joe and magnus rounded a bend in the road and joe beheld for the first time the towers and tall buildings of the city.
a few more vehicles passed them heading into the city, and a couple of helicopters flew over their heads.
so far joe was a little bit disappointed in his travels. he had thought to meet more people , but had only encountered magnus, who, though friendly enough, had not been particularly helpful, had in fact been a little discouraging.
suddenly joe was hungry. the wondered if he should take another of teresa’s cupcakes out of his bag, or one of the sandwiches he had made that morning.
but it was not even noon! he supposed the walking had made him hungry. but he decided not to show weakness and he left the cupcakes and sandwiches alone.
magnus’s negative reaction to joe’s questions about becoming a homicide detective had made him hesitant to make any other enquires about employment in the city.
but as he was wondering if he should reopen the subject, they came to the outskirts of the city, and a large park, with trees, park benches, and many signs for buses and other transportation.
magnus, who had slowed down a bit - joe had politely kept pace with him - plopped down on the first empty park bench, with a somewhat dramatic sigh.
“well, young man, it has been a pleasure talking to you, but i need to rest my ancient carcass, so i will leave you to speed up your pace as you make your way in - “ magnus hesitated. “as you make your way.”
“why, it has been a pleasure for me too, sir,” joe replied. “perhaps we shall meet again.” joe could not imagine that the city was so big that he would not cross the sage’s path again, perhaps many times.
“that may well be,” magnus replied. “one never knows.”
“perhaps, sir, as you are a clown and a magician and so forth, you will be performing in some capacity soon. maybe i will see you then.”
if magnus was surprised by joe’s interest - or his politeness in feigning interest - he did not show it.
“why, as a matter of fact, i happen to have a schedule here -“ he produced some cards from beneath his cape and offered two of them to joe. “please - take one. take two - give one to some other curious wanderer through life’s thorny path.”
“thank you, sir.” joe glanced at one of the cards. it consisted of a series of dates, with the venues for each in small print, beneath a blurry photo of a somewhat younger magnus, and the motto “architect of a new world.”
magnus nodded with a somewhat wistful smile, and joe took his leave of him.
joe decided to find a park bench of his own, where he could eat one of sandwiches - because by now he was decidedly hungry - and consider his prospects.
it occurred to him that he had never actually asked magnus what he had in mind when he spoke of being the “architect” of some future world.
that was rude of me, thought joe, as he took a seat on a bench beneath a wide and shady elm.
as he unwrapped his sandwich, he resolved to attempt to be more courteous in the future.
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