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The Park<\/strong><\/p>\n I go for a run in the park every day before breakfast.<\/p>\n I like the park. There\u2019s an old-fashioned bandstand surrounded by fragrant flower beds at one end of the park, and a church that smells of old stone and lichen at the other end. I usually run between these two places, with a regular diversion to the green pond that\u2019s home to some interesting ducks.<\/p>\n The park changes with the seasons. In the spring, there\u2019s a strong scent of new growth around the plants. The smell of heavy pollen replaces this scent in the summer, and this is replaced by the odour of damp in the autumn. Winter, to me, smells of cold. There are other scents present in the park, regardless of season. I often come across the lingering whiff of empty cider cans and soggy cigarette butts on my travels, not forgetting the aromas that belong to the other visitors to the park.<\/p>\n I never go to the park on my own. On weekdays I go to the park with Mrs Malone. At the weekend, I go to the park with Mr Malone.<\/p>\n I think he might be obsessed with the place.<\/p>\n If the weather is bad on a weekday, Mrs Malone looks through the kitchen window and says: \u201cWe\u2019ll go to the park tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s not the same with Mr Malone. If the weather is bad at the weekend, Mr Malone grabs his thick coat and says: \u201cLooks a bit grim out, but I think we can manage a trip to the park, hey?\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Malone follows me at a brisk walking pace in the park. He normally brings a tennis ball with him. If it wasn\u2019t for me, I think he\u2019d probably lose it. He likes throwing the ball away and I wish I could tell him that it won\u2019t come back on its own. It seems to be a game that he likes playing. I think it helps him to relax.<\/p>\n Mr Malone likes to talk about his job when we go to the park.<\/p>\n \u201cThose idiots in Logistics don\u2019t seem to have any idea of my workload\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The tennis ball flies over the grass and I go and get it for him.<\/p>\n \u201cI just can\u2019t see the value in what I do in that office\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n We reach the pond. I stare at the ducks and Mr Malone looks at the water.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m definitely going to start looking for a new job on Monday. Definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n I wish there was something I could say to Mr Malone, but of course there isn\u2019t, well, not in a way that he\u2019d understand anyway. The funny thing is I don\u2019t really need to say anything. After we\u2019ve been to the park, Mr Malone\u2019s mood usually changes for the better, and he\u2019ll sometimes whistle a little tune under his breath on the way home.<\/p>\n Mr Malone makes breakfast for both of us when we get back to the house. During the week, Mr Malone has brown toast and a green smoothie before he goes to work, and I start the day with dry mix, which is actually a lot nicer than it sounds. At the weekend, we dine on better things. Mr Malone makes a pile of bacon sandwiches, and I get some meat stirred into my bowl of dry mix.<\/p>\n Mrs Malone is normally using her phone when we get back from the park, but she stops when Mr Malone brings her a bacon sandwich. I normally have a nap under the kitchen table,\u00a0after we\u2019ve all had our breakfast. When I wake up, Mr and Mrs Malone have usually gone back to bed, and I\u2019ve learned that it isn\u2019t a good idea to disturb them when this happens.<\/p>\n I like visiting the park every day and hope Mr Malone finds a new job soon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n