“Please remember that the deadline to pay the balance due on the account is this Saturday. After that, we will have to give the team’s spot to the first alternates.”
“I understand. And thank you again.”
Eva arrived at the heart center, and her eyes followed the white concrete walls up, up, up toward the cloudless sky. Should she just go inside, forget this whole thing? It’s not like doing the race would be easy. Eva was a yogi and enjoyed a hard-won spin class, but she’d never run long distances. Three, four miles tops at a time.
Images of gorgeous New Zealand flashed through her mind: the snowcapped peaks, the azure lakes, the green hills, the orange sun bringing all the flora and fauna to life.
Wild country brimming with possibility. Growth. Newness.
Color.
A place she’d wanted to experience with Brent. Maybe there she’d finally sense him with her again.
Eva called Angela.
When her sister-in-law answered, Eva launched into a quick explanation of her phone call with Tina. She finished talking. And waited. But only silence met her.
“Angela? You there?”
Finally, a laugh that was far more caustic than happy puffed across the phone line. “So you want us to run an ultra-marathon. One hundred and something miles. Halfway around the world. Six months from now. You’re crazy.”
Hurt bloomed in Eva’s heart. “I don’t think it’s so crazy. And yes, you, me, and Marc.” She hadn’t even asked Marc, but knew he’d be up for it. It was for Brent, after all.
“Eva, I haven’t run in years. That’s a lot of work even for someone who is in the best running shape of their life.”
“You might be surprised how quickly it comes back. Also, we don’t have to actually run. Just walk twentysomething miles a day. You could do that. Don’t you already walk a bunch on your treadmill? We can add in some cross-training, jog a little, whatever. We’ll train together. It doesn’t matter how fast we get there. The race wouldn’t be about winning. Besides, Marc and I would be there to help you. We’d work as a team.”
Eva, you’re rambling. She clamped her mouth shut.
“Look, this is a fine idea for you if that’s what you want, but you don’t need me. I’m working forty-plus hours a week. I can’t be away from work or my kids for two weeks. I already ask Sherry to watch them far too often. And what about the money? I’m sure it costs thousands of dollars to fly over there, stay somewhere for the first few nights. And what’s the entry fee?”
“Money is no object. I’ll cover all the expenses.” Eva waved her hand in the air.
“Must be nice.” Angela’s words had an edge to them. “I’m sorry, Eva. That wasn’t kind. It’s a very generous offer, but it just won’t work for me right now. I wish you the best of luck, though.”
“You say I don’t need you, but actually, I do.”
“What do you mean?”
“They were registered as a team. There have to be three people to make a team, and the race organizers will only allow us to sub in a family member.”
A groan filtered across the line. “I’m sorry, Eva. I just . . . can’t.”
6
Finally. A Friday night when Angela didn’t have to rush to bed thanks to an early Saturday shift at the spa. It had been two weeks since she’d given her notice, and now they could begin to find their new normal as a family.
She pulled zucchini bread from Sherry’s oven. “Perfect.” The loaf was just wet enough on top that it was sure to be decadent throughout. She placed it on the counter to cool next to several loaves of banana bread and cookies Sherry had made earlier in the day.
Her mother-in-law looked up from the German chocolate cake she was making and turned off the handheld mixer. “Smells divine.”
At only sixty years young, Sherry was average in height and weight with more gray than blonde up top. But despite losing both of her sons, and her husband a few years before that, somehow she radiated peace and kindness. And Angela was the beneficiary much more often than she deserved. She wouldn’t have survived without Sherry and her willingness to keep the kids when Angela had to work on the weekends or after school hours.
Angela allowed a smile to settle on her lips. When had the gesture become so foreign? “Just like you taught me.”