ACT ONE ━━ CHAPTER SIX
Solace in the Rain

DESMOND . . . MAY HAVE MADE A GRAVE MISTAKE. He may have had a drink or two (or six) to ease himself of some tension after his morning road crew shift before heading off to the bank that he worked at, his breath may have reeked of a certain substance, he may have stumbled around and slurred his words in front of the customers, he may have passed out on the floor, and he may have gotten fired.

(...he did all of those things.)

Betty, who's stomach bug seemed to be improving, yelled at him since they didn't have money, he yelled back with his brown paper bag-wrapped alcohol bottle in hand, and Adaline stayed quiet in the kitchen while she washed the dishes.

Long story short, Desmond was now working two shifts on the road crew every day while Betty rested and recuperated, and Addy did everything else.

During one of Desmond's night shifts, Betty had been back and forth between her bedroom and the bathroom, so Adaline assumed she was taking a bath for the first time in a week; however, when Adaline was about to go into the bathroom herself, she saw her mother walk out of her room in the trench coat she always wore to visit Aunt Sally.

"You ain't goin' to see Aunt Sally, are you?" Adaline asked, frozen in shock. "You're still gettin' over your stomach bug."

Betty waved her off as she rummaged through her purse, "Oh, that's long gone. I missed her last weekend, so I told her I'd come tonight." She slung the purse straps over her shoulder before kissing each of Adaline's cheeks, "I love you, hun. It'll just be a short trip this time, so I'll be back tonight or tomorrow mornin'." She smiled at her daughter before opening the door that Adaline stopped from closing, suspicious and worried.

It began to drizzle rain outside and Adaline crossed her arms, "How 'bout you let me come with? It's beginnin' to rain."

Betty laughed, "I've driven in worse than this, Adaline. Go back inside now, and go prepare dinner for your father. They'll probably be sendin' them all home soon."

"Does he know you're leavin'?"

Betty shrugged, "Nope, I don't need permission—especially from him." She waved one last time, "Bye, hun. Love you." Adaline half-heartedly waved as she saw her mom pull the car, that Desmond was planning to sell soon yet Betty conveniently took it for a drive every time Desmond brought someone over to the house to look at it, out of the driveway and down the street.

Adaline hurried inside and rummaged through the kitchen drawers in search of a pen and any piece of paper she could write a note on, telling her father that she was going out with Eli tonight. She put the note on the kitchen table and glanced in the fridge to see barely any food in it, but she didn't have time to worry about that. Desmond was a grown man, he'd figure something out.

Adaline slipped on her usual pair of Mary Janes before leaving the house to run down the street and up the hill. She was wheezing for air once she reached the Russell property, now soaked since the rain had began to pour. She tried to calculate which window was Arvin's but she had no clue, so she was about to go around the side since she knew which one was Lenora's, but then she saw Arvin walking inside through the screened door.

She ran up the porch stairs, "Arvin!"

He looked out and immediately came over to open the door, "Adaline? What—?"

"Can you drive me somewhere?"

Arvin's jaw went slack, "Uh, yeah, sure, where to?"

"Knockemstiff."

He glanced at his car, "Oh, I dunno if she'll make it—"

Adaline grabbed onto his arm, "Please. Just try." Arvin recognized how desperate Adaline seemed and knew she wouldn't be asking if it weren't an emergency.

He nodded, "Okay." He glanced backwards before looking back at Adaline, "Okay."

Adaline smiled, moving her hand down to Arvin's hand to squeeze it appreciatively, "Thank you." Arvin's hand was on fire, his arm still recovering from its own tingling feeling in the shape of a handprint.

He nodded nonetheless as he stepped outside, "Of course." Their hands were still connected and by stepping outside, Arvin was closer to Adaline. They were close enough, all he had to do was lean a little closer but—Adaline released his hand to go over to his car—it wasn't the time.

It took a few tries to start the damn thing, but once Arvin got it running Adaline gave him directions to the same route her mother took to go visit her aunt. Betty hadn't gotten that far and they eventually caught up to the Impala and followed from a distance. The rain was pelting on both of the cars so Adaline doubted her mother could even see out of her own windshield, let alone Addy and Arvin behind her.

Adaline and Arvin stayed quiet for nearly all of the ride, Arvin internally working up the courage to actually say something to her for the majority of it.

He exhaled, knowing this was as good an opportunity as ever, "Hey, I just wanted to—" Arvin glanced over to see Adaline fast asleep with her head leaning against the window. He sighed, internally cursing himself for not speaking earlier. He noticed that her clothes were still in the process of drying and that the cold night air seeping into the car wasn't any help, so he reached behind her into the backseat for his denim jacket he'd thrown back there a week or so ago.

Arvin brought it back up front and managed to drape it over Adaline with his one available hand, noticing the stained splotch of red on the sleeve nearest him. Was that from Eli? Or Tommy? Gene? Orville? He returned his hand to the steering wheel. Definitely Eli. He swallowed the lump in his throat as his grip on the wheel tightened, the lump pelting into his stomach in a ball of nerves.

He shook his head in trying to shake off the feeling, but then his hand and arm became on fire again from when his skin came into contact with Adaline's. Arvin continually glanced down at her, her pleading face from an hour ago burned into his memory. She asked him for help. She held his arm, and his hand. The corners of Arvin's lips twitched the slightest bit upwards, and that was all he could think about for the rest of the drive.

ADALINE BEGAN TO WAKE UP WHEN SHE FELT THE CAR SLOW TO A STOP. She blinked her eyes open to see them in a gas station parking lot, parked completely opposite of the only two other running cars in sight.

She looked around as Arvin shut off the car, "Arvin, where are—?" Adaline stopped herself short once her tired eyes widened in realization at the car parked across from them. She watched as the car's lights shut off before a woman exited from the driver's side. A blonde woman wearing a black trench coat. Adaline's breath hitched as she and Arvin watched as Betty sped-walked over to the sheriff's car that had consequently shut off its lights as well to avoid any other attention.

From Arvin and Adaline's spot, they could see the man in the driver's seat's silhouette but not his face. Betty got into the passenger side and Adaline caught a glimpse of her mother's smile, a smile so big that Adaline's never seen before. Adaline watched as her mother said a few words before leaning in to kiss this man, a gesture that seemed so fluent to her, as if she'd done this plenty of times before.

Adaline lightly gasped, thinking of all the times Momma went to go visit Aunt Sally. Adaline doubted Betty ever went to visit Aunt Sally over the months she's said she has.

Betty leaned closer to the man but once Adaline saw her mother reach towards the man's pants, she had to look away.

Adaline covered her mouth, her arm moving the sleeve of the denim jacket she just realized was covering her, "Oh my God..." Tears sprung in her eyes at the fact that her own mother had been lying to not just their neighbors as she always had, but to her family. To her husband, to her daughter.

Arvin kept his head tilted down, the brim of his hat that he had put on while they were driving covering his face. He repeatedly looked over at Adaline, but her eyes were now closed as she pressed a fist to her lips in an attempt to stifle any oncoming sobs. The pounding rain probably would have overtaken them anyway since the drops hitting the car's roof were so loud it sounded like they were about to bust through any minute.

Adaline lost track of time, but opened her eyes when she heard the sound of a car door open and close. Her mother held a soda pop cup in her hand that she threw away in the nearest trash can before reentering her Impala. The sheriff's car drove past Adaline and Arvin in order to leave the lot, the latter recognizing the man from somewhere that he couldn't quite put a finger on.

Adaline had been watching her mother the entire time, and noticed that she was softly smiling to herself until the sheriff vacated the parking lot. Only then did the smile drop from her face and she broke down into tears. Adaline didn't know why. Did she feel guilty? Was she going to leave them?

Betty eventually pulled herself together enough to start the car and leave the parking lot too, ignoring the car across from her that had been following her from a distance the entire drive up.

Arvin hesitantly asked Adaline, "Do you wanna follow her home?"

She kept her eyes trained on the spot her mother just was and slightly shook her head, "No...I just wanna..." Adaline faced Arvin, his heart constricting at the sight of her reddened eyes and tears running over the stains her previous ones left on her cheeks. "Can we just stay here for a little while longer?"

He nodded, "Yeah...we can stay as long as you'd like." Neither of them spoke, the sounds of the overwhelming rain and Adaline's sniffles being the only things filling up the otherwise silent space between them.

Adaline didn't know what she would see when she arrived home. Her parents arguing for the nth time? Her mother packing her bags? Or even her mother's things completely gone? As if the woman had never even stepped foot in that home?

Adaline turned towards Arvin, "Can you drive?"

He looked over at her, then nodded as he began turning on the car, "Where to? Home?"

Adaline went back to leaning against the window, clutching onto the denim jacket still covering her lap, "I don't care. Just anywhere but here." Arvin left the parking lot and began driving the way they came, worried his car wouldn't be able to go even further north and make the whole trip back to Coal Creek.

They drove in silence down the two-way street, neither of them particularly talkative anyway. Arvin glanced over at Adaline every so often, eyeing her arm hugging his jacket close to her. He knew it was because she was using it for the minuscule amount of warmth it provided, but the thought of her using his jacket sent its own rush of heat through his body.

About halfway back, Arvin pulled into another gas station since they were almost running on empty.

He leaned to the side as he dug some money out of his back pocket, reassuring Adaline, "I'll be right back." She nodded and watched as Arvin went inside to talk to the attendee. Adaline looked out the window and watched as the rain drops raced each other, noticing three in particular staying neck-and-neck until the very end, when the rightmost one split to the right and the other two met the windowsill at the same time.

Arvin came out with the attendee whose eye contact Adaline avoided, still watching the raindrops roll down her window to pass the time. Arvin didn't have enough money on him for a full tank of gas so the attendee filled it up as much as the few coins Arvin had could provide for, keeping in mind the pack of cigarettes he'd be buying once they went back inside. Adaline didn't pay attention to the small conversation Arvin and the other man were making, asking where they were headed to, maybe? The rain overtook Arvin's answer and then the next time she glanced over to the driver's side door, they were gone.

Arvin exited the gas station for the last time, pocketing the few nickels he received as change and the fresh pack of Camels he bought. He squinted at the newly-appeared figure next to the car, wondering what the hell Adaline was doing standing in the rain without any cover. She was standing beside her door, facing the sky eyes-closed as it pelted her face with water.

He walked over and called out, "What're you doin' out here? It's pourin' rain!"

Adaline obviously didn't seem to mind, "I like it in the rain. It drowns out all the noise." Arvin's eyebrows flinched downwards in confusion. Adaline opened her eyes and beckoned him over to her, "C'mere." He laughed, skeptical, but she insisted, "Arvin, c'mere!"

"Uh, alright." He came over to stand in front of her, getting more soaked by the second. "Now what?"

Adaline looked up at him, eyes slightly narrowed since the rain was going directly in them, "Now close your eyes."

He squinted, "Huh?"

She laughed and nodded him on, "C'mon now, close your eyes."

Arvin exhaled a laugh and shook his head, "Alright," then closed his eyes.

"Now keep 'em closed and just listen to the rain." Adaline watched as the rain hit his navy cap and then ran down the brim, fat raindrops dripping off. The wind lightly blew the rain diagonally so it drizzled onto Arvin's face, but he seemed to assume the same mindset as Adaline for the moment. "It's nice, ain't it?"

Arvin lightly nodded, surprisingly calmer after focusing on the rain, "Yeah...it is." He never would've thought about purposefully standing out in the pouring rain, but he couldn't find himself to object to Adaline.

For her, the rain was the only place she could get some quiet, even though rain itself could get loud. However noisy it was, it wasn't her parents' voices yelling and screaming so she'd take whatever she could get. She embraced the water drenching her hair and clothes and skin. Unlike others who'd feel dirty, she felt as if she'd been cleansed and all of her problems were washed away.

When she closed her eyes she saw her paternal grandparents' ranch in Virginia where she'd ride the horses around with her grandfather, and then running around in the rain with her momma's daddy, Papa, jumping in puddles and splashing each other and Nana and even her parents. In Alexandria, Betty and Desmond Berkeley were different people. They were in love, they were caring parents, they actually smiled often.

Yes, they still had their faults even then, but at least their family wasn't the shit show it is now.

Adaline opened her eyes and saw Arvin's still closed, a wave of déjà vu washing over of from when she was at his house for his birthday. Like then, she was wondering what he was thinking about. She could've played the guessing game with herself for hours, but she'd rather accept the uncertainty and allow Arvin the time to let his mind take him anywhere with the sound of the rain hitting the pavement in the background.

Adaline hadn't ever gotten a chance to really look at Arvin before, but now she felt like she couldn't look away. She noticed every small scar on his face, undoubtedly from fights, and watched as his body visibly loosened from its previously tight posture. She subconsciously took a step forward, slow and quiet as to not interrupt his thoughts, and then took another so there was only a few inches of space between them.

Arvin was too engrossed in his mind to notice the close presence to his chest, too busy thinking about his mama and his daddy and Jack. About his grandma and Uncle Earskell and Lenora. About Adaline.

About how even if his mind wandered off, he would always find his way back to thinking about Adaline. Even though they've only known of each other's existence for the past year, and spoke for the first time a few months ago, she was always on his mind.

Her heart was beating faster as she kept inching closer, eventually having to balance her weight on the balls of her feet as she needed to tilt her head up in order to align hers with his. Arvin was still oblivious to his surroundings, only being brought back to reality first by the warm breath fanning his face, shortly before hands made their way onto either side of his jaw and a foreign pair of lips were on his.

Arvin's entire body went rigid before he relaxed under Adaline's touch exactly like he had before. His hands slid around either side of her waist as he pulled them closer together, Adaline's body melting into his embrace. Arvin thought he was dreaming. Adaline, whose snobby family wouldn't be caught dead interacting with his, who saw him go into a blind rage at merely the thought of Eli taking advantage of her—something he never even spoke to her about—whose heart was too pure to love a person like him.

Arvin thought he was a decent man. He did things for the right reasons, but...the things he did could be considered questionable, and he acknowledged that. He didn't want to do the things that he did, but he had to.

He had to. Because if he didn't, who would?

Arvin feared Adaline might've thought this rain was their joint baptism in which their (his) sins would be washed away and he'd emerge rebirthed as a new person. The thing is, faith is a two-way street. You get what you put into it, and as a non-believer, Arvin wasn't receiving the sanctifying grace that Adaline believed he was.

He let his thoughts overwhelm him and pulled away, trying to avoid Adaline's concerned expression.

"Arvin..." She gently lifted his face up so he was looking at her. In her eyes, Arvin didn't see any regret or expectation or fear. Maybe he was wrong? Or was this only compensation for driving her up here? He wouldn't be surprised. People tend to be selfish and take without ever giving anything in return, and maybe Adaline was just making them even.

But then the corners of her lips turned upwards, and she moved in to kiss him again. It wasn't out of obligation. Arvin wasn't another checkbox for her to fill, her duty as a follower of the Lord to go out and convert men of all nations.

She meant it. She saw how Arvin took care of everyone but himself. Adaline was saying that she understood him, all of him, including his world painted only in shades of gray.

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