Landscapeiskuforiji

The Lunch Affair

Rebecca looked up from her papers at the computer screen. Tucking a few strands of her ginger hair behind her ear she read the message. Her status was set to busy and though intrigued she ignored the instant message. However, a couple of seconds later:

Rebecca sighed, she had a mountain of work to do and the last thing she needed was a distraction. But she couldn’t resist so she stood up and peered over the divider that separated her desk and gave her solitude from the sea of corporate exertion. Across the room she could see Isaac’s smiling face hovering, just as mischievous as the Cheshire Cat.
‘What?’ she mouthed silently.
Another message popped up on her screen:

Rebecca laughed lightly and replied:

The mid-day sun stood to attention as the two figures exited walked along the .
“You’re a sucker for the puppy dog”
“No I’m not; I only pretend that I am”
“Then you’re a sucker for love”
“You’re lucky it’s such a beautiful day, because otherwise, I wouldn’t take that as a compliment.”
Although she did have a lot of work to do Rebecca was glad to be out of the office and she was glad to be with Isaac. It was a couple of months since they had first met. Rebecca worked through lunch most days. Apparently this fact was clear from the building opposite and Isaac had had a Panini and a cup of coffee with a note sent to her desk, and that’s how it had started. The workaholic and the king of surprises, a perfect match depending on your way of thinking.

Rebecca and Isaac crossed the busy road that separated the high-rise office buildings from the single storey eating complex. The area had recently undergone urban regeneration. Rebecca had been working at the company for a year, in their former offices in the old town. Then, six months earlier the company had expanded and moved to new offices in the canal side development. That was when Isaac had joined the company

As they continued past the hoards of urban coffee swillers seated outside the zillion faux Italian cafes, Isaac was almost skipping. He was bursting with excitement. Whilst jogging a few weeks ago he had stumbled upon the place. It was a surprise to find such a gem in the middle of the city. He had wanted to show Rebecca straight away but he had spent some time making preparations.

They walked the tree lined path southwards and they soon reached the canal. Isaac led Rebecca down the canal path for almost 100 yards, past the old wrought iron bench where they usually had lunch.

“Where on earth are we going?”
“The place that we’re going is not earth.” Isaac said mystically “It’s paradise.”

At this point the canal split into two, one flow continuing straight and another cutting off towards the right. Isaac directed Rebecca towards the right. Now, instead of a red brick path, the bank was grassy and on the left were bushes with pink flowers and berries.
“This place is beautiful” Rebecca exclaimed.
Then she looked at Isaac, his gaze had caught something in the distance.
“There it is.” Isaac announced.
A few metres from them, what looked like a tree trunk lay at an angle, one end reaching into the canal and the other up past the flower bushes of the bank and into the sky. As they walked closer, Rebecca could a large hole in the tree trunk, almost like a cave. Isaac helped Rebecca walk along the tree trunk and down into the cave.

Inside, Isaac had clearly been at work. There were cushions, a small fridge and a mini stereo.
“Wow,” Rebecca said breathlessly, and then again, “Wow.”
“Seeing as lunchtime is the only real time we get to spend together, I thought we should spend it in a more comfortable environment.”
“And we can talk without having people walking past endlessly.”
“Yes, we can talk,” Isaac said taking Rebecca’s hand.
“Did, I ever tell you about where I grew up?” Rebecca asked looking into his eyes.
***