When Byron Randall -- in his mid-fifties, single and alone -- moves into a new condo complex, he meets another resident, fifty-five year old realtor Jonah Hyland -- also single since his breakup with his much younger lover. The two middle-aged men become friends, sharing common interests in gardening and hiking.<br><br>As their friendship deepens, each man wonders if he has found someone he could learn to care for. Then Jonah's ex reappears in his life, much to Byron's dismay. Will this end Byron and Jonah's budding romance? Or will they discover that, together, they can let go of loneliness?

Let Go of Loneliness

“Is it safe?” Byron asked worriedly.


“Yeah. The real spring runoff ended a couple of weeks ago.” Jonah pointed to a water line on the concrete wall on the other side of the creek. They stepped aside when a group of bicyclists approached. “The reason this is called the bike path, but it’s perfectly okay for us to be down here too.”


Byron walked to the creek edge to sit on one of several large rocks. When Jonah took the one next to him, Byron said, “This is nice. It feels almost…private. Away from the noise of the city.” He was startled, but not too surprised, when an ambulance’s siren rent the air on the street above them. “Well, most of the noise anyway.”


“I think you’d have to live way up there—” Jonah pointed to the mountains, barely visible beyond the trees, “—in order to avoid sirens.”


“Me too. Every once in a while I consider packing it up and moving there. Maybe I will, when I retire.”


“Not that far off,” Byron pointed out.


Chapter 13