No luck. Around mile two and a half, I happened to glance up at the clock on the opposite wall just as she was passing in front of it. Our eyes met, and I instantly felt my face flush even more. Before I could look away again, she was headed over.
This didn’t surprise me. If Mrs. Templeton was anything, it was polite; she wasn’t the type to dodge anyone due to awkwardness, or any other reason for that matter. I did my best to channel the same as she got closer, making myself smile as I slid off my headphones. Still, I didn’t break stride.
“Emaline,” she said warmly, smiling at me. “I didn’t know you were a member here.”
“I come for the treadmills,” I replied. “Also, there aren’t a lot of other gym options.”
“So I discovered when I decided to get in shape for the wedding.” She looked around the room, over at the Klatch, then back at me. “I’m determined to wear a sleeveless dress and not have my arms all jiggly. Although it may be a losing fight.”
“No way,” I told her. “You can build arms quickly. At least, that’s what the magazines say.”
She smiled at me, and I could just feel the Talking About Anything but Luke part of the conversation coming to an end. Sure enough, the next thing she said was, “We sure do miss you around the house lately.”
I actually felt myself start running faster in reaction to this, and had to force a slowdown. “I miss you all, too.”
It was true. I’d spent much of the last three years of my life over at the Templetons’, sharing dinners, weekend barbecues, and holidays. I’d even been the one who named their dachshund: she was Grace, which was my grandmother’s name. I loved that dog. It was such a weird thing how a breakup stretched much wider than you expected. You didn’t just lose a person, but their entire world as well.
“Brooke is really hoping you’ll still make the wedding,” she continued, as I worried fleetingly if I was splattering sweat on her. She was the kind of person who prompted this sort of concern. I slowed down. “I hope you know we want you to be there. Regardless of what is going on with—”
“Of course,” I said quickly, cutting her off. I felt so light-headed, suddenly. I wasn’t even sure I could bear to hear her say his name, much less finish this sentence. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
She smiled at me, just as the woman in the leotard again dropped her weights with a clank, distracting both of us. When we regrouped, I nodded at the treadmill console and said, “Well, I should probably . . .”
“Oh, of course!” She laughed. “Forgive me. I couldn’t even say one word while running at that speed, much less carry on a conversation.”
I smiled, slipping my headphones back into my ears. “It’s good to see you. Good luck with the workouts.”
“I think I’ll need it.” And then, before I could react, she reached out to my sweaty right hand and patted it gently with her own. “You take care, honey.”
I nodded, and then, thankfully, she was walking away, over towards the triceps machines. I found my spot on the wall again, cranked the speed up another two notches, and ran the last mile hard, almost wishing, at times like this, that I still had my applications to distract me. By the time I was done, she was gone.
* * *
“Okay. Keep your eyes closed.”
Another date with Theo, another Big Surprise. It was embarrassing enough be sitting there, blind, in a public place. This time, though, I had an audience.
“Are you looking? Don’t look.”
“I’m not looking,” I murmured, although I was sure everyone else was.
“Okay, one more second.” I felt Theo back moving beside me; something bumped my elbow. “And . . . now. Open your eyes!”
I did. The first thing I saw was Morris, across from me, a bored, slightly annoyed look on his face. Beside him, Daisy appeared slightly alarmed. And then there was the sparkler.
It wasn’t like I could miss it. It was one of those big ones, lit and spitting in all directions. At its base was a small, heart-shaped chocolate cake that had something written on it in pink icing, not that I could make it out through the pyrotechnics. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to blow this thing out or just let it run its course, so I just sat there watching it burn down, down, down until it ended with a fizzle, leaving a cloud of smoke behind.
“Wow,” I said, as Daisy coughed, politely covering her mouth with her hand. “What’s the occasion?”
“You don’t know?” Theo asked me. A large group of tourists, sporting sunburns and fresh bathing-suit strap marks, were all watching us from the next table over. “It’s our two week anniversary today.”
“Oh, right,” I said quickly, looking at him and smiling. “I just . . . the sparkler distracted me. Happy, um, anniversary.”
“Happy anniversary,” he repeated, then he leaned forward and kissed me. A real kiss, not the kind you normally engage in on a date with another couple when half the restaurant is watching. I felt so bad about forgetting the date, however, that I felt like I couldn’t pull away as quickly as I would have liked. When we did finally break, I did everything to avoid seeing Daisy’s face. She hated public displays of affection even more than mopeds and mom jeans.
Instead, I focused on removing the sparkler and setting it aside so I could read the message on the cake. WILL YOU . . . ? it said, the question mark ending in a fancy curlicue.