Asparagus

 

    People just assumed they knew each other, they were both old, each sat on the same park bench every afternoon.  The thing of it was, never had they spoken.  It was almost as if they were oblivious to each other.  The old man sitting on the left end of the bench was dapper.  He was clean-shaven, and his attire was always impeccable.  If ever you were close enough to gather his scent, you think of spring cherry blossoms.  No one, however, had gotten that close in some time.

    The gentleman occupying the right portion of the bench held a much more casual appearance.  He came across as more approachable.  His clothing consisted of polished dress shoes, pressed slacks, a crisp shirt beneath a high quality sweater.  It was easy to see that great attention had been paid to his unique mustache. He occupied his time feeding the birds and squirrels, while an assortment of serious books held the other's attention.  He was forever engrossed in books, which may account for him never paying any attention to anyone else who may be sharing the same bench.

     Wandering far from her assisted living building one day, Nora Livingston came upon the bench.  All Nora saw was the unoccupied middle section, and not having walked such a distance in some time, took the opportunity to rest, and try to remember from which direction she had just come.

     Nora did notice she had disturbed the birds, who flew off in all directions, as well as the squirrels, who simply moved over to let her pass but didn't stray too far from the small bits of food that had been tossed to them.  The second thing she noticed was the wonderful fragrance of cherry blossoms.  She closed her eyes trying to remember the last time she had enjoyed such a scent.

     Davis Parker reached up and twirled the tips of his mustache.  He had taken notice of Nora and momentarily considered offering her some of the peanuts to toss, but then considered how unfortunate and awkward it would be if, not understanding his gesture, Nora consumed them herself.

    Casually glancing over he noticed she had her eyes closed and wouldn't have even seen him holding the bag of nuts out for her.  He quickly abandoned his thoughts and simply resumed tossing the small treats out to his anxious audience.

     As Clive Richardson turned to the next page in his book his peripheral vision caught glimpse of someone sitting next to him. He did not wish to be rude and completely turn to look, but then again, how rude had he already been in not acknowledging them whenever they first sat down. Instead, he turned as little as possible, just enough to nod a greeting if it were appropriate.  He instantly noticed it was a woman and she was sitting quietly, with her eyes closed.

     Little had either man known, Nora had fallen asleep.  Clive, not wishing to lose the moment in his story, continued on with his book.  Davis, on the other hand, began having mental conversations with himself.  He pictured himself saying something clever to his new bench companion, she of course would smile and laugh.  The delightful little play going on in his head for some time eventually generated in him a feeling of familiarity with the woman he had never uttered an actual word to.

     Clive was having some difficulty concentrating on his book, not really being that comfortable sitting so close to anyone. He tucked his bookmark along the spine and closed the cover.  He as well, closed his eyes, envisioning the three of them upon the park bench. He had always known there was another gentleman occupying the far end of the bench but never felt the need to engage him in conversation.  He had always seen him as foolish, spending his money feeding peanuts to the birds and squirrels. To what end, he'd ask himself.  

     But now it was a completely different dynamic.  Three complete strangers sat along the same bench, each having a different past, different experiences, and yet gathered together here at this time in their lives. Clive tried to come up with anything that might be similar.  The closest thing he came up with was asparagus.  Individual stalks held together with a simple rubber band.  They grew independently from each other and now a park bench secured them as a bunch.

    Yikes, that's the dumbest thing I've ever come up with, he thought, as he quietly stood up and walked away.

 

 

The End