Remember, Everything Will Be Alright

II

11 June 2019

"What's all this about?" Phil asked as he dropped his travel bag at his feet. On the kitchen table, there had been a straw basket lined with a cloth Phil suspected was one of his old plaid shirts. Inside the basket were plastic containers of finger foods: crackers, jams, cold cuts, grapes, citrus, and bread.

"Nothing," Dan said as he kissed Phil's lips and threw his arms around the back of his neck. "I just thought you'd like to have a late lunch. Maybe we could go to the park and spend some time together before we go back to work."

Phil nodded, showing his confused, goofy smile. "I'd love that, but outside?" he asked before he held the back of his hand to Dan's forehead. "Are you running a temperature? Where's my Daniel and what have you done with him?"

They both laughed.

"Oh, stop it! Let's go."

After a quick stop in their room which Phil used to change out of the only pair of socks he had brought with him on his trip, the two walked down the street en route to the nearest park. After the fifteen-minute-long walk to Hyde Park, they found a spot on the grassy field around Round Pond. Thankfully, Phil had thought to bring a throw-blanket for them to sit on to protect their clothes from the grass.

Dan silently scolded himself for not realizing how heavy the basket had been before they left the apartment. Even though he knew they could easily finish everything he had brought, he would have packed less if he knew how hard it was to carry. He wouldn't dare complain to Phil or ask him to take a turn with the 10 kilos of food, plastic, silver wear, china, and water.

Every duck in the area ran as fast as their legs would take them when Dan dropped the basket beside where Phil had laid out their blanket. Of course, it had to be an unusually warm 30 degrees outside, and while Phil was prepared, wearing his shorts, Dan had still been sporting the full-length trousers he needed to protect himself from the morning cold.

By the grace of God, the fabric of the legs was elastic enough to roll up, and as he fashioned himself a pair of capris, Phil unpacked their meal. Dan helped once he finished ventilating himself, and in no time the two were grazing on the spread.

"How was your ride home?" Dan asked as he peeled himself a tangerine. He had to make up for the conversation time he wasted as he caught his breath their entire walk over.

"The train was fine," Phil said. "I took the Switch with me, so that kept me entertained."

"I noticed! That was not cool, man. We're married now, and husbands ask before they steal the Switch."

Phil chuckled. "Was this whole outing all a ruse to get me to confess?"

Dan shook his head. "Tell me more about what you did. Did they ever find the cause of the flood?"

"It was a classic case of bad pipes. One upstairs and another in the basement burst. My parents were away when it happened, and by the time they got back, the basement was completely flooded, and the ceiling was leaking in the kitchen. We had to move all of their things that weren't damaged to their new, temporary flat. And they couldn't get a plumber to assess the bursts, so there's no telling how long they'll be there for."

"That's terrible!"

"Yeah," Phil sighed, no longer wanting to think about all of the sentimental belongings he and his family had lost to the water. "What time did Harry leave?"

"Around eleven this morning. We were fucked up last night! It was crazy."

"Did you bust out the karaoke machine?"