our seats on the park bench and
unwrapped our sandwiches. Pigeons flocked around us like red-eyed
zombies ready to pounce and devour us.
“Look at this guy over here.” I pointed to a
blue-gray pigeon. “He’s got a Hitler moustache thing going on.”
“Eat fast. I think he’s planning to
attack.”
It was true. The Hitler bird strutted right
up to the toe of my shoe and stared at me with an evil glint in his
eyes.
I kicked at it. “Shoo. Go away.”
Another bird alighted on the bench beside
Jason and pecked at the empty bag. The soft warbling coos of the
flock sounded more sinister than soothing. Dozens of pairs of eyes
watched our every move.
“Maybe eating in the park wasn’t such a good
idea. We’re surrounded.” I took a bite of my delicious Jamaica wrap
and hurriedly chewed and swallowed.
A man in ragged clothes with a backpack on
his shoulder wandered by, sending a ripple of movement through the
flock of pigeons. “Hey, Jason. Whassup?”
Jason nodded at him. “Not much.”
The man didn’t stop to chat but headed toward
the group of homeless people, mostly guys, who hung out at the
south end of the park.
“A friend?” I knocked the Hitler pigeon away
with my toe when he began pecking at my shoe.
“Kinda. I hang out with those guys
sometimes.”
I glanced at the men clustered near the
fountain and considered that tidbit. The guy I liked hung out with
the city’s homeless, one more indication that Jason’s life and mine
were light years apart. I didn’t mean to be snobbish about people
who’d fallen on hard times, but I couldn’t help feeling weird that
Jason was close to them.
Jason glanced at the loiterers and raised a
hand in greeting. “They’re not all alcoholics or drug addicts, you
know. Okay, most of them have substance abuse problems and police
records…and mental issues, but aside from that, they’re pretty nice
people.”
“I never said they weren’t.” I drew my legs
underneath the bench to escape Hitler.
“You didn’t have to.”
There was no response I could give, so I
dropped the subject. “Maybe we should walk while we eat. I’m
getting a little freaked out by these birds.”
The brief flare of tension subsided as we
walked and ate and chatted about the most recent episode of a cop
show we both watched. The sun dappled the path before us in light
and shadow, and strolling along it with Jason was romantic in a
cheesy romcom flick kind of way. I liked being with him. I liked him . I wanted to hold hands, but mine were still full of
Jamaica wrap.
Even after we’d thrown the remnants of lunch
in a trash bin, we still walked side by side without touching. The
back of my hand grazed the back of his, and I thought he’d slip his
hand into mine, but he didn’t. Neither did I. We were both a little
awkward and unsure of where we stood with one another.
“Shoot, what time is it?” I checked my watch.
“I’m going to be late for my meeting if I don’t go back right now.
Sorry.” I looked up into Jason’s eyes, and my stomach did a little
barrel roll. Kind of an extreme reaction to a simple meeting of
eyes. “I’ll see you Sunday, then, at the dog park? I’ll text you
directions.”
“Sure.” The timbre of his voice vibrated
through me, making all my girl parts tingle. His smile set off a
flutter too. I was crushing way too hard on somebody who was wildly
inappropriate for me.
Chapter Eleven
Like I said, changing my routine is hard for
me, and I had to work out a new sequence for how my date with Anna
would go. I reviewed what bus I’d take to get to the dog park,
where the station was, how much change I’d need in order to ride. I
even wrote a list to refer to in case I got confused. My therapist
called the process “repatterning.”
I’d done all these things before our first
date. Of course, that evening hadn’t gone according to plan yet
ended up better than I’d ever expected.
I kept on track as I went to meet Anna that
Sunday, got
unwrapped our sandwiches. Pigeons flocked around us like red-eyed
zombies ready to pounce and devour us.
“Look at this guy over here.” I pointed to a
blue-gray pigeon. “He’s got a Hitler moustache thing going on.”
“Eat fast. I think he’s planning to
attack.”
It was true. The Hitler bird strutted right
up to the toe of my shoe and stared at me with an evil glint in his
eyes.
I kicked at it. “Shoo. Go away.”
Another bird alighted on the bench beside
Jason and pecked at the empty bag. The soft warbling coos of the
flock sounded more sinister than soothing. Dozens of pairs of eyes
watched our every move.
“Maybe eating in the park wasn’t such a good
idea. We’re surrounded.” I took a bite of my delicious Jamaica wrap
and hurriedly chewed and swallowed.
A man in ragged clothes with a backpack on
his shoulder wandered by, sending a ripple of movement through the
flock of pigeons. “Hey, Jason. Whassup?”
Jason nodded at him. “Not much.”
The man didn’t stop to chat but headed toward
the group of homeless people, mostly guys, who hung out at the
south end of the park.
“A friend?” I knocked the Hitler pigeon away
with my toe when he began pecking at my shoe.
“Kinda. I hang out with those guys
sometimes.”
I glanced at the men clustered near the
fountain and considered that tidbit. The guy I liked hung out with
the city’s homeless, one more indication that Jason’s life and mine
were light years apart. I didn’t mean to be snobbish about people
who’d fallen on hard times, but I couldn’t help feeling weird that
Jason was close to them.
Jason glanced at the loiterers and raised a
hand in greeting. “They’re not all alcoholics or drug addicts, you
know. Okay, most of them have substance abuse problems and police
records…and mental issues, but aside from that, they’re pretty nice
people.”
“I never said they weren’t.” I drew my legs
underneath the bench to escape Hitler.
“You didn’t have to.”
There was no response I could give, so I
dropped the subject. “Maybe we should walk while we eat. I’m
getting a little freaked out by these birds.”
The brief flare of tension subsided as we
walked and ate and chatted about the most recent episode of a cop
show we both watched. The sun dappled the path before us in light
and shadow, and strolling along it with Jason was romantic in a
cheesy romcom flick kind of way. I liked being with him. I liked him . I wanted to hold hands, but mine were still full of
Jamaica wrap.
Even after we’d thrown the remnants of lunch
in a trash bin, we still walked side by side without touching. The
back of my hand grazed the back of his, and I thought he’d slip his
hand into mine, but he didn’t. Neither did I. We were both a little
awkward and unsure of where we stood with one another.
“Shoot, what time is it?” I checked my watch.
“I’m going to be late for my meeting if I don’t go back right now.
Sorry.” I looked up into Jason’s eyes, and my stomach did a little
barrel roll. Kind of an extreme reaction to a simple meeting of
eyes. “I’ll see you Sunday, then, at the dog park? I’ll text you
directions.”
“Sure.” The timbre of his voice vibrated
through me, making all my girl parts tingle. His smile set off a
flutter too. I was crushing way too hard on somebody who was wildly
inappropriate for me.
Chapter Eleven
Like I said, changing my routine is hard for
me, and I had to work out a new sequence for how my date with Anna
would go. I reviewed what bus I’d take to get to the dog park,
where the station was, how much change I’d need in order to ride. I
even wrote a list to refer to in case I got confused. My therapist
called the process “repatterning.”
I’d done all these things before our first
date. Of course, that evening hadn’t gone according to plan yet
ended up better than I’d ever expected.
I kept on track as I went to meet Anna that
Sunday, got
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