Free Waiting for Jo by srbrdshaw Page A

boy
appear to be having a picnic.
    I see the man grab onto his collar and look
around. He’s probably looking for Malcolm’s owner. I jog the rest
of the way over to the blanket to retrieve my wayward pup. As I get
closer, I can see that the man looks familiar.
    “Hey, Will! I can’t believe I’m running into
you here. Thanks for catching Malcolm!” I say. I pick up Malcolm’s
leash and pull him toward me. “Bad dog!” I say.
    “I didn’t have to really catch him. He ran
right to me.” Will stands up and hugs me.
    “I was just about to go for a run, but he
bolted as soon as I let him out of the car.”
    I turn to the little boy who’s petting and
hugging Malcolm and not paying attention to anything else that’s
happening.
    “Who’s this little guy?” I ask Will.
    “This is Blake.” Will reaches over and pats
him on the head. “We were recently matched through the Big Brother
program. Blake, can you say hi to Jo.”
    Blake is an adorable child. He’s probably six
or seven and has a full head of sandy-blonde, curly hair. He stops
petting Malcolm for a second and looks up at me with his big, brown
eyes and grins. “Hi Jo. Is this your dog? What’s his name?”
    “That is my dog, and his name is Malcolm. Do
you like him?”
    Blake nods without removing the grin from his
face.
    “So, do you like having Will as your big
brother?” I ask Blake.
    Blake nods his head again so enthusiastically
that I think it might fly off. “Yes! Will is so cool! He took me to
a basketball game before, and once he took me to the batting cages.
He said that if I do real good on my spelling test tomorrow he’ll
take me to get ice cream this weekend.”
    “Well, I hope you’ve been studying,” I
say.
    I look at Will and we smile at each
other.
    “Would you and Malcolm like to join our
picnic?” Will asks.
    “We’d love to, but we don’t want to crash in
on boy’s time.”
    “It’s fine with me. Is it okay with you,
Blake?”
    Blake is busy entertaining himself by pulling
Malcolm’s ears straight up and then letting them go and flop down
to the side of his face. “Mmm hmm,” he says in between giggles.
    Blake and I pull out a Frisbee and I try to
teach him the proper way to throw it while Will makes us some
peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches. Will laughs while
watching me chase the wayward Frisbee all over the park. After
about a half hour or so, I come back to the picnic blanket and
throw myself down dramatically.
    “Looks like you got a pretty good workout out
there,” Will says as he hands me a sandwich.
    “Yeah. I guess I don’t need to go for a run
now. Thanks for the sandwich!” I take the sandwich and sink my
teeth in. “Mmmm. I forgot how good grape jelly is,” I say.
    We finish our sandwiches while Blake tells us
about his class mascot, Marty the iguana.
    “Thanks for letting Malcolm and I crash your
picnic,” I say to Blake and Will.
    “You’re very welcome” Will says smiling at
me. “Blake and I will walk you to your car.”
    We pack up the blanket and food and head
towards my SUV.
    “Hey, do you want to go to the concert at the
botanical garden tomorrow night? The Funky Butt Brass Band is
playing.” Will asks.
    “Yeah. I’ve been meaning to catch one of
those concerts. I’ve never been, and I’ve heard they’re really
fun.”
    “Great! The music starts at 7:30. So I’ll
pick you at 7:00.”
    “Perfect!” I say. “I’ll see you then.”
    I load Malcolm in the car and hop in. Blake
and Will wave to me as I drive away.

    ***

    The next day, I walk into the office with a
little pep in my step. I had a really nice time at the park with
Will and Blake, James seems to be renewing his interest in me, and
I haven’t heard from the stalker for a while. Maybe the creep has
gotten tired of me and has moved on to someone else.
    “Good mornin’, Jo,” Debbie says as I pass by
reception. She winks at me. “There’s a surprise for you on your
desk. Must be from some special man