by Shawn Hill
CHAPTER 10 - THE SHOE
It was just getting dark outside. Clouds were forming in the sky while sounds of thunder cracked overhead and echoed for miles. Thomas had cancelled his taekwondo classes and was driving home after finishing a slightly longer day of work. As he pulled into the driveway he noticed Juliandra had not yet made it there and decided to surprise her by making dinner.
Excited and eager to set the tone for the evening, Thomas quickly gathered everything he needed from his truck, went inside the house, and threw his keys onto a small table near the entrance. Wanting to know the time he glanced over at a large clock on the living room wall, remembered how much he hated analog ones then looked at his cell instead. There wasn’t much time to cook, so he picked up the pace a bit and started thinking about what to make. Just as he headed into the kitchen, light beamed in through the living room windows, and the sound of an engine got louder and suddenly stopped.
It was Juliandra’s car. Oh yeah, he thought, she’s usually here about this time, and I’m always late.
Sure enough, the front door opened and in popped Juliandra. She had a huge smile on her face and two small bags from the China Now restaurant.
“I guessed right,” she said. “I thought you’d get here before me so I grabbed us some Chinese food.”
Thomas dropped to his knees and put his hands together. “Baby, I love you so much!” he said. “You rock!”
Juliandra walked over, kissed him on the forehead then made her way into the kitchen where she pulled out the food containers and opened them up.
“Here baby, I got you some sesame chicken and steamed rice.”
Thomas smiled just before running off towards the bathroom. “Did I mention you’re the best?!” he said. “Be right back, I need to tinkle my wrinkle!”
“Yeah, you need to come up with a new phrase for going pee is what you need to do.”
“Tinkle tinkle tinkle!” He yelled while in the bathroom.
“Whatever boy! You just make sure you wash and sanitize those hands after tinkling your wrinkle.”
Thomas washed up and came out, kissed Juliandra on the cheek and in a quick fashion wiped his hands on her shirt just before rushing to his chair.
“Oops! Sorry, I got some all over my hands,” he said laughing.
“Thomas! That had better be water; tell me that is water.”
“I told you, I missed and I had to like, use my hand to deflect the stream. I didn’t want to dirty the new hand towels and I figured you’re gonna wash that shirt anyway. So what the heck, right?”
“I swear Thomas, if this isn’t water, I will impose domestic violence on you.”
Thomas, still laughing, walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of cold water then sat back down at the table across from Juliandra.
“Yes,” he said smiling, “of course it’s water. I would never do that to you. I love you way too much to wipe pee on you. I mean, that would just be crazy. Okay, so there may have been a little pee in there. I’m not sure. I think I washed it all off.”
Juliandra sprang from her seat sparking Thomas to do the same. She chased him around the living room as he laughed and yelled out “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” It wasn’t long before Thomas leaped onto the couch, grabbed a pillow, and held it over his head as if to hide.
“Help me Lord!” he screamed out. “Save me from this woman who would beat me for no apparent reason. Help me now! I’m innocent!”
Juliandra plopped herself right on top of him and began to pinch his body in multiple places causing him to twist and jerk around.
“Stop it, stop it! Okay, okay! There was no pee, no peeeee!”
“I know,” she said. “I just wanted to pinch you because you’re so cute.”
By this time, rain had begun to pour from the sky, slamming down onto the ground and roof. Juliandra pulled the pillow from Thomas’s hands revealing his smiling face.
“You now owe me a kiss in the rain,” she said.
“Ummm, you know I hate going out in the rain.”
“You owe me, let’s go.”
He knew she loved the rain and the romantic feeling that came from standing in it. He also knew that as much as he disliked getting wet fully clothed, nothing was going to stop him from kissing her.
“I’ll be outside” she said, “waiting for you to kiss me.”
Thomas grabbed his shoes, headed to the back door and opened it without walking through. His eyes were drawn to a beautiful silhouette only feet away. Juliandra was standing with her face pointed upward and arms crossed just feeling the raindrops. Thomas walked over and stood right in front of her, staring at the water as it landed then ran off her body.
He thought, how lucky am I, not to be a poor raindrop only able to touch for a brief time. Juliandra opened her eyes and reached for him. She wanted what she was owed.
Thomas moved closer, slowly caressed her cheek then gently placed his lips against hers. For him, it was nothing less than extraordinary each and every time, and of all the things he loved doing; kissing Juliandra was by far his favorite. Life was spectacular in that moment, the sensation, captivating, and everything was perfect, until unexpectedly she pushed away.
“Doesn’t count,” she said.
“What? I thought that was good. I know how to kiss, and that was good.”
“It was good, but it didn’t count because you have to be barefoot in the rain to make it count.”
“I have no idea where that rule came from, but I guess rules are rules.”
Thomas removed his shoes, tossed them over his shoulders, and without pause reasserted his embrace. As the rain continued to pour, the two swayed, side to side, in the motion of a slow dance. It was more than a moment for him; it was hers’ as well. He could tell and knew it to be true. Their steps went uninterrupted except for one brief instant when Juliandra looked into his eyes, smiled, and thanked him for coming outside.
“You don’t have to thank me,” Thomas said, “I’d go anywhere with you. You… are my soul mate, and I am bound to you. Where you go, I go.”
“Awww, Thomas, I love you so much. Does that include my mom’s house, on Friday?”
“Ooh, well, I really meant that figuratively, but why would we be going?”
“My mom wants to go to the cemetery and visit my dad’s grave for a little bit, and she always feels better when Brighten and I are with her.”
“Brighten’s going? GOD, your brother doesn’t stop bashing me whenever he’s around. Can I just be there in spirit?”
Juliandra looked at Thomas and did her best to create a sad face.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “I’ll go because I love you that much, and besides without you, my Chinese food wouldn’t taste so good.”
“What? What do I have to do with your Chinese food? Ohh, you mean because I bought it and just handed it to you, so it tastes that much better.”
“No, although, that is a very good point, and I will calculate that into my likes and dislikes from now on. What I mean is that everything in the world is better now that you’re in my life. I can’t explain it other than, well… music has more depth, the sun just feels nicer when it shines on me, the days mean more, and food, like my sesame chicken, just taste better. I don’t know why, I just know that’s how it is.”
Juliandra reached out and hugged him firmly. “Thank you Thomas,” she said. “I’m lucky to be with you, and I love you very, very much.” She leaned back a little and smiled. “By the way I think one of your shoes went onto the roof.”
“Really? I guess you owe me now, huh?”
Thomas began to sway again, leading her in another slow dance while the rain poured down. They stayed there, outside, moving back and forth for several minutes until Thomas stopped, picked her up and held her in his arms while she giggled.
“Time to pay up!” he said.
Thomas brought Juliandra inside, kicked the backdoor shut, and carried her into the bathroom. He started the shower and began to slowly rem
ove her clothes…