it was Monday, and I was supposed to go to work. but I wasn't really feeling up to it. I was instead poking around this weird strip mall that was across from a park. it had an outside corner... one store down was this weird booksotre, or rather they were a different store that also sold books and were trying to get rid of their inventory. they has some long tables in there which were convenient to sit at and be online. next to it (to the right of it, farther from the corner) was another store which I have forgotten but it had a dwindling supply of those cheap glass chess sets. to the right of that one, was under construction. there was a crew working on putting up a big red sign on the roof.

somehow all this was tied up with my mom having died and left me a large sum of money. I was dealing with some of that - maybe she had owned the store with the chess sets? - as well as with the construction crew. the crew lead turned out to be someone I knew, maybe had dated? anyhow I lost track of time and before I knew it it was quarter past noon.

and I hadn't even called into work.

I was sitting in a chair, outside, talking to two or three people, when Maria showed up. I acted casually, and she joined the conversation. the conversation drifted as such things do until we weren't really participating, and then she grabbed my neck and pulled me backwards off the chair. I flowed with it until we were both horizontal on the grass in the park. "why are you still here?!" she practically growled at me. "are you coming to work?" I thought, wow, she is abnormally close. I kept my body english friendly, and explained what I was doing, wondering isn't today a day off? I had half thought so...

she chilled out, and we kept talking. we moved so she was sitting leaning against a tree, and I was sitting cross-legged near her feel. she was wearing black leather mid-length boots. as we talked one or both of my hands would be on her boot. i.e. normal amount of physial contact for a close friend (but a bit odd for a professional relationship).