White Night

The text below is the beginning of a very unusual piece. I have not posted anything here for 8 years. Read and comment if it strikes you.

Lightning split the sky like a silver battle axe. A second later, a deafening clap of thunder jolted her. Then the heaviest loudest most sibilant downpour in years. She peered out the window to discover the source of all the noise. Vertical sheets of water were so thick they obscured everything more than twenty-five feet away. She submerged herself again in the the womb-like warmth of the bed...closed her eyes...listened. It was like shutting off a heavenly faucet. After ten minutes...silence.

1:07 a.m.

She cranked open a window. It was 72°--a temperate night. The redolence of the first rainfall since late January was in the air.

The nighttime sky was attractive, especially the slim bank of white clouds which slowly crept westward over downtown L.A. fifteen miles to the south, backlit by the full moon. It appeared to be an an indistinct white smear against the cloudless purple. What might it look like from Long Beach? Looking north? Possibly seeing the clouds as a backdrop to the moon.

Lee observed in silence from beneath the covers. He watched her profile as she sat with the blankets wrapped around her waist. Light from the window illuminated only the curve of her right breast, around which her long hair formed a dark border. Lee thought about this woman he had been aware of as a co-worker for a year. Unexpectedly, less than three hours ago, she showed up unannounced on his doorstep.

May 19, 1981�"9:40 p.m.

“Hi,” he said with surprise when he opened the door and saw her looking pitiful, trying to see through her rain-soaked glasses with mascara dripping from her eyes, drenched from head to foot in what was now an uncharacteristic heavy rainfall. Strange, he thought, no umbrella. She did her damnedest to smile, though it was difficult to maintain a brave face and greet Lee. He stepped aside so she could enter. He was stunned but pleased to see her. She stopped in the doorway to look into his eyes. Lee looked around her at a few passing cars before he quietly asked, “Are we going to f**k?”