Picnic Pick-up

ESL Group Story Writing Class April 18 2010

Yesterday I decided to have a picnic in the park, since the weather was so nice. I put a book, a blanket, some paper cups, and a bottle of wine in a large backpack and I took them with me to the park.

I took my bicycle and went out. It was so beautiful to listen to the song of the birds while I was riding.

I looked for a spot on the lawn and I sat down. I began to read a book. A man was walking in front of me. He stopped and said "May I?"

I observed the park. It was nice and quiet. There was a river with beautiful swans and on the other side some children were playing with a ball. When the man asked me if he could sit close to me, I hesitated.

What did this man want? Is there not enough space in this park? I looked closely at the man. He had on a purple sweater that had holes all over it. His pants were a dingy orange color and they had patches all over them.

I looked down at his feet and was surprised to see that they were clad with a very expensive pair of exquisite leather boots. Then, pretending not to understand what he was asking, I said, "May I?" "May you what?"

"May I sit close to you, of course," he said. I was afraid of this hobo, no matter how good his shoes were, but I was afraid he could become dangerous if I said no and I was also worried because he smelled bad.



While I was wondering how to react in the best way for me, my phone rang and I picked it up. It was a friend of mine who was asking me if I were in our favorite park because she is around.

I said, "I need you now, so can you come here to the park? Just as you were calling me, a man sat down next to me.”

The man started to tell me a strange story. He told me that he met a woman who had predicted that he would meet the woman of his dreams today, here in this park. But while he was telling me that, he was looking attentively at my bottle of wine. I just answered, "Oh yes, she must be somewhere in this park. Have a look!”  I hoped that my friend would arrive fast.

The man smiled at me and said, "I don't need to look anywhere else. You are the woman of my dreams."  "How do you know that?" I asked. "Because you have the magic bottle in your possession," he said, smiling.

Uff. All I was worried about before the picnic was the weather and ants. I hadn't thought about creeps.  Next time I'll have to remember to bring something else, like a baseball bat or a gun. I told the guy: "Listen, the bottle is finished. And although it was a very good wine, I wouldn't say it was ‘magic.’”  “I am sure I am not the woman of your dreams, and I really would like you to leave. Why don't you take a nap and dream of someone else?"

The man said, "No, I want to stay here." Just at that same moment, my friend arrived. My friend was astonished when he saw the man because he recognized the man. The man was the author of the book that I was reading. The book title is "My Best Favorite."


My friend was a big admirer of that author. She gave him her phone number and told him to call her later in the evening. The man left, happy. My friend and I could now start our picnic and talk about women's stories, blah, blah, blah…

THE END

Participants:
Alianaluz Rivera (T)
Giovanni Tweak (CR)
oo Broono
Rali Andretti
Verte Roussel