Don't Rain on My Parade

         Tom Collins mumbled, "I hate my name, hate my job, despise my wife, hate -- hate the whole world. Everyone's out to get me." He strode from his house with a frown furrowing his brow, his brief case in hand.

         As he headed for his car in the drive, he noticed another shadow other than his own running ahead, something floating behind his head. He whirled to see a small, black cloud behind him, moving closer and closer. He ran to the car, threw open the door, tossed his briefcase and himself inside, and slammed the door. The cloud rumbled a small roll of thunder and sat on the windshield.

         "I'll teach you." Tom flipped on the windshield wipers as he gunned the vehicle down the drive and into the street. The wipers swatted the cloud and sent it flying off the car. He glanced in the rear view mirror as the car sped down the street. The cloud trembled and shivered on the drive.

         "What in ..." With a shake of his head, he continued toward his office, but his eyes kept switching to the rear view mirror. As he drove into the parking lot, he searched the area but didn't see any black cloud. He half-ran from the car to the office door. As the automatic door swished closed, he spied the cloud through the glass. He also heard the thunder rumble.

         "Mr. Collins," the receptionist asked, "are you all right?"

          "Yes, yes, I'm fine." Tom steps weren't quite a run as he rushed to his office. Inside, he dropped the briefcase on his desk. The window behind it darkened. His eyes widened when he saw the cloud pushing against the glass. He stumbled to close the blinds.

         "I'm losing my mind. I'm losing my mind." He dropped on the couch against the wall by the door. "Clouds can't follow people." He wiped the perspiration from his forehead with trembling hands.

         When the intercom on the desk buzzed, he took a deep breath and forced his body up and his feet to carry him to stand by the desk. He pushed the button. "Yes?"

         He heard scream and yells as the reception shouted, "Mr. Collins, something strange is out here, came in the door with a client. Mr. Collins, there's a storm cloud in the office." She squealed. "It's raining on us."

         "Get out, every body out. Go home." Tom released the button and hurried to the window, forcing the blinds out of the way, he raised the chair and threw it through the glass. Pushing as much of the shards out of the way as possible, he climbed out and ran to the back of the building and then around to the parking lot. He had his keys in hand as he reached the door, unlocked it, and scurried inside. People ran from the front of the office toward their cars. Some rushed down the street.

         "Hope that cloud doesn't get out. I shouldn't have told them to leave."

          Tom started the car and drove from the lot through the back drive. "What am I going to do? What am I going to do?"

         Driving through the streets of town, Tom kept his eyes darting around him, searching for the black cloud. After nearly an hour, he turned the car toward home. "Surely it's safe to go home now. Maybe I'll wake up and discover I'm not Joe Btfsplk after all."

         Weary and frightened, Tom sat for a moment after the car stopped in his drive. Swallowing hard, he opened the door and slid from under the steering wheel. He sprinted toward to the porch. A roll of thunder brought him to a sliding halt. The cloud rose from the bushes by the house and rushed toward him. He screamed, throwing his arms before his face as he sunk to the walk, curling into a ball of distress. Lightning struck around him; a barrage of booms, crackles, and explosions assaulted his ears; the concrete under his body oscillated and quaked; torrents of water poured over him.

         "What are you doing out here like some nut cake?" His wife's voice shattered the misery surrounding him.

         Tom unfurled his body to sit and stare at Lily. His head whirled in all directions. The sun shone. No cloud could be seen. No thunder rumbled. No rain fell.

         "I asked you a question. What are you doing on the ground?" She knelt beside him. "There's something wrong, isn't there?" Her voice softened, no longer harsh. "What's wrong, honey?" She touched him with gentle brushes of her hand.

         "I, uh, I ..." He paused and searched the area again. "I was followed by a black cloud. It finally -- it finally caught me" He lowered his head and ran his hand over the dry walk. "I think I'm going crazy."

         Lily wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You haven't been acting like yourself lately. I've been so worried."

         Tom laid his head against his wife. "I'm been so angry, so angry, but I didn't know why. I hated everything. I wanted ... I don't know what I wanted."

         Lily rocked him. "It's going to be all right now. Everything is going to be all right." A smile curled her lips as she winked at the black cloud peeking around the garage corner.

***

Note: Joe Btfsplk is a character from the Li'l Abner comic strip. Joe had a black storm cloud over his head at all times.