New York City, July 12, 2016

★★★★★ A man trooped along toward the subway in a suit with his tie still undone, pacing himself against the threat of heat to come. A burning cigarette, evaporating washwater from the sidewalk, and the smell of a restaurant kitchen all took their places on the air. The temperature, though, never mounted beyond what was bearable. People were dressed for it; the breeze flowed over their clothes and kept moving. A nonsmoker could feel the itch for a cigarette break, just to get out into it, to stand out in the afternoon going by. The sun hit a drinking glass and stretched its shadow along the length of the table, throwing off a star of brightness at the near end. Fine clouds, unseen before, caught the setting sun and filled the featureless-seeming sky with a pink glow, intense and intensifying.