Joseph took a quick glance at Miranda who had been walking right next to him. The two usually took their lunchtime walks around the same time, though they did not walk together. In fact, the two had yet to say a single word to each other. Joseph and Miranda have worked at the same consulting company for almost a year. Joseph had first noticed Miranda when the orientation groups for new hires were having lunch in the cafeteria. From the moment he first saw those green eyes and blond hair, he was hooked. They worked in different departments that were located at opposite ends of the building. Joseph never found an occasion where he could interact with her on strictly a business level, and he was not quite sure how to do so at a social level.
Then, one day, he was running a little behind, so he took to the walking trail behind the parking lot about thirty minutes later than usual. He was adjusting the volume to his iPod when a woman in casual business clothes and tennis shoes blew right by him. Joseph had always considered himself a fast walker, so to see someone who left him eating her dust definitely caught his attention. He tried to catch up to her, but she maintained a significant lead of several feet. It took only moment for Joseph to recognize her. He would know that that blond hair anywhere. Sure enough, in case he was mistaken, after she finished her walk, she paused for a moment to check her pulse, and Joseph could see it was indeed Miranda that had been walking ahead of him. From that point on, Joseph changed his walking schedule to match hers.
His first plan to officially meet her was to run into her right before walking. However, her schedule fluctuated, so he Joseph could never really nail down when she actually started walking, and he couldn’t stay at the same spot waiting for her without attracting attention. So, his only recourse was to stand outside and wait for her. However, because she was walking so much faster than he, it was almost impossible to catch her. After the first several times of eating her dust, Joseph finally realized that he needed to improve his conditioning in order to catch up to her.
So, after work, he started to do some running. Not really hard in the beginning. It was really more like race walking, but he started to do it up hills and carrying a stopwatch to compare how fast he could move. It actually took a few more weeks before Joseph was finally able to catch up and keep up with Miranda. When they finally reached the end of the trail at the same time, Miranda didn’t say anything while she took her pulse. Joseph pretended to do the same. He was about to introduce himself when she spoke first.
“Hey, you’re getting a lot faster. I’m going to have to watch out for you from now on.”
Joseph smiled and introduced himself. From that day on, their walks became slower and longer, but always together.
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What I like about this one is the image of Joseph taking up running just so he can catch up to Miranda. This is one of those details that not only let us know what the character wants, but also makes us like him - which is always vital. I also like very much the last line of this. It has such a nice rhythm, and a lovely sentiment. (I was very disappointed when the relationship fell apart in the next installment.)
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