Embracing Rain

8 - Noah

8 - N O A H

Chance and I finally get back to Mugs and Kisses after I cave in and show him how to get back. If there's one thing I've learned today, it's that he has an absolutely horrible sense of direction. So horrible that I'm not sure any amount of practice we do will fix it. I'm really not surprised he's so familiar with getting lost.

When we pause under the awning to catch our breath—not that we ran back or did anything else remotely strenuous, but I'm exhausted and he's much more out of shape than I realized—we're both shocked to see his mom sitting on the couch talking to Emma through the window. They're both gesturing wildly and don't turn around as we walk in the door. It's only as we step inside and take off our coats that she turns to face us.

"Oh my goodness, Abbie," she exclaims, her eyes widening when she sees his face, cheeks and nose ablaze from the cold. "Where have you been? It's so late already, especially after you asked to stay much longer than you were supposed to! I told you to be back by five this time!"

I can see Chance's face contort, his expression somewhere between annoyance and guilt. "What time is it now?" he asks slowly, as if he doesn't really want to know the answer. Which I suppose he doesn't—the later he is, the more his mom will yell at him, probably.

"Five fifteen!" his mom says indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest with a dissatisfied huff.

"Oh, come on," Chance complains, relaxing. "That's barely late!"

"But it still is," she chides, sighing. "You should have at least texted. But no matter, since I got to see the cafe too."

"She told me where she got her hippo cardigan!" Emma informs us enthusiastically, and I can't tell whether she's trying to ease some of the tension or she's really just that excited. Both, probably. She has a natural talent for diffusing awkward situations with her naturally bubbly personality, and I'm really thankful for that. "I ordered one! It should be here in a few days."

"Great?" I say hesitantly. Emma nods so hard her shoulders shake. I honestly can't understand why she's so obsessed. I just can't. I'll admit that it's fun to marvel at and talk about, but I don't get why she actually wants to wear it. It seems like one of those things that gets ruined by reality.

"So," Chance's mom says, turning her attention to me. "You're Abbie's friend, yes? The one who brought him back to the grocery store last night?"

I shoot Emma a look as soon as I register her brow furrow in confusion, warning her to shut up before I reply. I don't know what she and Chance's mom talked about, but his name obviously didn't come up. I'm surprised she didn't ask for an explanation, considering how pushy she is. "Yeah. I'm Noah. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise!" she exclaims, beaming. Her enthusiasm reminds me a little bit of Emma, except that Emma is very consistently enthusiastic while Chance's mom seems to be erratically all over the place. "It's so nice to see that Abbie has some friends! Were you showing him around?"

I nod and glance over at Chance, trying to wordlessly assure him that I won't say anything stupid. Probably. I won't say anything stupid or embarrassing on purpose, anyway. "Yep! I introduced him to Mugs and Kisses today and showed him to the bookshop today. I'll take him around more when it stops raining, but I didn't have an umbrella today."

She nods understandingly, letting out a loud sigh and tucking a strand of gray hair behind her ear. "The rain really is dreary, isn't it?"

I just nod, not wanting to argue even though I vehemently disagree. I don't think she'd be mad if I disagreed, per se, but seeing as she's expecting me to agree, I'd rather not cause a scene. Not over something so trivial.