When It Rains, It Pours

Ritual dances. Crude offerings. Threats. Prayers. Pitiful pleading. Promises. Bribes. A visit to the weather station. Alexia had done everything in her power to make sure that the 28th of November remained a bright sunny day. Everything except maybe selling her soul to be able to control the weather. She’d been planning the day for three months in advance.

Of course she had. It was their fourth year. She was hoping that next year, they’d have an extra, new anniversary to mark their time together but she didn’t want to rush him into it.

Oliver blinked at the amount of bags his woman had on her person.

“Baby, are we going for a short trip?”

Alexia huffed, carrying everything to his car with the efficiency of a well-oiled machine. “One is for hot food, one for regular food, clothes, snacks, drinks. You can never be too prepared.”

“I’m so glad you’re on my team when the apocalypse comes,” he said, only half joking. Alexia rolled her eyes, arranging the bags in the backseat. Neither of them really used the boot.

Under an hour and they were at their first destination: Sailor Hill. It was the first of many stops, all of which depended on the weather and God’s good will. The sky was a sea of blue, with white fluffy clouds floating about lazily.

From the moment she and Oliver donned the vests and protective masks, they were neither friends nor lovers anymore. Alexia was his main target and Oliver was her arch nemesis. She had invited a few of their closest friends to join, and had argued over who should be on whose team. There were a few other strangers who got lumped in with them but neither minded.

As long as they brought their main quarry down.

Oliver had two people left on his team, including himself. Sweat rolled down his back and face and his chest heaved from the series of sprints he had made just to stay out of sight. Alexia had one extra person on her team. The odds seemed to be stacked against him, and as much as he loved his woman, there was no way he was going to allow her this victory.

Something shifted to his left. His head immediately jerked in that direction, gun swinging around with him. A loud thump sounded right beside his head. Drops of paint splattered on the clear visage of his mask. Instinct jolted his muscles into movement. He darted from his original shelter of stacked boxes to a low wall.

“Hiya.”

The cheeky, triumphant voice of his woman sent dread down his spine. He was about to fire his gun when he got knocked to the ground. Winded, he looked up to see Alexia standing above him, her foot pinning his arm down.

“Babe.”

“All’s fair in love and war, sweetheart,” she crooned, aiming her gun. He felt a thudding pain in the center of his chest as the paint hit and burst. From somewhere in the park, he heard a loud swear.

He’d lost.

“You had Molly on your team,” Oliver groused once they had wriggled out of their gear and had bade farewell to their friends. He refused to believe he’d lost to her.

“I can play the video again,” she offered happily, referring to the footage the paintball park had generously provided them with. “I’ll even make a montage of it.”

Oliver demanded a rematch before they made a move for the next location: City Park.

The place was huge, with paths for cycling, hiking and walking woven throughout. Several lakes dotted the 130-acre park; some were ideal for paddle boats and kayaks, others resembled swamps with paths cutting through them, most were scenic enough for lazy evenings and picture taking.

“We need to get to Woodland Corner,” Alexia directed. She was squinting at the large map on the information board. “Now, we’re here . . .”

Oliver shook his head. He knew all too well that if he let her guide them, they’d somehow end up going past the place they were supposed to be at and end up at an unknown location. He grabbed the bags she had on her shoulders and took her hand.

“Wait! I still don’t know which way we need to go,” she protested.

“Don’t worry about it.”

He had a rough idea of where the lakeside was situated. A vast grassy clearing with weeping willows fringing the edge of the lake soon came into view. The sunlight glinted off the surface of the lake, whose waters were gently stirred by the light breeze that blew, providing some relief from the ceaseless sun above them. Alexia looked around, unsure. Then something caught her eye. She let out a little whoop and dragged Oliver in that direction.

“Here it is!”

“I don’t understand why this very spot.” He set their bags down and spread open the blanket she’d brought along.

Alexia shrugged, squatting down to help him. “It just felt right.” They dug into lunch: bolognese with meatballs, extra cheese for him and extra herbs for her. Oliver was inhaling his pasta as fast as Alexia. For a moment, he caught sight of her and paused, eyes roving over her form. She had sauce splattered all over her chin. Chuckling, he reached over to wipe it off with a clean napkin. As she mumbled her thanks around a mouthful of pasta, something else drew his attention.

Tied to one of the trees nearby was a blue ribbon, one that looked suspiciously familiar. He nudged her, watched her eyes brighten.

“Look there’s a letter too!” Before he could stop her, she had abandoned her lunch in favour of the letter. Oliver got up after her, carrying his lunch with him.

“Don’t simply touch it!”

“Why not? I’m curious.” She squinted at the letter, then at him. Oliver studied the ribbon and letter more closely. Curiosity gripped him. He reached out to dislodge the envelope from the ribbon, passing his food to Alexia.

“What do you think is inside?”

“I hope it’s money,” she said, chomping on one of his meatballs.

Oliver carefully opened the envelope, his wariness giving way to surprised delight.

“There’s tickets to Loose here!” he exclaimed. He pulled out the multicoloured wristbands. Something else fell from the envelope. Oliver bent to pick it up, his brow creasing as he recognized the writing. He muttered the words under his breath, then jerked his head up sharply, eyes wide with disbelief. “You did this?”

Alexia was vibrating with barely suppressed excitement, but she kept her features neutral. “Maybe.”

“Babe. You signed your name.” He flipped the note towards her and jabbed at the messily scrolled ‘your little honey badger’. “Unless Danny Ric wrote this for me . . .”

Alexia could only grin at her boyfriend. Oliver stared at her a fraction of a moment longer then laughed. “You really got these? You really want to go with me?”

She shrugged. “No, I got them for you so you could bring your side chick. Of course I wanna go with you! I waited ages to get these tickets.”

“Why?” Oliver studied the wristbands more closely. His eyes grew round when he picked out the distinctive neon-and-purple stripes at the end of the band. “Holy - You got us the Loose Express?!”

“Are you as psyched as I am?”

Oliver plucked her off the ground and spun them both around, kissing her. Alexia squealed, stretching her arm out so none of the sauce could splatter onto them. Thankfully, she brought bowls for their lunch, not plates.

“I CAN’T WAIT!” He spun them around once more then set her down on the ground. Excitement crackled between them like lightning. Oliver was just about to pull her in another suffocating hug when lightning really did sound, accompanied by the unmistakable grumble of thunder. Alexia turned her head away, dismay slowly replacing her eagerness for a day at the theme park.

Tearing away from him, she scanned the lake to find that the sun no longer danced off the surface. The cover of trees they were sheltered in, away from the heat, was now gloomy.

“Do you think the clouds will pass?” she asked. Their day would be ruined if this rain came.

“I hope so. Loose is open air.”

My sentiments exactly.

Alexia nudged him. “Come on. Let’s finish our lunch.”

They settled back down on the blanket, enthusiasm subdued. More thunder rumbled. Alexia felt something drop onto her arm, and her heart plummeted.

“It’s raining!”

“Pack up. We’ll go back to the car.”

But Alexia was frozen. Frustration pricked at her skin. The more the sky groaned, the more upset she got.

I spent months on this. It was supposed to be perfect.

It was nothing worth crying over. Nothing worth throwing a tantrum over either, but disappointment welled up inside her until it ruptured. She stood staring blankly at Oliver, who was already dashing back from the shelter of a gazebo not far from where they had chosen to sit.

“Baby, what’s wrong? It’s already drizzling!” He tugged at her hand, urging her to follow him over to shelter.

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” she murmured.

“What do you mean?”

Alexia raised her eyes and Oliver was startled to see tears already streaming down her cheeks, a prelude to the rain that was soon to follow and drench them if she didn't budge.

“Hey.” He dropped her hand and immediately cupped her cheeks, undaunted by the weather. “Hun, what’s wrong?”

She sniffled, struggling to control her emotions but it felt as though they were the ones controlling her, weighing her heart down with a dreadful sensation. She couldn’t stop the shaking that was now wracking her body.

“I - I jhust wanted u - us to have a special day together,” she spluttered, tasting the salty tang of tears and snot. It was hard to speak: her throat had closed up and her nose was already half blocked. Oliver smoothed her hair back, his eyes gentle. The rain was getting steadily heavier. “We’d been fighting so much lately, and - and I just thought today could be different.” She tipped her head up and Oliver’s heart fissured: the intensity of longing and vulnerability in her eyes splintered right through him. The rain ceased to exist, even though it was sluicing down their faces freely.

“Regardless of the rain, we’ve already had a great time today,” he tried to soothe her.

“No!” She trembled. “There was something at the park for you.” Her voice lowered to a bare breath. He strained to hear her. “I’d planned little surprises at every ride. The finale was supposed to be at dinner. But it won’t make sense if you don’t get the clues from the park.”

“We could go another day,” he offered.

“It wouldn’t be the same.” Once more she pierced him with that look of hers, the one that made him wish he could part the seas and split the skies, if it would keep her happy.

Oliver sighed. He had planned the surprise alongside her dinner plans, liaising with the restaurant without actually digging too much into her project. But he knew her far too well: sticking with his original idea was not going to work now. He cradled her cheek in his hand, the feeling of her skin more electric than any lightning bolt.

“I know you wanted today to be special,” he began. “And I’m so sorry the weather didn’t hold up. I know us doing it on another day won’t be the same for you, but it is for me. You know why?” He held both her cheeks now, staring into her glistening eyes. “Because I have you by my side. The time and place doesn’t matter. What matters is I’m with you. And yes, we’ve argued pretty badly this past month, but it only made me realise one thing: you’re the only person I want to ever argue with." He stated every sentence with the passion of the storm and the fire of the sun, his eyes searing into her. "You’re the only person I want to be with. You’re the only one who holds my heart. You are both my sunshine and my rain.”

Alexia was growing increasingly confused at his words. Whatever he’d told her was hauntingly familiar: they were all in the little notes she’d hidden around the park. Had he found out? Could anything be salvaged now?

Oliver smiled, only too pleased that he’d caught her off guard. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He dropped to one knee, holding the box up to her. Rain water dripped down his lashes, into the box, over the ring he’d gotten custom-made for her, with her favourite stone.

“I know this weather has thrown off both our plans, but Alexia May Penn.” He smiled up at her, adoration apparent in every fiber of his being. “Whatever the weather may be, come hail or storm, drought or flood, I want you by my side always. Will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?”

Alexia was statuesque, staring blankly at the man in front of her. She buffered so long that Oliver started to feel awkward. Reality was slowly closing its jaws around them like predator on prey. He felt the chill seep into his body now that the magic of his impromptu proposal seemed to be wearing off.

“Yes.”

Her answer was hardly audible, caught in the drumming of the rain, but Oliver felt it without needing to hear it. Joy surged in him as she first, covered her mouth with her hands to stifle a happy laugh then stretched one out to him. Carefully, as though handling crystal, he accepted her hand and slipped the ring on. Alexia squeezed his hand and hauled him to his feet. She was crying again, though it was hard to tell apart tears from rain now.

“Yes, I'll marry you,” she choked out. Her head was tipped up to him once more. Oliver thought his face was frozen in a permanent smile. Alexia flung her arms around him, squeezing him so hard, she was probably squeezing out all the water in his clothes as well. “I'll marry you.”

Oliver hugged her back, just as tightly. A wind had picked up around them, and standing this close to the lake, the cold was starting to become more than uncomfortable. But Oliver had never felt as warm as he did right then, locked in her arms, his face pushed into the crook of her neck. His skin burned with hope for their future together where her body was pressed against his.

Maybe the weather had ruined their plans. Maybe they didn't get the fairytale proposal they both dreamt of.

This is perfect, though, Alexia thought.

Oliver echoed her thoughts.

Perfectly imperfect, just like us.