Saving Rain

by Kelsey Kingsley

And I did. I noticed that every Tuesday, Ray and Noah came to The Fisch Market to do their grocery shopping. And every Tuesday, Noah stopped by to chat with me wherever I was cleaning or stocking the shelves while his mom did the shopping. She never seemed thrilled that he was neglecting to help her to while he was talking with me, but she never seemed bothered by it either. Not the way everyone else seemed to be. “I can’t believe you’re letting your son talk to him,” I overheard one woman say. “You know he’s a criminal, right?” “Lots of people are criminals, Sheila,” Ray replied, unamused. “Doesn’t make all of them bad.” “I’m not talking about a couple of nights in jail, Ray. He was in prison for a decade.” Actually, it was just short of ten years, Sheila, but who’s counting? What stood out to me though was that Ray hadn’t just replied to that woman—she had defended me. And while Noah followed me as I swept and his mom let him while not allowing others to talk shit about me to her, it almost seemed like I had two more people on my side. It was nice, and Tuesdays became my favorite day.