“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
I heard how empty the answer sounded before it left me.
“That answer cannot keep doing the work of a decision.”
“You’re right.”
She stepped back. The loss of her body hurt.
“I’m not registered for anything,” I said. “I’m not following a marathon plan.”
“But you are testing whether you could.”
“Yes.”
“Without telling Rose?”
“She knows some.”
“Some.”
Somecarried history.
“I’m telling you now.”
“After I asked.”
“No. I brought it up.”
She considered. That mattered.
“I do not want to control your running,” Amy said. “Rule eight applies.”
“Yes.”
“But I need clarity about whether your mileage is healthy or punishment.”
“So do I.”
“Then ask for help.”
Simple. Terrifying.
“I don’t know how.”
“You ask Rose to build a plan that does not assume a race.”
“That sounded like a plan.”
“Do you want one?”
There. My request. She had remembered.
“Yes.”
