When the wind suddenly changed direction and the weather vane on top of the roof rotated a full ninety degrees, the man walking along the deserted street turned his head the other way and shielded his face with his hands. The wind was frigid, blowing down from the north. It was late at night. He had been working late as he usually did, partly because he loved his work, partly because he didn’t like being alone in his apartment, except to sleep. His name was Robert Black. He was a research scientist in one of the large pharmaceutical companies. He was working on the development of new drugs.

He thought he should have taken his car, but he vowed a long time ago to walk to work every day and walk home every night. It was pretty much the only exercise he had, and it was pretty much the only time he was outside in the fresh air. The rest of the time he spent in his lab or in his apartment, sleeping.

He was hoping that the rain wouldn’t start until he was at home. He loved the rain, as long as he was safely inside and could watch it and listen to it pelting against the roof and the windowpanes. He didn’t particularly like getting soaked. He didn’t know that the rain wouldn’t start until he was safely inside, albeit not in his apartment. He wouldn’t find out until later. He didn’t know that in the town of Pelham twenty kilometers north of the city the rain was already coming down so fast and hard that it flooded the streets. He wouldn’t find out about that until the next day when they were watching the evening news. He also didn’t know that at the next red light he would almost bump into a woman waiting to cross the street.

He came to a red light and almost bumped into a woman waiting to cross the street.

“You shouldn’t be out alone at this time of the night,” he said.

“I don’t mind,” the woman said. She told him that she was the manager of one of the big department stores and had to work this late because she was responsible for closing the store after everybody else had left. She said she liked walking home at night, it was a safe neighborhood, and she always carried a pepper spray in her pocket, just in case.

The light turned green, and they crossed the intersection together. They walked along the street together, talking to each other as best as they could what with the wind blowing in their faces and having to shield their faces against the wind.

The woman stopped in front of a nice little bungalow.

“This is where I live,” she announced. “Would you like to come in and get warmed up?”

“Yes, I would,” he said. “If you don’t mind and if it isn’t too late.”

“I don’t go to bed until late,” she said. “Come on, let’s get out of this wind.”

They took off their coats in the hallway. They both shivered from the cold outside, and they both laughed.

“I’m Michelle,” she introduced herself.

“Robert,” he replied. “Robert Black.”

“Let’s go in the living room,” Michelle said. “I’ll turn on the gas fireplace to warm us up.”

She showed him the way, turned on the fireplace full blast, went into the kitchen, and opened a bottle of Beaujolais. She poured two glasses full of the richly red wine and carried the glasses and the bottle into the living room. They sat down in front of the fire, sipping their wine. They were slowly getting warm again, from the outside as well as from the inside.

They finished the wine and he wasn’t sure if he should go or stay for a while, but she made the decision for him.

“I have a hot tub out back,” she said. “Would you like to go and soak for a while and really get warmed up? The water should be quite warm.”

“I’d love that,” he said.