Image via Wikipedia by Paola Sersante

I had the idea that since it was cold, I could bake a lasagna, and set off to get ricotta and cheese. The store that used to be an independent then a Wild Oats then a Whole Foods and now is back to being an independent was the one I chose. Wandering around, disappointing the young man who wanted me to try hummus, possibly even insulting him by not trying it, I made way to the cashier who wanted to know what the customer in front of me was going to do with his lone avocado. Instantly, I felt guilty for the amount of dairy I had, but I had slipped in dates and a mango, and a brought a bag.
We discussed the mango, I paid, and was on my way to my car when I realized it was raining. Actually it was hailing.

The sound of hail on a rooftop is brutal. You feel as if things will break, things like the roof, the windows. I probably should have returned to the independent and had a snack. But other people were driving, so I did too. I used my wipers, I used the defrost with the heat and AC on full blast, I made a left turn barely able to see. That was when the lightning began. The safest place in a storm, I told myself, is a car. At some point I blasted Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” which happened to be on the radio. I never crank up the volume; what better time than in a raging hailstorm?

I got to the driveway, My doormat was covered with hail and fresh green leaves. It looked like a deconstructed mojito. I put the lasagna fixings away. In two hours, the sun came out. I opened the windows. May looked back.