I liked the way this story was written. In the beginning Kate Chopin made me think that she was describing a thunder storm, but I then soon realized that she was also tying in the love affair that was obvoulsy going to happen on the inside. By the way the author describes Caltixa’s features from the past; i assumed they were old lovers. The storm represented the tension brewing between the two As Alcee stood behind Calixta at the window, “the rain was coming down in sheets…The playing of the lightening was incessant” (Chopin 257), and how "the growl of the thunder was distant and passing away” (Chopin 257) when the pressure was no longer there, and their rendezvous ended. I did however find it quite sad that while Calixta was busy reassuring his son that his mother would be okay and purchasing some shrimp that his beloved wife loved, she was re-kindling an old love affair. In the end I think that Caltixa handled the love affair with less regrets than Alcee. While she was preparing dinner and laughing loudly with her family, he was writing his wife a letter (possibly out of regret and remorse).