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“Remind me why we’re doing this again?”
“You said, ‘Let’s start being healthy.’ I said, ‘What should we do?’ Then, you said, ‘Let’s start exercising,’ and I said—”
“Okay, okay. I get it. It was all my dumb idea.” She stood upright with a determined expression on her face. “Let’s go.”
I used to run every day in high school. I’d wake up extra early and run for miles. It felt exhilarating to get back to doing what I loved—especially here in the freezing February temperatures. Running always helped clear my mind. Lately, it needed a lot of clearing.
Thirty minutes later, Mallory was sprawled out on my living room carpet.
I handed her a water bottle. “I’m proud of you.”
“Just tell me this gets easier,” she huffed.
“It does. Everything’s always hard in the beginning.” I sat on the floor next to her.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come out tonight?” she asked, a slight whine in her voice.
“I just haven’t been in the mood.”
Mallory grunted as she sat up. “Look. You need to hear this, and I wouldn’t be your best friend if I didn’t say it. So, open your ears. You are letting a boy control your happiness. You’re great when you’re together, but you’re all sad and moody when you’re not. Whatever happened between the two of you, just let it go. If it’s meant to be, it will work out in the end, regardless. Enjoy the time you have now, in other ways.”
“How did you get to be so smart?”
“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing any more than you, or anyone else. No one has it all figured out. Knowing that will set you free.”
I smiled. “I like that.”
“So, whaddya say? Let’s go out tonight.”
“I’ll go, under one condition.”
Her eyes widened. “Anything.”
“I don’t want to go to Big Nose Kate’s.”
“Done! I’ve got an idea that will blow this tiny island out of the water.”
I hugged her tightly before she turned to go. “Thanks for being my friend.”
“Thanks for being mine.”
“I’ll walk you downstairs. I think I’m going to keep running for another couple of miles.”
“There is something very wrong with you.”
* * *
“I should’ve taken you to Manhattan a long time ago. I don’t know what I was thinking!”
I craned my neck to see the giant billboards and LED lights surrounding us. “Wow,” was all I could say. Seeing the city on TV was nothing like walking amongst the crowded streets. Again, the smell left a little to be desired, but I didn’t care. I was in New York City.
Mallory chuckled. “Looking at your face, all I hear playing in my head right now is Journey.”
“I certainly am a small-town girl. This place is incredible.”
Mallory linked arms with me. “I’m so glad I brought you here. The bar is right down the block.”
Session 73 was a small bar on the Upper East Side. Patrons in suits and ties lined the bar. The place even had a coat check. It was a surprisingly stuffy atmosphere, especially when compared to Mallory’s youthful, bubbly personality.
