Free The Rain Began to Fall by A. K. Hartline Page A

or watch!”
    She was trying to
be careful with her choice of words. She knew there was precious little she
could say right now to placate him.
    “I just needed some
fresh air,” she explained.
    “Couldn’t you have
gotten that somewhere else? I mean the people out here aren’t exactly part of
our scene! They’re a bunch of derelicts! It’s not our turf, Leigh.” She ignored
his sermon.
    “I stay cooped up
inside all day, you know,” she responded. “Someone invited me, so I decided to
come and see.”
    “ Who invited
you?” he shouted, now thoroughly enraged.
    “Oh, just one of
the employees at Falstead, Gene!” She was now becoming irritated as well. “It’s
no big deal, okay? I just went on a lark.”
    “Will I have to
fear turning my back on you when we’re married?” he asked with consternation.
“Is that how it’s going to be?”
    He fumed. He
looked hard at his wife to be, and for the first time noticed her provocative
attire.
    “And what about the
way you’re dressed! Who are you trying to turn on?”
    He was livid,
trying to wrap his mind around this place she had come to, and the way too
short skirt she was wearing. She had behaved questionably before, when they
were teenagers, and her occasional forays into flirtation then had caused him
some concern. She’d had a bit of a wild streak, and back then he had wondered
more than once if he could hold onto her. But all of that had ceased when her
father died. After that, she had clung tightly to him for support, their
relationship deepening through the college years and her long period of
mourning and recovery. There had been no episodes that would cause him any
pause for a long time. Until now, that is.
    Leigh had endured
his angry tirade, dutifully accepting what she figured was rightfully coming to
her. But the more she was subjected to it, the more indignant she became. Maybe
he had the right to go off on her some here, and be upset that she hadn’t told
him where she was going.  But he was over the line with this outburst. She
had noticed this excessive dominance in his nature for some time, and she had
put up with it for some reason, even as it grew stronger after their
engagement. It was true that she was enamored with Kyle; but she had done
nothing wrong, other than not tell Gene where she was going. Certainly nothing
that rose to the level of justifying this verbal thrashing!
    There was a time
when things were different; when another, younger Leigh, one more independent
and willful, wouldn’t have allowed him to berate her in such a way. He would
not have assumed such liberties then, would have been more respectful in his
treatment of her.
    That was the girl
she was before her father had passed away, and although she wasn’t aware of it,
that version of her, like the phoenix, was slowly rising from the ashes. She
was awaking from a passive, emotional stupor, one induced by her need to lean
so heavily on someone so familiar and close to her in order to survive the
heartache of her loss.  He started to speak again, but she would hear no
more.
    “Stop it, Gene!”
she said sternly. He looked at her with shock and surprise, her strong tone
entirely unexpected.  “You’re treating me like a child and I don’t
appreciate it! I don’t have to beg your permission to breathe, got it?” She was
squared in front of him, her hands on her sides. She was now furious
herself.  “I came out here, like I told you, at the invitation of a
friend. You were working late, again , and I was simply bored at home
waiting for you to end your never ending workday !” He stood wide-eyed
and speechless, his mouth hanging comically open. It had been a long time since
she had asserted herself like that.
    Over Gene’s
shoulder, she saw that Kyle had returned. He got out of his car and walked over
to the guy who had approached him before the race, and she saw him put money
into Kyle’s hands. So he won, she thought. Good for him .  It
dawned on her