Adeline ran through the rain, her camera bag wrapped in her arms, and hunched under her ribs trying to keep it dry. Her lightweight jacket was useless against the torrential rain, but thank goodness she’d worn her leather boots today, else she’d really be a drowned rat. Her grandfather had always said that one wasn’t properly wet until the feet were, and Adie hated wet feet. Dashing through the slicked pavement, she ducked under bus stop shelter and slumped against the glass wall. This wasn’t even a stop she could get a bus home from, but she needed a break from the rain for a moment. A flash of blue light lit the evening streets. Adie shivered, leaning her head back on the cold glass. What a day. First, her ex had called. Again. He wanted to get lunch. She had said no. She’d put that pain behind her, thank you very much, even forgiven him! But she wasn’t about to get back together with him, no matter what he seemed to think. But then, then her boss had the nerve to fire her. Just out of the blue, ‘I’m sorry Ms. Richards, but your contract with our company has been terminated, we no longer have any available work for you here.’ Apparently her work wasn’t up to standard? Which was rubbish, as she had graduated top of her class and won several prestigious awards, not to mention been highly acclaimed by the same boss, three weeks earlier. Her dream job, as a photo journalist in a prestigious wedding magazine had come true, only to be dashed on the rocks of dismissal and despair not four months into it. Would she ever get into the photography business? Was any of it worth it? Adie shook herself. Not much she could do about it tonight. What she needed was to get home, light the fire, open a nice bottle of red, maybe a pint of chocolate ice cream, watch Castle till she fell asleep, and worry about it all tomorrow. She looked out of the bus stop. But first, she had to navigate a thunderstorm. She glanced down at the footpath, which was one giant swirly puddle. And then take a shower.

Come on Adie, it’s just a bit of rain, and your stop is just around the corner!

Taking a deep breath she launched out into the rain again. And promptly slipped right onto her behind in the middle of crossing a street. Her elbow landed painfully on the tarmac, and her breath wooshed out of her.

‘Miss? Are you alright?’ Someone came up behind her and started to help her up.
Ten times wetter than she was before, she accepted the arm gratefully.

‘Yes, well… as good as I can be in this weather.’ She looked up at her aide, too soaked to even care now. In the dim evening street light, all she could make out was a dark coat with a high upturned collar and a concerned but warm, and rather attractive, male face.

Where are you headed? I can-‘ A flash of lightning illuminated the street again, and it was followed by a very close clap of thunder. If it were possible, the rain intensity seemed to increase. Adie grimaced.

She might already be drenched, but the camera case could only stand so much water. She drew her arms over it and peered through the sheets of water, trying to gain her bearings.

The man tapped her shoulder and pointed to a pale cream lit sign across a side street. Another flash.
He leaned in close to her ear. Another clap.

‘Restaurant… cover… run!’ was all she could make out. She didn’t wait to hear more.
They hastened toward the restaurant door. Adie couldn’t help but laugh ruefully as they huddled under the door eave. It did little to stop the torrential downpour and her current situation seemed to mirror her entire life. She sighed against the frame and her companion looked at her.

‘Rough day?’

‘You have no idea’, she closed her eyes.

‘We should go in.’

‘What?’

‘Into the restaurant. Till the storm passes.’

She glanced behind her. The double door was painted red and had a name written above it in gold.
Il Rosso Ciclamino. She blanched. Il Rosso Ciclamino was one of the most prestigious and upmarket restaurants of the city. A popular place for people to get proposed to in fact. She knew too many facts about weddings these days.

‘I don’t think they let drowned rats in there.’ She stared up at the sign. ‘There’s got to be some sort of rule against it, I’m sure. You’d at least have to be wearing Louboutin’s!’

He snorted. Then another streak of lightning split the sky and a gust of wind threw the rain straight at them. Adie huddled against the door. He shook his head, reached passed her, and opened the door, making a decision. A boom resounded across the sky and the door rattled.

‘What did you say your name was again?!’ He yelled across the thunder as they bundled into the restaurant foyer, out of the storm.

‘I’m Adie! And you are?!’ She stumbled back against the door and they fell awkwardly inside as the man said, ‘Jake-‘

He was cut short by the scene inside however. Adie gulped, and they froze.

‘Maybe we should have worn our Louboutins,’ Jake whispered in her ear, as they stood dripping, and staring, at the scene before them.

The restaurant wasn’t big, with maybe fifteen tables or so, all dressed in neatly trimmed white tablecloths and tall white, gold and red candles as the centre pieces. Flowers filled the window alcoves, and the patterned red walls, lined with softly glowing lamps, created an elegant but comfortable atmosphere. Every table was full, of silver trays of sweat meats and wine glasses. Every seat was full; their occupants turned toward the damp intruders. And on the feature wall next to the bar, hung a cream banner, with gold ink tracing its way across the length, its message seemingly ominous to Adie in her current state.

CONGRATULATIONS, TIM AND SHENNAY!

They had crashed an engagement party.

At first the guests just stared back. Then, what Adie assumed was the Head of Wait Staff, made a move toward them. He was intercepted however, by a small blonde woman in an emerald green dress. She touched his arm, smiled and came over to them. She seemed to buzz with excitement and glide gracefully all that the same time. The bride to be. Adie would know that look anywhere, even if there wasn’t a ginormous diamond flashing on her left hand. Jake was still standing pressed to her back.

‘Hi! Who are you? Are you guys looking for dinner? This place is great, isn’t it? You guys looked soaked! Oooh darling!’ Adie blinked, trying to keep up with the woman’s fast paced tirade. She licked her lips.

‘I’m so- sorry… we were just leaving, we didn’t mean to crash your party- I’ Adie made a move to turn and grabbed Jake’s hand, but Shennay stopped them, touching Adie’s arm lightly.

‘Are you kidding me? It’s pouring out there. No. You’re staying for the party. I don’t mind unexpected guests, and I definitely don’t turn out strangers into the storm. Come! Sit down! Dry off! You look like you could use a little wine.’ She motioned to the waiter, to find some seats, and the other guests turned back to their murmurs, a few smiles on their faces; was inviting random drain-drenched strangers to an obviously upmarket engagement party normal for this woman? Apparently. Energy to resist gone before it arrived, Adie let herself be dragged toward a table. Jake followed, a smirk on his face. At six thirty on a Friday night, she guessed he didn’t have anything better to do. I wonder what he does… He was dressed nicely, although not obnoxiously, and he seemed well off, probably about her age… She managed the thought before Shennay pulled her down onto a chair, and busied herself drying Adie down with a white towel.

‘Shay- cut it out. The poor girl doesn’t know what to do with you.’ A man across the table shook his head while grinning. The groom-to be, Adie guessed. Shennay grimaced at her.

‘Sorry. I get a bit excited about people sometimes. I’m Shennay, bride to be, Tim, my fiancé,’ she beamed at the man, totally smitten, Adie thought, ‘and you two are? Are you dating?’

Jake laughed and Adie managed a small grin.

‘I’m Adie, this is Jake and no… we just met actually. When I slipped in the rain. About,’ she checked her watch, ‘six minutes ago?’ She looked at Jake. She swore he hadn’t stopped smirking since they’d come inside.

‘Something like that.’

‘Oh! Well, isn’t that funny! Nice to meet you anyway.’

The waiter came up and asked if Adie and Jake would like anything to drink. They both said hot chocolate. Wine was offered, but Adie needed something warm, and God knew they needed it.

‘So what do you guys do?’ Shennay picked at what appeared to be a snail on a spinach leaf.

Adie looked at Jake. He obliged her unspoken plea.

‘I’m a vet. And a vet surgeon. At the Halsworth Clinic.’ A vet? He didn’t have a briefcase with him.
‘I work Monday through Thursday, although sometimes I do a few courtesy calls on Fridays. Which is where I just came from actually.’ He nodded to the waiter who had arrived with their drinks. Adie accepted hers gratefully, the creamy warmth seeping through her chilled hands. ‘There’s an older lady on Graceden Ave.’ Jake swirled his mug ‘She has this ancient cockatoo, that was her grandfather’s ninety years ago. It gets sick whenever she is. Which is often.’ Adie leaned forward, intrigued. Her grandparents owned a farm up north, and growing up, animal stories and adventures were the best part of her holiday. If she couldn’t be a wedding photographer, she would like to try and make it in the wildlife photography business. Jake went on to tell of this cockatoos exploits over the years, explaining that cockatoos lived to the hundreds, and it was better to pass it down to family members, or it would die of depression.

‘My great uncle had a cat like that.’ Adie leaned back. The others turned towards her for more of the story.

‘He lived on his own for many years, with this sleek black thing that roamed the fields behind the cottage. Nobody knew how old it was; it never seemed to age, and he’d had it as long as I could remember. But when he died at eighty, heart attack, the cat sat on the floor in front of his bed and couldn’t be moved. We put food down for it and all, but it didn’t touch anything. Two weeks later, we found it curled up, dead.’

Jake nodded. ‘Many animals can be subject to depression. They often need as much care as we do. Sadly, some people don’t realise it.’

Tim and Jake then got talking about the complicated process of heart surgery and Adie asked Shennay an obvious question to pass the time. How had Tim proposed? Shennay seemed nice, although very enthusiastic about, well, life. Adie let her talk. She was worn out from her hectic day. And it kept anyone from asking about her occupation.
Not for long however. Tim and Jake turned towards the girls at last, and Shennay finished her story.

‘And you, Adie?’
She looked up from her mug, where she had been staring while the conversations had rolled around her.

‘Is that, perhaps a camera bag?’
She glanced down at the black canvas sitting in her lap.

‘Hmmm… oh yes. It is a camera. Hopefully still a functioning one.’ She pulled a face at the weather outside.

‘So you’re a photographer? Freelance or do you work for a studio?’ Shennay asked, Tim and the rest of the table sat forward.

Was being a photographer really that interesting? She didn’t even have a job anymore. Her gut twinged.

‘I- I am a photographer. Although I am…’ How much did she tell these people? Did she really want them to know she had just been let off? She sighed. She didn’t really care anymore. Let the whole world know that To Be A Bride Magazine was a worthless and mediocre establishment, with poor taste, enough politics to run the country, and treated their employees with disrespect. Let them- slow down Adie. Maybe don’t tell them that much.
‘I was a photo journalist for a wedding magazine.’

‘You… were?’ Jake frowned.

‘I told you it’s been a rough day.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘You sure you don’t want wine instead of hot chocolate?’ he gestured at Shennay. ‘She did offer it.’

‘I would love some wine. But I need to get home standing, preferably.’ She smiled in way of thanks.
Tim and Shennay seemed to be having an eye conversation over the table. Tim turned to Adie.

‘Are you any good?’

‘What?’

‘Tim! You can’t just dump it on the poor girl like that!’
Jake snorted into his drink.

‘What my fiancé means is… well… I guess he just means what he said, although I’m sorry he asked so abruptly.’

‘It’s okay… am I a good photographer? Well… I won the Jaimeson Best Wedding Portfolio of the Year, just last year. Although that apparently didn’t mean much to my ex-employees.’
More looks were exchanged between the couple.

‘It’s just that… well, we’ve actually been planning the wedding for a year now. But we had to wait for- you know – pay days and work and family, to even think about getting a ring or celebrating, and we had a photographer all lined up, you know?’
A small curious bud of hope bloomed inside Adie’s chest. Was this going where she thought it was going?

‘Shay here likes to be organised. I think she’s been planning this since she was fifteen to be honest.’ Tim grinned.

‘Yes well… Thing is. He pulled out, just three days ago. No explanation really. Well, none that seemed true. And we’re looking for another.’
More fiancé-no-word-talking. That happened a lot in wedding planning. Adie had had first-hand experiences with it.
Tim reached for his fiancés hand across the table.

‘Would you be interested in sending us some of your work? To see if we’d like to hire you?’
Adie blinked. The bud of hope opened.

‘You just… met me.’

‘So did he, but if the way he’s been looking at you is any indication, I think that’ll change rather promptly.’ Shennay smiled at Jake. His eyes grew wide and he spluttered. Adie blushed. What!? Shay continued without letting them speak.

‘You’re a professional photographer, no?’ Adie nodded.

‘A professional photographer that just happens to drop into our engagement celebration, three days after our original one dropped out. A professional photographer who needs work, because her lousy boss couldn’t see what a darling she is.’ Adie rolled her eyes. Her? A darling? Her brothers frequently complained that she hit too hard. Grandpa just called them wimps for that.

Adie looked around. Would she ever. A grin split her tired face. ‘Absolutely.’

The rest of the evening past in a blur. Jake cajoled her into a red wine as way of celebration, when Tim said he’d call a cab to take them home. She checked her camera, and all was dry, although by getting it out, they made her take some photos of the party anyway. She didn’t mind. In the taxi home, perhaps, helped by the alcohol, she and Jake talked nonstop about Wildlife Photography. It was her second passion, and was far more relaxing than weddings. As a vet and animal enthusiast, he often took his holidays in the remote reaches of Scotland, tracking otters and puffins. When the taxi reached her apartment, they exchanged numbers, planning to meet for coffee tomorrow.

Traipsing up the stairs in the slackening rain, Adie smiled. Her day hadn’t turned out so bad after all.

Woops that was longer than I thought. Props to anyone who reads all that.

@katakwasabi @leetennant @ally-le @snarkyjellyfish @bebeswtz @msrabbit @kat23 @hebang @ndlessjoie @yuyuu @lugirl131415 @tspmasala @willow @moomoomoondog @carmen @hotcocoagirl @mindy @gadis @coffeprince4eva @suriyana-shah @pinklolipop @kimbapnoona @justme @greenfields @wishfultoki @raonah @moana @anothernicole @khalessymd @oppafangirl @natzillagorilla @acacia @sweetiepie54 @waterhyacinth @isthatacorner @fatcat007 @maybemaknae @tsutsuloo @egads @pineapplegongzhu @rukia @eazal @babybeast @bammsie @thetinyl @sensationalfantasy

Ahhh make this a short story pleaseeee!
Or one of the days you’re bored you can do a scene far off into the future that connects with this one.

It’s so cute, & just the kind of thing one would want in February. Well except for the laid off thing!