Page 89 of The Weight Of It All
Reed laughed and pulled me against him, kissing the side of my head. “You did it, Henry.”
I let him hold me up. “Still trying not to die.”
We turned to walk slowly back up to the picnic, where Sean and Melinda were waiting. Sean looked like he’d just woken up from a nap, and Melinda stood up and went to hug me, but when she saw me, she put her hands down and took a step back. “Oh. I’ll hug you later. Well done, Henry.”
“Great effort,” Seansaid.
“Thanks, guys.” I collapsed onto the blanket, lying flat on my back. “Ugh. Everything hurts.”
Reed sat down next to me. “You did great, Henry. I can’t believe you ran the last part.”
Anika cleared her throat. “Uh, excuse me. I ran from here all the way down to the path. Where’s my gold medal?”
I snorted. “Stellar effort, Neeky.”
“I know, right?” she said proudly. “Here, let me get you something to drink. You hungry?”
“I knew I brought you along for a reason.”
She laughed and rifled through one of the picnic baskets, and I manoeuvred myself so I could rest my head on Reed’s lap. “You right there?” he asked me.
“Still not entirely sure I’m not going to die,” I explained.
He smiled down at me and pushed the hair off my forehead. “Can you believe you just did the Bay Run?”
“Nope. I wouldn’t have done it without you.”
His response was an eye-crinkling smile, which was my new favourite thing.
Anika held up a container. “Here’s some grapes. And I have some crackers, some low-fat cheese.”
“Low-fat cheese is a thing?” I asked.
“A disgusting thing,” Anika said, “but a thing, nonetheless. I figured if you were doing this whole running thing, you wouldn’t want normal food. I have apple juice, mineral water, and some filtered vitamin water or some such nonsense they’re selling these days.”
So we stayed at the park, lazing in the shade of the trees on blankets and snacking on fruits and crackers, talking and laughing for hours. It gave me a warm thrill to know my friends liked Reed and that he liked them. There would be no division, no separation in social circles, like there had been with Graham. Reed laughed with Sean and chatted with Anika and Melinda while I rested my head on his lap.
When I tried to sit up, my body protested, and I groaned. “Oh good Lord. Do the Bay Run, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.”
Anika sipped her juice. “They lied, honey.”
Reed laughed and sprang to his feet. He held out his hand for me to hold so he could pull me up. “Let’s get you home.”
We helped pack up the picnic and said our farewells, with promises to talk soon. Anika gave my hand a squeeze, and the smile in her eyes told me she liked him. Her approval made me happier than it should have. “I’ll call you later,” I told her.
“Hopefully you’ll be too busy,” she said cheerfully. I wanted to kick her in the shin, and Reed thankfully pretended not to get what she meant. She just laughed at my horrified glare. “Love you, Henry.”
I flipped her off, then waved goodbye to Melinda before Reed and I walked back down to my car.
After all the lead-up to today, it was hard to believe it was over. I was proud of myself for completing the Bay Run and thankful for Reed being with me every step of the way.
“Where to now?” I asked.
Reed looked over the top of my car at me. “Your place.”
I grinned, and hope of what was to come flooded my belly. When we got to my place, I threw my keys on the table and let out a groan.
Reed looked concerned. “How are you feeling?”
