As they walked out of the house, he locked the door, she shuffled a few feet away as to stall for his return to her side. They walk to their truck out on the gravel drive. He opens the door for her and helps her up into the passenger side of the bench. As he walks around to the drivers side door, he glances up at the night sky, the stars shining and the moon as full as ever. Getting into the driver seat, he turned the keys in the ignition, and the big beast of a truck rumbled to life with the high whistle and deep lope of any diesel truck.

As they rolled down the drive, winding through the woods, she turns to him and says, “Hey Christian, where are we going,” a sense of worry in her voice.

“I wanted to take you out to dinner, and we need some essentials, so I figured if I bribe you with food you’ll put up with me while we run our errands.”

“Oh, well why are we going out now? It’s late, can’t we go back out tomorrow in the morning, I’m tired.”

“I’m sorry my love, but unfortunately, I need something to fix the toilet handle so it can’t wait…you kinda have an unpredictable stomach,” he shred a slight smirk and shot her a sarcastic glance. He was met by an icy stare of displeasure and exasperation.

Jenna was a small being, no more than five foot even, petite in build by all standards, which Christian just adored bc she was just so cute but feisty. Her eyes were as blue as sapphires, and they would shine just as brightly when she lit up. Her hair was a light-mid copper red, which explained her fiery demeanour. She had the brightest smile, and when she did, she would make the cutest face. She had stolen a hoodie out of Christian’s closet and had thrown it on over her cami, and she was already in her favourite jeans, paired with her “clean” farm boots that she would swore were for going out but they both knew all the boots were somewhat beaters. Didn’t matter, tomorrow is cleaning day since it’s a Saturday.

Christian had a list of house DIY and general chores to take care of around the property. Jenna was probably going to end up doing laundry and then run out to do her own errands. It was her weekend off so Christian wanted to make the most of their time together.

“Jenna, what do you think about the new hospital they just built down in Reading?” He asked, trying to change the subject knowing she was cross with his little charade a few moments earlier.

“It looks like a nice facility, they definitely put a lot of new tech in there so that is kinda cool” she replied.

“I thought so too when I saw it online earlier at work,” Christian said, glancing over to see if she was still giving him her patented stare. She wasn’t.

“So wait, WHERE are we really going for food since you’re taking me out?” Jenna asked in a very kirt manner.Christian poked at his phone while they sat at the end of the drive. “I figured you would want to go to get Tacos, so we’re going to go get tacos”

He punched in something into the GPS, flipped it on, turned on the radio, and “I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys comes on. Christian smirks and gives Jenna a look out of the corner of his eye and they locked eyes. As soon as the song came on she turned her whole body in the seat to face him and glared at him with a goofy smirk of her own. They both smile then start laughing as they pull out onto the road to head into town.

They arrived at the restaurant just as the sun was setting along the horizon, painting the sky with burnt orange and yellow with streaks of pink, purple, and slight glimpses of blue, and luckily not a single cloud in the sky. Christian pulls up along the side of the building, somewhat close to the door because he doesn’t like making his girlfriend walk because he has a much longer stride.

Christian was your average guy. Tanned skin from working out in the elements for many years. Although he was only twenty eight years old, he was starting to go grey and his hair was starting to salt and pepper, his beard had escaped that fate thus far. He was a solid foot taller than Jenna, about six foot one inch or so. He wore a black soft shell fleece jacket, jeans, and boots…but that was hit daily “going out” attire whenever he wasn’t working.

Hopping out and running around, Christian opened Jenna’s door and helped her out out of the truck. They walk up and around to the front door hand in hand, he opens and lets her in, promptly following behind her. They quickly get seated and start looking over menus. As they were, Christian glanced up from his menu to just look at Jenna, how her long red hair was draped down her one side, spilling over her shoulder and onto the table and her back as well. He loved her hair because it was so long and soft, he would play with it at night if he just woke up randomly in the middle of the night, but she didn’t know that. She noticed his gaze, and without even looking up from her menu she asks, “ What? Do I have something on my face?”

“No no my love, the table lighting just really gives you an extra glow, and I was just soaking it in for a second,” he laughed. “I had to save that to the old photo album in the brain.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, but he saw her little smile just barely hidden by the menu. “You are an idiot.”

“But I’m your idiot”, he quickly shot back, as he typically does when they’re being like this together.

They sit and talk briefly about how their days were at work, brushing the work week aside and happily embracing the weekend they have together. The waitress comes up, he golden tan skin matched her light brown eyes and she had a kinda goofy limp when she would walk. The girl asked what Jenna wanted followed by Christian’s order, but when she finished she didn’t walk away, she just stood there blank, an expression of confusion on her face as she stared out the window beyond the couple.

Out across the parking lot, there was a full grown tiger. Everyone in the restraint was made quickly aware of the situation when the poor waitress shrieked “KITTY!” And burst out the front door, charging towards the beast. The crowd inside had no time to react before she had gotten half way to what was at this juncture in time, an inevitable fate.

Jenna glanced at Christian, who was dumbfounded but slowly starting to grin and laugh to himself. She knew his dark sense of humour so she didn’t ask, and turned her attention back to the scene unfolding in the parking lot. Just as she did, the expected happened. The girl had made it to about fifty yards away from the tiger when it finally decided it did not like this odd human come charging towards it. The big cat took about three bounds and then a massive pounce, right onto the waitress. THe crowd in the restraint screamed in horror as the tiger began to tear the girl apart and slowly start to gnaw on her. Most people had turned away by this point, a couple who tried to look back up got sick. Jenna had come around to Christians side of the table and hid against him, leaving him between the window and herself, as one would expect.

Christian sighed and muttered “I knew all along that this is how it would end.”

Shaking his head and glancing around the joint, he realised something kind of significant. Why was there a tiger in a random town in middle Pennsylvania? The assumption that immediately came to mind was that someone had a pet that got out, or a circus is now out somewhere wondering where their tiger went.