Temperatures Rising

Summary: This very short story is based on "Weathergirl".

Disclaimer: Early Edition characters belong to whoever created them. No

copyright infringement intended. No profit is being made.

Author: Tracy Diane Miller

E-mail address: tdmiller82@hotmail.com



Temperatures Rising

He felt very warm. And that had nothing to do with the weather.

What was he doing here anyway? Stalking a weather girl? Behaving like an

adolescent groupie or a fan determined to see their favorite celebrity so

that they could return to their humdrum existence with the lingering memory

of that one moment in time when fantasy and reality merged in a kaleidoscope

of happiness?

This was silly.

He tried convincing Marissa when he rushed out this morning to WBBM that he

had to help with a "technical" problem with the newscast because the weather

girl kept getting the weather report wrong. It was important that the

weather is accurate after all, people depended on the weather. But Marissa

wasn't fooled by his clumsy explanation. She asked him whether he thought

that the weather girl was attractive. Again, he stumbled uncomfortably over

her query saying that he hadn't noticed and that attractiveness was a very

subjective question. For a moment there he felt as if he were back in high

school trying to keep his interest in a girl from his mother. Of course,

Mom always knew and she always called him on it, her probing questions

causing him embarrassment.

He didn't admit this to Marissa, but he did find Rebecca Waters, the weather

girl, very attractive. Her shimmering blonde hair, her perkiness, her

effervescent smile, just radiated all over the screen.

Soon, the object of his desire appeared outside the television station. He

swallowed hard as he approached her.

"Excuse me. Ms. Waters?" He began politely.

"Yes?"

"Hello...ah. I'm Gary Hobson. I watch you, your program, the one about the

weather."

Great, he did say like a stalker. No, worse... he sounded like some

pathetic schoolboy trying too hard to impress the popular girl in school.

"It's called the news." She said matter of factly.

Rebecca didn't appreciate him telling her that her forecasts were wrong,

insinuating that he could do her job better than she could. However, when

heavy rains burst from her forecast of sunny skies and no rain, Rebecca

watched in awe as the man she had just met who told her of the down pour

walked away, his umbrella over his head expectedly even before the first

drops hit the ground.

The weather girl crossed paths once again with the enigmatic man outside the

planetarium. He certainly was attractive, she thought to herself. After

exchanging pleasantries (and a mutual playful flirtation), she asked him

whether his prediction of rain was a lucky guess. He told her that it

wasn't a lucky guess, but a football injury, actually his collarbone that

never healed that was his barometer. It was a lie, but he couldn't exactly

tell her that his flawless prediction came from tomorrow's newspaper today.

She asked him whether her weather report today, that there would be no

winds, was accurate. He hesitated briefly before telling her that again she

was wrong- there would be gusts of wind coming off of the lake. No sooner

had he made this announcement did Mother Nature, perhaps waiting on cue to

exhale, let out a powerful breath, her healthy winds cascading off of the

lake.

The force of nature seized Rebecca's scarf in its strong arm. Always

chivalrous, Gary retrieved the fleeing article of clothing. A short while

later, Rebecca realized that she needed to leave or risk being late for her

next forecast. But like Cinderella she had left something behind in her

haste- her scarf. Whether Fate had christened him Prince Charming he wasn't

sure. But he was a gentleman and his mother had taught him good manners.

Consequently, he knew that he had to go to the television station to return

the scarf. Of course, the added bonus would be seeing her again.

He entered the television station, was announced by the receptionist, and

told that he could observe the taping from the floor, but that he had to

wait behind the green line. Rebecca sparkled on screen despite her

continuous erroneous weather reports. He decided to help. Soon, her

erroneous (and arguably lackluster) weather report was transformed by his

hints into a surprising prediction of snow within the next ten minutes. He

disappeared from the station with Rebecca following him in hot pursuit.

When she caught up with him, she asked him whether he was sure of his belief

of impending snow. Pretty sure, he confirmed. A short while later, the

skies opened up as snow trickled from the heavens.

He was the most amazing man she had ever met. She rewarded him with a

sensual kiss on the lips.

He felt very warm and that had nothing to do with the weather.

Unfortunately, heroics beckoned and he was off to his next save, but not

before promising to call her. The next morning, he called her giving her

his weather report, courtesy of his trusty collarbone (Translation: The

Paper). The guy who gets tomorrow's news today had turned Rebecca Waters

into the girl who always got the weather right.

Later, they enjoyed a wonderful dinner date followed by a lingering kiss

outside of her apartment. Finally, The Paper seemed to be advancing the

cause of romance.

Or, so he thought.

The next day, as expected, the chorus of a "meow" and a thump signaled the

arrival of morning. He frantically began flipping through the paper and was

immediately alarmed when he discovered that the weather report was missing.

He ran down to the bar to fill Marissa in on his dilemma then hurried back

up stairs to call Rebecca. Lying, he told her that his collarbone had healed so

he had no theories on the weather. It suddenly became very chilly over

those phone lines, as his "recovery" wasn't met with a positive response.

Dead air. She had hung up on him.

Later, he was surprised when he emerged from the shower to find her in his

loft. Quickly replacing the towel on his body with his bathrobe, he

accepted her prodding to sit in a chair while she massaged his shoulders.

The ecstasy of her magic fingers awakened his senses. Yet, her veiled

references to movies that they could watch together ("Singing in the Rain"

or "Sunshine Boys") made him painfully aware that his allure to her was

because of his ability to predict the weather.

In the end, however, Rebecca realized that she was not cut out to do the

weather and became a traffic girl in Dallas.

And a guy who could predict the weather because of a futuristic newspaper

learned that even when you know tomorrow's news today, that doesn't prevent

storm clouds from hovering over and raining down on love.

The End.