This past summer, I realized I’d forgotten my wallet on my way to meet Kaley and Emily at our café. I didn’t think it would be a big deal to run back and grab it from Sylvia’s house, but lucky for me, it started to pour. And when I say pour, I mean the sky split open and unleashed a furious ocean of tears upon Waterloo.

I was drenched when I finally stopped my ridiculous rain-run and jogged up some stairs to hide beneath an awning. I was leaning back against the brick when I realized the windows were stained-glass. Remnants of good memories bleeding together with bad ones rose to the surface, until a guy with a black umbrella trotted up the stairs too.

“Hey,” he said, closing his umbrella and shaking it out.

I looked both ways. “Do I know you?” I’d asked.

The boy shrugged and patted rain off his shoulders. “Don’t think so.”

“Then why’d you follow me up here?” I crossed my arms, stifling a shiver.

The guy stopped. A slow grin spread across his face.

“You must not be part of this congregation.” He nodded to the doors at my back.

I blinked. Then I turned to look at the building.

Good grief, it was a church—an old, architecturally stunning cathedral I’d somehow never paid attention to until now, even though I must have walked past it a hundred times on my way downtown.

“Uh…no. I’m not part of this congregation.” I apologized. “I’m not homeless or anything. I was just trying to get out of the rain.”

He laughed. “I didn’t think you were. I’m Stephen and I work here.” He smiled again. “And you’re welcome to come inside. I have coffee.”

My breathing wavered as I tried to deduce whether he was just being nice to a stranger or if he was trying to flirt. I realized he had to be a few years older than I thought if he worked here.

“No pressure,” he added when I didn’t reply right away. He pulled out a set of keys and turned the lock in the doors, then hauled one of them open.

Inside the building, I saw pale wood structures scattered across the unlit rooms: pews, balconies, and a platform at the front. The stained-glass windows lined the walls of the sanctuary, and colourful paintings crawled over a domed ceiling. I realized I was holding my breath. The sight came with a flood of warm feelings, feelings I knew were from another place. And I found myself answering before I could change my mind.

“Sure. I love coffee.”

Zane raced the wind; my hair spun into knots as I held on, wishing this was all we ever had to do. The quivering, grayish sky stretched for miles; new clouds toiling with an oncoming storm, growling with heavy wind in their sails. I watched it warily.