`` i 'm just going to hop in the shower really fast . '' despite giving them all a wide birth , a persistent seller with a thick oily beard made the effort to step out from his booth and unroll his linen before my path . the air was darker , the clouds heavier , the wind sharper . i was worried that at any minute some firefighter or cop from the scene would spot us and stop to find out what we were doing , where we were going , who we were . 