Raising Rain by Debbie Fuller Thomas Page B

until after he came by because she was impatient to get his things out of the house. The afternoon wore on and she began to regret giving up a whole Sunday to wait around for him, but by then, it was really too late to leave. If she missed him now, he would just have to reschedule. She grew tired of Noah begging for food, so she opened the back door and shooed him outside. Then she heard Hayden’s car pull into the driveway.
    She peeked out the window and stepped back to watch him without being seen through the miniblinds. The driver’s door of the Expedition opened and Hayden stepped out. She felt relieved that he was alone. He shut the door and shook the wrinkles from his khakis. The first thing she noticed was his tan and his hair curling long in the front where he needed a haircut. He wore a collared polo shirt in that soft shade of green that looked great with his eyes. She wondered where he was going, all dressed up.
    When he came up to the door, she jumped back to the hallway to give the illusion that she was coming from a distant room instead of watching for his car. She let him knock twice before she called “Coming,” counted to five, and opened the door.
    They both said hello and she stepped aside to let him in. Strange, that he needed permission to enter the place he’d called home for seven years. He still had a key, and she wondered whether he ever secretly stopped by when she was at work. She never saw signs of intrusion.
    She offered him a seat on the sofa that they had bought together the weekend after they’d moved in. He sat on the edge of the leather cushion and looked around.
    â€œWhere’s Noah?”
    â€œI just let him out. I can call him.” She started to get up but Hayden quickly answered, “No, that’s not necessary. Thanks.”
    He sniffed. “Is that mango?”
    She remembered her plug-in air freshener. “Yes.”
    A long period of silence ensued while they both cast around for something to latch on to, some common, neutral ground without buried landmines just waiting for them to detonate.
    Finally, Hayden asked, “How is your mother?”
    Rain wondered how he knew, but she couldn’t read his face. “She has good days and bad days. They’re trying out an experimental drug, but if it doesn’t work, there’s not much else they can do for her.”
    His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Sorry to hear that.”
    â€œShe wants to have a Celebration of Life before she dies. One last chance to make her mark. She wants me and the old roommates involved in the planning of it.”
    â€œKnowing your mother, it sounds complicated.”
    â€œThat’s exactly what I said. But Bebe’s unofficially in charge. Maybe she can satisfy Mom.”
    â€œHow are Bebe and Neil?”
    â€œThey’re fine.” She gestured to his face. “I see you got some sun.”
    He raised his hand to the bridge of his nose. “I overdid it a bit. I was sick for two days.”
    She noticed that his hand was healing from a bad scrape. “What happened?” she asked, motioning to his hand.
    He turned it over to look at the back, and then curled it into a fist and covered it with his other hand. “It’s nothing. I was . . . just helping out a friend.”
    An awkward silence descended. He didn’t elaborate on his vacation. Finally, he said, “Well, I don’t want to keep you. I’d better get my things.”
    He stood up and went back toward the bedrooms. Rain remained on the couch with her hands in her lap, listening to the sounds of another human being in her home. For a moment, the sounds were so normal and natural and she sighed deeply. She wavered. Was their life so empty, their home so lacking in love that a child was needed to fill it? Was that part of her that yearned for motherhood not to be denied without eternal consequences?
    Eventually, Hayden came out of the extra