Some things just happen. People call it fate. Others think it's luck. Me? I think some things just happen. It's not like there has to be a reason for everything.

Like you're at your town's 4th of July celebration, and there are hundreds of people all sitting around on blankets. It's a warm night, maybe a little too muggy, but OK because there's a breeze. And you're walking around because you're there alone.

You stop at a corner to decide where to go and you look down and lo and behold you see a couple of girls talking to each other just to your left. As you look more closely, you notice that you have a perfect view right through the armhole of one of the girls' blouses and you can see her entire breast, right down to the nipple. Now what do you do? Of course. You stand there and get an erection.

Well first you put on your sunglasses so people can't tell exactly what you're staring at. Like you're fooling somebody. And then you try to arrange yourself inside your pants for maximum comfort and minimum display, even though you want to take your dick out and play with it. And you stare.

You understand that she doesn't know she's on display and would probably be mortified if she did, and that makes this chance encounter all the more exciting. And as you continue to look, you realize that she has a beautifully formed breast. Not big. The nicest ones aren't huge. They just have the right shape and definition, and are capped by a pretty pink tip. And this one is, and you know that you'll hold this memory and masturbate to it many times. It's a breast worth remembering.

And then the girl suddenly turns and looks directly into your face and you know you've been caught and you're embarrassed and you don't know what to do and then she says "Hi." You're so dumbfounded you can't think of a single thing to say and you stand there like a complete asshole and she overlooks your stupidity and she says "Hi" again.

Some things just happen.

Or like it's summer and you're hiking in the Adirondacks and you've been going for five hours including rest stops, but you're starting to get tired. You need a break and you walk off the trail a hundred yards or so to lean on a huge fallen tree and have a candy bar when you hear some sounds from the other side of the enormous log.

You look over and see two people lying on a blanket and you realize they're completely naked and they're making love. It's obvious that they're so engrossed with one another they'll never see you, and you have a perfect view through the entwined roots of the overturned tree. So you watch.

The man is on top of the woman, and her legs are spread and bent at the knee, and she is apparently just lying there getting slowly and gently banged and loving it. You can see her pelvis occasionally bounce to meet the guy's thrusts, but mostly she's just lying there with her eyes squinted closed and she's taking the pounding that he's giving her.

The guy is working hard. He has a nice sized erection and is sliding it into her, then withdrawing, then plunging forward again. You can't see everything, of course, but as luck would have it you have as close to a perfect view as possible given the circumstances. Some things just happen. As you watch your lovers' gentle fight you lower your zipper and pull yourself out and begin stroking, your own sexual feelings adding to the conflagration just around the corner, through the tree roots, on a blanket by your hiking trail.

And when you hear the couple's groans you know that one of them is about to have an orgasm and you reach your own peak, sprinkling the mountaintop ground cover, each spurt landing in a little different place as though you are helping nature fertilize the forest. And you wonder what chance encounter brought you to this place at this time and then you remember that some things just happen.

This is the story of one thing that happened to me. That's just what happens, sometimes.

I was sitting on a park bench reading a paperback. I love to read. Always have. It was a late summer evening, and the breeze from the Charles River was blowing gently, just enough to keep the muggy May air a little cool. The riverbanks weren't crowded, the occasional rollerblade couple, once in a while someone walking a dog. I was far enough down river to miss most of the kids; they tended to congregate up by the Hatch Shell, especially when there was no outdoor Pops concert going on, like tonight.

There was still plenty of light for reading. It was only 7:30 or so, and I had another hour, maybe more, before the onset of night. I studied my book, a light fiction romance that had been recommended to me by a girl friend. Not a girlfriend, just a friend who happened to be a girl.

I was enjoying the book, especially since I never would have picked it off the bookshelf on my own. My eyes were skipping along the author's words when I heard her.

"Mind if I share the bench with you?"

I looked up. I saw a female form standing several feet away, still on the tarmac of the walkway. I couldn't see her face as the late afternoon sun was almost directly behind her. It wasn't that she was shadowed by the light, rather that the glare from the sun shone directly into my eyes. I raised one hand and made it into a visor at the top of my forehead. It didn't help.

I guessed she was 5' 2" or so. Her figure was cute. Oh, maybe she could have used another inch at the bustline or maybe have lost an inch off her waist, but anyone who looks for such perfection in every woman he sees is just fooling himself. I'm not exactly Adonis myself and I think most all women are beautiful. They come in all sorts of interesting packages. Sometimes the discovery of the person inside is more fun than the package itself. Like Christmas morning, when the prettiest wrapping doesn't always conceal the best toy.

"Sure. Sit down," I offered. "But be careful. Somebody spilled a Coke or something at the far end. The seat is still sticky. I found out the hard way."

"Oh, thanks," she said. "Really. If you want to stretch out or something I'll just find another. It's OK."

"Don't be silly," I said. "If I hadn't meant for you to sit down I wouldn't have said so. I'm just reading this delightful book. You being here won't disturb me in the slightest."

"Thanks," she said, taking a couple steps toward the center of the wood seat. As she turned and sat down I saw her hair, naturally curly and brown as it twisted across her face. Newton's laws still held, and the hair finally caught up with the head spin, returning to its proper place, framing her head evenly on both sides. I still couldn't see her face very well because of the peculiar angle of the sun.

"What are you reading?" she asked.

"It's called 'Writer's Dream, '" I answered. "It's a light romance about a man and a woman who have a chance meeting on a computer bulletin board and go on to meet in person. I think they're about to get physical, but I don't know. I haven't read that far."

"Oh," she said. "Sounds kind of interesting. I've talked to people by computer, but none that I find interesting enough to follow through and meet. Anyway, that's the last thing I would need to do at the moment. I'm having enough trouble in my relationship right now to do something like that."

"Oh?" I echoed.

"Yeah, well, we're moving. So we have all those incredible pressures. Our first house. New mortgage. Hook up the phone. Call the gas company. Make sure the electric is on. Closing date. Fight with the bank. Calls from the realtor. The list goes forever, and it's all fallen on me because he works so hard."

"Lotta stress," I sympathized.

"Yeah, but somebody's got to do it and it can't be him. He's a lawyer. Just out of college, trying to get going. He works 14 hour days every day. So everything gets dumped on me. Some things just happen that way, you know?"

I nodded. I thought she looked young. Maybe 5 or 10 years younger than me. It was tough to tell in the light.

"Anyway, I don't mind. My job is pretty regular, and I like it, so at least that part of my life is good. I mean, not that the other part isn't. I don't mean to give the wrong impression. I love him and he loves me. I just wish we had more time together."

"Sure," I said. She didn't say anything. We sat in silence for a few moments.

"I'm Mike," I offered, trying to break the quiet.

"Huh?" she said, apparently lost in her own thoughts.

"I'm Mike," I repeated.

"Oh, sorry. Sure. Nice to meet you. I'm Penny."

"Hi Penny. Nice night, huh?"

"I suppose. Looks like there might be a storm brewing, though," she offered.

We were talking about the weather. Jeez, if I can't do better than that. I tried to figure out where to take the conversation.

"So you were saying? About your husband?"

"Oh yeah. Well, all the stress just built up and we had a big fight and started screaming at each other and I just needed some air, so here I am. A nice night for a walk. I needed the exercise and I needed the space, at least for a while."

"Ah," I said. I wasn't contributing much to the conversation, but I just couldn't seem to get in gear. There was an aura of gentility about her and I was touched by it. My usual devices for talking with women were gone, seemingly evaporated by Penny's soothing vibe.

"Actually I've walked and walked, probably a few miles at least. We live on Beacon Hill at the moment. We're moving to Newton. First house. Oh, I think I said that."

"You did," I offered without sarcasm. "You had a fight. You have a lot on your mind. It's OK. I remember buying my condo. It was terrifying. I must have been up every night for weeks recalculating the mortgage. Worrying about insurance and closing and everything. It's natural. Don't sweat it. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well we could move and then find out that the house has radon or the furnace could blow up or maybe the neighbor has a Doberman that eats kids or something..." I realized she was making a joke. I laughed." I'm sorry. I'm keeping you from reading," she said.

"It's perfectly all right. The book will be there later. And tomorrow. You look like you could use someone to talk to. And I like to talk to people. Really. It's fine."

"OK," she said tentatively. I folded the book and put it in my lap. I waited for her to begin talking again. She didn't.

"Well, what should we talk about?" I finally asked, clumsily.

"So where do you live?" she asked.

"Right up there," I said, pointing my thumb back over my shoulder. I turned my head and realized I was pointing at the back of a Store 24. "Well not right there..." she chuckled "... more over there and a little to the left. About 500 yards upriver, 5th floor condo, river view. It's nice. Small, but nice. Big picture window in one room, bay window in the other, both looking at the Charles. It's nice." I realized I'd said 'nice' about nine times and felt stupid.

"Omigod," she said, looking just over my shoulder.

"Beg pardon?" I said. "What?"

"Look!" She pointed to something behind me and to my left. I turned my head. A powerful black cloud was bearing down on us and we just knew we were going to get whacked. It had appeared suddenly, low and ominous from behind the Beacon Street skyline. We were trapped between the cloud and the river.

"Hurry," I said. "Maybe we can make it to the Mass Ave bridge."

We gathered our things and started to make a dash for it but it was too late. My book in one hand and my windbreaker flapping in the other, I outdistanced her easily. But within seconds a curtain of water suddenly loomed before us, cutting off our escape. I searched the horizon for an alternate plan.

"Here," I cried. "Over here." I ran to a low hanging oak tree that seemed to offer some protection. I stood next to the trunk and whipped on my nylon jacket. She joined me just as the rain's full force hit. It was like being under Niagara Falls. We got a torrential downpour a couple of times a year, and this was one of them. Even the tree above us groaned with the onslaught, then became a sieve, letting huge streams of water cascade down on us with a violence that nature only occasionally inflicts.

"Ahhhh," she cried, now being drenched by the downpour.

"Come over here," I said, taking her wrist. I twisted slightly and pulled her into me and wrapped the open front of my jacket around her. Her back was to my front, and we both stared at the scene of the incredible force of the storm now attacking at full fury. With only minor effort I managed to get the zipper started and about halfway up before the material began to protest. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in to me.

"Wow," I said. "Have you ever seen one of these up close and personal? Jeez, look at this rain!"

There was nothing sexual going on; we were just two people trying to outlast nature's outburst. We knew that in just a few minutes it would pass. It had to. A downpour like this for more than ten minutes would cause major flooding and that hadn't happened in Back Bay in a decade, maybe more.

As I held her I wrapped my arms tighter around her, my arms just below her breasts. Both her arms were inside the jacket, protected somewhat from the storm. We stayed there for several minutes, and I felt her warmth as the length of her body sank into mine beneath the oak. We talked a little, but mostly we just stood there in awe of nature's power.

Finally the torrents of water seemed to ebb and I unzipped the jacket. She moved away.

"Thanks for the attempt," she said. "But I don't think it did much good. Look at me." I did. She was drenched to the skin, as was I. Her clothes hung limp on her frame, her hair was plastered in tiny curls against her skin. Her forehead was covered with a wet, tangled, brown mop.

"I hope I don't look at soaked as you," I offered.

"You do," she shot back. We both laughed.

"I have an idea," I said. "Come up to my place and dry off. It's just over there," I said pointing to my building.

"I don't think so," she said. She looked uncomfortable.

"Oh come on," I pleaded. "You can't be thinking of walking all the way home to Beacon Hill dripping wet like that. Anyway I can give you a ride if you want, but I have leather seats in the car, so you'll have to dry off some."

She still didn't agree, though she didn't protest either.

"Come on," I implored. "It's a fair offer, freely made from one drowned rat to another."

She smiled, then laughed. "OK," she said. "But I really do have to get home soon. He'll start to worry."

"Of course," I said. "You can call him from my place as soon as we get there. No sweat."

That seemed to alleviate her fears and we began the short hike to my building. On the way I mentioned that I had one of those washer/dryer stacking combos and an extra robe she could wear. Or maybe she would just want to climb into a pair of my old jeans and a T-shirt and go home. She could always return them later. It was an innocent offer. She seemed to relax.

We got to the back door of my building and went through the dim hallway to the elevator. We took the little lift to the 5th floor and departed. I fumbled with my keys. As I opened the door, the first thing I said was "Phone's over there, help yourself." I disappeared around the corner as she walked to the telephone. I poked my head back around and saw her beginning to dial. "Want a robe?" I asked. She nodded.

"Hi honey?" I heard her say. "I got caught in that incredible storm and..." She paused while he talked. I couldn't hear him. "... really? You didn't get it? It was unbelievable. Like that one we drove through on the Interstate last year, remember? Yeah. Whew. I'm drenched. Luckily I found this nice girl..." She turned and looked at me and shrugged "... who's taken pity on me and I'm going to get cleaned up and dried off and then I'll come home." Silence again. "I don't know. An hour, maybe two." He was talking again. "No, I think it'll be OK. I'll call if I need you. Thanks. Love you."

She hung up the phone. I surveyed myself up and down. "Oh yeah," she said. "It just seemed easier if I told him you were a girl. He's not the jealous type, but why create a problem where there isn't one?" I understood and nodded to let her know.

"Here's a robe," I said. I threw her a nice clean white terricloth, big and fluffy. I threw her a matching bath towel. "You can change in there. I'll wait for you, go ahead. The dryer's in a closet there in the hallway. I'd tell you how to work it, but you probably already know more about it than I do." I smiled.

She took the robe and walked to the bedroom. Luckily I had cleaned it up just a couple days earlier, and hadn't completely messed it up yet, so it was somewhat presentable. I heard her shuffling around and then I heard the door creak open. She came out wearing the robe and walked to the closet that hid the dryer. As I expected, she seemed to know exactly what to do, dumping her clothes into it and adjusting the settings to something or another.

"Can mine go in there, too?" I asked. She nodded. "Be right back," I said.

I quickly changed and walked back out in my own robe, an older one that I didn't wear much, but she had on my favorite. I tossed my sopping clothing in the dryer along with hers as it began to tumble. I closed the closet door to cut down the noise.

"Well. Welcome to my place," I said.

"Thanks," she replied. "Though I must say this is a little unusual, at least for me."

"Yeah, well, me too," I answered. "Usually I at least know a woman's name before she comes up here." I smiled to indicate I was making a joke.

"I already told you," she said. "Penny."

"Penny..." I left an obvious pause.

"Let's just leave it at Penny," she said.

"Sure," I answered. "Fine. No big deal. Didn't mean to pry."

"Oh no," she said. "I sounded rude. I'm so sorry. Here you are being a nice guy and I'm treating you like some kind of schmuck or something."

"Really. No offense taken," I said. I was a little hurt but I didn't want to show it.

"It just that I don't want to get involved, or anything, and I think it would be better if I just dried my clothes and got out." She was repentant but firm.

"Of course." I wrinkled my brow. "What do you mean 'involved?'" I was curious.

"Uh, I don't mean *involved*, I just mean, you know, involved. I mean, ah, here we are standing around probably stark naked under these robes. At least I am..." I nodded to indicate I was too. "... and a few minutes ago you were standing with your arms around me..." I nodded again to show that I remembered. "... and I, well, kind of liked it because it felt so warm and protective..." I nodded to signify that my brain had just had a seizure. "... and I'm married and don't fool around..." I nodded to convey that I suddenly wanted to fool around. "... and I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea..." I nodded to imply I had just gotten the wrong idea. "... and I wouldn't want to tempt myself..." I nodded to indicate that temptation was the next thing I was planning. "... so it's better if we just don't get involved."

"Absolutely," I said. "Can I offer you a glass of wine?" I think I should have paused between her speech and my offer, because she quickly shook her head. Typical of me. I knew I would have to get control of myself before I screwed this up.