Journey to Nowhere

Park Benches and Pancakes

  Saturday started off as any other- with my morning run. After changing into a light grey muscle tank and black workout capris, I tossed my dark brown hair into a high ponytail.
Jogging down to the kitchen, I filled my water bottle and grabbed the house keys off the cork board.
The park I ran at was a few blocks away, roughly a seven to ten minute walk.
As I reached the corner of the street, the slamming of a door and a string of loud curses caused me to turn around. Out stormed Stephen, my neighbor, clearly angry. He began walking my direction, fist balled up and a scowl plastered on his face.
I turned back around and crossed the street. Whatever had angered him was none of my concern.
As I continued down the street the distinct sound of footsteps was gaining on me. Peaking over my shoulder, I saw Stephen jogging. He passed me without the smallest glance, his eyes glued to the sidewalk.
Strange, I'd never seen him jogging or running at all. He . He disappeared around the corner, still letting out small grunts or curses.

He had to be going to the park.

I don't know what compelled me but the next thing I knew I was jogging to catch up with him.

"Stephen!" I called out.

He continued his jog.

"Stephen!" I said louder. Getting his attention, he took a few steps to slow down and turned to me. The scowl on his face was replaced by a look of confusion. I stopped leaving a foot between us. "Hey, are you okay? I saw you come out your house looking pretty pissed."

Pissed was an understatement. He looked ready to knock somebody out.

He ran a hand through his hair and looked back down. "I'm good...just felt like jogging a bit this morning." He refrained from making eye contact.

"Oh. I've never seen you jog before." Something was eating at him, it was clear as day.

"I usually go to the gym or jog in the afternoon. This morning though...." He didn't finish his sentence but finally looked at me. I stare at him for a moment. His hazel eyes looked slightly red, as if he had been crying. We may not have known each other well but seeing him in his current state made me feel for him.

"Oh. I was going to the park for a run. Do you want to join me?" I questioned with a small smile.
His hand rubbed the back of his neck and he looked back down for a third time.

"Sure." His eyes reached mine, a smile on his face.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Hey, are you hungry?" I asked as we took a seat on a nearby bench. For the forty minutes that we ran neither of us said a word to each other. The entire time Stephen appeared to be in deep thought. When I asked to take a break he had seemed much more at peace.

"Yeah, a little bit." He replied sounding out of breath.

"Feel like eating breakfast at my house? My dad's pancakes are to die for." I say, opening my water bottle.

"We've been neighbors for 8 years and now you've decided to be friendly." He looked over at me, a playful expression on his face. A grin pulled at his lips.

"After seeing how angry you were I figured you needed a friend." I shrugged. Wait, that sounded so wrong. "I'm not implying you don't friends, it's just th-"

He chuckled, throwing his head back. "I get it. Thank you, I appreciate it." He stood up and started walking away. I sat there, puzzled for a moment.

Where was he going?

As if he had heard my question, he turned to look at me. "Let's go Lynea. I believe your dad has some great pancakes waiting at home and I intend to try them." He stated, raising an eyebrow.I laughed, pushing myself off the bench, and walked over to him.

It was amazing seeing how his mood had changed in just a hour.
Exiting the park, I turned to look at the tall, smiling tawny toned boy walking next to me.
He looked down at me and said, "I know I already said this but thank you."
"I didn't do anything." I stated nonchalantly. Asking him to join my run wasn't anything to be thanked for. At least in my opinion.
He simply shook his head, that same goofy grin on his face.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unlocking the front door, Stephen and I entered the house and he followed me towards the kitchen. Dad was humming to himself, oblivious to our arrival.

The aroma of cinnamon pancakes filled my nose and I turned to Stephen to see him holding in a laugh. Even when humming, Dad still managed to be completely off key.

"Hey Dad. I've brought company this morning." I stated, causing Dad to look up from the plate of freshly plated pancakes.

"And who might that be?" He asked, turning around. Stephen gave Dad a smile and a small wave.

"Good morning, Mr. Taylor, I hope I don't you mind but Lynea invited me over to try your 'to-die-for' pancakes." Dad looked at me and then back to Stephen. A smile appeared on his face and nodded.

"I wouldn't say they're 'to-die-for' but they are pretty amazing." He explained humbly. "It's be a pleasure to have you eat with us. Especially considering Mrs. Taylor has to leave early this morning."

"She leaves early practically every morning Dad." I added, shaking my head.

My mom was an executive assistant to the CEO of a electronics company. She was constantly traveling to meetings with important clients on behalf of her boss. Other times it was a for work conferences. Occasionally, we'd travel with her but, for the most part, she was in and out of the house for usually two to four days.

"True. She'll back later on this evening though. Now, these pancakes are nice and hot, so let's eat." Dad responded, putting the various pancakes, hash browns, and bacon on the table.

Stephen, Dad, and I took seats around the circular wood table and made our own plates.

"Wow, these are amazing Mr. Taylor." Stephen complimented after swallowing his first bite. "I might have to pay a visit every Saturday." He added jokingly.

"Thank you. You're always welcome of course."

We made small talk for the next half hour. Dad and Stephen made horrible jokes while I got to know more about Stephen. At the age of nineteen, he had just finished his freshman year of undergraduate school at Valencia College, studying computer science. He was Raiders fan, hated kiwis, and was a total math wiz.

"What about you Lynea, any college plans? You've graduated right?"

"Oh yeah, two weeks ago actually. I start NSU in fall, planning to major in marketing." NSU, or Nova Southeastern University, was one of the two schools I was accepted into.

"Nice, you've must be pretty excited."

Not really. "Yeah, definitely." I lied. NSU was my dad's alma mater and to say he was overenjoyed when I got in was an understatement.

Stephen helped clean up the table as we finished breakfast. It was a nice change to have breakfast with someone else. I made note to invite Stephen over again in the future.

"Thanks again for breakfast Lynea and Mr. Taylor. It was great." He looked as if he wanted to say something more but refrained. Giving Dad a handshake, I led him to the front door.

"Hey, if you want, you can come over for dinner at my house tonight." He said, rubbing his right arm.

"Oh, sure. What time should I be over?"

"Seven sound good?" I nodded my head in reply. "Great, I'll see you later."

Walking out the house, he turned back and gave me a wave. Closing the door behind me, I turned to see Dad standing a few feet in front of me.

"He's a keeper."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

That's the end of chapter one! I truly hope you enjoyed it.

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