The Etiquette of Smoking

Rain on Me

After collecting my belongings in the back room, I took one last look at the coffee shop I'd planned on expanding someday and said my quiet goodbyes. I knew with certainty I would never work here again, Rebecca disliked me far too much to hire me.

As I stepped outside, the previously overcast sky had turned dark gray and stormy. A small droplet found vacancy on the tip of my nose, like a sweet kiss from the sky. I had stopped smiling moments ago but suddenly it returned to my lips. Nothing about the position I was in right now was okay, but that's okay, right? I try to look for the positive in every situation. Maybe this didn't work out because something else greater was waiting for me, like, maybe next year I'll own my own shop. Although coffee isn't what I'm passionate about, maybe a bookstore instead. Or a bookstore with a coffee shop inside? These thoughts consumed me as I walked to the nearest bus stop. I tried not to let the increasing intensity of the rain bother me. Rainstorms are one of my favorite things in the world, but I wasn't exactly in the mood for one right now. I didn't have an umbrella, or even a hood on my coat, but I did have the advantage of the thick metal rails of the metro overhead to block some of the rain.

I pulled my coat to cover my head as much as I could when the rain suddenly became a heavy downpour. I felt like I was living in a movie or a music video or something. Deep down, the more cynical side of me grumbled that this was the worst day I've ever had, but that was quickly overtaken by my natural optimism that assured me that everyone has these kinds of days...sometimes much worse, so I should be grateful.

I could clearly see the bus before me, so I tried to jog a little to make it before it left without me. The rain came down quickly and heavily, people around me either jogging to avoid it or strolling calmly with their umbrellas protecting them. I really need to work on planning ahead.

"Wait!" I called, picking up my pace and taking note of the uncomfortable feeling of squishing as my wet sneakers hit the ground. It was like some weird out of body experience when the bus left right in front of me. It had never happened to me before and was honestly a little jarring. I was forced to face my options now: walk home, which was about 32 minutes on foot. Not bad on a normal day, but with the way this rainstorm was coming down, definitely not ideal. Wait for the next bus which would take roughly 30 minutes depending on traffic, or...I could call Gavin.

I quickly weighed my options in my head before sighing and pulling my phone from my back pocket, noting the small bit of moisture on the screen from my pocket, but thankfully not much. I struggled for a minute to use my fingerprint ID before giving up and typing my password in instead. I don't know why a little bit of moisture makes my phone accuse me of property theft, it's incredibly frustrating. Once unlocked, I searched for Gavin's contact and held the phone to my ear as it rang.

I searched my surroundings, thinking about taking a seat at the bus bench but the small puddle of water sitting on it deterred me, so instead I stood under the tiny shelter the bus stop provided. The rain hadn't let up yet and if anything, it grew stronger. Puddles were already forming on the ground that acted as mirrors of the sky above them. Tiny gray skies on the ground all around me.

"Hello." Gavin's voice came through the other end sounding tired.

"Hi, um...could you come get me?" I asked timidly. I knew it was pretty early for him to be awake and I hated inconveniencing him, or anyone for that matter.

"What? Where are you?" He asked a little more alert than before. I know I had woken him up completely now. An old woman walked past me just then, giving me a sour look and sitting on the wet bench behind me. I stepped away from her and muttered my apologies for being in the way. She simply huffed at me and continued to stare straight ahead.

"At the last stop before work." I cringed at the memory of what had just transpired mere minutes ago. I heard shuffling on the other end before Gavin sighed.

"Why can't you take the bus home?" He asked grumpily and made movement sounds which told me he had gotten out of bed. My eyes flickered around to the old lady sitting behind me as I wondered if she was listening to my conversation.

"I..." I debated telling him about my fresh unemployment then but because of the vicinity of the stranger next to me I decided it would be less embarrassing to wait until I saw Gavin in person, "I missed it and its raining pretty hard out here."

Gavin didn't reply right away, probably weighing whether or not he wanted to come pick me up, which at this point, I hoped he didn't so I could have more time to build up the courage to tell him I got fired today. My missing paycheck was undoubtedly going to make our budget tighter and be a cause for conflict.

"Yep, I'll be there. Meet me at Paddy's." He sighed. My brow furrowed at his request before I realized he probably wanted to grab a drink. I frowned.

"Gav it's 8:30..." I tried softly to approach the sensitive subject I knew was going to set him off. A sharp inhale on the other line told me I was right, and I braced for whatever was about to come.

"And? I'm driving all the way down there to pick your ass up, who cares what time it is!" He argued before hanging up on me. I slowly let out the breath I'd held in gratitude that he hadn't escalated the situation beyond yelling at me. The arguments we'd had over his drinking were a regular occurrence although lately I found myself less and less inclined to dissuade him from ordering an 8th or 9th drink. It's not that I didn't care anymore, because I very much do, but I learned to mostly hold my tongue when it came that subject because anything I had to say would only be received negatively. Instead, I did little things like hiding his almost empty bottles so he wouldn't be able to finish the full thing or filling them a little with water. I did what I had to do to support him because that what a good girlfriend does...right?

The old woman next to me met my gaze and gave me a pitiful look before averting her gaze once again. Yeah, she definitely heard.