Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks

though, the wind was too strong for games and the rain was coming down in sheets, so we decided to
     head back to Durham. But we couldn’t get off the island. They’d closed the bridges once the wind topped fifty miles an hour,
     and we were stuck. And the storm kept getting worse. By two A.M., it was like a war zone. Trees were toppling over, roofs were tearing off, and everywhere you looked, something that could
     kill us was flying past the windows of the car. And it was louder than you could imagine. Rain was just pounding the car and
     that was when the storm surge hit. It was high tide and a full moon to boot, and the biggest waves I’d ever seen were coming
     in, one right after the next. Luckily, we were far enough from the beach, but we watched four homes wash away that night.
     And then, when we didn’t think it could get any worse, power lines started snapping. We watched the transformers explode one
     right after the next, and one of the lines landed near the car. It whipped in the wind the rest of the night. It was so close
     we could see the sparks, and there were times when it nearly hit the car. Other than praying, I don’t think any of us said
     a single word to each other the rest of the night. It was the dumbest thing I ever did.”
    Adrienne hadn’t taken her eyes from him as he spoke.
    “You’re lucky you lived.”
    “I know.”
    On the beach, the violence of the waves had caused foam to form that looked like soap bubbles in a child’s bath.
    “I’ve never told that story before,” Paul finally added. “To anyone, I mean.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because it wasn’t…
me,
somehow. I’d never done anything risky like that before, and I never did anything like it afterward. It’s almost like it
     happened to someone else. You’d have to know me to understand. I was the kind of guy who wouldn’t go out on Friday nights
     so that I wouldn’t fall behind in my studies.”
    She laughed. “I doubt that.”
    “It’s true. I didn’t.”
    As they walked the hard-packed sand, Adrienne glanced at the homes behind the dunes. No other lights were on, and in the shadows,
     Rodanthe struck her as a ghost town.
    “Do you mind if I tell you something?” she asked. “I mean, I don’t want you to take it the wrong way.”
    “I won’t.”
    They took a few steps as Adrienne wrestled with her words.
    “Well… it’s just that when you talk about yourself, it’s almost like you’re talking about someone else. You say you used to
     work too much, but people like that don’t sell their practice to head off to Ecuador. You say you didn’t do crazy things,
     but then you tell me a story in which you did. I’m just trying to figure it out.”
    Paul hesitated. He didn’t have to explain himself, not to her, not to anyone, but as he walked on under the flickering sky
     on a cold January evening, he suddenly realized that he wanted her to know him—really know him, in all his contradictions.
    “You’re right,” he began, “because I am talking about two people. I used to be Paul Flanner the hard-driving kid who grew
     up to be a surgeon. The guy who worked all the time. Or Paul Flanner the husband and father with the big house in Raleigh.
     But these days, I’m not any of those things. Right now, I’m just trying to figure out who Paul Flanner really is, and to be
     honest, I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever find the answer.”
    “I think everyone feels that way sometimes. But not many people would be inspired to move to Ecuador as a result.”
    “Is that why you think I’m going?”
    They walked in silence for a few steps before Adrienne looked at him. “No,” she said, “my guess is that you’re going so you
     can get to know your son.”
    Adrienne saw the surprise on his face.
    “It wasn’t that hard to figure out,” she said. “You hardly mentioned him all night. But if you think it’ll help, then I’m
     glad you’re going.”
    He smiled. “Well, you’re the first. Even