Asterion by Kenneth Morvant Page A

more than the average citizen would. These measures finally stopped the race toward deficit spending, but for how long. The new issue is the lack of productivity that is growing over time. Guaranteed work and income has left the country with a workforce that does the minimum instead of striving to excel and reap the rewards of hard work.”
    That brought the couple to the end of that segment and the end of a long day. It is hard to focus on anything but the ominous condition the country faced. Their status insulated them from most of it and they wondered what other austerity measures are in store if things got worse.
    Taylor reassured Christine. “Don’t worry, together we will do okay.”
    Christine smiled. “I like that.”
    Taylor questions her, “The work it out part?”
    She squeezes his hand. “No, the together part.”
    “Let’s go to the park tomorrow. Get some fresh air after the sanitized air in the lab.”
    “Great, let’s have a picnic.”
    “I haven’t done that since I was a kid with my parents. Ten O’clock okay?”
    “Meet me at my place.”
    “Great.”
    They snuggled for a while, but time caught up with them and they had to go their separate ways for the evening.
    At ten the next morning, Christine hears a knock. She goes to the door and they greet each other with smiles and a hug. Christine looks at his basket, “What did you bring?”
    Opening the basket, he replies, “Some finger foods, grapes and water.”
    “Great, no duplicates, I made some fried chicken. Easy to eat and disposal is quick.”
    “Great, I love that. Let’s go.”
    They walk to the nearby park. Burnsom made sure a little bit of nature is nearby to everyone. His style of benevolence is to take the land away from private owners and return a tiny portion for the public use.
    Taylor looks up at the tall trees, “My parents told me that in the past, people could have property of their own and create their own landscapes.”
    “I heard the same from mine. Do you think that day will come again?”
    “Burnsom has too much of a hold on the government. I can’t see that happening.”
    “Would be nice”
    “Yea, I hate to dream about what can’t happen.”
    “Dreams inspire the changes of the future.”
    Taylor laughs, “Now you sound like a politician.”
    “That’s romantic; call me one of those people.”
    They giggled and laughed as they walked along the path. The rabbits, squirrels and birds keep a curious eye on them and they tried slowly to approach them, but they keep a few feet between them and the couple.
    They settled down under a huge oak tree. Hundreds of years old, it is six feet across and provided a huge canopy of shade to escape the heat of the day. Taylor spread a blanket, they placed their baskets on it and reclined facing each other across them.
    Taylor looks into Christine’s blue eyes, “I don’t think I have relaxed like this for quite a while. I guess I never had as good a reason as now to take in nature’s beauty.” He smiles coyly.
    “Well that’s a lot better than calling me a politician.”
    “I guess I’m not the smoothest guy around or the quickest thinker on my feet.”
    “You do okay.” She puts her hand on his.
    “Just your touch…, I can’t describe it.”
    “Good, then it’s not just me.”
    “Really,” his voice cracks and he clears his throat and in a low voice, “Really.”
    She laughs, “Yes, silly.”
    They stop laughing, pause and look into each other’s eyes, then embrace for a few minutes.
    Taylor looks down at his shirt, “I think we just absorbed the grease from the chicken.”
    Christine laughs, “Less fattening, the government will love it. The grocery store voice asked if I needed that much poultry.”
    Taylor smiles, “Well if you need some more before it allows you to, I’ll get it for you.”
    “Oh, my knight in shining armor.”
    “My lady, I bring you chicken.”
    They laugh and eat lunch, spotting the various animals that inhabit the park.