Synopsis: When Lucy's neighbour Bill finds her waiting for the bus in rain he offers to take her home. She resists. After all, adults should be independent, right? Will Lucy learn to let him take care of her? Can Bill become the Daddy she never knew she needed?
The rain had been relentless all day. A dreary, depressing day where the palette of the world felt limited to lifeless shades of grey. Lucy pulled her scarf back up over her face, her warm breath offering little comfort against the seeping cold of her wet coat. After all, it was water-proof, but by this point she was so wet it was like she'd been submerged!
She rubbed her reddening fingers together vigorously and then plunged her hands deep into her damp pockets once more. She'd picked a terrible day to forget her gloves. She should have turned back the moment that she had left the house that morning, but she'd been running late for the bus. She'd just made it and so had barely had time to register the penetrating cold of the day. But now that the bus in turn was running late to take her home, she had already had fifteen long minutes to regret every decision that led to her current self-pitying huddle.
A car came around the corner and she took a hasty step back to avoid being splashed - as though it would make any difference at this point. The sudden movement caused her oversized hood to fall back. She gasped as icy rain dribbled down the back of her neck, her freezing fingers working frantically to pull her hood back into place. She was so preoccupied with what she was doing that she didn't notice that the car had pulled over.
"Lucy?!" The voice from the window was incredulous. "I barely recognised you all in black and buried beneath your scarf!"
She peeked around her hood then retreated back into it slightly. It was her new neighbour Bill. She'd never had any reason to be afraid of him - in fact, quite the opposite - he'd been the one who had helped her hobble home when she'd slipped on some ice when trying to take her bins out. But, even though he gave her the feeling of a friendly uncle, the fact of the matter was that he was still bigger and stronger than she was and that he was still a guy - and that meant he intimidated the hell out of her!
She blushed slightly at his comment. She was far more at home in a brighter colour palette. "Well, er, it's important to keep up a certain level of professional appearance at work."
He smiled slightly. "Is it? What do other people wear?"
She squirmed, her sensible flat black shoes feeling like they were giving her frozen feet absolutely zero protection. "Well, er, to be honest, I don't think anybody else really bothers with it. In summer some people don't even cover their uniform! But that's specifically against the hospital's rules." She couldn't hide the shock in her voice. To her it was a big deal. She was proud to play some small part in such a big organisation, and she definitely didn't want to let them down.
"Are you headed back after a shift now?"
She nodded, her big black hood bobbing up and down over her pale head.
She heard the doors of his sleek-looking car unlock. "I'm headed back myself - get in and I'll give you a lift. The road's flooded down by the river - I'm not sure any more busses will make it out again today."
She could feel her breathing speed up in panic. After all, without the bus she couldn't get back by herself, and that meant she'd have to depend on somebody else for once, and that was scary. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to, more that it didn't feel right to her. After all, for as long as she could remember then she'd been as independent as she could be, and that had always been a trait that had been praised through her childhood. It felt like going backwards to get caught out as an adult and to need help again.
She looked back down the road as though by some miracle the bus would appear, but nothing did. She bit her lip. "It's, er, it's okay - I haven't been waiting here long. The busses have never let me down before."
The car door opened and her heart-rate inexplicably sped up, like she felt like she was about to be told off. An umbrella appeared and then the man stepped out. He was far more sensibly dressed for the weather than she was. "In that case, mind if I wait with you?"
It didn't really feel like a question. While Lucy wanted to say yes she did mind, she knew that that wasn't really an option. The only chance she had now was for the bus to show up - and that seemed increasingly unlikely.
Bill walked over to her and held his large umbrella over both of them. It meant he stood closer to her than felt wholly comfortable. She wanted to step away but, again, that didn't feel like a socially acceptable thing to do, so instead she focussed on keeping herself as small as possible, hugging her arms about herself as she looked out down the road, her reddened fingers gripping the sides of her wet coat tightly to her.
"What happened to your cute little gloves?"
She blushed. "I forgot them. But the ones I wear to and from work are not cute - they're just plain and practical." She could feel her head droop a little as she spoke. The journey to and from work was always when she felt least like herself. After all, a uniform felt to make sense, but an uninspiring long black coat combined with long black socks and her ugly flat black shoes made her feel so far from the self that she knew. Combine that with the black scarf and gloves she usually wore and it was like she travelled to and from work wrapped in the misery of the weight of expectations - which she was currently feeling all the more keenly for how she'd never really noticed before that she was the only one who felt obliged to dress in such a way!
"Here - let me at least warm up your hands. You're freezing." His warm hand lightly brushed over hers. She wanted to dodge but felt almost trapped beneath the umbrella. She tried to be fine with it. But the reality was that, other than when he'd offered her an arm after she'd fallen, this was the most intimate-feeling thing she'd ever experienced.
She tried not to whimper as the warmth of his hand suffused hers. It felt good. A little painful as the circulation came back, but good. But the longer he held it, the more awkward she felt. Like she was a little kid in need of assistance, when, in reality she was an adult and should be able to manage on her own.
Suddenly she broke away, pressing her hands deep into her pockets as she started to hurry away. Her hood fell down as she walked but it was like she didn't dare move her hands from the safety of her pockets. She sped up her pace. "I, er, thanks but I just remembered I should really do some shopping."
She heard the rain pitter patter on an umbrella above her - he was back at her side. "Hey I'm sorry - I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."
She shook her head as though shaking it off. "Oh - it's okay. I just-" She broke off with a stifled sob, the weight of her confused emotions overcoming her. She didn't understand herself at all sometimes. Why was she running away from something that felt good? Why did she have such a hard time ever accepting help? And where on earth was she headed at this time of night?
She sped up her pace but he easily kept up, his longer strides no match her her little ones. She broke into a run. He paused, letting her go as she ran down the road. Her frozen feet throbbing with each thudded step. She growled at herself and pushed harder, sobbing as she ran blindly into the night, wanting to feel the pain, wanting to punish herself for her own skittish inexperience.
"Lucy, stop." The authoritative words cut through her frenzy.
Without thinking she paused at his words. Her whole body was shaking. She could hear him walking towards her but didn't dare look up. She was petrified he'd be angry.
She heard the rain once more start to fall on the umbrella - he was beside her again.
"Lucy, look at me."
With great effort she turned her blotchy face towards him. To her surprise there was none of the anger she expected. Instead his expression was somewhere between sympathy and pity.
"Lucy, you've spent your day looking after other people, now it's your turn to let somebody look after you. Come get in my car. You'll feel much better when you get warmed up and get some food in you, I promise."
She sniffled, shaking her head adamantly. "But that's not right! I was going to catch the bus and, and-" she hit her hands against herself in frustration. "But I can take care of myself!"
He nodded gently. "I know you can. But everybody needs a little help every now and again. Even me."
She turned her eyes up to him in surprise. "But-"
He chuckled, slowly walking back to his car. She followed unthinkingly.
"Do you remember when you came and brought me a blanket when the heating went out because I'd just moved in and you were worried I'd be cold?"
She blushed. "Yeah - but if I'd realised you were a guy..." she trailed off, uncertain where she was headed with that thought. After all, she wouldn't have wanted her neighbour to freeze either way, but she wouldn't have blithely knocked on the door as though they were already friends if she'd realised her new neighbour was a man. Men were scary to her - she didn't have much experience with men.
He just smiled. "Without that blanket I'd have been very cold indeed. Think of this as returning the favour."
