Who Needs Sunshine Anyway
The sound of the summer rain hitting the black umbrella over Cliff pushed him ever further towards the edge. The constant bumping of his shoulder, the overcast gloom, the crushing and palpable humidity, and on top of all that, his coffee was cold. So far, it had turned out to be a really crap day.
Everything was wet. His clothes were drenched, his socks were soaked, and the street had a small stream of standing water from the off and on downpour of the last month. Mumbling under his breath, Cliff stormed through the throng of pedestrians going about their day, bumping and shoving several as he went. They met this with shouts of “Hey!”, “Watch it!”, and other less repeatable phrases.
Waiting impatiently at the street crossing, Cliff dropped the pretense of having any shred of him left to protect from the rain and snapped his umbrella closed. He glanced up along the large skyscrapers that stood ominously watching with what he thought was a blank yet reflected “paned” expression. Cliff suppressed a small grin at his own joke. The sign changed to WALK and so Cliff obeyed.
The steps of his apartment building were chipped and worn from a dozen generations of teens with nothing better to do than looming on the stoop. The rain was good at least since the usual gaggle that hovered over the Sunrise Suites and Fine Apartments steps were gone. Taking a last swig of his now stone-cold and overpriced coffee, he tossed the small plastic cup like a basketball player shooting a free throw toward the small trash can that stood by the steps. His makeshift ball fell short with a disappointing splash. The remaining sip and a half of coffee drifted over the lip of the tipped cup. The light brown liquid (Cliff liked lots of cream) swirled and danced in the small pool made by the rain, only to be passed over unnoticed as Cliff grumbled and disposed of the cup with a smooth faux dunk.
The elevator ride was a quiet one. The soft hum of the hydraulics lifting the steel box to the top floor calmed Cliff. The sheer crush of the box compressing the impact springs anchored to the roof did not. But reliably, the polished doors slid open and two left turns later he strode through his door into his apartment.
The sparsely furnished apartment was rather normal. TV, coffee table, couch, and a loveseat. Though in this case, the loveseat was an extra large purple beanbag chair that hadn’t ever been used but once when Cliff’s friend, Rick, had too much to drink one night and passed out. Cliff dropped his unused umbrella in the holder by the door and began the ritual of stripping, drying, and changing.
After changing into his most ratty and worn T-shirt and a pair of unspeakably plaid sweatpants, Cliff sat down with a plop and turned on the TV. Turning to the DVR he selected the most recent episode of the current variation of singing competition on TV. The blond woman was the odds-on favorite for this season. During the fifth commercial break, Cliff noticed the strangest noise. An unusual but regular THUNK. THUNK accompanied the beat of the song. THUNK.
Quickly muting the TV Cliff listened and without missing a single beat the rhythmic THUNK’ing continued. Standing from his chair, he moved through his apartment, turning his head to try to isolate the direction of the THUNK. He placed his cheek against the paisley green wallpaper and hopped back at the next THUNK. It appeared to be coming from the wall near the roof. Walking to the nearby window, he unlatched the small brass hook and pulled. The wind and rain surged and sent water cascading into the small apartment.
Taken aback for a moment, Cliff leaned his head out the window and towards the sound. Sitting on the edge of the roof was a young woman with stark red hair and a white rain jacket with boots to match. She was swinging her feet back and forth with her head turned skywards, blissfully unaware of the rhythmic disruption. As the yellow hit the green copper roof they crashed into the water streaming down the side, which splashed large drops over what would have been the window and was now Cliff’s face.
“Hey! Excuse me!” he protested. The woman did not react, so louder Cliff yelled, “HEY, LADY!”
Pulled from the trance, the young woman looked down but did not change her grinning expression. She opened her sapphire colored eyes and with one hand wiped some of the stray hair and rain from her face. “Oh, hello,” She said in a surprised but soft voice that carried through the wind and rain. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear what you said. I get a little day dreamy in the rain.”
“It’s no problem, miss, it’s just what you are doing with your feet.” Cliff gestured toward her feet, which came to an abrupt halt along with the THUNKs. “It’s a little loud and I’m trying to watch TV.” Her smile tightened as her cheeks reddened in an embarrassed flush.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I guess I get a little carried away…” She looked her head away just slightly. “The music in the rain just takes me away and my legs are carried away in the beat I guess.” She looked back with regained composure and smiled. “Enjoy your show. I won’t bother you anymore.”
Unsure of how to respond Cliff ducked back inside and went to latch the window again. As he did, the light flickered and then cut off as a power outage swept the city. Exasperated, Cliff paced in his apartment, dripping water on the floor as he went. After a few minutes, he resigned himself to the fact the power would not come back on immediately and sulked.
The harsh rain lessened somewhat, the dull roar subsided, and soft thunks echoed through the wall again. Triggered by the sound, Cliff turned and quickly threw open the window. “Hey!” He shouted as he stuck his head out into the rain. But the young woman was nowhere to be found. THUNK THUNK rang out again. Great, Cliff thought, she must be on the other corner without a window now.
He closed the window and began his pacing. He tried to drown out the intermittent THUNK’ing but with nothing to listen to except the rain the THUNKs drilled into his ears like a burning, itching nail. Cliff let out a long exasperated sigh and changed into outdoor clothes.
A few minutes later, Cliff grabbed his umbrella out of the stand and set out the door. Stomping down the hall to the stairs leading to the roof Cliff planned all the things he would say when he got up there. Boy was he going to let her have it. His thumping footfalls echoed in the stairway, and the door outside let out a creaking screech.
The rain smacked Cliff in the face. Reaching the roof he looked around and spotted his corner of the building. Sure enough, around the corner from his window was the young woman mindlessly THUNK’ing away. The rain had already started to soak into his shirt and pants despite the umbrella.
“Hey!” he yelled over the sounds of the city and the rain. No response. He walked closer, “HEY!” She looked up. Recognition flashed in her blue eyes and her face turned to a big dopey grin.
“Decided to join me?” she asked as he approached. “I don’t blame you, it’s a beautiful day.” She patted the floor next to her, gesturing for me to sit.
I cocked my eyebrow incredulously. “Beautiful? It’s dark and raining. You and I must have a very different definition of beauty.”
Her face tightened to a small pouting frown. “Well then, what do you consider beautiful?”
You.
No, shut up, stupid brain, Cliff thought. This is not the time to be flirting. You’re cold, and wet, uncomfortable, and standing on a roof. Now is not the time to be flirting.
“Uhh, flowers I guess?”
She perked up, “Oh really? What type of flowers? And don’t say roses, that’s so cliche.”
Cliff paused, he hadn’t expected to be challenged on such a generic answer. He thought for a moment and said, “Well, uhh… azalea? I guess?”
“Oooh, good choice. I wouldn’t have figured you an azalea man. You seem more like a lavender guy. Or maybe larkspur or gladiolus. Something tall.” She replied with a hint of teasing in her tone.
“Boy, you sure know a lot about flowers.”
She smiled again, “Well I’d hope so! I’m a florist.” Well, that explained a lot. “Would you like to sit?” She patted the moist patch of roof beside her.”
“I uh-, no thanks, I’m not a fan of heights.” Cliff said, making up an excuse. “Look I just came up here to-”
“Oh come on!” She interrupted. “I won’t bite, and I’ll catch you if you fall.” She said with a mischievous grin. “If we’re gonna chat I don’t want to crane my neck. Peer pressure!”
Before she clucked like a chicken, Cliff sat down. Legs dangling off the side and looking over the city. Cliff sat silently for a moment and listened to the rain. He looked at her and watched her roll her head back with eyes closed feeling the rain on her face. “So, why do you like the rain so much?” he asked.
“I dunno. I like the sound. The rhythmic pattern makes it kind of like a metronome that the entire world hears. Occasionally broken by the rumbling boom of thunder.” She paused, thinking for a moment. “Sure, sun and warm feelings are great and all, but you need the rain. If you don’t have cloudy days, you never would appreciate the sun.” She opened her strikingly blue eyes and looked at Cliff. “Plus, I like how it feels on my skin.”
“Mmm yea I can see that.” Cliff said now acutely aware of the rain hitting his skin. It actually felt good now that he thought about it. They sat in silence for a minute, listening to the rain. Thunder rumbled long and low in the distance.
“So anyway, the reason I-” The lights came on in the building across from them. “Oh, hey! The power is back on. I should probably go watch my show.” As Cliff moved to stand, thunder cracked loudly on the next street over. Cliff actually shrieked in terror and reached out to the woman to catch himself. She reached out and caught his hand until he regained his balance and was fully seated. “Wow, that was embarrassing.” His breathing came to big heaving gasps.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” A wry smile moved her lips. “I’m glad I could save you from falling to your death, though.”
“Hey,” Cliff objected, “I’m only up here because of you. You and your silly THUNK’ing with your feet.”
She frowned. “Sorry, I’ll just go.” She moved to get up.
“No!” Cliff said suddenly feeling bad, “You don’t have to go, just stop hitting the wall. Please?”
She sat back down. “Ok, deal.”
“Deal.” They sat in silence for a few moments.
“Don’t you want to go to watch your show?” She asked.
“In a minute.”
The rain continued to fall.
