Morning darkness, and the house is at its most gentle, whispering me awake. Amy has gone upstairs to prepare for her shower while I lie warm beneath the covers, listening for the water, shaken by a dream.
I’m on a ramshackle camping trip, a bunch of us kids unloading gear from our beat up cars and station wagons, carrying it through the grounds of a small carnival to the old houses beyond the fairground. And somewhere on this journey, it seems, I have made a friend. She has short dark hair and great big eyes, and although we’ve just met, we’re like puppies in the back seat, leaning into each other, shoulder to shoulder, heads close, laughing, and then going quiet as the miles roll by because nothing has ever felt this good.
Then it begins to rain, and everyone’s a step ahead.
Tents have gone up, a garage floor has been cleared, and while I stand outside, my ratty, unrolled sleeping bag growing heavier by the minute, I realize I have nowhere to go. She stands at the door of her tent, wringing water from a cloth, and even though she has plenty of room, there’s no way I can ask. It’s embarrassing just to be standing there. I move away, into the garage, out of the rain. But looking around I see all the spaces have been taken. Busy strangers ignore me as they smooth their pallets across the floor.
And then she’s there, her sleeping bag spread out, and she’s inviting me to join her.
“Really?”
“Yes!” she says, smiling, shaking her head. I step lightly on the sleeping bag, and we laugh because it’s a little squishy from the rain.
Suddenly my knowledge accelerates, and in a flash, I see everything that’s about to happen . The longing, the intensity, and the unbearable sweetness of this friendship going somewhere I had never thought possible.
And then, for the first time, I remember my kids. And Amy. She would know. And even were I willing to risk that, this young woman clearly has no idea I’m married. My ring has been lost. I’d be lying to her as well.
Morning comes. The rain has stopped. Friends and neighbors appear. We share a big box of raisin bran. It’s the best raisin bran I’ve ever tasted. Revelatory. As people pack all around us, I look for her, but she’s nowhere to be found. Maybe she’s in the car.
The water downshifts to the low hum of the shower, and I have to get up. Leaving the warmth of the bed for the cool morning air, the anger builds like a cloud in my head. Tight and sore, my achilles tendons play hell with my balance as I head down the hallway, passing all the stuff we don’t really need.
She took me in out of the rain.
Hand on the rail, I climb the stairs, squinting and unsure; not yet ready for the light of day.
Playing in the City with Trains 
The old house my the camp ground reminds me of the house you lived in with all the guys while at Ohio State!