Saving Rain

by Kelsey Kingsley

“We should go on a date,” she announced during her weekly shopping trip. Noah wasn’t with her today. I wondered if he was with her mom and was going to ask when she abruptly made a suggestion I hadn’t expected but probably should’ve. I mean, that was what people who liked each other did, right? They went on dates. They made things official. They had dinner together and watched movies and … other normal coupley things that I had never done before in my life. “A date?” I asked, looking up from my sweeping and promptly smacking my head on the damn Produce sign. Howard chuckled beneath his breath before wincing apologetically. “I’ll move it, I promise.” He walked away, his laughter following him as he went, as I muttered, “He’s full of shit. He’s been saying he’ll move that fuckin’ thing for months.” “Yeah, a date,” Ray replied while watching me rub my hand against the back of my head. “Like”—my forehead crumpled with the thought—“what kind of date?” I wished I didn’t seem so stupid. And I hated that she knew it, too, as she laughed lightly at my expense and playfully rolled her eyes. “You know, like, a normal date. Dinner, maybe go for a walk or go to the movies or something …” She folded her arms against the handle of her shopping cart and shrugged like it all should’ve been obvious. “A normal date.” “I’ve never been on a date,” I admitted point-blank, then quickly wondered what she would think of me, now knowing that at thirty-one, I hadn’t done something most people did in...