The New Yorker: "Axis" by Alice Munro

ike many Alice Munro stories, this one covers a long period of time—fifty years. Her stories are somewhat unusual that way. The basic plot is straightforward: Fifty years ago, Grace and Avie were farm girls at the university. Grace dated Royce, a veteran. Avie dated Hugo. Grace remained a virgin while Avie and Hugo seemed to have a series of pregnancy scares until finally one of them was real and they planned to get married. In the meantime, Royce went to visit Grace and her family in the summer between school years and they plan to have sex while the overbearing mother is away for the day. But they get caught, Royce is no longer welcome, and he never has contact with Grace again. Fifty years go by and Royce runs into Avie on a train. She's had a good life and a bunch of kids, although Hugo is now dead. Royce reveals that the day he took the bus up to see Grace he glimpsed Avie in her town and he'd been tempted to get off the bus to see her. He asks if Avie would have agreed to see him and she says yes without hesitation, despite the complications it would have created. So far it's just a nice little story about these two elderly people bumping into each other on a train. But then . . .
Royce, who is a geologist, points out a formation they pass on the train: the Frontenac Axis. Unlike the neat slabs of limestone that are the surrounding countryside, the Axis "is nothing less than an eruption of the vast and crazy old Canadian Shield, all the ancient combustion cutting through the limestone, pouring over, messing up those giant steps." And then he advises her to watch for it if she passes that way again.Surely this is significant for Munro, especially given the title. I suspect that Royce himself represents the Axis—the disorderly in life—and that Avie's own life has been like the neat slabs of limestone. If she passes this way again, Munro must be saying, Avie might want to go for a little of the ancient combustion instead.
Yes? Am I reading too much into it? Apologies to those without a subscription as this story is not available on line. 
January 31, 2011: "Axis" by Alice Munro[image error]