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| Midtown in the rain from Ponce de Leon Avenue. Photo by me, August 2012. |
Last weekend I was walking down Argonne Avenue on a Friday night in the rain at 1:30 AM. It might not have been the smartest thing, walking that late on the empty tree lined sidewalks, but I wasn't alone. He wanted to go to the Eagle and I was up for it too. He was talking and I wasn't paying any attention, I was listening to the rain hitting and dripping off the leaves on the trees protecting us from being drenched as we walked the dimly lit and shadowy blocks.
The rain was pouring, but under the tree canopy that defines Atlanta's green image we were hardly getting wet. He was talking about the old apartment buildings and wondering about rents and parking. I said something about living just down Ponce in the 1990s. I was thinking about how cool it was for early August and how beautiful the night and city both were in the rain. My eyes were watching the wet streaks of light glowing on the street and appreciating their gritty beauty.
We met no one as we walked except for one guy standing outside his building smoking a cigarette. He was shirtless and wearing an undone jacket and pants. Semi-naked people at night do not surprise me in the city. He did not appear to be homeless, perhaps he did not want to expend the energy to get dressed so late just to go out and have a smoke. He paid no mind to us and we paid no mind to him. Perhaps like me the man was just enjoying the city at night in the rain. He might have liked the sound of the raindrops pattering on the leaves, the shiny glow of the lights on the slick street.
We made it to the Eagle. I was met with a smile, flirtation and a very long hug from a shirtless skinny young stranger on the patio. I am not sure why we embraced and why it was so long, but his warm skin felt good in my arms. My companion stared as if in jealousy or amusement and I broke the embrace. The stranger and I smiled with our eyes, we almost kissed for a moment and I disappeared into the dark club and pounding music. The wet city and the cute stranger were moments behind.
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