Dancing in the Rain

Chapter IV

At around seven in the evening, the café closed up. Stacey bade the three waitresses goodbye, with Donna granting her a bone-snapping hug. Once Anne had locked up the café, she and Stacey climbed into her van and drove off.

"So, how d'you like them?" Anne asked.

"They're nice," Stacey responded.

"I told you, didn't I?" Anne grinned as she carefully took a right turn around a corner.

"I like the café," Stacey commented in a murmur. "It's like a nice little hangout. And you serve good coffee too."

"I'm known for my coffee," Anne winked, to which Stacey laughed at.

In a mere matter of minutes, the two arrived at the McClain residence. After jumping out of the car, they entered their home and kicked their shoes off.

Stacey followed Anne to the kitchen, where Frank sat with a book in hand. The words To Kill A Mockingbird were written on the front of the book.

"I love that book," Stacey said as Frank looked up and graced her and Anne with a smile.

"It's great, but don't spoil anything," he warned. "I'm only half finished."

"Got it."

"So how was your day?" he asked, marking his page and placing the book down on the table. "How'd you like the girls?"

"Well, Donna gave her about twenty hugs," Anne said.

Frank chuckled. "That sure sounds like Donna."

"Kate and Elly are actually normal, so they were fine with her," she finished off cheekily.

"Well, that's good to hear!" he said, standing up and clapping his hands together. "I made us some pie while you were gone. Lemon meringue."

Stacey's nearly drooled at the mere sound. Lemon meringue pie had been her favourite kind of pie for as long as she could remember.

Soon, Frank offered her a plate with a slice of the mouth-watering pie. After taking it with a thanks, she dug her fork into the crust and sunk it to the meringue itself, along with the egg white frosted on the crust. She took the bite and contained the swoon that nearly left her lips. The lemon was simply lovely, the flavour bursting in her mouth, making her taste buds dance.

"That boy came in today," Anne told Frank once they both had a slice themselves. Stacey's ears perked up, and her head snapped up to listen. "The one that never talks."

"Ah," Frank said softly.

"I didn't like the way he looked at Stacey," Anne continued bitterly. Stacey blushed.

"Oh, he doesn't talk, Anne," Frank said reassuringly. "He won't bother her. Did he bother you today, Stace?"

"Hm? Oh..." Stacey licked her lips to gather up the remaining flavour of lemon and shrugged. "He didn't do or say anything to me, so... no."

"You see, Annie?" Frank said. "Nothing to worry about."

"Oh, alright," Anne sighed. "I suppose I'm only tired. We were pretty busy today after all."

Stacey nodded in agreement. "It was a long day for me too, so I might go to bed early," she informed them. "I'd like to get up early tomorrow to look around town."

"Oh, of course," Anne said. "Do you want another slice?"

Stacey shook her head. "I should take a shower now," she said. "I feel gross."

Anne and Frank laughed in response as she headed up the staircase for a shower.

***

The sun rose delicately slowly the next morning. Once it had begun to rise, the midnight-blue sky morphed into a warmer shade of blue with tints of light pink. The rays of sunshine poured through the window of Stacey's bedroom, brightening it up to indicate the morning hour. Stacey, who was never a morning person, found the sky captivating to look at.