn't think you fancied me like that. I'm a bit young for you, you're a successful businesswoman and I'm a young penniless student hairdresser."

"Don't belittle yourself. You have an attitude and determination that's impressive. You are a lot younger than me but that doesn't mean that I haven't had, don't have feelings for you."