Night was falling and rain drops were knocking against the windows, the slight chill in the air battling with the crackling fire mere feet away from the couch. The faint sound of rain hitting the corrugated roof of the shed outside crept through an open window somewhere, teasing Betty’s senses and overloading her depleted coziness reserves.
It was the first rain storm of the year, the first real one anyway. The slight summer dribbles that failed to soak through clothes or make her shiver, the ones everyone fled from as if they were hellfire raining down, they had been boring and not even frequent. No, the storm raging outside, the one worth its name was the ultimate sign that summer with its immobilizing heat was finally over. The time for beaches, volleyball and cocktails finally stepped aside in favour of books, pullovers, hot chocolate and long evenings on the couch. Friends would come over, stay deep into the night and watch movies, talk and fall asleep on the couch instead of barely making it home after yet another night of drinking and dancing.