Passenger Story-The Rain That Couldn't Touch Us

Come with us. Were going down to the waterfront, I say. Were in the lodge at camp, and its raining like the sky will never let the rain fall again.

We’ll get soaked, Louanne says.

I go, So what? with a shrug and a grin. She, Luke, and Taylor look at each other, as if they might say, No, We’d rather just stay in these leather chairs by the fire, because, you know, it’s warm. But who are they kidding, these are the nights that make memories. We know it before it’s even gotten started. They get up and follow me, Mindy, Ky, and Trip, out the door.

Some of us have rain jackets, some of us don’t. We all get wet. We walk together down the gravel slope, and little streams of water follow us in a hurry like they have somewhere to be. But we don’t. Time seems all at once both limited and abundant. We walk.

Then we get to the pavilion. I take off my jacket, throw it on one of the rocking chairs, and lift my arms up into the air, feeling a light wind swirl around me. There are still warm coals in the fireplace from the 8 o’clock s’mores gathering, and they give off the smell of bonfires. That smell mixes with the smell of rain and heat, Dr. Pepper and the water bottle, grass and summer. Trip sets up Corn Hole and we all take turns tossing the bean bags and watching them fly up towards the ceiling and back down again.

Ky’s telling everyone about that time he thought he was Batman so he dove into a puddle. Taylor’s telling us about what she did in the elevator of her mom’s art gallery last month. Louanne talks about how her friends gave her sixty dollars to buy them McDonald's when it only cost fifteen dollars. And because she was annoyed with them, and because they didn’t know any better, she kept the rest.

Mindy asks what everyone’s favorite movie quote is. We take a while to think about it, and say them aloud when it comes to us. Ky’s is from this movie “Little Miss Sunshine”. He says, Do what you love, and fuck the rest. The chairs are rocking even though no ones sitting in them. The rain is falling around us but none of us are getting wet. I run out from under the cover of the roof and spin around in circles. I let the drops hit my face. Fuck the rest, I think.

Back under the roof, Luke puts on “Dancing in the Moonlight”, and grabs my hand. Let’s dance, he says. I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t know how to dance. Mindy is the dancer, but none of that matters. He swings me, pushes me out, pulls me in.

we like our fun and we never fight
you can’t dance and stay uptight
its a supernatural delight
everybody was dancing in the moonlight

You ready?, he says.
I go, For what? Then he dips me, and I laugh, and I know I’ll never forget it.