The door. Most people rang the bell. He was sure some one had knocked. It was difficult to hear with the hail falling He ran to open it. Waiting was a woman. She was young, well, youngish, about his age. He saw her blue, red lips and the teeth behind them locked in a chatter. So cold, he wondered if it was dangerous out there and he looked, saw hail stones, almost as big as marbles and opened the door wider to encourage her in. The wind almost wrenched the door from his hand.
"Is Irene home," she asked. He saw her speak but the hail on the roof was so loud he heard nothing.
"Come in," he responded, and led the way to the lounge, the hail on the roof so loud they had to shout. "I'm sure it's too cold to be standing out there."
"Thank you," she shouted, as she rubbed her hands together and sat on the lounge chair he offered. "Tea, coffee?" he asked. She sat and then stood again.
"Tea, white, no sugar please." She shouted but he understood more through reading her lips, those cold, blue lips. He busied himself in the kitchen, made the tea and found biscuits as she went to the window and watched the hail stones jump on the pavement to accumulate on the ground. The forecast had been for them to be as big as hen's eggs The hail stopped and rain pelted down. Water flowed from the gutters in sheets around the house because the down pipes were blocked with hail. He joined her, pressing the mug of tea into her hand which she took gratefully.
"Thank you," she shouted to him. He smiled and they continued to watch, the sheets of water indicating the gutters didn't have sufficient fall. A light switch on the patio was throwing blue sparks, they could see water running over it. He went to the meter box and turned off the lights to the house. She nodded her approval. He did a tour of the house with her following, looked out of all the windows and saw her car with hail stones around it.
He ran to the linen press, pulled out blankets and raced to her car with them. She was behind him and helped cover her car, two blankets thick. The blankets were quickly soaked and with the weight of the water they stayed in place. Done, they raced back inside the house and laughed at their saturated state.
"Did you see any dents?" she shouted.
"No. Hoping your lucky."
"Me too." Her teeth were chattering, her skin goosebumped and blue with the cold. He went to his bedroom and found a tee shirt, a pair of jeans and a dressing gown that were all far too big and offered them to her. He took her to the bathroom, pointed to the shower and suggested she use it, said he'd get a towel and closed the door. Moments later he had the towel for her, knocked at the door and opened it enough to pass the towel in. She took it from him, showing a quick, accidental flash of her left breast as she did. He gathered clothes for him self. He could see steam rising from the wet clothes he had on. As well, he found a belt and pair of socks for her.
The light was gloomy. He found some candles and lit them, then went to the fire place and lit the fire. It was quickly raging and throwing out warmth. The rain continued to fall, he could hear the water cascading from the gutters and the gusting wind. He realised she'd need to hang her clothes and went to get a clothes horse, then knelt in front of the fire to watch the licks of flame demolish the wood.
A hand on his shoulder woke him from his reverie. He looked up and she shouted,"Thank you." She knelt next to him, wondering what to do. She had her wet clothes in one hand and he took them from her.
"Shall we wash them? Then they'll spin and it could be quicker to get them dry." She nodded and followed him to the laundry. "Twenty minutes," he shouted as he loaded the machine, added the detergent and turned it on. She stood back from him, opened the dressing gown and showed him how loose the jeans were.
They went back to the fire place where he had the belt and thick socks waiting. She was pleased to accept them. He watched her put them on. She was cute as she threaded the belt and cinched it tight. She was agile as she sat on the carpet and pulled the socks on. She grinned and thanked him again.
He reached over and rolled the bottoms of the jeans up. They exchanged smiles. He stood.
"Shower," he told her and threw a length on wood into the fire before he went. He left the bathroom door open a crack in case she needed any thing. The shower was quick and he towelled himself briskly as he realised he'd forgotten to bring his clothes in. With a towel wrapped around his waist he went to the bedroom and dressed with the clothes he'd got out earlier.
There was a lull to the rain. They exhaled with some relief.
"Is Irene here? she asked.
"No. She left me two months ago."
"I'm sorry." She touched his knee.
"She found a richer model. A doctor."
"I was hoping she'd let me stay for a few days. My boyfriend has been a shit and I've decided to leave him. I need to find some where to live."
He realised the awkwardness of the situation.
"I'm sorry. You're welcome here." A candle sputtered and went out.
"I couldn't. It wouldn't be fair. You don't even know me."
"You can. We can introduce ourselves. I'm Philip. Phil."
"Karen,. I met Irene at art school. We lost contact because my boy friend was a control freak."
"Hi, Karen."
"Hello Phil... It seems funny saying that. I mean, I'm in your clothes. My clothes are there," she pointed to them, "It's like an exhibition. You can even see my bra and panties. You know I don't have them on."
He was immediately apologetic.
"I'm sorry. I thought you'd like to get them dry."
"I know. I'm very grateful but some times I like a little mystery, some thing about me left to be discovered. I also like my independence." She smiled, hoping to get his understanding, not wanting to declare more than she had.
"Yes. I guess it is difficult."
"It makes me feel like a child, every thing I'm wearing has been provided for me. I'd like to feel like an adult with you. I think it's the jeans. I feel so small in them."
He was embarrassed and didn't know where to look. He looked at her, saw her face looking back at him and looked to the fire again.
"Would you mind if I took them off? I don't want to be ungrateful but I'd feel more comfortable. I'm much too small for them."
He looked back at her .
"I want you to be comfortable."
"Thank you." She stood, undid the belt and slipped them down and off.
"More comfortable?" he asked, as she folded and placed them on the chair.
"Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't want it to be a problem. It's warm in here now." They went to the window and saw the rain had stopped. The hail was still there, smaller with lines of erosion where the rain had washed ice away. She pulled the dressing gown tighter around her with a small shiver as she remembered how cold it had been outside.
"Another tea?" he asked.
