Morning Run
The sun had technically been up for
over an hour, but was still hidden behind a wall of clouds as Dav knocked on
the door. After a few seconds it popped open to reveal a sandy colored dingo.
"Hey, mate. Come on in. Got some
coffee ready in the kitchen if you want."
Dav shifted uncomfortably in the
doorway. Ris was currently not wearing any clothes.
"Uh, I can just wait outside for
a few minutes if you--"
The dingo paused a moment then deduced
the source of Dav's discomfort.
"Oh, sorry, mate. I was just
running through my morning yoga routine and lost track of time. I'll pop in the
other room and be dressed in a jiffy. Offer for coffee still stands. Nice dark
roast Sumatran."
Dav paused in the threshold for
another moment, mentally shrugged, then walked into the kitchen. He had had a
Pavlovian response to coffee ever since he first started working in restaurants
when he was still a pup. Even though he had already had two cups at home, he poured
some into a mug from the counter. Almost as a ritual, he grabbed the mug in
both paws, raised it to his snout, took a deep sniff, then a sip. The last of
the awkwardness of his arrival melted away. This was what got him addicted to
coffee as much as the caffeine.
"You need another minute alone
with that java, mate?"
Dav turned at the sound of Ris's
voice behind him.
"Sorry. Inci keeps telling me
how silly I look when I start a cup of coffee, but I can't break the habit.
It's almost like a meditation for me."
"No worries, mate. It's actually
kind of cute. And it shows appreciation. I think too many furs these days are
either in too much of a hurry or too uncomfortable to just appreciate and enjoy
things."
Ris came into the kitchen and stood
next to Dav. He put a hand on Dav's shoulder as he leaned across the counter
and picked up the mug of coffee that had already been there.
"So, mate, got our run all
planned out?"
"Not really. Often I'll just
head out the door and make it up as I go. That, and apart from making plans to
do this, we never talked about what level running you do."
"Well, growing up I was always a
bit of a loner, and the few friends I had lived far enough away I got into some
distance running when I was still a pup. Never was super-fast, but I can crank
out the miles."
"Perfect. That's kind of my
style of running. I've only been at it for about 5 years now, but working in
restaurants since high school trained me to be able to be on my feet for hours
on end." Dav thought for a minute. "Think you could handle about 10
or 12 miles today?"
"With everything going on the
last few weeks I haven't gotten out much. A shorty like that sounds pretty
good."
"You call that short? I thought
I was going to give you at least a little challenge. What do you call a long
run?"
"Well my longest ever was doing
the Caboolture 48 hour run a few years back. Came in second with a little under
300 miles. Had me totally whooped for about a week afterwards. I'll throw out a
20 to 25 miler or two most weeks."
"I think I'm about to get schooled." Dav
did some quick math in his head. "You OK with about a 9 minute per mile
pace?"
"Pushes my usual pace a bit, but
I think I can handle that. I'll let you know if I need to slow down. Like I
said, I can churn out miles like crazy, I'm just not terribly fast."
That made Dav feel a little better. 9
minute miles were pretty easy for him.
"Ok. Let's finish up these
coffees and get going."
They headed out the door and started
one of Dav's favorite neighborhood routes. As they went Dav talked a bit about
the area: pointing out interesting things like the Governor's Mansion, the
state capitol building, a little about the different characteristics of the
neighborhoods they passed through. As Ris started panting and grunting more
than speaking in response, Dav eased up the pace a bit. Finally they came to a
stop back outside Ris's house.
"Sorry if I pushed the pace a
little too much on you. Always happens to me when it's been a couple days since
my last run."
"No worries, mate," Ris
panted, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth a bit. "On the plus
side, when you pulled ahead I ashtrays got a nice view of those awesome legs of
yours." At Dav's slightly uncomfortable look Ris added, "Just teasing
you a bit, mate. I certainly know who to call when I need a bit of speed work,
though! Do it again next week?"
"Sure, but I'd need to do it on
Thursday instead. I've got to be at the restaurant early next Friday."
"Excellent. I'll try to remember
to have pants on when you show up next time, too. See you later!"
Ris slapped Dav on his hind-quarters
then disappeared through his front door. Dav stood on the doorstep an extra
second before he headed down the sidewalk to his own house to shower and
change.