The horizontal rain whipped under my coat and I could begin to feel the cold damp spread across my pants. Even so, I needed a day in town. People were scurrying and scrambling to get inside, dashing from place to place, so I moved along with the crowd into the Macy’s, through the revolving door.

There were some things I wanted to look at there, anyway. When I stepped in, it was like hitting a wall, the way it smelled. All of the fragrances ganged up to assault my nose like bullies on the playground. It made my eyes water, and the tickle in my throat made me cough. I passed through the perfume section, and up the escalator to the bedding department. I had been deciding between two different mattresses, so I tried each one for its softness, depth, and the crispness of its sheets.

The sales lady came by and asked that I not lie on the sheets, because my clothes were so wet, and that I was supposed to take off my shoes before trying out the mattresses, anyway. I assured her I would come back on a better, drier day and she turned and went on to help another customer. She, too, smelled of a mix of perfumes, probably from her morning shift in the makeup section, and my eyes begin to water.

I went down to the cafeteria, to see what was on special. After looking over the menu, I decided it would be better to try someplace else, or maybe back to one of my tried and true places. I can see why department store cafeterias are a dying institution.

I went against the crowd, and back out into the horizontal rain, but this time I held my coat lower, so that the drenching of those splashes of ice water would be a little less embarrassing.

Three doors down was a tobacconist, I stepped inside and inhaled a lovely aroma of the cigars and the pipe tobacco and the mixes and blends from all over the world, with exotic names like Captain Black, Coastal Cruise and Arabian Light. I tried to find a blend that would suit me, not so much cherry, and a little more leather. They didn’t have quite the right one, but the second hand smoke gave me a good feeling. I shivered at the thought of going back into that storm, but I’d have to come back when they get a new shipment.

I ended up going back to my regular place for dinner. The line was long, but the chili special was very good, but a bit too spicy, so I politely mentioned it to the server. It went very well with the new bread they offered on the side.

I window shopped for another hour, staying under awnings and dashing into doorways, where possible, but it was still bitter cold. As the evening wore on, I went back to take a nap.

I had just fallen asleep, when I felt the nudge against my leg. I was feeling finally warm and couldn’t seem to fully waken, but the officer kicked at me again. “You can’t sleep on the grate, go find someplace else.”

The wind tore at my coat, bit at my pants and soaked my blanket as I walked to find a sheltered spot under the 23rd street overpass. It was a long walk, in the horizontal rain.