New York City, September 10, 2015

★ Rain fell in the dark, sleepy morning. It took a sudden wash of sun, and the project of looking for rainbows, to pry the slumbrous three-year-old out of his bunk. The air outside had cooled off but was still uncomfortable and thick. The rain started again and stopped again. A few fresh drops were on the pavement on the way to the elementary-school pickup. Before the class got out, the rain was coming down so hard it was necessary to retreat to the scaffold over the driveway. Water was dripping steadily from the roof of the far-right-hand elevator, the air conditioner overwhelmed by the sogginess. When it was time to run out to get milk before dinner, the radar map said there was no shower, but a light rain was coming down anyway. There was nothing autumnal in the sweltering gray, but there was in the haste with which the daylight failed.