Dancing in the Rain

The game of Joker Gin went about as could be expected.  I think the guys were hoping to try to talk her into a game of Strip Gin, but I was there, and the ratio of males versus females had gone the wrong way for them.  I am nothing if not a shield against unwanted games of strip cards.

After a couple of hours had passed, when we had settled into a pretty decent roll, a tapping began at the door.  Then on the roof, and then all around.  It was raining.

In Northern California, it’s somewhat rare to catch a good rain before December.  The late fall is really one of the more seasonable times of the year for us.  Still, sure enough, the water was coming down.  We ignored it for a couple of hands, but then the rain began to pound down on the roof in a fury.

Caitlyn turned to the guys, gave me an impish grin, and then to me.  “I can’t help myself,” she said.  She jumped up and headed toward the front door.  The guys looked at me in confusion.  The confusion turned into a bit of surprise when she kicked off her shoes, opened the front door and bolted outside.

The guys got up and followed her to look outside.  There she was, barefoot, doing cartwheels in the rain.  The very cold rain, I might add.

“Come on!” she shouted, shaking her hips as she yelled at us.  “I love dancing in the rain!”  The guys stayed in the doorway, shaking their heads.  “Come join me,” she pleaded.

The two guys looked at each other, and shook their heads.  Me, I already had my shoes off and was grabbing a hold of my socks.  They looked at me.  “Dude, I know you’re like seventeen, but let me give you a tip: you’re going to look like an idiot out there.”

I looked at him, and shrugged.  “Yeah, but I’ll be out there, with her.”

There was no response as I went running out into the rain.  Well, no response from them.  Caitlyn cheered.  Her hands reached out to meet mine as I ran out there, and she immediately started dancing with me.

“Do you like dancing in the rain, too?” she asked me.

“I wouldn’t know,” I said.  “Never done it before.”

“Don’t drink, don’t dance in the rain.  There’s a lot you haven’t done, Joseph,” she told me.

“That’s true,” I said, “but you know what?”

“What?” she asked.
“At least I’m out here trying it,” I said.  “Trying out the better one, I think.”

She laughed a bit, then said, “You know what?”

“What?”

“The rain’s a lot warmer in Georgia than it is in California!”  With that, she squealed and ran inside.