Tim & Chuck

Ch. 5 The Bird of Seven Names

"Oh, I only gave him the name George. The other five names came from other people."

Down the street a few blocks from Tim's house was Carmen Park. It was relatively small compared to others, and it cut through his residential neighborhood. Tim often took Chuck there to stretch his legs, and it was his neighbor Mr. Perkins' favorite place to engage in a chess game.

It was a nice little open space with plenty of trees and green landscape juxtaposed with various sidewalks to cut through it heading in various directions. Most of the park was fenced and it was here that Tim allowed Chuck to run around and play with other dogs that may be there.

It was a leisurely Saturday morning right before lunch, and Tim sighed for the ninth time that day. It had been a long Friday the day before and Tim had been looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing for his Saturday. He had chosen to do a crossword puzzle with the TV in the background, drinking coffee and settled into his recliner couch.

It would be the perfect day of quiet, if it were not for an overly hyper Chuck. Somehow, Chuck chose that morning to have the zoomies and Tim was hoping that he would tire himself out soon. If that were the case, the silly fluff potato would probably pass out for a nap in some random area, and Tim could carry on with his puzzle.

But when it had been close to two hours, and Chuck was still racing around the townhouse, Tim groaned and set aside the puzzle. He only had twelve more slots to figure out and he would've beaten his personal high score for time.

Yet, Chuck was driving him crazy.

"Hey Chuck, walk time?" Tim asked a little sleepily.

Chuck slammed on the brakes to turn his head towards his master, his tongue lolling enthusiastically at the word "walk".

"I thought so." Tim sighed again, standing up to look for his shoes and the leash.

A short fifteen minute stroll later, Tim and Chuck arrived at the park. It was a slightly cloudy day which came as a welcome shield from the merciless summer sun. The little pond in the center of the park teemed with water fowl and runners passed on the many paths through the park. Going to the fenced corner, Tim unhooked Chuck's leash to allow him to get all of his energy out.

"Hey stranger, join me for a game of checkers?"

Tim had one earbud in and was about to put in the other when he heard a familiar voice. Turning towards it, he saw Mr. Perkins sitting at one of the picnic tables, a game of checkers laid out in front of him.

"Yeah, sure!" Tim smiled and walked over to sit across from his neighbor. "Checkers today? I thought chess was your favorite."

"Oh it is. But ya know, I figured I would switch it up today. I'm confident that I can still beat you though." Mr. Perkins gave a mischievous grin, displaying a few missing teeth.

"Wow, someone has had their coffee today. Feeling feisty, are we? Sir, I will prove you wrong." Tim grinned, rolling up the sleeves of his hoodie in a mock display of bravado.

"So how's the new business coming along for you?" Mr. Perkins laughed and switched topics as he moved his first black piece. "Oh, you know. It's work as always. Had a few board meetings, and I'm trying to prepare for a big gala that I'm supposed to attend." Tim said unenthusiastically, moving his red piece.

"Well you're young yet, you need to find other things to enjoy. Can't just work all the time." Mr. Perkins stated, putting a smile on Tim's face.

"Yeah I'm trying to. Hanah's parents invited me to dinner tomorrow to formally welcome me to the neighborhood, I guess." Tim said, jumping over one of Mr. Perkins' pieces.