RAIN DANCE

Two

Lizzy’s medical episode turned out to be nothing heart stopping. She was dismissed from the hospital in a week and we took care of her at home. Dad had threatened to pull her out of university but when Lizzy found out about his plans she called him to her room. If I had ever doubted Lizzy’s guts, she reminded me why I should never have.
I was sitting on Lizzy’s bed when dad came in. I wanted to stand up but she took hold of me hand and weakly pinned it to her side.
“Dad,” Lizzy said in a groggy whisper. “When are we going to pick out my coffin?”
Dad froze half-way to Lizzy’s bed. Lizzy’s words had punched him hard in the face. “Elizabeth, what kind of talk is that?” dad said regaining function in his legs.
“Well, you tell me dad. You’re the one getting ready to pull me out of university because I had a slight episode.” Lizzy said angrily. “It’s like you think I’m not worth the investment. I could die tomorrow. Why bother, right?”
“Darling, that’s not what I meant.” Dad said tears whirling in his eyes. I felt so uncomfortable, I wanted to leave but Lizzy kept my hand.
“Isn’t it?” Lizzy pressed on. I knew she was working an angle but her ‘below the belt’ tactic was just plain cruel. “Then justify pulling me out. I have been getting nothing but distinctions and next year Chris will be there to monitor me. What’s your reason for pulling me out?”
“I haven’t pulled you out, Lizzy.” Dad said apologetically.
“But you’d love nothing more than to kill my chances of being a fashion designer.” Lizzy said looking him in the eyes. Her eyes had sunken since she had been admitted into hospital. It was so hard to look at her and not want to cry.
“I would never do that to you.” Dad promised. Lizzy tore her eyes from dad’s sad face and looked at me with a smile.
“See, I told you mum had misunderstood dad. Dad would never take away the most important thing in my life to have me rot away sad at home.” She said to me. I almost applauded. Sometimes Lizzy was just the biggest actor to walk the earth.
Dad left the room and never mentioned pulling Lizzy out of school again. Lizzy and I spent most of the days that followed in her room. Aidan understood and once in a while he’d drop by to check on us. I was surprised at how he accepted that dating me meant dating Lizzy too. It was an unfair thing for me to ask of him but Aidan was a gentleman; I never had to ask a thing from him and he’d do it for me without a complaint.
It wasn’t until mum and dad decided that it was best to fore-go the trip we’d given them that Lizzy pulled of her next big act. After hours of pleading she convinced me and Aidan to help her out of bed. I was against the whole idea but I could never refuse anything Lizzy wanted. That was mainly because I knew she’d manipulate me somehow into doing it anyway.
Saturday evening, after a day of walking up and down in her room to make sure she could pull it off, Lizzy strolled to the dinner table and sat down. Mum’s jaw almost hit the floor. Lizzy was fully dressed and smiling like there was no tomorrow. I kept praying she was strong enough to pull of her plan. I would never forgive myself if our prank caused her health to decline.
“Wow, this food looks amazing.” Lizzy said as she piled food onto her plate. “Gosh, sometimes I don’t think you guys love me…sending up all that sick people food while you dine like kings in here.”
Dad struggled to swallow the bite of meat he had taken. “I didn’t realise you were feeling better.”
“I have been for a while now. Just feeling lazy, you know” Lizzy said as she munched on her salad.
She threw a glance at me hinting that it was my turn to sell the charade. “Yeah, it’s been a while now.” I said smiling at mum.
“Actually, there’s a movie I’ve been dying to see and Aidan has been so gracious as to agree to take us. Isn’t that sweet of him, dad?” Lizzy said. She was eating so much I wanted to puke on her behalf. Just that afternoon she had failed to keep the lunch down.
Dad nodded. “Very nice.” He muttered. Aidan wasn’t his favourite person in the world.
“Speaking about the movie, it will be starting in a few minutes. Where’s Aidan? We’re going to be late.” Lizzy muttered impatiently. Just then there was a knock at the door. I jumped to my feet and walked to the door.
I let Aidan in and escorted him to the table. Dad threw a glance at him and focused on his food. Mum beamed at Aidan. I was the only one watching Lizzy nervously. Lizzy put her fork down and took the moment of distraction to catch her breath.
“Good evening.” Aidan said softly but before he could continue with his greeting Lizzy leapt out of her chair.
“No time for the polite conversation. I can’t miss a second of that movie.” She said whisking Aidan towards the door. We waved and seconds later Lizzy had us out the door.
Just as soon as the door closed behind me Lizzy regurgitated the supper into the nearest flower pot. Aidan held her hair back and when she had wiped her mouth on the cloth I’d brought, Aidan carried her to the car.
“That should do the trick.” Lizzy said triumphantly as she leaned back on the seat.
“You’re insane!” I screamed as Aidan drove us to his apartment. “How do you do that?”
I watched her as she barely opened her eyes to look back at me. “Someone has to watch out for this family. If I don’t you’ll all be sad.” Lizzy muttered as she tried to breathe through her mouth.
Aidan carried her to his apartment where she spent the night sleeping and preparing for her closing act. Aidan and I spent the night just talking. We hadn’t been able to spend a lot of time together since my birthday. He never complained about it; that just made me feel even more horrible.
“How come you never wear the watch?” I asked randomly.
I wave of confusion washed over his face before he finally smiled at me. “Because I know how easy it is to steal from a person’s hand.” He answered as he played with my hand.
“So, where do you keep it?” I asked.
“With my other important stuff.” He replied. The tone of his voice was soothing.
“I held on it so long I thought I’d never let it go and when I gave it to you,” I sighed. “I knew it would only be sensible since I’ll never let you go either.”
Aidan kissed my cheek gently. “Nor will I.” he whispered against my face.
That had been the most fulfilling moment Aidan and I had shared in a few days. His warmth was a very small part of the reason why I loved and needed him. And when he confirmed his love for me, it almost felt like an unnecessary extension to the way he acted and treated me.
We returned home just after eleven with Lizzy roaring with laughter and commenting non-stop about the movie we hadn’t seen. Mum and dad were sitting on the couch watching television when we entered. They were too stunned by Lizzy’s recovery to say anything.
“So have you guys packed? You leave the day after tomorrow.” Lizzy reminded them.
“Yes, I have packed.” Mum answered all excitement in her voice. “You should come see what I packed.”
“I’m exhausted, maybe Chris can do that.” answered Lizzy as she nudged me.
“I’d love to help you pack, mum.” I said as I watched Lizzy stumble to our room. I darted after her, catching her just in time.
Lizzy had once again pulled off the impossible. Mum and dad left for the romantic get-away and she could rest without feeling bad about anything. While they were gone, Aidan had practically moved in. He spent much of the day at work and at night he came to spend time with Lizzy and me. Two weeks later when mum and dad returned, Lizzy was actually feeling better, we no longer had to pretend. Lizzy was excited about going back to school for the two of us.
“You know I could always come with you.” Aidan said on my last night in the same town with him. We were in each other’s arms. He played with my hands whilst I closed my eyes and tried to acknowledge all that I was feeling; all the good stuff at least.
I smiled at his words. They were still as tempting as the first time I’d heard them.
“It’s only three hours away. You can come and visit. It’ll be like I wasn’t even gone.” I said trying to convince myself more than him.
“But you know I would come with you if you so much as ask once even in a joke.” He reminded me.
“I know. And you’re not helping.” I whispered. I wanted to beg and plead for him to come with me but I couldn’t. I mean, he’d just started working on his restaurant. He had to be here working and I had to be there at school. Maybe we’d both be so busy that we wouldn’t miss each other.
I swallowed hard at that thought. My heart sank. I felt my eyes get teary so I squeezed them shut. That was the worst thought I’d had. I wasn’t going to turn his life upside down because of my insecurity.
It took all of me to get into the car and drive away when the fateful day arrived. I stepped on the gas but I really wanted to hit the brakes and turn around. I didn’t need to get to the apartment that Lizzy and I was to share to know that the place would never feel like home. I remembered that I hadn’t told Dylan about leaving for school, though he probably knew. I decided to call him anyway. I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t answer.
“Dylan,” I said after the beep. He hadn’t been answering my calls for weeks but that didn’t stop me from leaving messages. “I don’t know why you’re not answering my messages.” I paused. I knew exactly why he wasn’t answering me. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m at school. I’m sorry for what I’m about to say but I really miss you.” I sighed. “Okay, that’s it, I guess. Bye.”
I put my phone in my pocket and frowned deeply. What would it do to Dylan if he found out that I was engaged to Aidan? Maybe that was what annoyed him. Even without the ring, I’d always been engaged to Aidan. I just hated the fact that Dylan couldn’t co-exist in my life with Aidan in it. 
Lizzy was unpacked while the only thing I had done was spread my bed. I looked at it and realised that I’d probably spend most of my time in there. I wanted to cry, my heart was aching. How was I going to survive being away from Aidan? It had been just a few hours and I was ready to be crucified upside down just to see him.
“How is the new place?” Aidan asked when he’d called later on in the day.
“Great.” I lied. I wasn’t going to drag him down with me.
“My offer still stands.” He said quietly. I closed my eyes trying to find the strength to fight my need to take him up on that offer. All I had to do was ask and yet it felt like dying a thousand deaths to stop myself.
“I know.” I managed to say after a while.
“Tell me all about it,” He said. I smiled weakly at myself as I crawled into my new haven; my bed.
I told him about everything I could think of as animatedly as I could. He just listened and laughed. His laugh sent electricity up my spine but not enough to charge me up fully. Before I knew it, we had been on the phone for an hour. When we hung up it was dark and I had not appetite. I just held the phone Aidan had gotten me close and slept.
The next morning Lizzy tried to wake me up. I had Orientation Week starting on that morning. I refused to get out of bed. I couldn’t bare it. I had my eyes open, lying on my stomach listening to my heavy heart as it beat quietly in my chest. I allowed my chest to heave up and down but that was the only movement my body was allowed to get. I just hoped that if I kept still the pain I was feeling would finally crush me. Lizzy came back before I could fully test out my plan. I dragged myself out of bed and took a quick shower.
Nothing changed throughout the week. I carried my horrible mood around but pretended to be fine when Aidan called. He couldn’t know how much I needed him. I wouldn’t let my weakness be known to him. I just wanted to be brave for us. We had to go through this for us. I had to be in school and he had to open his restaurant. This was necessary. How many times had I tried to sell myself that load of crap and failed? Too many times to remember but a few more times wouldn’t kill.
It was Thursday afternoon when Lizzy burst into my room and I was in bed. I had skipped the stupid orientation to spend the whole day in bed, in my sweats… how charming. Aidan had called and I told him that I wasn’t feeling well. So there was Lizzy at my door, checking up on her love sick sister.
“There’s someone here to see you.” She said pulling her poker face. Something fishy was up.
“Who would be here to see me? I don’t know anyone.” I muttered and sat up on my bed.
“Just come and see for yourself.” She insisted.
“I’m really not feeling up to your quick fixes. I just want to be alone.” I touched my ring. I had put it on my finger the previous night while I was talking to Aidan and I imagined that it made me feel better.
“You’ll like this quick fix.” She said coming over to pull the covers away from me. I groaned and crawled out of bed. Lizzy just smiled and skipped out of my bedroom. “Fix your hair.” She shouted.
I rolled my eyes and followed her. I was looking at my phone trying to send a message to Aidan as I walked into our living area. I looked up just to see who wanted me and almost dropped my phone. My jaw fell to the floor and I screamed. Instead of running to him, I ran back to my room. I could hear him laughing as I tried to catch my breath behind the safety of my bedroom door.
“I’m going to kill you, Lizzy!” I shouted.
“Come out, Chris.” Aidan said. He was just on the other side of the door. I giggled.
“No,” My heart was beating hard against my chest and my tummy felt funny, butterflies maybe.
“Why?” he asked gently.
“I look like a mess.” I said shyly.
“Fine,” said Aidan. “I’ll give you a few minutes, as long as you need, and I’ll come back. How’s that?”
“Thank you.” I said as I opened the door a little. I peeped out and saw him smiling.
“I’ll be right back.” He said before he turned to leave.
I waited until I heard the door close before I got out of my room. Lizzy was in the kitchen eating a sandwich like nothing had happened. I frowned at her and took a bite of the sandwich that was in her plate.
“I told you that you’d like this.” She said with a puckish smile on her face. “However, I did lie about the quick fix part.”
“Did you call him?” I asked in horror.
“I had to do something.” She shrugged and answered innocently.
I took a bath and for the first time since I’d arrived, I put on a bit of makeup. I cursed at myself for not unpacking. I had to go through my bags just to find a good outfit. I was just about done when Aidan came back. This time I hugged him and kissed him and didn’t let him go.
“I’d have been here sooner but I had to take care of some stuff.” He said as he opened the door for me.
“What exactly did Lizzy say to you?” I asked, a part of me not wanting to know the truth.
“Just that I should come and see you,” He was censoring the truth. I was grateful for his effort.
“So, where are we going?” I asked looking out the window of his car.
“I need to pick up some keys.” He answered with a smile.
It didn’t take us fifteen minutes to arrive at the mysterious destination. It was an apartment building, a very nice, up-market apartment building. We got the keys at the front desk and went up one floor. The apartment inside was lovely. One bedroom, big bathroom and a kitchen that looked bigger than ours. It was vacant and the only furniture present was a bed.
“What do you think?” he asked. I hadn’t missed the fact that while I was admiring the place he was watching me.
“Very nice.” I looked at him questioningly. “Whose place is this?”
He didn’t answer immediately. He just walked to where I was standing and pulled me into his arms. His eyes were threatening to make me lose my train of thought.
“It’s mine.” He said softly as he studied my reaction. My face was frozen in shock.
“Why?” I whispered. He kissed me on my forehead.
“Lizzy told me everything.” He said as he hugged me. I hid my face in his chest and frowned. I should have been expecting that.
“You don’t have to move here.” I tried to say calmly but my voice was barely audible, muffled by his chest. “I’ll be fine. I’ll survive. You need to work on opening your restaurant.”
“That’s the thing.” He said stepping away from me but his eyes were still on me. “I don’t know why you think you have to prove anything to me. I know you’re strong. I know you can survive anything.” He paused and sighed. “Have you even considered for one second what this distance does to me too? I miss you. I want you close. I would move to the ends of the world to be with you.”
“But−” I tried to say but he cut me off.
“But nothing. I know you can handle anything. Your phone calls are so convincing you deserve an Oscar. Must be getting practise from Lizzy.” He chuckled. “What I’m trying to say is I love you and that means I’m here for you to realise that sometimes you don’t have to. You don’t have to tough it out when I’m here.”
I looked at my hands. Believe it or not, I was racking my brain trying to figure out what I’d done to deserve this amazing guy. Aidan was moving to be with me! He would be close. I would have him with me all the time.
“You know what. I’m not going to ask you to lean on me. I’m just going to have to show you that I’m dependable on. I’m moving in and you can just live with the idea that I’m less than thirty minutes−”
“Less than fifteen minutes.” I corrected him with a big smile.
“Yes, less than fifteen minutes,” he amended happy that I’d noticed, “away from you. I’ll be here. So, welcome to my new home.”
What would I have said to sweeten this moment? I smiled and looked at him thoughtfully.
“Are you going to bring the furniture from your other apartment because I was thinking that since I’m going to spend a lot of time here, that old couch cannot be here?” I asked as my smile spread wider.