Todays Topic
Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where we create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education helping you tame your inner critic and provide you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo. You will be able to listen to what I wrote for the day and read it at the same time. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. I hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at timothy@createartpodcast.com
The Story So Far
10 Nov 2020 1867 daily count 17897 cumulative count
The day stayed peaceful and the park was quiet all morning. Carl had to stand up a few times as he was falling asleep on the picnic table bench. He had made good progress through the book and felt the relaxation that Cheryl and Nate had promised would happen if he took time for himself. It was nearing noon and he did feel a few pangs of hunger. The coffee was gone and all he had in the car was a few water bottles he kept in case of emergency. He walked back to the car and debated on if he wanted to leave for lunch or just bring back a water bottle and continue reading. That debate didn’t last long as he sat in the car and turned it on. He would grab some food at the coffee shop and check in on Cheryl’s progress.
The drive wasn’t as quick as when he drove out to the park. The lunch rush was happening all over the town and cars were lined up at every food establishment. He made it to the coffee shop and had to park two clocks away. The line was out the door as it was yesterday, and he sat in his car debating on waiting out the crowd or just going home for lunch. Finished his water bottle, he decided to go ahead and brave the crowd. Standing in line alone, he was able to overhear conversations from the people in front of him but paid them no mind. He didn’t recognize many of those in line as he usually packed his lunch for work and ate it in the lunchroom or in his car.
When he got up to the counter, Cheryl had a disapproving look on her face. He knew that she would scold him for coming in early and not taking the entire day to himself. Stephanie was taking his order.
“I’ll have a pastrami with swiss, hold the sauerkraut, sweet potato fries and a red eye please,” said Carl.
“Carl, two days in a row having lunch here, you are making this a habit. I am sure there are a few tables on the patio and I will run back there when your food is up. That will be nine fifty,” said Stephanie.
“Well the service is great and the food is wonderful, I should have had lunch here every day. Now the barista, she needs to smile more,” joked Carl.
“And someone needs to rest more,” said Cheryl overhearing his conversation.
“I did, I went to the park and knocked out thirty pages of my book. A guy has got to eat to keep up his strength with all this relaxation stuff, I never knew it took so much out of a person,” laughed Carl.
Cheryl quickly made the red eye with only a half shot of espresso and handed it to Carl as he walked by. She looked at him sternly, and then started to giggle as he looked at her sheepishly.
“I’ll give you a holler when your food is up. I’ll have them make it to go so you can get back to the park and rest, and I mean it,” said Cheryl.
“Yes ma’am, understood,” said Carl.
He took his red eye to the patio and waited for his name to be called. He did enjoy the care that Cheryl did display to him, it wasn’t a romantic thing, at least not from his end. He just enjoyed having someone else besides family care about him. He thought about playing the exercise that he sowed Cheryl yesterday, but he left his notepad in the car. He sat at the table, alone in his thoughts, barely listening to the din of the other patrons’ discussions. He realized it had been a good day, even with the weirdness of the father and the child and the car in the park, he would tell Cheryl about that when he came back after her shift to help her with her assignment. The more he thought about it the more he thought he was just being paranoid, and he would appreciate her dismissing his encounter as coincidence.
“Carl, your To Go order is ready,” yelled Cheryl.
Carl instantly shook himself out of his thoughts and went to the counter picking up his lunch. Cheryl grabbed his coffee and refilled it for him. Once done she handed it back.
“Now I don’t want to see you for a few hours, preferably until tomorrow, go get some rest,” she said forcefully.
“You got it, a few hours. I promise to rest,” said Carl.
He left the coffee shop and walked the two blocks to his car feeling good. He started to drive toward the last park and was at hoping it would still be empty and quiet. When he got to the park there were still no cars and the day was beautiful. Once he parked, he got out and headed toward the picnic tables again with his lunch, book, coffee and the last water bottle in his car. Once again, he faced his car to see if anyone pulled up and began to eat with relish. The food was very filling and the coffee kept him perky. Listening to the birds chirping and the wind blow through the trees, he started to lose track of time and eventually looked down at his phone, it was five thirty. He had missed the end of Cheryl’s shift. He decided to go home and watch a movie for the rest of the day. His brother and Cheryl were right, he needed to clear out his mind as he had learned from studying Taoism in college, in fact he had done this type of meditation in college when things got hectic and that is why he was able to push through and make good grades.
On the drive back he went by the coffee shop to see if Cheryl might be there waiting for him, but didn’t see her car, so he continued home. There he noticed the dishes that he forgot to finish from the night before and began to run the water until it became hot and pour soap over the dishes. Putting on some music he looked out the window over the sink and fell into his relaxed state. He had these times when ironing clothes or mopping floors. With his music on he simply forgot the action he was doing and just stared out into space. With the last dish being washed, he turned on the tv and decided that he had finished enough of the book today, he would pick it back up at work tomorrow during a break. Before the movie had gotten halfway through, he was lightly snoring on the couch fast asleep.
The next morning greeting him, still asleep on the couch but now with a stiff neck. The couch was comfortable enough, but the pillows did not give much comfort to him. The time was six thirty according to the blue numbers from his cable box. He had enough time to shower, eat breakfast and hit the coffee shop to scout out the man and his daughter for Cheryl. He was not sure how he would approach the man or what he would say, but he was ready to help Cheryl anyway he could. A bit of anxiety crept into his mind, because he did not want to scare the kid. He decided that he would try not to think about it until he got to the shop. After showering and shaving in the stall he toweled off and put on his work clothes. It had been two days since he had been in and he knew that he would be playing catch up for the rest of the week. He went through the tasks he was sure to be tasked with once he got in, he felt ready to head out and get the first part of the day over with.
Getting into his car, the anxiety turned up a couple of notches. He still was not sure how to approach the man and thought it might be better to avoid the shop that morning. But he had made a promise to Cheryl and he was not in the habit of not coming through, besides the way her voice sounded worried about the situation, he did not want her to have to face it alone. Once he got into the parking lot, he saw the car that the man and his daughter drove in. It looked like the car in the parking lot at the first park, it was a common make and model, and it was greyish silver, another common color for most cars. There was no turning back now, maybe the man would already be in the bathroom and leave like he did the previous times.
Carl walked in a bit unsteady. He made it to the counter and Cheryl was there to greet him. He looked around the coffee shop and it had a few people, but he focused on the man and his daughter. They were sitting in the same spot as last time, near where Carl liked to recline on the couches. He looked at Cheryl who already had his drink order done and his bagel ready to go.
“Like clockwork, eight thirty,” she said softly to Carl.
“Okay, well I will just go over there and sit down and try to spark up a conversation. We will see what is going on,” replied Carl.
He grabbed his drink and food and looked at his watch, he would need to hurry this up because he needed to be at work n later than nine thirty. Sitting down on the couch he pulled out his book, took a drink of the coffee to gain some courage, took a few bites of the bagel and one more sip of coffee. Just as he was about to speak the man looked over at him.
“Hey, Carl right, I need to hit the restroom, can you watch my girl while I am in there, I’d appreciate it,” the man said.
“Yeah sure no problem, remember where the bathroom is, “Carl asked?
“Oh yeah over by the patio, just be few minutes,” the man turned to the girl, “ now be nice and stay here until I get back okay, Carl will watch over you while I am gone.”
“Okay,” the girl said with a sign as she returned to reading her book.
The man got up and headed straight for the bathroom as Carl turned to look at the girl closely.
“He’ll be right back, coffee does that to adults. I know it does it to me all the time. So what are you reading,” Carl asked the girl.
“My dad said I shouldn’t talk to strangers, “replied the girl. “You are very right and you should listen to your dad, I’m just going to stay here until he gets back like he asked. If you need anything just let me know okay,” said Carl. He was already regretting getting into this situation. He felt like a creep with the stranger remark.
Reaching Out
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