i love a rainy night

Pam and I took a walk last night.

We started out at about 8:00 and, when we left the house, it was raining just a bit. Not drizzling, not misting. Actually raining, but so slightly, and with so many clear spots in the sky that we said Oh, the hell with it. It's going to clear up in a minute. And it did. By the time we were about halfway down the block, the rain had stopped, the air was still, and things looked promising.

We walked another block. Skies still clear, but distant thunder rumbling. Distant. We got back to my corner. Should we keep going? If we do, we're committed. There's a creek between the houses, and we can't just run through the yards to get home. Think we can beat it? Yeah, sure we can beat it.

Can you see where this is going? I thought so.

We were about two thirds of the way up the last block when we realized that the thunder no longer seemed quite so distant, and it was getting dark. Not just evening-descending dark, either. Noah-and-the-ark-storm-impending dark.

We picked up the pace.

Two houses from the end of the block, the thunder was overhead and the lightning was blinding. But still no rain.

One more house, and the rain came. Hard and fast. We yelped, but laughed, and walked along under the shelter of the overhanging branches at the side of the road.

It was time to turn, and walk the one block that we would have to cover on the busy street. The street that, every time I'm walking, I worry about. The one that makes me think If I trip, someone is going to squash me like a squirrel, and I am going to die.

The rain was coming down in sheets and shipping across the pavement. The lightning was so bright, and the thunder was so loud, and there were no more branches overhead. Completely soaked, we started jogging, if you can believe that. And we were hooting like a couple of loons.

We finally made it home, drenched and dripping. Andrew looked down at us from the top of the stairs, tossed us some towels, and asked Did you two have a nice walk?

And you know what? We did.

Posted by volfie at July 18, 2004 01:28 PM