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“I’ll try.”
“Have a good night, Link.”
“You too, cheerleader.”
10
Link
Itrytorunevery morning. My goal is five miles a day, but I don’t always make it. Rosie is my running partner, but with her injury she is out for a while. I started bringing her a few days ago, and we’ve been working back up to five miles. Today is the day to hit that goal. But I want to take her to an easy trail. I put her in the truck and drive to the park in the center of town. It has a nice running path that is flat and usually not too crowded.
I let her out of the truck and ignore the sign that says all dogs must be leashed. Rosie won’t leave my side, no matter what distractions we pass. I also play poker on Saturday nights with the two guys who work park patrol. They know Rosie.
We head down the trail at a pace between a jog and a run. I keep an eye on Rosie, but she’s not favoring her leg. I think about upping the pace. When I come around a bend, I see Allyssa sitting on a bench. I stop running and Rosie sits next to me, panting softly.
“You know this is a jogging trail, not a sit-and-look-at-the-trees trail.”
She scowls. “I got a rock in my shoe.”
“Likely story.” I tease her.
She removes her shoe and dumps out a pebble, then puts it back on. “Why are you here? This is ten miles from your house.”
“Eight. But I wanted to make Rosie’s first five miles since her injury easy on her.”
She smiles at me. “Likely story.”
I pat Rosie on the head. “Care to join us?”
“Sure.”
“Can you keep up?”
She gets to her feet then starts running. Rosie and I catch up to her and I nudge her. “Slow down, speedy. We’re taking it easy, remember?”
She slows her pace to a jog.
I match it and glance at her. “Are you the proud owner of a suit now?”
“Billy and I are still in contact. He hasn’t flaked like you thought he would.”
“Yet. He hasn’t flakedyet.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Fine.” We keep jogging down the path that winds through trees and flower beds. The path is about six feet wide, leaving enough room to pass people coming toward us.
I see a woman approaching with a dog on a leash. When the dog spots Rosie, he starts barking and pulling on his lead. Rosie glances up at me, then ignores the dog, as the woman fights to restrain it.
She smiles apologetically. “Sorry.”
“No problem. Have a nice day.”
She runs by and I give Rosie a pat on the head. We continue down the path to a section that opens up for about a hundred yards.
“Hold up.” I stop running and Rosie sits again.
Allyssa stops and looks at me. “Does the policeman need a little rest?”
