Having A Catch

A Raccoon and a Fox were getting together to have a catch. The two friends had both made sure to take the afternoon off from work so they could spend some time with each other. When the time came they each gathered their mitts and made their way to the field.

On the way their Ruby, the Raccoon, found herself running a little late. As she was just out the door she realized that she had forgotten to bring a ball with her. She wanted to turn around and grab one but had to weigh this against the chance she would be late for the catch.

“I’m sure Francis will bring a ball.” Ruby thought, “After all, who doesn’t keep a ball in their mitt to preserve a good pocket?”

Ruby was happy with this line of thinking and continued to make her way to the park. Of course, she didn’t consider that the exact same reasoning couldn’t be applied to her, as she did not store a ball in her mitt to preserve a perfect pocket and as a result was in the predicament she was in.

Francis, the Fox, was too in a bit of a hurry on his way out the door. He had a few things he needed to finish up at work that took longer than he anticipated. So he had no choice but to scoop up his glove quickly and make a run for the park. His glove, however, as Ruby predicted, did have a ball in it to help preserve a perfect pocket.

“Oh dear,” thought Francis, “I’m so late as is and I don’t want to keep Ruby waiting. Perhaps, it would be smart to leave the ball here so I won’t weigh myself down as much, then I could make a run for it lighter, and faster”

So the two friends began a collision course for disappointment. Francis was sprinting through the forest as fast as he could. Ruby was making her way more leisurely but much, much more anxious about not having a ball.

When the two finally saw each other in the field they greeted one another warmly. The two had both had unusually rough weeks and immediately sat down and started getting into it.

“My boss was in a mood this week!” Ruby started.

“Ugh, same, tell me about it,” Francis replied.

“You go first.” Ruby offered.

“No, no, I insist. You start.” Francis responded.

“Are you sure? I’m happy to go second.” Ruby threw the conversation back to Francis.

“Of course, of course, you take the first story. I’ll follow.” Francis threw the conversation back to Ruby.

The two couldn’t settle on who would be the first to start talking but they both knew it would be a fun time to catch up once it started. The ball slipped both of their minds. They could get to that detail sometime later.