Page 41 of Fun Together
We head outside and I lead us toward the path Tom told me about.
“Are you sure this is even on company property? I feel like an old man is going to come out of the trees any minute screaming for us to get off his land.”
“According to Tom, it is. I’m surprised you don’t know about it, since you’ve been here so long.”
She shrugs. “As you can tell, I very much stay in my cubicle-shaped bubble.”
“Well, I’m glad you broke out today. Although, it’s fucking hot out here.” It’s stifling, like the air itself is as bored as I was.
“Summer’s last, dying, humid breath,” she says, puffing the collar of her shirt up and down. I tear my eyes away from the little bits of skin that are revealed each time she lifts the fabric.
The tall grass brushes against our legs as we keep walking along the overgrown path. We finally reach a point where I can see water sparkling through the trees. “There it is.”
“This is actually really nice,” she says. “I wonder why they never told us about this place.”
There’s an old picnic table by the water that we precariously sit on. No sign of the ducks yet, but it’s still a relief to be out of the office for a bit.
“How are things going so far?” she asks.
“I actually got my first role assignment today.”
“That’s awesome. Hitting the ground running.”
“Yeah, I only have a month to get it filled. And based on the calls I made today, I’ve got my work cut out for me.”
“What’s the role?”
I tell her about it, and I watch her visibly perk up. She doesn’t say she’s interested, but I can tell she’s intrigued by it.
“You interested?” I ask.
“In what?”
“The job. I can send you the posting if you want to take a look.”
“Oh my god,” she says, frantically pointing at the water. “Babies!”
A duck swims into view, and sure enough, there are about eight or nine baby ducks swimming along behind it.
“I thought Tom was messing with me when he told me there were baby ducks.”
She smiles. “There’s even a little straggler falling behind. This is so cute, I can’t stand it.” The ducks swim by us, and we watch as they make their way to the other side of the pond where a tree has fallen into the water.
In my periphery, I spot two swans along the edge of the water by the trees. “Holy shit, look over there.”
“This is crazy,” she says in awe. “Where am I right now?”
The swans move slowly, gracefully, through the water. “Did you know swans mate for life?” I ask.
Do her cheeks flush or is it just the heat? “Oh yeah?”
“Saw in onPlanet Earth, I think.”
“That’s sweet. And surprising.”
“Why is it surprising?”
“I don’t know. I wonder why they only have one mate. Like, evolutionarily it doesn’t make sense.”
