Confluence. Stephen J. Gordon

shook my head.

      “Life is great, I suppose. Not as crazy as yours.”

      “Doesn’t matter. I need to apologize to you.”

      “Why?”

      “Because we’ve only been connecting at night and mostly rolling in the sack.”

      She reached for my hand. “I like rolling in the sack with you.”

      “Ah, but is it enough?”

      “You’ve got a lot going on.”

      “Don’t apologize for me.” I let a moment pass. “Okay, I accept your apology.”

      Katie smiled again. After a second she asked, “Do you think we’re good together?”

      “Do you mean like Laurel and Hardy good, or like the Princess Bride and Westley good, because I’m partial to Westley.”

      She laughed.

      I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it. “We’ll see.”

      “As you wish,” she smiled.

      Our meal came, and we ate over small talk, staying away from the intensity of the last few days, at least for me. We passed on dessert, and instead headed out to take up Sakolsky’s suggestion of the promenade walk. I moved the Jeep closer to the Canton marina, and after locking up we meandered toward the waterfront. We cut between a pair of three tiered condos, and walked around a seafood restaurant at the edge of the marina.

      As we turned right onto the promenade, we could see the walkway winding along the water’s edge off toward Fells Point in the distance. Harborwalk, as the signs named it, was paved with bricks, and was bordered on the left by a fully berthed marina and on the right by the townhouse units. At the property line some homes had short hedges separating the public and private space.

      Overall, the area was calm and peaceful. The sun had already set off to the left and city lights had taken over. As we strolled, we were far from alone. Joggers, both men and women, ran past us, some coming up from behind, others approaching on the left. Almost universally, all joggers, whether male or female, had white wires running down their torsos from ear buds.

      “Sakolsky was right,” I said as a couple passed us going the other way. “This is pretty cool.”