Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“Thanks.” I beamed as I took a seat next to him and opened my lunch sack. I felt guilty for eating in front of him after inviting myself to sit, so I asked, “Have you eaten?” I only had a turkey sandwich, but I was happy to share.
After another pause, the man answered, “Yeah, I ate already. But…thanks.”
“No problem.” I took a bite of my sandwich and looked around at the pretty courtyard while I chewed. The trees had lost most of their leaves, peppering the grass with orange and brown patches. There was a gentle breeze blowing, making the air cool but pleasant. “It’s nice out here,” I thought out loud. “I might have to sneak out between classes more often.”
“What classes are you taking?” He asked curiously.
I won’t lie; it was nice to be mistaken for a student. But if he’d been able to see my gray hair and crow’s feet, he wouldn’t have made the assumption. “I’m a professor here, actually. I teach English Literature.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Nah, I’m just a word nerd,” I shrugged, receiving a chuckle from the handsome young man. “What about you? What’s your major?”
“Oh, I don’t go to school here. Cooper and I take a walk everyday, and we always stop here for a break.” He reached down and gave his dog’s head a pat, and I smiled at Cooper’s tail thumping on the ground.
After a few more big bites, I was down to the crust of my bread, which I never ate anyway, so I asked the man, “Is Cooper allowed to have table scraps? I’ve got some crust if he’d like it.”
“That’s sweet, and normally he’d be all over it; he doesn’t have allergies and loves to eat everything, but he won’t eat when he’s in his harness because he knows he’s working. He’ll never turn down a head pat, though.”
“You don’t mind?”
When he shook his head, I placed the remainder of my sandwich in my lunch sack and lowered myself onto the ground on one knee. Cooper eyeballed me curiously when I slowly reached out my hand, but when I stroked his soft head, the dog leaned into my touch and let his tongue lull out.
“Aw, you’re a good boy, aren’t you?” I asked, scratching behind his ears. “I used to have a Golden Retriever named Roxie when I was younger, but she wasn’t calm like you are. She’d jump on people, bark like crazy, and lick nonstop.”
The man chuckled again. “Don’t let him fool you; when he’s out of his harness, he can be a ball of energy. But when he’s working, he’s calm and very well trained.”
“Did you train him?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t being too nosey.
“I met him through a guide dog foundation, and they did the majority of his training. Then when we were matched together, he and I worked for a few months to get in sync with each other and learn each other’s needs.”
“That’s amazing.” I gave Cooper one last pat before climbing back onto the bench, wincing when my knee cracked. “I couldn’t teach poor Roxie anything; bless her heart, she barely knew her own name. She wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box, but I loved her.” He laughed again, and I could listen to the sound all day. “Speaking of names, I didn’t get yours.”
“Oh.” He stuck his hand out in my direction and replied, “I’m Sterling.”
“That’s a very pretty name.” If I wasn’t mistaken, I saw a slight blush creep onto his cheeks. I wrapped my hand around his and added, “I’m Beckett.”
“That’s a nice name too.” Oh yes, the blush was definitely there.
“Thank you. It’s very nice to meet you, Sterling.” My life revolved around words, yet I’d never found one that felt so good on my lips.
"It's nice to meet you too. So, how long have you been teaching?”
“Twenty one years now,” I replied, and I noticed his eyebrows rising above his sunglasses. “I taught in Pennsylvania for the majority of the time, and then moved here to North Carolina about six years ago.”
“Chasing warmer weather?”
“Not exactly.” By most accounts, I was a very straightforward person, and not one for sugarcoating, so I shrugged and added, “After ten years together, I found out my partner was cheating on me. We taught at the same school and I couldn’t handle seeing his face every day, so I left."
"I'm so sorry."
"The weather is nice too, though," I added, trying to lighten the mood, and Sterling chuckled. "What about you? Have you always lived here?"
"I have. I grew up on the other side of town and went to high school at North Point."
"I've heard North Point is very nice." It was a private school filled with the city's elite.
He nodded and after a pause added, "I always wanted to come to Evanston after graduation."