Writer Blog: entry 003

Jake walked out into the dazzlingly bright morning sun. Already he felt energized. Getting a restful night's sleep after many weeks of tossing and turning made him feel glorious. It really was amazing just how good he felt with an uninterrupted eight hours of quality sleep.

He sprinted across the street and started his wristwatch. Whenever he jogged he carefully timed himself and he always tried to run for a full thirty minutes before quitting. Are all accountants so compulsive, he wondered? He settled into a comfortable trot somewhere between an eight and nine minute per mile pace. His breathing quickened as he increased his effort from the warm up jog to his normal running speed.

As he always did while running, he began to rehash the current events in his life. Not things like the war in Iraq or the rising price of gasoline but the everyday trials and tribulations of Jake Smith. As always sitting in the middle of his mind like an untrained gorilla with constipation and a surely temper was Sam Fredicks.

Why did he let one man dominate him so? Nearly every waking moment would ultimately turn his thinking toward the injustices and frustrations initiated by that man. In fact it was during one of these runs, that Jake had determined that eliminating Fredricks would not only make his world better but also the world's of many, many others better as well.

As near as he could tell no one at the office liked him. On the contrary, most actually despised him and his pompous and self-serving ways. Around the water cooler the 'Fredricks stories' would be told. Each one was wilder and more bazaar than the last as person after person explained how they had been 'Freddied'. Sometimes the humiliation was done in private but most times Fredricks had performed a highly animated, verbal 'dressing down' in a very public place for others to enjoy. Usually the others were senior members of the firm who in some incredible way seemed to watch the display with enthusiasm.

Jake let his idle thoughts drift from his boss to the reflection pond to his right. He gazed into the bronze color of the water. The pond was partly covered with water lilies and was home to nearly dozen koi. Fat and slow from being constantly feed, they swam in small circles around the breadcrumbs being thrown into the water. Jake looked up and watched as a slender young lady carefully crumbled the bread and spread it on the water. The water swirled as the fish eagerly accepted the food and playfully splashed their appreciation.

Jake had noticed this beautiful woman several times during his jogs in the park. Her good looks always caught his eye. He had pondered how he could strike up a conversation with her and come up empty of ideas. She usually sat near the reflection pond, either reading or sunning herself of a blanket. This was the first time he had ever seen her feeding the fish and he stopped his exercise to watch.

"Whoa, they really like that food," Jake said as one of the koi made a vigorous jump to attack the food.

The woman looked up and smiled. Her dark hair reflected the sun and she raised her sunglasses to reveal a lovely pair of sapphire blue eyes. Her tanned face flashed him another quick smile as her eyes made a quick study of his face.

"Yes," she replied in a measured tone and then added, "they certainly do enjoy a free meal. Would you like to feed them?" she asked as she extended a piece of bread.

"Ahhh, sure," said Jake as he reached for the bread. Their hands touched and he felt a tingle- as did she. He looked into her eyes and she held his gaze. Jake quickly looked away but then after a moment looked back to her again. She was still watching him.

Finally she extended her hand and announced, "My name is Jill. Jill Wilson. What's yours?"