The Girl in Front of Me

I crack the window open a few inches. Enough to keep the rain out and let some fresh air in. The musty smell of the wet grass slowly creeps through the window. It smells nice. I've always enjoyed watching the rain and the drops of water leak down the window.

A pair of strong hands close the window and wipe the rain off the windowsill. I look at to face the person connected to those hands. It's my dad.

"Tyson, I know you want to let the fresh air in, but please, don't let the rain in too. If you want fresh air, then go outside. It's spring break, you should go outside." He said, wiping his hand on the side of his pants.

"I don't like going out in the rain. It's cold and wet and there's always worms on the sidewalk." I say, gagging at the thought of the worms squirming out of the dirt and climbing to the sidewalk.

"You can take my umbrella, walk down to the park and get some fresh air. It looks like the rain is starting to die down." My dad said, gesturing to the sky.

I do as he says and put on my shoes and jacket, he hands me his umbrella, I thank him then close and lock the door behind me. The smell of the grass is stronger now that I'm outside. I breathe in deeply and walk towards the park with my umbrella swinging by my side. I step around the worms, trying not to gag at the sight of their gross, pink bodies dragging a trail of mud behind them. I walk through the gate and walk to the swings.

The swings are usually empty, which is why I did not expect to see a girl with rich brown hair, still dripping wet from the rain sitting in one of the swings, slowly swaying back and forth. I flip the empty swing over and sit. We didn't look at or talk to each other. All it was was me, her and the creak of the old rusty chains as they struggle to support our weight.

The air stood grimly still and the dark clouds block off the sunlight almost completely, that's why I hate going out in the rain, the air is always so depressing. I take another deep breath, but all I smell is rust and dirt. My umbrella slips from my side and lands in a small, muddy puddle, creating ripples on impact. I groan in disgust as I pull my sleeve over my hand to pick it up, but someone beat me to it. It was the girl next to me. I looked into her eyes, as deep and brown as her hair and take the umbrella from her small, muddy hands.

"Thanks," I say, smiling slightly.

"Don't mention it. I'm never afraid to get my hands dirty." Said the girl. She laughed lightly as she glanced at my sleeve still pulled over my hand.

I pulled my hand out from my sleeve and laughed.

"Hey! I'm not afraid!" I told her in a jokingly offended tone.

She laughed and kicked the puddle towards my shoe and I pulled it away just in time. This made her chuckle. Satisfied that I proved her point she confidently sat up and turn to look straight ahead.

"I'm Delia by the way." She said sweetly.

"Tyson," I responded. "Are you new here? I don't recall seeing you around here."

She shook her head.

"I've lived here my entire life. I don't usually come to the park. I only come when it rains." She explained.

"Really? I never go out when it rains. I'm only here because my dad told me I go outside." I told her.

"Aww, you really are scared of the rain." She teased me.

"Hey! I told you! I'm not scared!" I laughed, gently pushing her. "I mean, I guess I hate the worms. They're so gross." I shuddered to shake off the gross feeling I get from talking about worms.

She chuckled and shook her head then wiped her nose with her hand, leaving a smudge of dirt on her nose.

"You got dirt on your nose." I laughed as I wiped it off with my thumb then dusted my hands off.

“So why don’t you like going out in the rain?” She asked.

“I just don’t like how it feels outside when it rains,” I explained, “It feels cold and wet and gross and the clouds always block off the rain so the atmosphere looks and feels super depressing.” 

“Oh, really?” She said with a confused look on her face, “I always thought that it’s fun to go out in the rain. The park is practically empty so I always have it to myself, you can splash around in puddles and pretend you’re a little kid again, I could honestly stay out in the rain for hours.”

We continued to talk as more people started to pour into the park now that the rain has completely cleared up. We stayed on the swings because everyone else was afraid that the chains would break and they’d fall.

“These swings have been here for ages. Why are they so scared about the chains suddenly snapping?” I laughed.

As I said that, almost as if the swings were listening, the rusty chain holding my swing up snapped, causing me to fall into the mud puddle my umbrella fell in earlier. People turned their heads to see the commotion and laughed at the sight of my mud stained pants and face. Delia began to laugh too. I quickly turned away and covered my face. Blood rushed to my cheeks and turned my face red. She suddenly stopped laughing and jumped off her swing, joining me in the mud puddle. Laughing as wiped her hands on her sweater.

“There,” she said proudly, “now they can laugh at both of us!” 

I grinned and splashed the puddle in her direction, causing her face and hair to be completely drenched with mud. She shook her hands in my direction, causing the muddy water to spray all over me. I laughed and covered my face.

“Hey! Quit it!” I screamed.

“No way. You started it!” She responded.

Once she stopped I got up and held out my hand to help her up. She took my hand and I pulled her up. All the moms stared at us as we wiped out hands on our pants. The street lights began to illuminate the air as the sun began to go down so night could fill the sky. 

“Looks like I gotta head home.” She said awkwardly.

We headed towards the entrance and before we went our separate ways, she grabbed my arm and spun me around.

“It’s gonna rain tomorrow.” She said dreamily. 

She smiled, let go of my arm and we went our separate ways. Her smile filled my head and her laugh echoed in my ears. 

That’s why the girl standing in front of me, in her white gown, veil that was once in front of her face now behind her head, the same sweet smile and deep brown eyes staring at me, is the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with.

I look at her and say, “I do.” To let her know that I want nothing more than for her to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

The priest takes a step back, gives me a slight nod and says,

“You may now kiss the bride.”