Rain

Chapter 2

As Richard pulled out of the semi-crowded parking lot of the strip mall that held Bernstein’s, he reflected back on how cocaine had turned Adrian Moore into someone Richard no longer recognized. Adrian on cocaine never slept. He never ate either, and he spoke in riddles. He was paranoid, delusional, wound up, and borderline crazy. He lied, he cheated, and he stole. Those facts lead him to exiting Richard’s life in a whirlwind manner similar to his entrance. The major difference being his hurried exit was violent and heartbreaking, where his swift entrance was marked by pure coincidence and odd but laughable circumstances.

The sparsely populated streets all blurred out of focus as Richard wound his way home. Once there, he couldn’t shake his run-in with Adrian. He knew it would be in his best interest to just forget that he saw him. But Richard’s mind was obviously not concerned with his best interest in the slightest. No matter how hard Richard tried to bury the image of Adrian’s face in the recesses of his mind, it was no use. Those violet eyes kept popping to the surface.

* * * *

Sleep eluded Richard, and by the time noon the next day rolled around, he had given in and accepted his fate. He was back in his truck and headed to Bernstein’s. He was fully admitting to himself that he didn’t have any other reason to be there other than to see Adrian again. Richard was into a lot of things, but lying to himself wasn’t on his list. He knew why he was going, so he may as well own up to it.

As Richard sat in the parking lot of Bernstein’s, staring at the front of the store, he felt like the teenage boy in one of those predictable movies. Sitting in front of the house of the girl he liked, afraid to go in because her dad might have a nasty attitude and a shotgun. Shaking his head, he opened the door and got out of his truck. It was ridiculous to sit outside in the parking lot like a scared rabbit. He was either going in or going back home, and since Bernstein’s was a good twenty-minute drive from his house, it would be stupid of him to have come all this way only to turn around.

Once inside, Richard picked up one of the handheld baskets and started moving around the store. It didn’t take him long to realize that in order to keep his cover he’d have to actually buy something. People walking around a*****e like a creeper for half an hour then leaving empty-handed tended to look suspicious. Just because he was actually being creepy didn’t mean he had to be obvious about it.

Without much thought, Richard grabbed the first two things he laid his eyes on and tossed them in his basket. After walking past the registers a few times and getting several looks that reconfirmed that it was indeed Adrian, he decided to check out. He couldn’t wander around the store all day. He might as well pay for his stuff and leave.

Picking the register in front of Adrian’s, Richard waited in line all while stealing discrete glances over the impulse shopping racks at his reason for being there. Adrian’s hair was back to its natural nearly black color and hung just past his shoulders. All of his facial piercings were either gone or removed. His left ear was no longer lined with those hematite ear cuffs. In lieu of those things, he was sporting a lone silver stud. He looked unassuming enough to be labeled as an average Joe as long as you didn’t look him in the eye.

Those amethyst eyes would always set him apart from the crowd.

When it was Richard’s turn with the cashier, she rang up his two items and said, “That will be thirty-four, sixty-seven, sir.”

His eyebrows met his hairline, and the look must have made her giggle.

Looking for the first time at his two items, Richard realized he had purchased an imported bag of basmati rice and a jar of Thai-inspired sauce that must make you piss oil because it alone was twenty dollars. Paying for the two things, he told her thank you and headed for the door.

As he stood outside looking inside the bag in disbelief, Richard couldn’t help but laugh at himself. It served him right for not having the balls to go through his line as he should have. Richard essentially drove to the other side of the city to lurk around a*****e he’d only been in once before, buy overpriced rice and sauce, only to end up standing outside staring in the bag like a lost lamb.

“When did you become a fan of Thai food?”

Richard recognized the voice, and he didn’t want to look up even though he knew he had no choice.

“Today apparently,” Richard answered honestly before raising his head.

For just an instant, the air around him was too thick to breathe in, and the world stopped spinning on its axis. When everything righted itself, he was gifted with a smile he had never quit missing and found himself smiling back before he thought better of it.

“I’m on lunch. If you’d like to grab a bite to eat, I have a little over an hour to kill,” Adrian offered.

“What makes you think I have time to kill?”

“The drugs didn’t fry my brain completely, Richie. I’ve worked here for over four months, and I have never seen you shop here. You came through my line yesterday, and now you’re back the very next day, buying rice you don’t even know how to cook.”

“I can cook rice,” Richard started strong before giving in and finishing with, “just not the twenty-dollar kind.”

Adrian chuckled at him, and the sound along with the expression brought out the man Richard adored and missed. The world called him Adrian, but to Richard, he was Rain. He’d always be Rain.