sound of the rain
Sam's always liked the rain.
The pitter-pattering of the rain on her roof sounds too much like the trumpets and bass of her high school band, a sound that she'd treat with scorn in her high school years but a couple decades on with nothing but nostalgia and bittersweet. Sometimes, from the pounding bass of drums, she'd hear strains of a wedding march hidden deep in the thumping depths, the very song she walked down the aisle with. Yet other times, she finds the rain resembling the beautiful sounds her daughter makes that makes her smile even in the worst of moods, uplifting and magical.
Sam smiles fondly at the thought and leans her forehead on the cool glass, eyelids fluttering shut as she sinks into memories the rain invokes.
North Valley High School's marching band was in fine form that night, the bass-thumping, butt-shaking music they'd designed to get people up and moving resonating through the entire field. Sam, already regretting the decision to join Carter for the homecoming game, remains seated, fidgeting every now and then. Her eyes flit nervously around the field where the players have congregated, somehow finding herself drawn to one striking blonde standing in the midst of it all, looking very bit like the captain he was.
She screws her eyes shut, feeling the burning pressure of tears behind her lids. Why would she ever let herself harbour hope that after her little speech in the locker room Austin would give up the life he had now to pursue Princeton with Diner Girl? He didn't stand up for her, didn't stand up for his dream at the pep rally, and he wouldn't do it now. Nomad was buried deep inside Austin Ames, the football playing quarterback, and Sam isn't sure if he'd ever surface again.
"Carter, I thought I could handle this, but I can't. I think I'm going to go."
Fighting back tears, Sam looks at her best friend imploringly. To his credit, Carter merely nods and leans in closer, "I'll tell you how it ends, alright?"
Just as chants of "Austin" begin, Sam starts to edge her way out of the stands to the side staircases, refusing to cast a single look at the blonde heartthrob she'd lost her heart to. The space in her chest empty and hollow, the roar of Austin's name is drowned out, sounds as though she's in outer space, as though her ears are filled with cotton wool. She numbly pushes her way of the sea of people, wanting nothing more than to go home and collapse crying in her bed.
"Sam,"
"Sam!"
Sam looks up, right into the face of the man who's supposed to be leading his team to victory right now.
"Austin, what are you doing?"
"Something I should have done long ago," he smiles ethereally at her, his face shining in the glow of the lamp above them. He wraps an arm around her waist, before leaning in to capture her lips. Sam lets herself melt into the kiss, a mix of euphoria and disbelief spreading through her system. Austin presses his lips even more firmly onto hers, his hands securing tightly around her waist, the warmth of his lips and the gentle circles drawn on her hips igniting a fire within her.
He's real, we're real.
She smiles into the kiss, looping both arms around his neck and pulls him closer. She wouldn't have dreamt of something more magical.
Sam vaguely hears thunder crack in the distance, before raindrops start to fall – urgently and furiously. She feels the gentle carcass of the rain on her cheeks, the euphoria only heightened by the fact that the drought that's been plaguing North Valley is finally over. Sam laughs, genuine and boisterous, the rain filling her up with something inexplicable. She turns to Austin, eyes shining and bright with emotion.
"I'm sorry I waited for the rain," he says, lips tugging up into the little half-smile she longs for, the lopsided grin that graced his face when he dipped her during the Homecoming Dance.
"It's alright."
And it truly is.
As she giggles and pulls him into yet another kiss, impossibly drenched in the rain, she forgets her stepmother, she forgets Shelby, she forgets Diner Girl.
Right there right now, accompanied by the sweet sound of the rain, it's just a closet poet and a writer-to-be, just Princeton Girl and Nomad, just Sam and Austin, living out their own little fairy tale.
The rain comes a little unwanted this time round.
Fast and furious, the wind whips around the tents placed outside, knocking down tables and decorations alike. She sees flowers and satin tresses forced to dance about in the storm outside, colored a nasty brown, the pristine white carpet that she'd walk down to the love of her life littered with drops of mud and rain mingling.
Sam sinks to her knees in despair, the rain whom had always held special meaning to her ruining what was going to be the best day of her life. She feels the telltale prickling behind her eyelids, tears falling as ferociously as the rain outside. She swipes at her eyes angrily – angry at the rain, angry at the ruined wedding, angry that she's actually crying over such a minor issue. Well, maybe not that minor to a bride-to-be, but she's Sam Montgomery, the girl who got through 8 long years of ruined dates and missed experiences with her evil stepfamily.
She blinks away tears just as Austin bursts into the room. He affixes himself to her side in concern, his hands drawing gentle circles into her own. She feels the waterworks build up again and gives in to the struggle this time, crying against her husband-to-be's shoulder. Sam feels warm and comforting arms encircle her, feels soothing words whispered to her ear, and feels her heart nearly burst of love for this man. She sniffs a little, and pulls away from the warm embrace.
"Austin, do you remember during the Homecoming dance you asked me if I believe in love at first sight and I told you I'd tell you later," she pauses to smile at the memory, "well, truth is, I do, Austin, so much. In fact, I think I fell a little bit in love with you as Nomad, and then fell completely head over heels when you held my hand to dance and made me truly feel like a princess. The rain outside may have ruined our wedding today but I don't care anymore,"
She clasps their hands together, watching tenderly as Austin entwines them, "it's going to be you and me forever, and I love you, Austin Ames."
Sam almost swears his smile after her little confession could have blinded the whole room, but she's too focused on meeting his lips to make sure.
Austin's lips are as warm as she remembers, the scent of his Noir, the scent of home immediately settling her at ease. She feels water drip onto her nose, and for a second, wonders if the rain had come in. As she pulls away to check, the first thing she sees is a pair of blue eyes, tears pooling in those beautiful orbs, falling gently down his cheeks like summer rain.
Sam didn't get to have her garden wedding that day, thanks to the rain. But because of the rain, they ended up getting married in an intimate ceremony in her house that very day, with Carter walking her down the "aisle", substituted with a green carpet she found lying in her attic.
Honestly, it's everything she ever wanted – and more.
Sam finds herself frowning at her cereal, her favorite fruit loops inciting nothing more than a weird churning feeling in her stomach. Still, she forces herself to swallow down her cereal, affecting a normal demeanor, feeling her husband's watchful eye from across the dining table. She tries to smile, but it comes out more like a grimace, Austin getting up from his seat to place a hand worriedly at her forehead.
"Want some coffee, Sam? It might settle your stomach," he places a cup of steaming coffee next to her cereal, the smell of cocoa beans normally inviting. But today? Sam takes one whiff of the coffee and flees right to the bathroom, retching non-stop into the sink. Austin's footsteps sound right behind her, and he holds up her hair with one hand while she pukes her guts out, the other patting her back gently.
She washes her mouth out with water, feeling her cheeks flame at the embarrassment of having her husband of merely 2 months watch her puke. She turns to face Austin's worried gaze, face a little pink both from the embarrassment and the exertion, and manages to muster up a tiny smile to assure him.
Only when she smiles, she feels vomit at the base of her throat again and proceeds to throw up once more. Austin calmly pats her back and when Sam's done emptying her stomach, leads her out onto the sofa and sits her down. She watches as Austin flutters around, pulling both their coats and his car keys off their respective mantles.
"Where are we going?" she manages, her stomach queasy. He holds his hand out to her and guides her out the front door, lips lifting up into that half-smile she'd grown to love, "We're going to the doctor's, Sam. I'm taking the day off."
Despite her nausea, Sam finds it in herself to smile genuinely at her husband's concern. She allows herself to be led down the steps and out to the porch, where she's met with gentle drizzling. Raindrops tickles Sam's head as she walks to the passenger side of the car, the drip-drip-drip sound oddly comforting. To her surprise, she finds the churning in her stomach settling down a little, breathing a little easier as Austin drives them down the windy roads of North Valley to the nearest hospital.
The nausea however returns almost immediately, once Austin parks his car and the musky, woody smell invades her nostrils. She dry-heaves once she steps foot out of the car, the smell too much to handle.
It's not long before she finally composes herself, enough to make it up to the doctor's clinic. Sam's a little drowsy from all the puking she'd done earlier, and can't find it in herself to listen to the doctor. She does the things she's told to do, not exactly knowing why, and when she's asked to pee on a stick, she does it without thought, not registering the look of hope blooming on Austin's face.
The one line that shocks her out of it though, comes without warning, cuts through the haze blanketing her, just like the sound of the rain had earlier.
"Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Ames. You're going to have a baby."
Sam's stunned for a moment, her brain trying to process the information. When it finally sinks in that she's pregnant and there's going to be a human the size of a bowling ball growing in her stomach for the next 9 months, she lets out a squeal, grabbing her husband into a hug. Austin's booming laugh reverberates down to her toes, the sound filling her up like their future baby would.
Sam cradles her stomach gently, amazed that there's something precious in there that's from both of them. Austin lands an affectionate kiss on the side of her head as he steers them out of the doctor's clinic, stopping them right outside the door. He bends down and places his hands on Sam's stomach, the bump still barely visible. She smiles softly, running a hand through his blonde locks as he whispers to their creation.
As the bump increases in size, Sam finds herself craving more and more for the sound of the rain. She falls asleep to a recording of the rain steadily falling, and it's a tradition for them to sit out at the porch whenever it rains, just listening to the sound of the rain.
It's no surprise then that Sam experiences painful contractions on a rainy day, nor when their baby is born in the midst of a rain storm much later on. It's also not a surprise that they decide to name their newborn daughter Hagel, the German word for rain, in honor of the rain who has been a part of their lives such as much as they had.
"Sam?"
Sam breaks out of her reverie to see Austin cradling Hagel in his arms. Their baby girl, already a year old, gurgles something unintelligible and holds out her stubby arms to Sam. She smiles fondly at her little girl, and gently takes her in her arms, spinning them both around to the glass separating them and the rain outside. Austin wraps an arm around her shoulder as they both watch Hagel reach out for the rain, as transfixed by the sound of the rain as their parents are.
Sam's always thought she liked the sound of the rain. She realizes now, that no, she loves it.