Clouds were hanging low and heavy in the sky, as if to block our ascent to an unseen divinity. It was unseasonably warm for the time of year, but the chill we should have felt was just below the surface. People filled the sidewalks of the square, seizing the opportunity to delay hibernation for one more night.

Rounding the corner on to my street, I stepped in a puddle of mystery liquid, ignoring the fact that there had been no appreciable rain in weeks. My street, to be so close to the square and the park, was and always had been remarkably quiet. A writer of my means wouldn’t normally be able to live here, but I made do with a fifth floor walk-up in the building that had the scary Chinese take-away on the ground floor.

Haynes was coming down the street, already waving me down. I met him years ago when I found him passed out in the doorway to my building, after he had mistaken my red door for his blue one three blocks away.

“Hey!” he called out. “You will never guess who’s pregnant with my kid.”