Breakdown

Tabora nodded, making her curls bounce, and sniffled. "Thank you. Thank you, Barrett. I need a tissue." She gave a watery laugh. "I'm a mess. I need to go to the bathroom and pull myself together.

She sat up, Rain stood and helped her to her feet and she went into the bathroom. When she came out, she was much more composed, and they returned to the kitchen where they could keep an eye on Malley. Barrett made coffee and they discussed options.

"Tabora, do you think you might be interested in the job at St. Paul's?" Rain asked.

She nodded, curls flaring around her face. "Yes, I'm very interested. I really didn't have a plan about anything, just getting away. I... I really don't know how much money I have. I just took Joey's box. I think I can live for a while, and I was hoping I have enough to get a place to live and support myself until I got a job."

"You have a place to stay," Rain said. "You can stay here."

Tabora stood, came around the table and hugged him. Her lips were warm and soft on his cheek when she kissed him. "Thank you, Rain. If it won't be awful for you, I would like to stay for a while, just until I get settled. One place is as good as another. California just sounded warm."

Barrett laughed. "Well, this isn't a warm place, at the moment, but we don't always have a blizzard."

Tabora chuckled. She remained standing beside Rain, pressed against his side, and he was quite conscious of her warmth and the soft curve of her hip pressed against him. "I will want to find my own place, eventually, when... if I get the job. I wouldn't like imposing on you, long-term."

"I don't think he minds," Barrett said, "but I understand. I have my own place, even though I think Rain would have been happy for me to live with him, forever."

"I would have been," Rain said. "Hey, I understand, though. Everyone needs to do their own thing. It's going to be a few days, anyway. I doubt they have school or church until the weather lets up, anyway. Say, why do they need a teacher in the middle of the school year, Barrett?"

"Remember Julie Granger?" Barrett asked. "It's Julie Cantrell, now. She married Garren."

"Yes, I remember. She was a year ahead of you in school, right?" Rain said.

"Two years," Barret said. "Anyway, she's pregnant, taking a maternity leave, and she's not coming back. They need to replace her."

Rain had been feeling Tabora shifting nervously against him and he draped his arm around her waist. She cleared her throat nervously, and he could tell she wanted to say something, but was hesitant.

"What?" he looked up at her.

"Well, I know you guys said black and white don't matter to you, but it does to some people. Are there black kids who go there? How would the school feel about hiring a black teacher for that position?"

Rain sighed. "No, I don't think there would be any black kids. There aren't a lot of black people in this town, Tabora. That's a good thing, and a bad thing. We don't have a lot of the tension going on that the big cities have, and I think you'd be more of a sort of minor celebrity, rather than anything else, but I have no doubt that there will be some prejudice around, too. Think you can handle that?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of used to that," she said. She laughed. "Not the minor celebrity part. Does the priest know I'm black?" she asked Barrett. "Oh, I'm not Catholic, either."

"Well, do you think you can handle being in a Catholic school? Not cause any problems with what they teach?" Barrett asked. "And yes, I told him you were black."

"Oh, I don't have any problem with that," Tabora said. "I've gone to church all my life, just not to a Catholic church. I'm not going to be teaching religion, right?"

Barrett laughed. "No, sweetheart, but they do have chapel and things like that."

"That's fine, " Tabora said.

Tabora was excited about her job prospects, and at peace with herself and her situation. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she had people to depend on in Rain and Barrett. She was now even considering her car problems as a blessing, rather than an unfortunate circumstance. She now had two friends, sort of odd white friends, but they seemed to like her and they were certainly willing to help her and Malley. She decided she would see where this road went.

She believed she could come to be best friends with Barrett. She loved the tall redhead, and the way she had been taken in, supported and cared for by kind people who had been strangers just two days earlier. She desperately needed stability, both for herself and Malley, and these people were rocks.

She had emotional feelings about Rain. She was going to have to consider those and what it meant for her. Malley was totally in love with them, and that meant a very great deal to Tabora.

When Malley woke up, they popped popcorn and played a board game. The adults had a wonderful time helping that little angel count, roll dice, and found themselves completely under her spell.

They cleaned up, washed the dishes, and Rain and Barrett went home, each thoroughly hugged by a little brown angel.

Rain could feel Barrett's eyes on him as he drove carefully through the blowing snow. He was trying to concentrate on his driving, but she was distracting him. "Okay, what?" he finally asked.

"Rain, why aren't you married?" she asked.

He sputtered for a moment, the question catching him off-guard, and finding that he had no answer.

"Why aren't you?" he asked.

"I haven't found the right guy," she said.

"Well, same," he said. She snorted, and he realized what he'd said. "Jesus, Barrett, you know what I meant."

She continued to snort for a minute, finding the control to say, "Oh, no. You don't get to copy my reason. You have to come up with your own."

"I haven't really thought about it," he finally said. "At first, I had you. I needed to take care of you and make sure you were okay, and I was trying to work to put food on our table, finish school and get you through your schooling. Then, I got my business going, and I concentrated on that. I date, you know that. I guess I'm waiting until I find someone who matches up to my little sis."

He pulled into her driveway as he finished speaking, and she slid across and snuggled against him for a minute. "Love you, Bruh," she said. "I know how much you sacrificed for me. I'm grateful. You know, Tabora would be perfect for you."

Once again, he found himself sputtering. "What the hell, Barrett? We just met! What's wrong with you? I... we... she has other things on her plate. Why would you even say that?"

She laughed. "She likes you; I can tell. She's gorgeous, educated, and she comes with the most adorable little girl I've ever seen. You like her, too. Tell me you don't."

"Oh, I'm not going to tell you that." He grinned at his little sister. "What I'm going to tell you is, mind your own business, Barrett. I'll be hooking you up with some of my friends if you don't!"

She laughed. "Not if you want to keep them as friends," she said. "Remember how well that worked out with Clark?"

"Yeah, well, he was an asshole," he said. "Sorry I didn't know that, Barrett."

She hugged him and gathered her things. "No one did," she said. "Pick me up in the morning?"

"Yep." She climbed out and hurried through the snow. He watched her go inside and went home. As he drove, he mulled over their conversation. He did like Tabora, very much, he realized. She was absolutely gorgeous, she was depending on him, making her vulnerable, but it was her bravery that made the biggest impression on him.

She had the courage to take herself and her daughter, set out across the country with no prospects, just her own resources, and try to make a new life for them, a safe life without the dangerous asshole her ex evidently was in it. He knew very well what it was to face an uncertain future with the responsibility of having someone else to consider. He'd been in much the same position, but not with all the malevolent specter of that monster they'd left behind.

He knew she'd be a little broken, very cautious and hesitant to trust, and he would just be patient, be her friend, help her in any way he could and see what happened.

*****

Across town, Malley was sleeping, and Tabora was in the shower. Her thoughts seemed random to her, just swirling in the events that had overtaken her. Her sense of overwhelming fear and dread had lessened with every mile she put between her and Joey, and she and Malley had been just drifting, looking over the horizon for opportunities. The car breaking down had felt devastating, at the time, but that's how they had met Rain.

He had made a huge impression on her. He was huge! He made her feel tiny, but she also felt protected, and that was something she'd never felt with Joey. She liked the feeling. She also found that she desperately wanted him to like her, not to be disappointed in her, and she didn't fully understand why.

She found him very attractive, and that surprised her, too. She'd never been attracted to a white man, never been on a date with one, and hardly knew any. Certainly, she didn't know any like Rain. Malley had obviously fallen in love with him, and regarded him with all the awe in her little heart.

She got out of the shower and dried off with a big fluffy towel. They were safe, and she'd just have to see what fate had in mind. She looked at herself in the mirror. She knew how she looked, but she eyed herself critically. She fluffed up her hair and moisturized it. She wanted a hair-cap, but she didn't have one. The towel would have to do. Her hair was a mop of curls, hanging to her shoulder-blades in the back. If she stretched it or straightened it, it reached to her butt.

She wound it up in the towel. With her hair up, she had a broad forehead. She had always thought her head was ridiculously large for her body. Her cheekbones were high, her eyes huge and tilted up toward the outside corners. Her little nose was slender and her mouth was wide, full lips looking like soft pillows.

She eyed her body critically. Her neck was long and graceful; her breasts weren't large, but more than a handful; her rib-cage arched and her waist was tiny, flaring out into slim hips. She turned and her butt was her best feature, she decided, or maybe her legs. She exercised regularly, and it showed. She laughed at herself, mocking her own narcissism.

She pulled on her panties and went to bed, crawling in beside Malley, snuggling that warm little body close to her own. The world felt right, and she drifted off.

The next morning, the snow had stopped falling and the sun was shining, though pale and feeble. Rain was up and tightening the new belts on her car when she dressed, and there was a box of doughnuts on the kitchen table. The phone rang, and Rain called up that it was for Tabora. She had no idea who would be calling her, and felt a little trepidation in answering.

To her relief, it was Barrett, and she said that Father Peter could see her at 10:00, if she could make it. Barrett left her a phone number and Tabora got Malley up and dressed, taking her down to talk to Rain, her jelly doughnut still in hand.

"Hey, beautiful," Rain greeted her. "Morning, sweetheart." Malley needed a hug, and Rain knelt to give her one.

"Rain, I have an interview at 10:00," Tabora said. "Do you think my car's ready to drive?"

"Yeah, I'm all done with it," he said, "but there are still some snowy and icy patches out there. I'd feel a lot better if you took my truck until they have time to work on the streets some."

"Are you sure?" Tabora was reluctant.

"Positive," he said. "You weren't planning to do any racing, were you?"

That made Malley giggle, and Tabora relaxed. "I hate to bother you, but do you think Malley can stay with you while I'm gone? I don't know what else to do."

"Whacha think, angel?" Rain asked. "Think I can handle you?"

"Yes, I be good," she promised. She was actually quite excited about the prospect of staying with Rain.

While Tabora was getting ready, Rain made a couple of phone calls, and when she left, he sent Malley to get her coat. "We're going to take your car and get a couple of things done to it," he told her.

They drove carefully to a tire shop, and Rain had the tires replaced and the front-end aligned. He took Malley to lunch at a little diner, and she chattered at him, filling his ears with her sweet little voice while they drove and waited for their order. She held his hand any time they walked, and Rain loved the feeling of that tiny brown hand in his.

She really was just a baby. She had tiny dimples on the backs of her hands over each knuckle, and her arms and thighs still had little creases of baby-fat. Rain had never been around children that much, and he found her enchanting.

Tabora was back when they got home, and didn't notice her new tires until Malley told her where they had been.

"We went to get tires, and Rain got me a cheeseburger and a chocolate malt," she confided.

Tabora looked at Rain and he saw that she was embarrassed about him buying her tires. "You can pay me back when you get your first paycheck," he said. "You are going to get a paycheck, right?"

"Oh, yes! I got the job." She was very excited. "Everyone was really nice to me, and I start on Monday!"

Rain scooped her up in his embrace, swinging her around with her feet off the floor while she laughed helplessly. "Of course you did, and of course they were. We gotta celebrate," he said.

He sat her down and snatched up Malley. "You wanna go out to eat, angel?"

She did, and they made arrangements for Barrett to pick them up in her car when she got off work.

*****

The next few weeks flew by in a blur for Tabora. Getting acclimated at work took all her attention, and she was delighted to discover that the church had a day-care where Malley could go. She rode to school with her mother in the morning, and Rain picked her up after lunch. She spent the afternoons with him, and they had formed a strong bond. Rain was the gentle father-figure she had never experienced, and she bonded to him closely.

Tabora was settling in and becoming acquainted with her colleagues at school. She became friends with the third-grade teacher, Miss Collins, Debbie, to Tabora, and the PE teacher, Mr. Garner, Steve. They ate lunch together, and she felt like she was fitting in very well.

Tabora, Malley, Rain, and Barrett ate dinner together nearly every night, and Barrett felt like the sister she never had. Tabora felt like she had a family, but she was a little uncomfortable with continuing to live at the garage. When she started looking for an apartment, after three months, Rain was dismayed. She told him she was looking and he asked her why.

"This isn't working out for you?" he asked.

"No, Rain, no, it isn't anything like that," she said. "I love being here, and Malley loves it, too, but I feel like I need to get my own place, be independent, make my own life. This is your place, and I'm so grateful that you let us stay here."

They were standing in front of one of his workbenches in the garage where he had been working, with Malley sitting in a comfy chair he had dragged up for her. Tabora walked close to Rain.

"I want you to know that Malley and I will always love you, Rain. What you did for us... it's just more than I ever expected. I don't want you to be disappointed, but we need to find our own place, be able to be on our own and take care of ourselves. Do you understand?"

He looked down into her huge brown eyes, looking up at him beseechingly, asking for his understanding. She stepped forward wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. He held her to him, enjoying her softness against him.

"Yeah, I guess I do understand, Tabora," he said. "It was kinda the same thing with Barrett when she got her own place. I'd have been happy for her to live with me forever, but she's her own person and she makes her own decisions."

She nodded into his chest. "Yes, that's how I feel. It's not that I don't like being here, we just need to be our own people."

Rain and Barrett helped her look for a place, and Barrett knew a couple who had several rental properties. One was vacant and one would be in two weeks. The owners showed them through the places, and Tabora liked the once that was about to be open much better than the one that was already empty. She put down a deposit and everything was set.

Barrett was very happy for Tabora, but growing impatient with her brother. She loved Rain with all her heart, but he could be so clueless sometimes. She could tell that both Rain and Tabora had strong feelings for each other, but it was obvious to her that Rain needed a shove in the right direction. She knew he was going to be home that Saturday afternoon, so she dropped by his house. He was drinking beer and watching a college football game.

"Hey, Sis," he said when she came in. "Come to watch some football with big brother?"

"Oh, yes!" She feigned delight. "You know how much I love watching fat guys trying to push each other around. It's almost as good as wrestling!"

Rain laughed. He patted the sofa beside him and Barrett snuggled into him. "Just came by to hang out with me?" he asked. "Not that I mind."

"No, well, yes and no," she said.

"Oh, well, that clears things up." Rain laughed. "Glad we got that straightened out."

She gave him a pinch. "You know I'll hang out with you anytime I get the chance, but I want to tell you something, too."

He took a drink of his beer. She took it from him and took a drink, too, handing it back. "I want one," she said. She got up, went and got herself a beer. Rain drank only Ballantine IPA; she liked the hoppy taste.

She settled in again and drew a breath. "Bruh, I need to ask you something. How do you feel about Tabora?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. "She's amazing. You know what her life has been like. She's here, fighting against everything that's been thrown at her. I respect the hell out of her. Is that what you're asking?"

"No, it isn't," Barrett said. "I mean, she's going to be staying in your garage for two more weeks. You have two weeks to get off your ass and ask her out."

Rain didn't know whether to be offended or amused. "What makes you think she'd go out with me, and what makes you think I'd ask?"

"Hey, this is me you're talking to," she said. "You can't snow me, Rain. I see the way you look at her, and I see the way she looks at you, when she thinks no one is watching. She is gorgeous, Rain. She's sweet, funny, she is an amazing person, like you said, and if you don't lock her down, do you think there won't be a trail of guys following her around?"

Rain laughed. "No, I imagine every single guy she meets has impure thoughts. Do you really think she'd go out with me?"

"I know she would, but you're never going to know if you don't ask her, are you? Were you going to ask her?"

"Jesus, Barrett. She's grateful that we helped her. She trusts me. I didn't want to make her feel weird or pressured. She's living in my place and I thought it would be sort of... I don't know, like not good, to make a move on her."

"Ask her," Barrett said. "Trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Yes, hundreds of times," Rain laughed. "Remember when you set me up with Alicia Thorton?"

Barrett blushed. "Yeah, sorry about that, Bruh. I'm not steering you wrong now, though. Ask her."

He did. At dinner than night, he maneuvered her down into the garage, away from Malley and Barrett, and dove in. "Tabora," he began. "I want to ask you something. I don't want you to feel pressured or anything, you know, because you think you owe me, or something, but, well, I just want you to know how much I admire you. You have something... spunk, I don't know what to call it. I want you to know that I love Malley, so much. I am going to miss having her around here. That little angel is special, and I know why. It's because her mother is a really special lady."