Story (Edited!)

Day 78
Challenge:
Write a story for a stranger you see.



As tourists go, the two New Yorkers intrigue me even before I see them
as a couple, boarding arm in arm.
And after the launch leaves the docks and we are moving across the water, I consider them as much as I take in the lakes and islands.

She is younger, confident in a “less is more” way, wearing simple diamond earrings and carrying an Audubon Guide in the back pocket of her vest.
He is older, in two layers of sweaters, graying, approachable.

The ranger has just spotted a loon with chicks and announces their location over the speaker. They are out ahead of us and to the left, a good distance across the waves.
She lifts her German engineered binoculars, briefly adjusts the focus, and, with a slight nod, confirms it.

She moves her finger across her phone. From my place on the bench just behind her I see images of birds appear and disappear until she finds what she is looking for.
I imagine she enters:   Loon with Chicks   July 26, 2011    Voyaguers Ntl. Pk.

On the return trip he and I find ourselves at the front of the launch.
He tells me they hope to say they’ve visited all the national parks. But time is not on their side. He is nearly eighty, and some, such as the one in Samoa, are so distant.

He speaks of her birding interest. I mention my fascination with snails.

Upon debarking Steve and I visit the Learning Center and make reservations for a second boat tour the following afternoon.

The next day, waiting on the dock, we see them again . . .  getting off, arm in arm.
We exchange surprised greetings before going our separate ways.

When we are seated, I lean over and tell Steve how nice it was to see their familiar faces. And how it feels like we have known them for a long long time.

It still does.

Note: 

Dear readers! Thank you for your continued patience with my spelling and my edits.
Yes, earring has two R's and John Audubon's vowels are not what I thought them to be.

Separate is better than seperate, because now the word doesn't have a dotted red line under it when I am looking at the draft of this post. 

Sometimes I don't catch my errors until I see them in hard copy . . .  or on my smart phone. Or while standing on my head!   :)