FFFPP – Week 24 – Choices

I happily headed out first thing in the morning, it was fairly bright, no clouds. I intended on meeting my friend for breakfast before we spent the day on the bay. I ordered my usual plain old fashioned donut and caramel latte. He was later than usual, so I grabbed the newspaper.

The news was sad and discouraging. I perused headlines only, not suppressing my enthusiasm for the day. We had one rule for our outings, ” nothing serious”. We needed to have time being upbeat without discussing the world’s troubles. The day was planned to lift our spirits, as it always was.

I decided to phone my friend, to razz him for being late. His wife answered, but her voice was garbled and hard to understand. I asked what was wrong only to hear an answer I couldn’t fathom. “Joe was killed on his way to meet you.” She was so upset I didn’t get the details, but it was such a shock I wouldn’t have heard them anyway.

The boat was just waiting there, but I was pulled to the dark water at the end of the steps. I could just walk in and join my friend.

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