Love in the Rain
by Joanne Jones
At the age of
nineteen, Rochelle had a magical way of looking
at life. She seemed to think she could have her
cake and eat it too. She was in the “now”,
the future didn’t need thinking about. The
most awesome man she had ever met had entered her
life. She was off to New York in six months. She
was having the time of her life.
In six months, Rochelle would graduate with a
degree in Apparel Design from Diablo Valley
College. Living in Walnut Creek, California now,
she would then move to New York to attend the
Parson’s School of Design.
Eric had watched Rochelle for months before
approaching her. He had his heart stomped on a
few times, so he was very cautious. Rochelle was
the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. This
had to be done right.
Eric was a photographer and he was good. He used
his camera to meet girls. So, Eric approached
Rochelle at school asking her if he could take
some pictures of her. That was a new one, she
thought, but Rochelle said yes, and this guy
looked interesting.
Pictures were taken, they met to look at them and
it just grew from there. The next thing Rochelle
knew, she was spending a lot of time with Eric.
Eric was tall, good-looking, a pilot, a rock
climber, a mountaineer. Rochelle had never met
anyone like him. She had certainly never done any
of the things Eric did.
Carol, Rochelle’s best friend told her to be
careful. Eric had a reputation for lovin’
them and leavin’ them. No one had ever left
Rochelle so she ignored the idea.
On a Saturday night in November, 1959, Eric
turned his ‘49 Ford into Rochelle’s
driveway at the end of the short street, stopping
next to the giant Oak. It was very late, dark and
a wet fall evening. It had been raining all day.
The air smelled fresh and woodsy. The porch light
made everything sparkle. Music ‘til Dawn on
KCBS AM was playing love songs from the 40’s
and 50’s, the best make-out music you could
find.
Rochelle expected Eric to put his arm around her
and slowly pull her to him for a kiss. He didn’t
do that. Instead, he started scratching at the
steering wheel with his fingernail and gazed out
the window, looking very thoughtful.
After spending the evening together, Eric had
questions. All during dinner Rochelle had talked
about her plans to go to New York. She would be
leaving in six months. Once Rochelle went to the
Big City, Eric doubted she would ever come back.
Better to stop this now.
Rochelle was puzzled. He could talk about all
kinds of things. He listened to her, really
listened. She kept learning new things about him.
When he kissed her, her toes curled.
Eric slowly said, “I think we are moving too
fast. Going to New York seems very important to
you and I can see why. You’ve got your
future all planned out.”
Eric took a deep breath. “Since you’ll
be leaving in the spring, I think we should start
seeing other people. Not spending so much time
together.”
Rochelle went into a trance, forgetting where she
was. She jumped out of the car and ran into a
very muddy orchard, then hugged a tree trunk and
cried hysterically.
Eric followed her footprints into the orchard.
“What have I done? I’ve lost her.”
He regretted telling her that they should break
up. “Rochelle”, he yelled, but no
response.
He saw her crying against a tree and pulled her
to him. “I’m sorry.” Eric put his
hand on her cheek and kissed her, very gently.
Rochelle had just changed the direction of her
life. It had to include Eric.
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