The Private Serials Box Set(63)

“Well, I hope someday you find out you’re mistaken,” she said sweetly, like she really wanted what she was saying to be true.

“Goodnight, Becky.”

“Night, Lena.”



Weeks passed and life started to take on a new “normal.” I started my job, easing my way into a new position, trying to learn as much as I could and impress the people working around me. There were a few women who I worked with who seemed friendly and had extended invitations to me to hang out after work for happy hour. I always declined, telling them I had plans already, but in reality I wasn’t sure about letting new people get close to me.

Sam and I spoke on the phone every once in a while, but even though I missed her terribly, I could never bring myself to fully open up to her. There was a clear division in my mind between my old life and my new life, and I couldn’t fully convince my head to let Sam into the new.

Becky was the one constant in my life that brought me a sense of familiarity and routine.

She got a job on the island working for the newspaper in advertising. We both had a regular nine-to-five job and so, after a week or two, we started to resemble an old married couple. We’d both come home from work, eat dinner, and then hang out in the living room either watching TV, reading, and sometimes she talked me into playing games.

After our first delve into personal topics, she never really pressured me for any more information. Also, she wasn’t very forthcoming about herself either, and that was totally okay with me. We could spend time together and not have to talk about our pasts. In fact, it was encouraged.

Every morning I got up early to run. I still found it cathartic and craved that time when my mind emptied out and I let myself simply be. Plus, nothing beat running on the beach in Hawaii. I ran without music, simply listening to the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore, the sounds of the sand moving beneath my feet.

There were always other people out running and there was a polite courtesy amongst us runners to just nod as we passed each other, if looking at them at all. Most of the time, I tried to keep my eyes on the sand or out at the horizon.

This morning, however, another runner had other plans.

He jogged toward me and I saw him coming. I veered toward the water, trying to give him enough room, sticking to my side of the ‘road,’ staying to the right. But instead of a polite nod, he gave me a bright smile. I smiled back, instinctively, but then looked down to the sand. Then I noticed he slowed and stopped jogging about twenty feet in front of me. I slowed, not sure if I was supposed to stop as well, or if I should start jogging in the other direction. Before I could decide, he spoke.

“You run every morning.” He smiled as he said the words and there was something familiar about him that I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

“Yes.” It was a sort-of answer to his sort-of question.

“You should take a break. A day off every now and then. I see you every morning and wonder why you aren’t ever tired.”

I tilted my head to the side, squinting my eyes at him. “If you see me every morning, that means you run every morning. Perhaps you should take your own advice.” I pushed off and made it past him when his hand grabbed my arm.

“I’m sorry,” I heard him say as I wrenched my arm from his grasp. I turned on him and his hands were up as if he were surrendering. “I wasn’t trying to be an *.” He took a step toward me and I took one back. “What’s your name?”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Well, my name’s Ryan. I just thought, since we both run on this beach every morning, maybe you’d like a running partner.”

“I run alone.”

“I noticed.” He just stood there, staring at me, waiting for me to say something else.

“I don’t need a running partner.”

“Everyone runs better when they do it with someone. You need a partner to push you, take you out of your zone. You’d get better results.”

I put my hands on my hips, letting my annoyance take over. “I don’t run for results. I run to clear my mind, to find clarity, to let my brain breathe for a minute.”

“Well, we could still run together. I like to run with a partner better, and you’re the only one I’ve seen who I think could keep up with my pace and be reliable.”

“You’ve been scouting me?”

He chuckled. “I suppose. Come on. It’s just running.”

“I’m just going to continue to run on this beach. I can’t control what you do.” I turned and continued to run down the beach, and only a small smile came across my face when Ryan took up pace next to me.

We ran like that, side-by-side, for another mile or so, and then I sharply turned around, heading back the way I came. I heard him laughing, but after a few moments, he was at my side again.

When I made it back to the path I normally took to get from my apartment to the beach, I stopped and placed my hands on my knees, taking in deep, ragged, breaths. Perhaps Ryan was right, running with him had pushed me.

“Can I run with you tomorrow? Same time, same place?”

His words caught me off guard, echoing the same words Sam and I had always said about our coffee shop.

“Are you all right?” he asked, noticing the shocked look on my face.

“Yeah, I mean, yes. I’m fine.” I shook my head, trying to rid my brain of thoughts of Sam. I straightened my shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “I run every morning at the same time. I can’t control when and where you run.”