Inspired by...

    This is something I wrote one night as I stared at this picture.  My friend Meiko drew it, and she was kind enough to give it to me after her art show ended in May.  Here's her site too if you're interested in seeing more.  She's really very talented.  Anyway, Here it is:

    The rain fell down in torrents, soaking the clothes she'd left hanging on the line. Cursing her bad luck, she hurried out into the downpour, grabbing shirts and blouses and pants off the lines and dashing back into her living room. Her things were even wetter now than they'd been when she pulled them out of the washer in the first place. She carefully wrung out as much water as possible onto the back patio, doing her best to stay out of the rain, hoping there wouldn't be a change in the wind's direction.
    Monsoon season was always like this, but she sometimes felt like it purposefully snuck up on her, teasing her with a relatively clear day only to turn to a violent storm while she wasn't looking. She had been so happy this morning, thinking that she would save on electricity by not using the dryer, but the rain made that impossible now. Everything tossed into a hamper, she carried her sopping laundry to the dryer, made one last attempt to wring out the excess water, and dumped it all in to dry for an hour.
    The sudden rain had interrupted her lunch, so she went back to finish the sandwich sitting on her desk. Aside from the half eaten meal, her workspace was covered with paper, sketches, pens and pencils. Her computer's screen saver has kicked on, so she tapped the spacebar and picked up where she'd left off in the email she was reading. Much of it was junk, spam about sex and penis enlargements, but there were a couple thing of interest. First was a job from a small local business asking for a new logo design and whether she was available for a short meeting this Wednesday. She definitely needed the work, but what really interested her was the other email, a very short and intriguing message that read, "It's been a long time, and I know you're out of the country, but please give me a call. --Dorian 415.612.3879"
    So, he knew she wasn't in the States, which was interesting in itself, but if he had found out that much of her current situation, why not get her number and call himself? Bastard's probably too cheap to spring for a long distance call, she thought with a wry smile. Oh well, why not humor him, except she wasn't going to play by his rules. Clicking the reply button, she quickly composed her message, "Yes it has been a while, but why don't you call me first? -Alice 011-81-03-3425-6552," and sent it along. There, now he could call her if her felt like it. She picked up her sandwich and started eating again, watching the rain lash against the windows as the wind picked up and the storm grew fiercer.
    Her self-satisfaction barely had time to warm her before the phone rang loudly, making her choke and cough in surprise.
    "Hello?" she said with difficulty, still coughing.
    "Hey, Alice," said a familiar, arrogant voice. "Nice of you to email me your number."