Friday's Rain

She was first to leave the meeting. Actually, she had slipped out quietly to visit the restroom before hitting the highway to home. When she returned, the meeting had adjourned and people were standing in small groups of three or four. Since her chair had been close to the side door, she eased in and picked up her briefcase and umbrella. No one even noticed her leaving.

Once she reached the main entrance, she could see and hear the rain pounding on the roof. There was a wall of water falling down where the awning stopped. At least the wind wasn’t blowing. She pushed the heavy door open enough to squeeze out. Thank goodness there was a wooden bench sitting against the wall. She was definitely not leaving until the rain subsided enough for her to see where she had parked her car. She loved the rain, but hated to drive in it.

Every since she was old enough to say “rain,” her favorite thing to do was sit outside in the rain without getting wet. She would sit on the porch with an old blanket to cuddle under or hide behind a large umbrella when the wind blew sprays into her face. As she sat, waiting for the rain to slacken, the wind began to gust occasionally. She opened her huge umbrella, the one she won as a door prize at their last conference, and hid behind it safely out of the rain and chill.

Mary and Liz came through the big door talking loudly to Janet so as to be heard over the roar of the rain. “Suzie seems to get all the plum assignments, if you know what I mean.” Mary was always jealous of somebody. It was far easier to be jealous than to make the effort required to be someone that others admired.

“Did she leave early? I’ll bet she left early. I’ll bet Dr. Blythe told her she could leave early.” Liz was working herself up into a frenzy as she imagined her coworker safely home by now as they awaited the rain to cease.