Scenic Detour

Driving with the windows down on a sunny autumn afternoon, the scent of dried leaves lingering in the air, Tom let out an audible sigh.

It had been nearly four months since he’d left the office during daylight hours.  Lately it’d been dark on his way in as well, and he’d begun to feel like a vampire minus the charisma and immortality. Things at work had already been busy when his coworker unexpectedly quit, which resulted in a massive backlog that largely landed on Tom to sort out.

He wasn’t sure if Scott had jumped ship for a better position, or if he’d simply gotten fed up and left.  The company wasn’t particularly appreciative of its employees after the initial honeymoon hiring phase, and Tom didn’t blame him for leaving, though he wished he’d had some notice before everything went to hell.  Mostly what he felt was jealousy at Scott’s ability to walk away.  Tom’s personality was far too timid to allow that kind of move.  The idea of leaving a steady, predictable position for some new unknown, or even taking on the risk and anxiety of asking for a raise, was the equivalent of voluntarily jumping out of an airplane.  He knew that people did it, but it seemed like utter insanity to him.

Tom switched on his right signal and started toward the entrance ramp, but then turned it off and went straight instead.  There was a little road up ahead that ran parallel to the highway and wound through the forest.  The trees this time of year were beautiful, and Tom was happy to have remembered it before getting stuck on the interstate.

He drove for a few miles and then pulled into one of the scenic attraction spots and parked his car.  Looking out at the endless rows of trees in their varying shades of orange, yellow, and red, the colors so striking they resembled an oil painting, made him simultaneously awed and saddened that it had been so long.

“Need to do this more often.”  Tom said, knowing it was a promise he was unlikely to keep.

Over at the far end of the lot there was a wooden signpost marking the start of a hiking trail.  Tom wasn’t exactly dressed for a walk in the woods, though he was at least wearing a polo, khakis, and sneakers instead of a button-down shirt, slacks, and wingtips, thanks to it being casual Friday.  From what he could tell the trail didn’t appear particularly challenging and he could always turn around if it got too rough.

He tightened his laces and hit the lock button on his car’s remote before stepping out onto the path.