the drive in the rain

For awhile they just drove in silence through the city street as the rain came down across the glass of the car’s windshield. She didn’t mind the silence. With him. And now as this thought struck her, she realized that she never minded in the past ….she remembered now. How sometimes when they met at the swings they would just be together in silence. 

Even with all his rage, all his wild tirades of violent outbursts —as she’d seen one during one of his fights all those years ago. 

She glanced at him now. Looked up at him furtively as he drove to ….see if it was still there…. still there in his face ….it was a sort of sulky expression he would get when he was in one of his moods.

“So how’s America?” Greg suddenly interrupted her thoughts, “everything you wanted and dreamed?”

She felt as if cold water hit her in the face, how he said it. 

She had to recover. She just watched the buildings he drove past as the rain glistened and washed at the gray, dreary night lit by lamp posts and street lights that reflected off the wet roads. 

He turned and looked at her, 

“….Miss Pim….”

Her face was on fire. The way he said it. He said it exactly how …. and the burning of her cheeks felt like a forest fire through to her extremities. She stared straight ahead at the road not to reveal how this affected her, then turned slightly away to look out the window.

“Do you want a coffee? I know a place near here,” he suddenly changed his tone.

“Only if you promise to behave or you may have detention,” but she said this so softly that he almost hadn’t caught what she said 

It took a minute. Then he laughed. 

“Miss Pim…. so what is your name—I think by now I should call you that —although I like Miss Pim.”

“Diandra.”

she just blurted it out.

He glanced at her as he turned down a street and raised a brow to consider 

“But —Miss Pim still works—“ but as she said that he caught hold of her hand and lay his over hers and pressed hers flat into the seat just the same way as he had once done. 

He parked the car that way and then with the rain coming down he said,

“it’s not the cleanest nor the safest place at this hour, but they have good coffee, Miss Diandra Pim but I’m afraid I still can’t promise you good behavior, but I’ll do my best.”