Picnic Plans (Patreon)

(James)

James could see Gioni already at a picnic table, and it looked like she had everything ready.

James knew he wasn’t late. That was not his way at all.

Gioni saw him approaching and waved. “Good afternoon.”

“You got here early?”

Gioni nodded. “It… a problem… If I’m 10 minutes early, I feel like I’m 15 minutes late! But, it works well for meeting deadlines.”

“Everything looks great,” James said as he sat down.

It was a great day. The air was warm, but the sea breeze was kind. The surf crashed gently on the beach as the gulls called their alarms as they soared on the wind.

James sat down, and they ate, chatting casually about their surroundings and talking about Gioni’s work. She told James about the new place where she was house-sitting.

“Not nearly as nice as your sisters, but it’s great in a different way. It was left more raw… a converted industrial building…”

After they finished eating, the moved to a nearby table in under a small cover

“So,” James said, moving the discussion to the second purpose of the meeting, “I just got back from Kenosha where Ailana is helping to boost awareness for the Humanitarian Housing program there. I was wondering… Maybe we can do something here to boost awareness, too?”

“We?’ Gioni laughed. “I’m not a model.”

 James decided not to say he thought she looked like one. “Well, you are smart. You write. And I think you have a good heart. And… I have an idea…”

Gioni smiled. “What’s that?”

“You enlist Claire to help and we set up a music festival on the beach. She brings in bands. I can… maybe… conscript some a-list band… maybe…” We set it up for the middle of July?”

Gonil smiled. “Okay, and after I get Claire involved what do I do?”

“I don’t know how to set up a music festival. You help me figure it out? I’m sure there will be lots of things to write about…” James paused and shrugged. “You know I’m making all this up on the spot, right? I just think you and I get along well, and we can probably work out how to pull this off… You feel like giving it a shot?

Goni looked off into the distance for a moment, then looked back. “Sure… I like the idea…”

They talked about the idea and next steps for a little while, then chatted casually a little more. Then Gioni said she had to get going and finish a big edit for a nuclear research journal.

James shook his head. “If you understand that sort of thing, I bet you can figure out a music festival!”

Gioni smiled. “Nuclear research is science and numbers. I bet this festival thing will involve people!”

James nodded as she started back to the parking lot. He decided he’d stay in the park a little while longer and make some calls.

{{ Fin }}}

• Throughout the "Running With The King!" storyline the part of James King is depicted by the Instagramer king_james_ai. The James King's creator has contributed plot ideas to this story.

• Whereas this storyline is fictional and includes NSFW content, any agencies or teams mentioned in this story are also fictional, though they might remind readers of real organizations.

• Gioni Naalk is a fictional AI character.