take her suggestion seriously, but something about it resonated deep.
Because it was a chance to feel closer to Brent in an even bigger way than volunteering at his favorite charity. To honor his legacy. And maybe to rediscover the color of life that had vanished with his absence.
As Marc said, Brent had been the king of big moves. He’d have completely supported this one.
Heading toward her destination, Eva found the number she needed in her phone.
“Ultimate Race Adventures, Tina speaking.”
“Hi, Tina, this is Eva Jamison. Brent Jamison’s wife.”
“Oh, hello, dear. I still haven’t heard from your husband.”
“No.” Eva inhaled as she navigated the crowded sidewalk. She turned down a quieter street. “And you won’t. You see, he died about fifteen months ago.”
Tina gasped. “I’m terribly sorry. If I’d known—”
“Please don’t feel bad.”
Rustling papers filled the background through the receiver. “Well, dear, it’s highly unusual, but I can see about getting you a refund on his deposit. I cannot promise it, but—”
“Actually, I’d like to ask you something else.”
“All right.”
Eva stopped two blocks from the heart center. In front of her loomed a large cast-iron gate with a rustic hand-carved sign for East Side Garden. She drew in a shaky breath. “I wanted to see if it was possible . . . to run in his place.”
“Oh my. Well . . . normally we don’t allow that sort of thing, you understand. But perhaps . . .” Tina paused. “Could I place you on hold while I discuss this with my supervisor?”
“Of course.”
As Tina clicked off and elevator music looped onto the line, Eva reached out to touch the garden’s sign. A tremor ran up her arm. She’d discovered the free-to-the-public garden with thousands of gorgeous blooms in the heart of Manhattan when she’d first moved here. Back then, the garden had become a sanctuary from the smog of the city and the noise of life whenever she could sneak away from work.
It’s where Brent had taken her six years ago and proposed.
And Eva hadn’t set a foot inside since he’d died.
Peeking through the garden gate, her eyes located the stone bench where Brent had surprised her with a diamond that gorgeous May day, when the primroses were in bloom, their orange, purple, pink, blue, and red petals turned to the sun.
She’d thought it a sign, given the most common meaning of primroses: “I can’t live without you.”
Now these primroses—their primroses—lay dormant.
Some primroses bloomed twice in one year. Would these? Or would they keep their color tucked out of sight through autumn and the long winter ahead?
Eva’s chest physically ached as she sucked in quick breaths.
What was she doing? She had somewhere to be. And it wasn’t here. Turning abruptly, she scurried toward the heart center.
“Ms. Jamison?” Tina Landry’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Yes, I’m here.” The words punctuated the air in a desperation Eva hadn’t meant to convey.
“We are very pleased to allow you to run in your husband’s stead.”
Light from the sun bounced off the windows of a high-rise. “Oh, that’s wonderful.”
“So long as your husband’s teammates are amenable to the change, that is.”
“What? Oh, well . . .” Ugh, she hadn’t even thought about that aspect of the race, or to explain the full circumstances to Ms. Landry. “You see, my brother-in-law, Wes, died the same day as my husband.”
“Oh goodness. I’m very sorry.” Tina clucked her tongue. “I don’t see why we wouldn’t also make an exception for a close relative who wanted to run in his stead.”
Kylee had said she’d wanted to run a race for her dad, but 155 miles would be too much for a teen.
Hmm. What about Angela? She used to run, right? Her sister-in-law may not show much emotion, but last night Eva had glimpsed the same hopelessness in Angela’s eyes that Eva saw so often in her own reflection. Perhaps running this race would be good for both of them.
“I’ll have to ask. If I can’t find someone, can I still run the race on my own?”
“I wish I could make an exception for that, but we have very strict rules about allowing participants to switch from team to individual entrants, and a team must consist of at least three people. Now, if you started off as a team and one person was forced to quit during the race, that’s different. But we only have a certain number of individual and team starting spots—and as of now, they’re all full.”
Eva clenched her phone. “All right. Thank you so much for this opportunity.