The bell dinged as Matt and Karen exited the bodega, stepping out onto the noisy streets of Hell's Kitchen. It was a dreary Thursday afternoon, and it had been raining on and off all day. Matt could hear the sounds of car wheels sending puddle water splashing onto the sidewalk, the steady dripping of water falling from awnings and balconies, and the rush of eavestroughs carrying water off of roofs and onto the city streets.
"Ugh," said Karen, opening her umbrella and holding it up over the two of them as they walked back towards the office. "It's so awful out today. I hate it." It had been raining every day for the last week and a half.
"Well you know what they say," said Matt, "April showers bring May flowers."
"In this neighborhood? April showers create dirty brown puddles full of wet garbage. It's so gray out. I miss the sun."
"Gray doesn't bother me," said Matt, smiling. "Believe it or not, I love this weather."
"What?" Karen asked, laughing, "Why?"
"It's hard to explain," Matt said. "I just like the way it feels."
"The way it feels?" Karen asked. "That's interesting. How does it feel?"
"Like there's a charge in the air. A sort of static electric crackling, a tingling feeling. Pressure building and building and then finally being released. It's cathartic in a way. And the feeling of rain, especially on a humid day, is fantastic. The way it cools you off and settles into your skin and clothing makes me happy." Matt let out a contented sigh at the thought of it.
"I've never thought of it that way before," Karen said.
"Storms, though," Matt continued, "those are my absolute favourite."
"Yeah?" Karen asked.
"Yeah," he said, linking his arm in hers affectionately. "Torrential storms. The kind where the sky opens up and it feels like the wrath of God, like a flood could happen. The kind of storm that makes everything feel damp and heavy, even if you're indoors. With thunder that rolls across the city in an angry wave and echoes on and on, and rain that pounds down on the sidewalk so fiercely that it drowns everything else out and scatters all of the people. It's beautiful."
"You're not scared of lightning?" she said.
"No," Matt said, "Just sad that I can't see it."
"Well, I am terrified of it," she told him. "When I was little girl I used to run into my parent's bedroom and try and bury my head under the blankets anytime a storm happened."
Matt laughed. "Call me the next time. I'll come over and protect you, and in return you can describe it to me."
"I'd like that," Karen said, smiling. "You know what," she said, "since you made it sound so nice..." She folded up her umbrella, and they walked arm in arm together, wet and earning strange looks from the people around them. But Karen knew that Matt didn't care, so neither did she.