The Green Green Grass

I meet Amy under the Flinder's Street clocks and we go for a walk around the botanical gardens. She has a few hours off, contact time for her students. We laughed as we walked, the sun sparkled.

"Let them find me," she said of her students. "I need some me time."

Amy has got a promotion to senior lecturer, I guess it's of humanities, or something. Do they still call it that?

"A senior position, hey?"

"Yes," she said.

"Who'd have thought we'd make it to senior anything, you know?"

"You were a Senior Lawyer, weren't you?"

"I guess?"

"So, you got there before me... old man."

I laughed.

"You know, before you got scared and ran away."

"Scared? Ran away?"

"Well, that's what you did, isn't it?"

"Is that what people think?"

"Yes," Amy said tentatively. "I guess they do."

"Ran away?"

"Couldn't cope, packed it in, lost..."

"Lost... the plot?"

"Yep, that's what some people think."

"Do you?"

Amy rubbed my chin with her hand, making cooing noises. "No baby, I think you are probably the smartest one of all of us."

Too much? Failed? Is that what my friends think I did? It sent a shiver up my spine. Life's too short and the years are flying passed, to be caught up with a bunch of old crusty corporate types wanting to make enough money to buy their new Mercedes.

"It all seemed such a long way away... and now we are passed that point."

"The unstoppable march of time."

"And here we are."

"It's like a never ending throp, one year after another."

"Throp?" questioned Amy.

"You know." She was grinning from ear to ear waiting for the definition. I swung my hand down like an axe. "Throp!"

Amy laughed, patted my face again. "I love you, Josh."