We've had a very dry summer thus far. Sienna-hued lawns moan and crackle beneath one's feet.

Our gym is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows. It was while Miles and I neared the end of our elliptical trainer hell workout that we noticed a darkening of the sky. This meant nothing. We've had teasers of rain for weeks...flirtatious thunderheads that growl with foreboding only lose interest quickly and move along.

But still, the possibility was there. We stared at one another from across the room, our preferred machines at opposite ends. Pointing eagerly at the window, Miles bobbed his eyebrows...I nodded enthusiastically. He terminated his program several minutes early, marching to the weight machines. I followed suit, just in case.

You see, it is our custom to walk to the gym. It is a 15ish minute speed walk taking the shortest route. We left the house with a sunny, cloudless sky above. Rain, however much needed, would make this rather uncomfortable on the return journey.

I began to fatigue the adductors at my thighs when a booming vibration trembled the windows. I looked back in time to see the sky illuminate magnificently and heavy beads of water speed toward the ground in brutal ambition. We and our fellow exercisers cheered exuberantly, momentarily forgetting the whole "I gotta walk back in this crap" thing.