Am I the only one who thinks the strip looks a bit different today? Perhaps it’s the somber coloring or maybe the different look to Cherry’s appearance. Perhaps that is just a deliberate choice to set the proper tone for Cherry’s despair, as well as her usual exaggeration. Perhaps Mark and Cherry would both feel better after a nighttime “nature walk”. I think the avian “lovebirds” in panel 1 have already set the stage.

In any event, a welcome return to Cherry’s World. But where does the story go from here? The concrete is down, so there is not much she can do about it. I doubt she is up to sabotaging the fresh pouring by doing something really bad, like walking on it or taking a pickaxe to it. Her isolationist brother might be interested, but wrecking a concrete driveway isn’t the same thing as destroying a flowerbed.  Does this mean Cherry’s adventure is over, having hardly begun? That would be fine, as long as she is ready to jump back into something else right away. The way Mark usually does with his assignments.