Both of Us

prologue

She sits on the wooden bench in the park and absorbs the scenery.

It's surprisingly quiet this Saturday afternoon. The birds chirp cheerfully as they fly on by and the squirrels chitter as scatter across the bright green grass.

The wind blows softly causing the leaves on the trees to ruffle and create tiny ripples in the pond ahead.

She enjoyed the silence for a bit considering she was always surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city. It was nice for the woman to have some "me time."

When the moment is right, the woman reaches into her bag and pulls out her notepad and pencil.

The woman gazes at the scene once more, sighs to relax herself, and begins to draw.

***

He tugs on his dog's leash for the umpteenth time as he takes a huge bite out of his hot dog.

The golden retriever doesn't seem to want to cooperate with the man as she tries to pull and tug away from her owner. The dog wants to run free towards the park, but the man restrains her.

"Cut it out, Penelope," the man exclaims before taking another bite of his snack.

The man walks his dog down the busy streets of the city and tries not to bump into other people.

Cars whiz by and honk loudly at pedestrians but the man doesn't notice with the music blaring in his ears through his earbuds.

He isn't surprised to how loud his surroundings are; he's practically exposed to this every day. Although, he does miss the peace and quiet he had on his ranch in Texas, living in New York all these years made him adjust to this new lifestyle

When the man is finally done with his hot dog, he goes to throw the wrapper in the nearest trash can when he loses his firm grip of the leash.

Penelope barks in excitement and runs off in the direction of the nearby park.

The man curses under his breath before running off after his dog.

***

The woman is distracted by her drawing and the music playing through her earbuds, so she doesn't hear the loud barking or notice the golden dog running in her direction.

The man yells for the dog but Penelope ignores her owner.

Penelope jumps up onto the bench and rests its head on the woman's lap, thus startling her. She drops her pencil and notebook to the ground and raises her hands in surrender.

She yanks out her earbuds and looks down to observe Penelope.

"Uh, hello," she says softly.

The dog barks in response before going back to panting in excitement.

She looks around for a possible owner to take the dog away from her when the man finally arrives.

He's out of breath and low on patience but he's there. "Penelope, get!"

The dog whimpers but does as told. She leaps off the bench and walks over to the man.

"I am so sorry," he apologizes as he helps the woman pick up her artwork. "Penelope just gets a little excited at times."

"No, no. It's fine," the woman says as she gathers up her things.

"It's not like I was drawing or anything," she mumbles.

The man picks up her notepad, but before handing it to her, he examines it.

On the page is a beautiful and very accurate drawing of the pond. The ripples in the water and the shadows of the trees are spot on. He can't believe his eyes.

"Wow," he gasps. "Are you an artist?"

The woman snatches the notebook from the man and stuffs it in her bag. "No, they're just doodles. And you should really keep track of your dog."

The man tightens his grip on Penelope's leash. "I'm sorry again. I'll try harder next time..." His voice trails off in hopes he'll get the woman's name.

"Maya," the woman says as she tucks a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Maya Hart."

The man smiles mostly to himself. "I'm Lucas. Lucas Friar."

"Well Lucas," she sighs. "It was nice meeting you, but I gotta run." Maya slings the bag over her shoulder before turning and walking away.

Lucas looks down at his dog in disappointment. He runs his fingers through his coffee brown hair and sighs.

"Penny, are we going to go through this every time we step outside," Lucas says as he and Penelope make their way back home.