Page 41 of The Weight Of It All
I quickly clarified, “Well, the guy at the gym wasn’t your type. The sales clerk in the jeans store wasn’t your type…”
We turned into Martin Place, and Reed still hadn’t answered. He smiled kind of awkwardly and said, “Your mum and sister seem really nice.”
Okay then. Types were off the discussion list. “You know, I’ll never hear the end of her seeing me with your hand on my shoulder. My mother will now ask about you until the day I die.”
Reed just laughed. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”
“Oh, it will be. She’ll have us married by dinner time.”
He chuckled at that. “She was concerned about you.”
“Yeah, I know.” I shrugged one shoulder. “When Graham left I let her know, and she wanted me to come around for dinner. But I didn’t want to relive the whole thing over again, and the sympathy and pity… you know how that is.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“But I will. I’ll call her this week and arrange something. Though now I’ll get to play Three Dozen Questions about you.”
“Just do what I do,” he said. “Tell them all the sex details, and believe me, they stop asking.”
I cracked up laughing. “Did you really?”
He nodded proudly. “Yep. I got sick of the nosey questions, so I didn’t hold back. And we’re a pretty open family, but after explaining the mechanics of gay sex just once no one has asked me anything since."
By the time I stopped laughing, we were almost back to the elevator to the underground parking. “Hey,” I said. I turned around and looked back down Martin Place. “I’ve just walked half the CBD, and I’m not even out of breath! And not even that, I feel like I could do it ten times over!”
Reed’s smile was genuine. “That’s great, Henry. Soon you’ll be doing the Bay Run!”
“Pfft. Not likely.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve seen the people who do the Bay Run. They’re all super fit, crazy people.”
“Hey, I do the Bay Run.”
“No offence.”
He smiled. “None taken. But you could totally manage it. You don’t have to run the whole way. Most people walk some, jog some.”
“I almost die doing a three kilometre walk on a treadmill.”
“The Bay Run’s only seven K,” he countered. He looked ominously cheerful and nodded like he’d decided something. “I’m going to work your training schedule around getting you ready for a Bay Run.”
“Against my consent. Isn’t that against the Geneva Convention or something?”
“I’ll double check the human rights handbook when I get home, but I’m pretty sure you signed a waiver.”
“I signed a waiver in case I died.”
“Then if you die on the Bay Run, I’ll be covered.”
My mouth fell open. Then I sniffed and pretended to open an imaginary envelope. “And the personal trainer of the year award goes to….”
Reed laughed. “You’re welcome.”
I thumped the elevator door button. “I’m not sure.”
“It’ll be a few weeks away, Henry. You’ll have plenty of time to be ready,” he added. “I wouldn’t suggest it if I didn’t think you were capable.” The elevator doors opened and we stepped inside. “I’ll do it with you.”
