Rain began falling in the bottom of the 9th.
The Senators were down 5-1. They hadn’t been able to muster any offense to speak of all game; indeed, their only run came on a wild pitch. I had no expectation that with three outs remaining, then two, and finally one, that the Senators would find the offense that had eluded them all night.
They didn’t.
The rain picked up throughout the inning. A few drops here and there, light and steady, gentle, and, finally, when the last out was made, heavy. By the time I reached the gate — and took my coupon for free breadsticks at Pizza Hut, because former Lynchburg Hillcats great Nellie Rodriguez struck out in the first inning — the rain was driving and hard.
Not that I’ll ever redeem the coupon. I can’t remember the last time I went to Pizza Hut.
I walked across the Walnut Street bridge across the Susquehanna, illuminated in red because the Senators had lost. The rain was blinding, stinging my eyes, and instinctively I tried to push it away from my face, to no avail. The rain felt good and the peaceful, and though it soaked my clothes through I didn’t mind.
I paused on the bridge, watched the river’s rushing waters beneath my feet, looked at the lights of the city through the rain, and I was content.