1. Taking Chances


    Date: 9/22/2015, Categories: Mature, Author: Sisyphus, Rating: 13, Source: LushStories

    warm it is during the day and the chilly nights.” “I do, too,” Catherine responded and looked out at the colorful leaves where he was pointing and thought about his comment, Like us. She also liked how poetically he spoke about autumn, how responsive he seemed to the world around him. Suddenly, he left the concrete path and went over to the grass and, gathering a pile of leaves in his hands, threw them in the air over his head and laughed. His actions surprised her, but after a moment’s hesitation, she joined him and also picked up a pile of leaves and threw them up in the air, letting them fall over her. He bent down and gathered another pile and threw them up in the air over her and she did the same, tossing them over him, surprised at how playful she felt and laughing at their sudden impulsive tossing of leaves over each other. She realized she hadn’t done anything like this since she was a child, and here she was at fifty-five, tossing leaves with a stranger. Brushing the leaves from her short gray hair and shoulders, still laughing, she smiled. “That was fun. By the way, what’s your name, if you don’t mind my asking?” “Tom,” he said, brushing a leaf off her shoulder. “What’s yours?” “Catherine.” She reached out to shake his hand. “I like to know who I’m throwing leaves at.” She felt his strong hand on hers. “That’s very considerate of you.” He shook her hand. “Glad to meet you, Catherine.” “I better hurry. I’m already late.” She gripped the long strap of her handbag ...
    dangling from her shoulder. “Sorry for making you late. I just couldn’t resist playing with the leaves.” Catherine nodded and continued walking with Tom beside her, feeling exhilarated by the spontaneous tossing of leaves. She thought of Martin raking the maple leaves each fall in the front of their house, burning them in small piles but never picking them up to toss in the air. It felt strange walking through the park with a man, someone other than her husband, but enjoyed his presence next to her. She noticed him looking up at the trees overhead then back at her, their eyes meeting briefly. He smiled then looked away as they walked to the park entrance without speaking. They left the park and stood at the corner, waiting for the light to change. Neither of them spoke, but the silence did not feel awkward, though she was searching for something to say. “I haven’t seen you around here before.” Catherine looked up at him, then at the yellow hand on the traffic light indicating that they should wait. “And I come here every day for lunch and fresh air.” “I’m not surprised because I just moved here a few days ago and just discovered this park.” When the light changed, she felt his hand on her back as they crossed the street. Others crossed with them and the sounds of horns and sirens and the loud bustle of downtown at lunchtime made it difficult to have a conversation. People walked in both directions, while Tom and Catherine weaved their way toward her office building. “Well, here I ...
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