Sunday, 2 p.m.

On Sunday afternoon, Mike walks over to John's house.

Mike : (knocking on the back door) John, are you ready to go?
John : (appearing at the kitchen window) Mike, I know you're excited, but just hold on a minute. Let me clean my brushes and I'll be ready.
Mike : OK, no problem.
John : (locking the back door) You didn't bring your car.
Mike : No, I'm getting a bit tired of riding in the car so much. I thought maybe we could walk to Freeman Park.
John : What for?
Mike : Mushroom season, man. How'd you like a chanterelle omelette for dinner?
John : Sounds tasty to me.

The two friends have known each other since the fourth grade. Mike has always been the one who tries new things and then introduces John to them. Mike picks up his mushroom basket and they set off on their walk.

John : I met this really cute girl yesterday.
Mike : Oh yeah?
John : Yeah, I made her blush. It was at Farmer's Market, near my house.
Mike : Really? That's where my girlfriend Toni works. Was she petite, with long, brown hair?
John : (gulps) Um, yeah, now that you mention it. . . .
Mike : It must be Toni; the other employees are men. John, I suggest you don't pursue that avenue any further.
John : (indignantly) What? I just wondered aloud why I have never noticed her, when I shop there so often. She's your girlfriend?
Mike : Sometimes I'm amazed myself that I go out with such a young woman.
John : Does she still live at home, then?
Mike : Yes, she's still in high school.

They enter Freeman Park, and Mike leads John up a little-used path.

Mike Actually, next year her brother will start going to the school where I'm teaching.
John : It's a small world. So are you and Toni really serious about each other? How did you get to know each other?
Mike : It's a long story.

Mike stops in his tracks and points out a large mushroom with a stick.

Mike : Take a look at this. It's called "hen of the woods," and it's definitely worth gathering.
John : Pretty neat. But don't think I'm going to let you change the subject so easily.
Mike : In my opinion, you're just a bit too interested in Toni. I've actually known her since she was eleven, and I was asked to watch her and her brother for the evening.
John : You were her babysitter? That sounds kinky, somehow.
Mike : It wasn't. Then two years ago she joined a cooking class I was teaching.
John : I remember the class. But you never mentioned a girl named Toni.
Mike : I guess the subject never came up. Let me show you my spot for chanterelles. The trouble is, sometimes the poisonous ones called jack o'lanterns grow there too.

The two men head further up the trail.

	John
	Mike