Prologue

The rain drizzles down at a light, steady pace. Gwen scans the block, searching for the best route through the throng of people, vehicles and obstacles. She does not really mind getting wet, but today is a work day and getting her clothes soaked before making it to work is not on her list of things to do.

Gwen sighs. There is not going to be any easy way through the rain. With a cursory shake of her head, the young blonde woman steps off the sidewalk and onto the crosswalk. Immediately, she is hit by rain. It is light, a consolation for having to walk to work. It hits her face first, sending a cool feeling through her. It could be worse. I could be getting drenched.

The last time it rained during a work day, Gwen got drenched. It was so bad that for the better part of the morning she had to sit soaking wet and miserable. Not only did she have to wait for a break to go out and by a new set of clothes, but she had to wait for it to stop raining. And that day, it didn’t seem like it was going to ever stop!

Today is not bad. It is actually somehow invigorating for Gwen. The young woman has always enjoyed getting wet. In fact, anything to do with water, she is down for. Except when it comes to her going to work in it and that is today. She cracks a smile as she shifts left and right through the crowd. She thinks of the water as a way of washing away everything that has happened to her lately and that includes her ex-boyfriend, Rob.

Rob had been one of the best moments of her life and the worst.

He came into her life at a rough time. Gwen’s father had just died and she had no one to fall on. Her mother had died when she was real young, so young that Gwen barely remembers her. Rob was there to lift her up and support her. They soon became lovers, moved in together and even discussed marriage. And then, one day, everything changed.

Gwen had fallen under Rob’s spell for a time. She weathered his abuse, lies and put downs until finally, she could not take any more of it. Last night was the fight of a lifetime. It left Gwen tired and weary but it also left her alone. And this time, alone is not such a bad thing. This time, being alone means freedom and Gwen never realized just how good that felt. The rain is here to finally wash it away, and as her smile grows bigger she wishes it would rain just a little harder.

Gwen is feeling so good that her hunger has returned. She glances at her watch, seeing she has plenty of time to stop off somewhere to grab a bite to eat. She cuts down the sidewalk to the right. There is a little stand just a block over, that makes the best breakfast sandwiches in the city. The crowd thins a bit, but there is a good-sized line when she reaches the stand. While the rain is feeling good on her skin, Gwen is happy that there is a canopy for the merchant’s guest to stand under.

The young woman stares across the street and falls into a lull as she replays the events from the night before in her head. She cannot help but smile at herself, and the bravery she had to stand up against Rob. She had always been confident with herself and had never let a man rule her. Somehow Rob managed to break that resolve into pieces, but she pulled herself up and out of the rubble to face him.

“Gwen?” a voice says, drawing the young woman out of her reverie. “Oh my goodness! It is you, Gwen!”

Gwen looks at the woman, not recognizing her immediately. “Oh shit!” she replies once she remembers. “Hera? I haven’t seen you since...”

“Since you worked over at Starr Marketing,” the slightly older woman finishes.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Gwen confirms. “Are you still over there?”

Hera shakes her head. “No, I stayed for a few months after you left. And then I came across a new opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up.”

“So how long has it been?” Gwen asks. “And where are you now?”

Hera bites her bottom lip and casts her eyes upward for a moment as she thinks. “It’s had to be what, six years now?”

Gwen laughs. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Sheesh, time flies doesn’t it?”

“Yes it does,” the older woman agrees. “Are you still in marketing?”

Gwen’s smile fades slightly. “I am. I mean I thoroughly enjoy doing it, but...”

“But you’re still not where you want to be, right?” Hera interrupts, placing her hand on the other’s arm. “I know what that’s like. I had this asshole doing everything her could to keep me from advancing. Finally I just said fuck it and I left.”

“I’ve thought about it myself,” Gwen admits.

“So why haven’t you?” Hera inquires.

Gwen drops her head in a brief nod. When she raises it to look at the woman, she has a smile on her face again, one bigger than the last. “I’m sticking it out. I’m working on something big that I think will impress the boss enough to give me a new position.”

“You think so?” Hera asks. Gwen nods. Hera clicks her tongue and says, “I think you’ll do it. You were real good when you worked under me.”

“Well, thank you,” Gwen says, her smile growing even larger.

“No, you definitely deserve it,” Hera says, returning the smile. “Say, what are you having?”

“I’m going with the Sarilla Special,” Gwen says with a grin as she pulls out her wallet.

“Haha, good choice,” Hera says. “Tell you what. I’m going to buy you breakfast.”

Gwen quickly throws her hand onto the other woman’s arm and gives a slight pull. “Oh no, you don’t have to do that!”

Hera cups Gwen’s hand. “It’s the least I can do. I haven’t seen you in a while and you deserve it.”

“Are you sure?” Gwen asks.

Hera nods. “You can repay me later.”

Gwen nods, not really knowing how or when she’ll repay the woman. They get their food and sit down at one of the two tables under the canopy. They talk about things that have happened since they worked together—mostly about Gwen and Rob. Gwen stays aware of the time she has, balancing her time between talking and eating.

“So you just booted the bastard out last night?” Hera asks, grinning mischievously.

“Yes, I most certainly did,” Gwen answer, beaming with pride. She glances at her watch and frowns. “Well, shit. I have to go or I’ll be late for work.”

“Well, we certainly do not want that,” Hera replies with a smile. “We’ll catch up later, when we both have more time.”

“Alright,” Gwen says, standing up and gathering up her trash. “That sounds good.”

Gwen leaves the stand, walking back toward the street she deviated from earlier. In her head dance thoughts of their conversation and those of what the future has waiting for her. With Rob out of her life, an old friend back in it, and the means for the promotion she has been working on, Gwen is ready for what is to come. Halfway back, she suddenly remembers that she never got a number or a means to contact Hera. She doesn’t even know where her friend works!

She spins around, nearly trampling over another passerby. “Oh shit,” she groans. “I’m so sorry!”

The passerby, a red-headed woman, grumbles, “It’s alright. I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Gwen asks, feeling bad about running into the woman.

“Yeah, yeah,” the woman grumbles. Without another word, or even a glance, she continues on as if Gwen doesn’t even exist.

Gwen frowns. Quickly, she turns it into a smile as she strains to see through the crowd, toward the stand and the table she and Hera were sitting at. That new smile quickly drops back into a frown when she doesn’t see any sign of the brunette anywhere.

“Well fuck,” she groans.

Gwen spins back around, this time watching out for other pedestrians and heads for work. Her thoughts keep her a bit distracted, and she has to work to quell the thoughts while concentrating on walking. By the time she enters the building she has them down to a dull roar. She passes Jerry, the security guard, flashes her ID card and then heads for the elevators.

The wait for the elevators seems to take forever, and Gwen has to do something to calm the random and exciting thoughts threatening to spill back out and swirl around her head again. So, with her arms folded across her chest, she twirls her body back and forth, looking this way and that. This goes on for a few long moments before she catches her reflection on the elevator doors. For those few long moments, she looked like an antsy child, high on sugar.

She sticks out her tongue at herself, she just can’t help it. There is just something about how things are going for her that has her bubbling with childlike enthusiasm. This is when she notices someone peering at her from behind a door behind her. A hand appears and wiggles at her, gesturing for her to come to him. Gwen frowns and spins around to look at the man. She can’t believe who she sees.

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