‘good-bye.’”
“ Oriti .”
She walked up the stairs but had only made it halfway to the first landing before I caught up with her.
“Do you want to eat breakfast together in the morning?” I asked.
“Do you want to? I thought you were here to escape people.”
“There’s no sense in each of us sitting in our respective kitchens, less than fifty yards apart, eating alone.”
“I’m not a very good cook,” she admitted with a shrug.
“I’ll cook. I’m sure I can throw something together.”
“Okay. Then I suppose I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Sounds good.”
“I run at six thirty, so I won’t be ready to eat until around eight or later. Is that too late for you?”
“No, not at all. How long do you run?”
“An hour or so.”
“I’m a runner myself.”
“Really? You’re welcome to join me.”
“That would be great.”
“All right, just meet me in the roundabout at six thirty.”
“Round-a-what?”
“Where they place the automobiles.”
“The driveway. I’ll be there.”
“ Oriti. Nindi ma ber. I’m telling you to sleep well.”
“Orty and need my bar to you too.”
“ Nindi ma ber .”
“Yes,” I said with a laugh. “You sleep well too.”
We parted ways and headed to our respective temporary homes for the night. I’d never looked more forward to going for a run at the crack of dawn.
C H A P T E R
6
I was in the driveway warming up when Kei walked out to join me.
“ Ichiyo nade? ” she greeted.
“Itch my what?”
“ Ichiyo nade? It means, ‘How did you wake?’”
“Oh. I woke great. Thanks.”
“Splendid. You don’t mind hills, do you?”
“No, love them.” It wasn’t a total lie. I’d run in a canyon in LA a few times with my trainer, but paparazzi found us and put an end to running outside altogether.
“Splendid. That’s all they have around here.”
“Do you see many people when you’re out?” I asked.
“Not a soul. I’m more of the cross-country sort, but we can drive down to a track if you’d prefer.”
“No. Cross-country sounds perfect.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” she asked.
“You lead.”
Thirty minutes later, I was hyperventilating and we’d slowed to walking. Apparently her idea of cross-country and my idea of cross-country were countries apart.
“Sorry,” I panted, too tired to even be embarrassed. “You weren’t lying when you said there were hills.”
“Maybe I should have elaborated. Why don’t we walk over here and sit down.”
“No, no. I’ll be fine.”
“It’s okay. Have a look-see. There’s a bench over there, waiting on us to enjoy it.”
Still out of breath, I only nodded.
She led the way to the bench. I tried to follow without it being obvious that I was walking on legs made of Jell-o. “Honestly, I thought I was in much better shape than this.”
“It’s not a problem.”
“I mostly run on treadmills back home. I never realized there would be such a difference, but, boy, there’s…wow. Look at this view.”
“I know. It’s breathtaking, isn’t it?”
“Where are we?”
“This is a piece of private land that butts up to Oliver’s.”
“They aren’t going to come chase us off, are they?”
“No. We’re fine.”
I fell onto the bench. “Good. There’s no way I could run from anyone right now. They’d catch me for sure.”
“As long as you’re with me, you’re fine.”
“Why’s that?”
“It belongs to Oliver’s mother, Millie.”
“Is there a house on it?”
“No. No buildings of any sort.”
“Did she put the bench out here?” I asked, giving a pat to the empty space between us.
“No. I did. I love the view from this spot. I come here all the time when I’m visiting. It’s the perfect place to reflect, pray, or just think about things. It’s beautiful when the sun rises.”
“I’d like to see it. What time does it happen?”
“You would need to arrive very early in the morning. I only catch them on rare
“ Oriti .”
She walked up the stairs but had only made it halfway to the first landing before I caught up with her.
“Do you want to eat breakfast together in the morning?” I asked.
“Do you want to? I thought you were here to escape people.”
“There’s no sense in each of us sitting in our respective kitchens, less than fifty yards apart, eating alone.”
“I’m not a very good cook,” she admitted with a shrug.
“I’ll cook. I’m sure I can throw something together.”
“Okay. Then I suppose I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Sounds good.”
“I run at six thirty, so I won’t be ready to eat until around eight or later. Is that too late for you?”
“No, not at all. How long do you run?”
“An hour or so.”
“I’m a runner myself.”
“Really? You’re welcome to join me.”
“That would be great.”
“All right, just meet me in the roundabout at six thirty.”
“Round-a-what?”
“Where they place the automobiles.”
“The driveway. I’ll be there.”
“ Oriti. Nindi ma ber. I’m telling you to sleep well.”
“Orty and need my bar to you too.”
“ Nindi ma ber .”
“Yes,” I said with a laugh. “You sleep well too.”
We parted ways and headed to our respective temporary homes for the night. I’d never looked more forward to going for a run at the crack of dawn.
C H A P T E R
6
I was in the driveway warming up when Kei walked out to join me.
“ Ichiyo nade? ” she greeted.
“Itch my what?”
“ Ichiyo nade? It means, ‘How did you wake?’”
“Oh. I woke great. Thanks.”
“Splendid. You don’t mind hills, do you?”
“No, love them.” It wasn’t a total lie. I’d run in a canyon in LA a few times with my trainer, but paparazzi found us and put an end to running outside altogether.
“Splendid. That’s all they have around here.”
“Do you see many people when you’re out?” I asked.
“Not a soul. I’m more of the cross-country sort, but we can drive down to a track if you’d prefer.”
“No. Cross-country sounds perfect.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” she asked.
“You lead.”
Thirty minutes later, I was hyperventilating and we’d slowed to walking. Apparently her idea of cross-country and my idea of cross-country were countries apart.
“Sorry,” I panted, too tired to even be embarrassed. “You weren’t lying when you said there were hills.”
“Maybe I should have elaborated. Why don’t we walk over here and sit down.”
“No, no. I’ll be fine.”
“It’s okay. Have a look-see. There’s a bench over there, waiting on us to enjoy it.”
Still out of breath, I only nodded.
She led the way to the bench. I tried to follow without it being obvious that I was walking on legs made of Jell-o. “Honestly, I thought I was in much better shape than this.”
“It’s not a problem.”
“I mostly run on treadmills back home. I never realized there would be such a difference, but, boy, there’s…wow. Look at this view.”
“I know. It’s breathtaking, isn’t it?”
“Where are we?”
“This is a piece of private land that butts up to Oliver’s.”
“They aren’t going to come chase us off, are they?”
“No. We’re fine.”
I fell onto the bench. “Good. There’s no way I could run from anyone right now. They’d catch me for sure.”
“As long as you’re with me, you’re fine.”
“Why’s that?”
“It belongs to Oliver’s mother, Millie.”
“Is there a house on it?”
“No. No buildings of any sort.”
“Did she put the bench out here?” I asked, giving a pat to the empty space between us.
“No. I did. I love the view from this spot. I come here all the time when I’m visiting. It’s the perfect place to reflect, pray, or just think about things. It’s beautiful when the sun rises.”
“I’d like to see it. What time does it happen?”
“You would need to arrive very early in the morning. I only catch them on rare
Similar Books
