Date Night (Encore)

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Speaker 1 Hey, listener. I want to tell you about something that's changed my daily routine in the best possible way.
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Speaker 1 Welcome to bedtime stories for everyone

Speaker 1 in which

Speaker 1 nothing much happens.

Speaker 1 You feel good

Speaker 1 and then

Speaker 1 you fall asleep.

Speaker 1 I'm Catherine Nikolai.

Speaker 1 I write and read all the stories you hear on Nothing Much Happens.

Speaker 1 Audio Engineering is by Bob Wittersheim.

Speaker 1 We are bringing you an encore episode tonight, meaning that this story originally aired at some some point in the past. It could have been recorded with different equipment in a different location.

Speaker 1 And since I'm a person and not a computer, I sometimes sound just slightly different.

Speaker 1 But the stories are always soothing and family friendly. And our wishes for you are always deep rest and sweet dreams.

Speaker 1 This method works by giving your brain something to attach to.

Speaker 1 It becomes like an anchor. Your ship drops anchor, and instead of traveling all over the place,

Speaker 1 your mind is held in one soft, relaxing place, and you rest.

Speaker 1 All you need to do is listen.

Speaker 1 I'll tell the story twice, and I'll go a little slower the second time through.

Speaker 1 If you wake in the night, don't hesitate to turn an episode right back on.

Speaker 1 With time, you'll wake less, and even when you do, you'll return to sleep within moments.

Speaker 1 Our story tonight is called Date Night.

Speaker 1 And it's a story about a bike ride to a place where X marks the spot on a hand-drawn map.

Speaker 1 It's also about lavender lemonade, minnows in the shallows, wagging tails, and a toast made while the dogs wind a leash around your ankle.

Speaker 1 Now,

Speaker 1 it's time.

Speaker 1 Turn out your light.

Speaker 1 Set down your device

Speaker 1 and get as comfortable as you can.

Speaker 1 Tuck yourself in with all the loving care little you needs tonight.

Speaker 1 Draw a deep breath in through the nose

Speaker 1 and sigh from your mouth.

Speaker 1 One more breathe in

Speaker 1 and out.

Speaker 1 Good.

Speaker 1 Date night

Speaker 1 Out in the garage,

Speaker 1 the bikes were almost ready.

Speaker 1 We'd pumped up the tires and made sure both of the trailers were properly coupled to our rear axles.

Speaker 1 At first, we'd debated on just going the two of us.

Speaker 1 After all, it was meant to be a date night.

Speaker 1 But what can we say?

Speaker 1 Our dogs, Crumb and Birdie,

Speaker 1 our sweet kitty Marmalade,

Speaker 1 they are part of our love story.

Speaker 1 And we loved to be together.

Speaker 1 I didn't expect Marmalade to be a fan of riding in the bike trailer.

Speaker 1 I tried taking her out in a cat stroller once, and we'd only made it past a few houses

Speaker 1 before her yowling made it clear that this was not her cup of tea.

Speaker 1 But she kept sneaking out into the garage

Speaker 1 and climbing into the little mesh-sided wagon.

Speaker 1 And the third time I found her there,

Speaker 1 I cautiously zipped her in and opened the garage door.

Speaker 1 I walked the bike down the driveway, watching her face.

Speaker 1 She lounged on the blanket I'd spread over the seat,

Speaker 1 seemingly at ease.

Speaker 1 And when I got to the street, and she still seemed content,

Speaker 1 I kicked one leg over the bike and pushed off.

Speaker 1 Slowly down a block, across another.

Speaker 1 She stared at the trees in the avenue.

Speaker 1 And when I stopped at a stop sign, I could actually hear her purring from behind me.

Speaker 1 Since then,

Speaker 1 a few times a week, when I am tying on my sneakers,

Speaker 1 she'll approach on her silent orange paws and sit in front of me

Speaker 1 and blink expectantly.

Speaker 1 Then we take a ride together.

Speaker 1 As for the dogs, they were up for anything,

Speaker 1 especially Crum.

Speaker 1 He was little and brown,

Speaker 1 like a spunky, barking loaf of bread,

Speaker 1 and he got riled up when just about anything happened.

Speaker 1 If we were going for a walk,

Speaker 1 for a ride in the car,

Speaker 1 out into the backyard or up to bed,

Speaker 1 he was just happy to be in on the fun.

Speaker 1 Birdie,

Speaker 1 a retired greyhound whose dating profile would say

Speaker 1 must love naps and canceled plans

Speaker 1 was less enthusiastic.

Speaker 1 He'd still wag his thin whipped tail

Speaker 1 and lean his shoulder into your leg when you mentioned a ride.

Speaker 1 But he didn't usually get the zoomies about it.

Speaker 1 We were headed out to a spot we hadn't been to before

Speaker 1 following a map that we'd been gifted at our wedding in September of the year before.

Speaker 1 The best man had drawn an X on the map,

Speaker 1 a spot near a lake

Speaker 1 where we could picnic and relax

Speaker 1 and watch the ripples on on the water.

Speaker 1 He'd also gifted us these bikes,

Speaker 1 two beautiful cruisers,

Speaker 1 mine

Speaker 1 orange like marmalade with a brown basket in tribute to crumb.

Speaker 1 His

Speaker 1 gray like birdie.

Speaker 1 He'd attached one of the trailers when he delivered the gifts.

Speaker 1 None of us knew then what ride-or-die fanatics the animals would become.

Speaker 1 But once we'd realized how much they enjoyed it,

Speaker 1 he'd ordered us a second one so we could all bike together.

Speaker 1 Marmie and Crum

Speaker 1 shared one of the trailers.

Speaker 1 They were about the same size,

Speaker 1 though her orange, fluffy fur made her seem a bit bigger.

Speaker 1 They were snuggle bugs anyway,

Speaker 1 and always had their paws looped together,

Speaker 1 or a chin resting on the other's back.

Speaker 1 So they were happy to ride together.

Speaker 1 Birdie was so big,

Speaker 1 so long and lanky, with those thin stick legs that went for miles,

Speaker 1 his long back and knobbly knees, he rode better on his own,

Speaker 1 and we put an extra blanket in the cushioned seat for him.

Speaker 1 Greyhounds can get cold easily,

Speaker 1 and he regularly wore sweaters,

Speaker 1 even in the late spring.

Speaker 1 For them, we'd packed their travel water bowls and water,

Speaker 1 treats and toys.

Speaker 1 For us, we packed lemonade

Speaker 1 made with lavender syrup,

Speaker 1 little savory pastries from the bakery,

Speaker 1 which were filled with juicy, sun-dried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts.

Speaker 1 Then we had some fruit, a little container of the first strawberries of the season, and pears from the corner store.

Speaker 1 There were crackers and hummus,

Speaker 1 some quick pickles and smoked almonds,

Speaker 1 and a big chocolate bar to share.

Speaker 1 I'd heard the concept of a picky tea recently,

Speaker 1 and it had had inspired me.

Speaker 1 It was a meal made of little bits and bites,

Speaker 1 some of it from leftovers in the back of the fridge, but perfect for a picnic.

Speaker 1 It took a minute to load the bikes, to get the pets in their harnesses,

Speaker 1 buckled into their trailers,

Speaker 1 but the sun was still high in the afternoon sky when we set out.

Speaker 1 I had the map stretched across the top of my bike basket, held in place with binder clips.

Speaker 1 And I directed us through the neighborhoods and downtown,

Speaker 1 then

Speaker 1 down a long dirt road.

Speaker 1 We went slow.

Speaker 1 The ride was half the point.

Speaker 1 I always found that

Speaker 1 being on a bike made me smiley, giggly,

Speaker 1 and if we rolled down a gentle hill,

Speaker 1 I still thrilled at it like I had when I was ten years old.

Speaker 1 We followed a curve,

Speaker 1 and where I expected to find a dead end,

Speaker 1 the scenery instead opened up on a beautiful view,

Speaker 1 a lake

Speaker 1 that came right up to the road, with pretty houses lining the far shore,

Speaker 1 and a few picnic tables and benches,

Speaker 1 shady trees and soft grass to rest on.

Speaker 1 We turned our handlebars

Speaker 1 and slowed on the grass,

Speaker 1 pulled the bikes up beside a table.

Speaker 1 You could smell the lake.

Speaker 1 That good, sweet water scent.

Speaker 1 And we paused,

Speaker 1 still sitting astride the bikes with our toes on the ground,

Speaker 1 just sighing contentedly at the vista.

Speaker 1 Then Crumb sneezed, and we both laughed.

Speaker 1 Sometimes dogs sneeze for the same reason we do,

Speaker 1 but they also do it when they are playing or excited.

Speaker 1 I often noticed that Crum sneezed when a wrestling match with Birdie or Marmie was starting to feel a little too serious.

Speaker 1 It broke the tension.

Speaker 1 We got off our bikes and started to unzip the trailers.

Speaker 1 Marmie

Speaker 1 did not walk on a leash. No way.

Speaker 1 She was not that kind of cat.

Speaker 1 She might have let me carry her around in a basket,

Speaker 1 but the bikes were parked in the shade and she seemed happy

Speaker 1 to stay buckled in and listen to the birds.

Speaker 1 I gave her a few treats and balanced a water bowl beside her

Speaker 1 and rezipped the flap after I snuck Crum out.

Speaker 1 Birdie climbed out,

Speaker 1 taking long, slow down dogs and up dogs.

Speaker 1 We walked them up to the water, and I kept Crumb close.

Speaker 1 He was a muddle of many breeds, and while I was pretty sure

Speaker 1 none of them were retriever, I didn't want to risk finding out I was wrong

Speaker 1 and having to wade in to fetch him back.

Speaker 1 Right in the shallows, beside the grassy edge,

Speaker 1 we peered down together and spotted tadpoles swimming awkwardly,

Speaker 1 tiny minnows drifting in schools.

Speaker 1 At the table, we unpacked our picky tea,

Speaker 1 poured the lemonade,

Speaker 1 and toasted each other.

Speaker 1 This love

Speaker 1 felt so natural to me from the very beginning,

Speaker 1 like something that was obvious and inevitable and instantly comfortable.

Speaker 1 But still,

Speaker 1 when our eyes locked,

Speaker 1 when we held hands,

Speaker 1 when I heard his step on the stairs, coming to bed at night,

Speaker 1 A tiny flutter of butterflies

Speaker 1 still bounded around inside me.

Speaker 1 Crumb tangled his leash around my ankle.

Speaker 1 Birdie let out a little hummy whine, begging for a bite of our meal.

Speaker 1 But still we held each other's gaze,

Speaker 1 smiled, and touched our glasses together.

Speaker 1 Here's to us.

Speaker 1 Date night.

Speaker 1 Out in the garage,

Speaker 1 the bikes were almost ready.

Speaker 1 We pumped up the tires

Speaker 1 and made sure both of the trailers were properly coupled to our rear axles.

Speaker 1 At first,

Speaker 1 we debated on

Speaker 1 just going the two of us.

Speaker 1 After all,

Speaker 1 it was meant to be a date night.

Speaker 1 But what can we say?

Speaker 1 Our dogs, Crum and Birdie,

Speaker 1 our sweet kitty Marmalade.

Speaker 1 They are part of our love story,

Speaker 1 and we love to be together.

Speaker 1 I didn't expect Marmalade to be a fan of riding in the bike trailer.

Speaker 1 I'd tried taking her out in a cat stroller once,

Speaker 1 and we'd only made it past a few houses

Speaker 1 before her yowling made it clear that

Speaker 1 this was not her cup of tea.

Speaker 1 But she kept sneaking out into the garage

Speaker 1 and climbing into the little

Speaker 1 mesh-sided wagon.

Speaker 1 And the third time I found her there,

Speaker 1 I cautiously zipped her in and opened the garage door.

Speaker 1 I walked the bike down the driveway,

Speaker 1 watching her face.

Speaker 1 She lounged on the blanket I'd spread over the seat,

Speaker 1 seemingly at ease.

Speaker 1 And when I got to the street,

Speaker 1 and she still seemed content,

Speaker 1 I kicked one leg over the bike

Speaker 1 and pushed off.

Speaker 1 Slowly, down a block,

Speaker 1 across another.

Speaker 1 She stared at the trees in the avenue.

Speaker 1 And when I stopped at a stop sign,

Speaker 1 I could actually hear her purring from behind me.

Speaker 1 Since then,

Speaker 1 a few times a week,

Speaker 1 when I am tying on my sneakers,

Speaker 1 she'll approach

Speaker 1 on her silent orange paws

Speaker 1 and sit in front of me and blink

Speaker 1 expectantly,

Speaker 1 and we'd take a ride together.

Speaker 1 As for the dogs,

Speaker 1 they were up for anything,

Speaker 1 especially Crum.

Speaker 1 He was little

Speaker 1 and brown,

Speaker 1 like a spunky, barking loaf of bread,

Speaker 1 and he got riled up when just about anything happened.

Speaker 1 If we were

Speaker 1 going for a walk,

Speaker 1 for a ride in the car,

Speaker 1 out into the back yard or up to bed,

Speaker 1 he was just happy to be in on the fun.

Speaker 1 Bertie,

Speaker 1 a retired greyhound whose dating profile would say

Speaker 1 must love naps and cancelled plans

Speaker 1 was less enthusiastic.

Speaker 1 But he would go with the flow.

Speaker 1 He'd still wag his thin whipped tail

Speaker 1 and lean his shoulder into your leg when you mentioned a ride.

Speaker 1 But he didn't usually get the zoomies about it.

Speaker 1 We were headed out to a spot we hadn't been to before,

Speaker 1 following a map

Speaker 1 that we'd been gifted at our wedding in September the year before.

Speaker 1 The best man had drawn an X on a map,

Speaker 1 a spot near a lake

Speaker 1 where we could picnic and relax

Speaker 1 and watch the ripples on the water.

Speaker 1 He'd also gifted us these bikes

Speaker 1 two beautiful cruisers.

Speaker 1 Mine orange, like marmalade,

Speaker 1 with a brown basket in tribute to crumb,

Speaker 1 his gray, like birdie.

Speaker 1 He'd attached one of the trailers

Speaker 1 when he delivered the gifts.

Speaker 1 None of us knew then

Speaker 1 what ride-or-die fanatics the animals would become.

Speaker 1 But once we realized how much they enjoyed it,

Speaker 1 he ordered us a second one,

Speaker 1 so we could all bike together.

Speaker 1 Marmie and Crum

Speaker 1 shared one of the trailers.

Speaker 1 They were about the same size,

Speaker 1 though her fluffy orange fur made her seem a bit bigger.

Speaker 1 They were snuggle bugs, anyway,

Speaker 1 and always had their paws looped together

Speaker 1 or a chin resting on the other's back.

Speaker 1 So they were happy to ride together.

Speaker 1 Birdie was so big,

Speaker 1 so long and lanky,

Speaker 1 with those thin stick legs that went for miles,

Speaker 1 his long back and knobbly knees.

Speaker 1 He rode better on his own,

Speaker 1 and we put an extra blanket in the cushioned seat for him.

Speaker 1 Greyhounds can get cold easily,

Speaker 1 and he regularly wore sweaters

Speaker 1 even in the late spring.

Speaker 1 For them,

Speaker 1 we'd packed their travel water bowls and water,

Speaker 1 treats and toys.

Speaker 1 For us we packed lemonade

Speaker 1 made with lavender syrup,

Speaker 1 little savory pastries from the bakery,

Speaker 1 which were filled with juicy sun-dried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts.

Speaker 1 Then we had some fruit,

Speaker 1 a little container of the first strawberries of the season,

Speaker 1 and pears from the corner store.

Speaker 1 There were crackers and hummus,

Speaker 1 some quick pickles

Speaker 1 and smoked almonds,

Speaker 1 and a big chocolate bar to share.

Speaker 1 I'd heard the concept

Speaker 1 of a picky tea recently, and it had inspired me.

Speaker 1 It was a meal made of little bits and bites,

Speaker 1 some of it from leftovers in the back of the fridge,

Speaker 1 but perfect for a picnic.

Speaker 1 It took a minute to load the bikes

Speaker 1 to get the pets in their harnesses

Speaker 1 buckled into their trailers.

Speaker 1 But the sun was still high

Speaker 1 in the afternoon sky when we set out.

Speaker 1 I had the map stretched across the top of my bike basket

Speaker 1 held in place with binder clips

Speaker 1 and I directed us through the neighborhoods and downtown,

Speaker 1 then

Speaker 1 down a long dirt road.

Speaker 1 We went slow.

Speaker 1 The ride was half the point.

Speaker 1 And I always found that

Speaker 1 being on a bike

Speaker 1 made me smiley,

Speaker 1 giggly.

Speaker 1 And if we rolled down a gentle hill,

Speaker 1 I still thrilled at it,

Speaker 1 like I had when I was ten years old.

Speaker 1 We followed a curve,

Speaker 1 and where I expected to find

Speaker 1 a dead end,

Speaker 1 the scenery instead

Speaker 1 opened up on a beautiful view,

Speaker 1 a lake

Speaker 1 that came right up to the road,

Speaker 1 with pretty houses lining the far shore,

Speaker 1 and a few picnic tables, and benches,

Speaker 1 shady trees and soft grass to rest on.

Speaker 1 We turned our handlebars

Speaker 1 and slowed on the grass,

Speaker 1 pulled the bikes up beside a table.

Speaker 1 You could smell the lake,

Speaker 1 that good, sweet water scent.

Speaker 1 And we paused, still sitting astride the bikes,

Speaker 1 with our toes on the ground,

Speaker 1 just sighing contentedly at the vista.

Speaker 1 Then Crum sneezed, and we both laughed.

Speaker 1 Sometimes dogs sneeze for the same reasons we do.

Speaker 1 But they also do it when they are playing or excited.

Speaker 1 I often noticed that Crum sneezed when a wrestling match with Birdie or Marm

Speaker 1 was starting to feel

Speaker 1 a little too serious.

Speaker 1 It broke the tension.

Speaker 1 We got off our bikes and started to unzip the trailers.

Speaker 1 Now, Marmie did not walk on a leash.

Speaker 1 No way.

Speaker 1 She was not that kind of cat.

Speaker 1 She might have let me carry her around

Speaker 1 in a basket.

Speaker 1 But the bikes were parked in the shade,

Speaker 1 and she seemed happy

Speaker 1 to stay buckled in and listen to the birds.

Speaker 1 I gave her a few treats

Speaker 1 and balanced a water bowl beside her

Speaker 1 and re-zipped the flap

Speaker 1 after I snuck crumb out.

Speaker 1 Birdie climbed out,

Speaker 1 taking long, slow down dogs and up dogs.

Speaker 1 We walked them up to the water,

Speaker 1 and I kept Crum close.

Speaker 1 He was a muddle of many breeds.

Speaker 1 And while I was pretty sure none of them were retriever,

Speaker 1 I didn't want to risk finding out I was wrong and having to wade in

Speaker 1 to fetch him back out.

Speaker 1 Right in the shallows,

Speaker 1 beside the grassy edge,

Speaker 1 we peered down together

Speaker 1 and spotted tadpoles swimming awkwardly, awkwardly,

Speaker 1 tiny minnows drifting in schools.

Speaker 1 At the table, we unpacked our picky tea,

Speaker 1 poured the lemonade,

Speaker 1 and toasted each other.

Speaker 1 This love

Speaker 1 felt so natural to me

Speaker 1 from the very beginning,

Speaker 1 Like something that was obvious and inevitable

Speaker 1 and instantly comfortable.

Speaker 1 But still,

Speaker 1 when our eyes locked,

Speaker 1 when we held hands,

Speaker 1 when I heard his step on the stairs coming to bed at night,

Speaker 1 A tiny flutter of butterflies bounded around inside me.

Speaker 1 Crumb tangled his leash around my ankle.

Speaker 1 Birdie

Speaker 1 let out a hummy little whine, begging for a bite of our meal.

Speaker 1 And still we held each other's gaze,

Speaker 1 smiled,

Speaker 1 and touched our glasses together.

Speaker 1 Here's

Speaker 1 to us,

Speaker 1 sweet dreams.