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And she’s scared to laugh and live and love. Because the last time she did that, she got pregnant.
The very, very early morning of August 16th, 2:00 a.m.
Harrison
At this point in the night, Semisonic would probably be singing “Closing Time,” but truthfully, I’m not even close to being ready for this night to end.
We fall out the door of the bar like two kids who’ve been drinking a whole lot more than water for the last few hours.
But laughter will sometimes do that to you.
Bend you over at the waist and hold you down like you’ve got an upset stomach.
I help Rocky by holding her at the elbow as she almost stumbles into the street. Her laugh echoes in the empty alley as rain once again falls upon us unchecked.
“Where are you headed?” I ask. “If it’s uptown, we can share a cab.”
Her eyes go wide as she smiles and then bursts out in laughter once again. “Which way is uptown exactly?”
I point to the right, and she laughs again. “Great. If only I could remember the direction I came from.”
“Don’t do a lot of exploring when you’re in New York, huh?” I ask cheekily.
She snorts. “You could definitely say that. I’ll just take the subway. Just point me in the direction of the nearest stop.”
“You don’t even know what direction you came from, and you expect me to let you get on the subway by yourself?” I scoff. “Fat chance.”
“Hey, I’m a capable woman. I can totally handle it.”
“I’m sure you can. Consider this an act for my peace of mind, then.”
“Come on. I’m sure you’ve got other places to be.”
“I don’t. The only place I’m headed is home, and I think we established I don’t have anyone there waiting for me.”
Rocky puts a cheeky hand to her hip. “Harrison, are you trying to get me to come back to your apartment?”
I laugh. “I wasn’t. But I certainly wouldn’t say no if you decided to come back to my place on your own.”
She wavers a little, biting at her lip before shaking her head and wiping some water from her face. “No, no. I better not.”
“Then let me help you get in a cab, at least.”
As the rain starts to come down harder, she looks up at the sky, smiles, and shrugs helplessly. “Okay. I guess that’s not the worst option in the world.”
My smile grows as I take her by the hand. “Come on. We’ll go up by the park. There’ll be a lot more traffic and a hell of a lot better chance at actually getting one in this weather.”
She nods as I walk us forward, her hand in mine.
The rain picks up its pace steadily as we near the end of the block, and with every increase in intensity, the volume of her laugh grows.
By the time we make it to the end of the block, she’s damn near hysterical.
“Is this kind of weather normal for New York?” she yells to be heard over the roar of the downpour.
I smile as best as I can and pretended to wipe my eyes with little finger windshield wipers. “Oh yeah. Happens every day. This is the rainy season, don’t you know?”
“Don’t mock me!” she shouts with a cackle. “I live in California. I pay for perfect weather.”
Perched on the corner at the apex of Columbus Circle, we watch as occupied cab after cab flies by while we drown in the rain. Fed up, I grab Rocky’s hand again and lead us up the street a little more and in between a set of parked cars to flag one down.
She follows dutifully until we get there, but when two more pass me by, she shoves me behind her and steps up to try to hail one on her own.
I cross my arms over my chest, amused that she thinks she’s going to have any better luck than I am, when another cab comes rushing by and hits the puddle in front of us with perfect precision.
Like a tidal wave, the water splashes up and over Rocky’s tiny body, coating her in much more than a simple bath of rain.
She squeaks hysterically, and it’s all I can do to stop myself from laughing.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” I say, looking at her poor, pitiful face as the muddy street water runs down her clothes and soaks into the fabric everywhere. “My apartment is within ten blocks, and you don’t even know where you’re going. Let’s just run, and you can worry about getting back where you’re going later.”
She finally agrees with a nod, and we take off in a flash.
Resolute in our new plan, I don’t hold back as I pull her along behind me. She’s keeping up for the most part, even if she is weighed down by an additional ten pounds of water.
