July 2020
Mike woke up as the sunlight was pouring in through the window. It was still early, but years of ROTC training got him on a regular schedule of early mornings and workouts. He refused to be in close proximity with people at the gym, so had been slowly building up a home gym with Tal. It wasn't anything crazy, just some free weights, a bench and some plates, but it was enough to be able to get in a pretty good workout. But that was always for later, early mornings were the best time to run, and the public park was a good place to hit up here. It was only a few blocks away and was about a half-mile around the perimeter.
Mike changed into his running gear and headed out. He did make sure to prep the coffee machine so that he could enjoy a cup when he got back. The smell also helped the others wake up, otherwise they would end up sleeping until noon.
The mornings were still warm but not overly hot. He hated running when it was hot. The only thing that was worse than that was if it was humid, which luckily, they generally didn't get here. They were further on the west side of the city, so it wasn't really convenient to get to the lake, but there were plenty of other options in the area. Mike would typically choose some trail or river to follow, but he really didn't feel like heading out that far today. The added benefit to staying near the park was that he could stop over at the local mom & pop donut shop on the way back. Their coffee was terrible, far too dark and over-roasted for his taste, but they always put out the fresh hot donuts at around 7:30am, which was right when he liked to finish.
It had been a bit amusing to him that early on during the pandemic so many people were getting into fitness, so he always saw a lot of people around the parks. That number started to dwindle as the months went on, and now it was just the usual handful of people that he saw running in the early mornings. Well, amusing may not have been the right term. Maybe more interesting if nothing else. He guessed that the isolation was probably getting to people, depression becoming more widespread and just a general ennui setting in. He was probably handling it better than most, still keeping active, sticking to a routine, but he also had a lot of support from Evy and Tal to keep him going.
Around lap three Mike saw a familiar face riding by on a bicycle and he waved at Andy. Andy passionately despised running but loved his bicycle. They would occasionally bump into each other here, but his usual place to ride was by the lake.
"Not heading up the coast today?"
Andy slowed down a bit to pull up beside him, "Nah, that's for long haul rides, I don't have the time today. Need to be able to get on the computer by 8 for some emergency call, so I can only do the short circuit today."
"That sucks, what could go wrong on the weekend for it to affect you?"
Andy shrugged, "I'll find out in an hour or so."
"We still on for Tuesday night with the new guy? You said he didn't have any RPG experience?"
"Yeah, just be patient with him. He's a good guy, he'll work it out."
"If you say so. Oh, any thoughts on Jenny's birthday? I've been racking my brain trying to come up with something more fun than just renting a movie theater. Maybe hit up the beach?"
"Dude, you are a genius!"
Mike looked a bit confused, "Yes, thank you. What am I a genius about?"
"The beach, man. But we can go a step further, let's get a boat on the lake. She always talks about loving to swim, but I don't think we've ever taken her out on the lake before."
"Dude, she's going to lose her mind. I know a couple of guys who might be able to lend us their boat. I'll give you a call when I figure out the details."
"Sounds good." Andy checked his watch, "Alright, I'm going to head down to the river and then back up. Catch you later." Mike waved as Andy sped off to another trail.
Somewhere around lap six Mike started slowing down and figured that was probably all he needed. He had been able to keep fairly trim with this routine of running a couple times a week and weights with Tal four or five times a week. Evy would occasionally join him on the runs, but it wasn't really something she particularly enjoyed. Tal never ran with him, but still somehow managed to stay lean, much to Evy's annoyance. The man could eat nothing but garbage for weeks and still maintain his physique.
He rounded the corner on the way to Max's Donuts and could already smell the fresh scent wafting down the street. The sign lit up just as he approached the door and Max greeted him from behind the heavy-duty plastic separator. Max had bought a bunch of the stuff early on, almost right when China went into lockdown, and had fashioned a massive cashiering box that separated the customers and staff. "My favorite customer, how you doing Mike?"
"Good man, how are you?" he said through his mask that he had put on just prior to coming in. "Still got the boys working back there?"
Max laughed, "Yeah, they finally convinced me to try some of their new flavors. Between you and me, if I didn't let them start having some say in the business, they probably would have tried opening their own, and I don't need the competition."
"Oh yeah, what did they pitch you? I've only ever seen you serving three kinds."
"All I've ever needed was those three, but apparently, I've fallen behind the times and need to branch out. They picked up these fancy injectors over here so that you can now fill it with crème, various custards and two kinds of jelly." He patted the new set of appliances next to the register, "They even made up their own custards. I'm partial to the banana myself, but they're all good." He leaned in a bit and whispered in a voice that could fairly easily be overheard, "If I might suggest, avoid the green donuts on the bottom. They wanted to try something savory and spicy, and, well, it's not great." There were some jokingly outraged voiced that rang out in the back and Max just shooshed them up before turning back to Mike.
"Well, can't say that's really my thing, but I'll definitely grab one of those."
"That girl of yours will kill you if you give that to her," Max chuckled as he grabbed the tongues.
"Well, she can try," he grinned back at him. "I'll placate her with a banana crème donut. Make that two and throw in two old fashioneds."
"Yeah, you want a coffee with that?"
"Oof, Max I love you, but your taste in coffee and mine are miles apart." This was met by some agreement in the back before Max shushed them again.
"You sound like them. They can switch to that bland stuff when I'm dead and buried."
"Well, here's hoping that that's a long way down the road." Mike swiped his card and dropped a fiver in the tip jar before heading out.
