Jim and Sherlie Take a Walk

It was a lovely day, especially after the short bout of rain this afternoon. No clouds marred the periwinkle stretch of sky above, and no wind stirred the air around them as Jim and Sherlie strolled along the cobbled walkway, the dirt still damp between the stones.

“How many birds do you spy?” Jim asked, tilting his head back so he could see beyond his brimmed cap into the branches above them.

Sherlie didn’t answer at first, counting as she was. No brim blocked her view as she craned her neck around to see the various types of birds in the trees: starlings and pigeons, to be sure, scattered both the tree branches and the walk ahead of them. But she also counted sparrows and crows, bluebirds and jays. Robins, larks, and even a few swallows.

“How many do you see?” she countered before she asked, “What kind of contest is this?”

Her question was two-fold, and if he had his wits today, he’d catch both faster than an exhale.

The birds they were counting came and went with alarming regularity, so she was subtracting birds almost as quickly as she was adding them in her head. And who knew how many had moved while she wasn’t looking so she might duplicate a number.

Jim didn’t answer, which either meant that his hearing had finally gone or he understood her and still wanted to try and beat her.

“Jim,” she said, stopping to catch her breath and trying to make him lose count. “What is the point of having a contest when there’s no ready answer? You may count fifty birds, and I may count thirty, but we have no way of knowing who’s nearest the correct answer.”

He grunted beside her but otherwise did not acknowledge her concern.

“Might we count something less flighty?”

She held her breath like a schoolgirl, waiting to see if he caught her rather flimsy pun. He cast her a derisive glance with an eyebrow raised so high it almost met his receding hairline.

She huffed a frustrated sigh and continued walking. He’d left her behind as well, the sod.

She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this was an ordinary, beautiful day, and she didn’t have to impress him to make it better. And, if she wanted to irritate him, as she often did, all she had to do now was walk away.

He wanted her to chase after him because that’s what thrilled him, the chase. But if she chose another direction, he would be forced to chase her instead.

Delighted at the idea of switching roles, Sherlie turned around and began walking out of the park.

The weather was still beautiful, but a slight breeze picked at her thinning hair. She wished she’d put a hat on before she left.

She reached the tea shop just as a huffing, sweaty Jim caught up with her.

“Sherlie!” he barked at her, bent double to catch his breath. “Why would you do that? You can’t just leave me like that!”

She smiled at him.

“Of course I can, Jim. And I shall. Whenever it pleases me.”

She walked into the tea shop, the little bell above the door ringing in concert with Jim’s accelerated heartbeat.

Sherlie turned around, just inside the doorway. She gave him a challenging little smile and asked, “Would you like to join me for tea?”