This Book Made Me Think of You(74)
She wears the hoodie to sleep, curled up on Joe’s side of the bed.
* * *
—
On the sofa in his flat a few streets away, Alfie flicks through his copy of the Lonely Planet guide to London, colorful Post-its flashing as the pages whiz by. Then he closes the book, standing up and slipping it between an unused guide to South America and a copy of The Art of Travel, knowing he isn’t going to need any of them anytime soon.
Forty-Six
Each morning Tilly goes for long runs, getting in her last days of training, going further than she strictly needs to avoid the bookshop and the part of the canal she knows a certain bike rider frequents.
As she runs, she thinks back over the past year, not quite believing that she has now reached the point where she can run and think about things other than running. Her adventures flash through her mind as she takes each step: her first visit to the bookshop, the evenings spent cooking new recipes in her flat, the trips to Bali and Italy with Harper and the silence that now stretches between them—the longest they have ever gone without speaking. She pictures sunlit Parisian streets and rolling Tuscan countryside, the steaming pavements of New York and the wild, wet shores of Jura.
And there in the background of her memories is Alfie. She runs faster and harder.
The day before the half-marathon, an email arrives.
Dear Tilly,
Just checking in to confirm our lunch on the 15th of November. I look forward to seeing you and telling you more about the opportunity coming up at Alphabet Books. I think you could be a great fit…
As she loops her way around Regent’s Park and along the canal through Camden, Tilly pictures herself running through Central Park and along the Hudson River instead, exploring new neighborhoods, skyscrapers towering above her. If the conversation with Liz goes well, then a job at Alphabet in New York could be exactly the fresh start she needs. A new adventure…It would mean leaving her life here behind, but what does she really have keeping her here?
* * *
—
Hyde Park is buzzing, swarms of people dressed in bright running gear and fancy dress and with race numbers pinned to their chests stretching as they wait for the race to begin. Motivating music pumps through speakers, giving the atmosphere of a party, which feels a little strange for just before nine on a Sunday morning. But Tilly is happy to take all the motivation she can get.
She glances at her phone, queued up with her favorite energizing playlist.
Rachel: Good luck today! xx
Mum and Dad: So proud of you, sweetheart. We’ll be cheering you on! Just keep running! xxx
Alfie: “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” T.S. Eliot
She stares at the last message, swallowing hard. She hasn’t replied to any of his “just checking in” messages since their tourist day out. With a shake of her head, she zips her phone into her running pouch and bounces in place to keep warm. An overhead announcement tells her that it’s just a few minutes until start time. Is she really about to do this?
“Tilly!”
At first she can’t see anyone she knows among the crowds. But then, there’s Harper, dressed in the same purple leggings and top she wore for their first run together, weaving through the crowd. Her hair is shorter, styled in tiny bunches. It’s strange to see her sister after so long, and even stranger not to step closer and pull her into a hug. But Tilly remains frozen.
“I’m so glad I spotted you,” Harper says breathlessly as she stops alongside Tilly, doing a couple of stretches. “I thought I’d never find you. I was almost hoping you’d decided to dress as a banana or something.”
“What are you doing here?”
“The same thing as you,” Harper replies, her voice firm with the stubbornness Tilly remembers from childhood when Harper was learning to ride a bike and kept falling off but getting straight back on again. “You signed us up to do this together, remember? And so that’s what we’re going to do.”
“But that was before…everything.”
“I know,” replies Harper. “And I know you said you needed space. But it’s been months.”
“Everyone, will you take your places, the race will begin shortly!” booms a voice over the speakers, and a ripple of nervous energy spreads through the crowd. People hop up and down, doing their final preparations. Tilly tightens her ponytail, trying her best to focus on the race ahead and not on the sight of Harper doing quad stretches beside her.
“Tilly, come on…”
“Not now, Harper!”
A countdown begins over the speakers, and the people in Harper and Tilly’s time section take their places.
“Three, two, one, off you go!”
There’s a great surge of movement, and Tilly is swept up in it, her feet lifting as she begins to jog. At first the crowd is tightly packed and she has to work hard not to trip over anyone, but before too long, space begins to open up as the faster runners move ahead and everyone finds their rhythm. Tilly settles into a steady pace, conscious of the thirteen miles that lie ahead. Sensing a presence, she turns to see Harper jogging steadfastly beside her.
Tilly speeds up, pushing away from her sister through the crowds. After a while Tilly slows to a normal jog again. But a few seconds later Harper is there at her side. Tilly speeds up. But Harper speeds up too. Tilly tries veering off course instead, weaving around a couple dressed as bananas.