Thinking in Systems

Len arrived at the corner at nine with a small backpack and a banana.

Ruth was there in a raincoat, though it had not rained for two weeks. Vimal had a coffee in a takeaway cup. Patrick had no jacket at all and was trying to persuade his dog not to investigate a burst rubbish bag.

“You made it,” Ruth said.

Len looked at the clear sky. “I did.”

“We’ll see,” said Patrick.

They set off toward the canal. Len’s downstairs neighbour had told him the group usually walked that way on Sundays. He had worn walking boots for it. Ruth noticed them immediately but said nothing.

At the first crossing, Vimal turned left toward the high street.

“The canal’s right,” Len said.

“It is,” Vimal said. “But the pavement is better this way.”

They went past the newsagent, where Patrick bought a paper through the hatch without breaking stride. At the bakery, Ruth stopped to ask whether the woman behind the counter had saved the rye loaf. Len waited outside with the dog, which had found a fallen croissant.

“Does this happen every week?” he asked when they emerged.

“Not the croissant,” Patrick said.

Vimal pointed toward a narrow path behind the dentist. “We used to go by the canal. Then the works started.”

“The works ended,” Ruth said.

“The coffee place opened,” said Patrick.

“And you stopped bringing the dog,” Vimal told him.

Patrick looked at the dog, which was now carrying a napkin like a flag. “That was one winter.”

They paused at the path. Len could see the canal beyond the houses, bright and empty in the sun.

“So are we going there?” he asked.

Ruth checked the time. Vimal had already turned toward the market. Patrick said the dog needed water, though the dog appeared occupied.

“Next Sunday,” Ruth said, “we could do the full thing.”

“If it doesn’t rain,” Patrick said.

“It isn’t going to rain,” Len said.

Nobody answered because the bakery door opened behind them and someone called Ruth’s name. By the time she had finished talking, Vimal was halfway to the market and Patrick was following the dog toward a puddle in the gutter.