Runner Girl Ch. 03

John weaved his way through the crowd and was relieved to find that William had secured a small table in the corner. "What's up with our bar?"

William shrugged, "A work party or something."

Their regular cocktail waitress made her way over and asked John if he would like his usual martini. After gratefully accepting her offer, John inquired about William's favorite topic. "So how are things with Tracy?"

"Things are going very well," William said. "We're going to Albany this weekend and I'll be meeting her family."

"Taking the train?"

William nodded and waited as the waitress placed John's martini on the table and exchanged pleasantries with him. He thought about the slip of paper Tracy had left on his desk. She wouldn't reveal the details of her conversation with Amy, but the Zen-like doodle and the words "obsequious" and "panache" drawn in a circle gave him a clue as to what transpired. He listened as John talked about his upcoming trip to London before asking, "So, would you like to see Amy again?"

John shook his head and laughed, "Oh yeah, sure. You must think I need my ego smashed." John noticed that William wasn't smiling. "You're serious? She's not interested in me. No big deal, it was a fun evening. She was a good sport after she had a few drinks in her, but we obviously are not compatible."

"I'm not sure I agree. Besides, she said we could give you her number, but only if you asked for it."

"She wants me to have her number, huh?" John ran his hand through his hair. This was unexpected.

"She wants you to ask for it."

John's sipped his drink while William remained silent. John was also silent and in thought, but then noticed William staring at him expectantly. "Oh, I gotta ask for it... Okay." His tone became wheedling. "William, may I pleeeeeease have Amy's number?"

"Do you want it?"

"Oh my god, are you on your period? Give me her damn number already."

William took out his phone and texted it, and resisted the urge to give too much input on how to conduct himself.

"Cool. I'll be gone for a few days, but I'll see if she wants to do something next weekend."

William nodded and stroked his beard, obviously about to say something.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. It's just that... I hope you will consider a different approach with Amy."

"Different from my usual charm?" John winked and flashed a cocky grin.

"Yes, exactly. She seems to value a level of authenticity that I know you are capable of but you don't show many people. Can you just remember that when you call her?"

John jokingly mimicked William's intellectual nod, raised an eyebrow, and tried to think of a smart-ass comeback, but then he remembered Amy's big chocolate-drop eyes and lush full lips and sighed, "Okay, I'll hand her my naked soul and let her kick the shit out of it."

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that." William lifted his glass for a toast.

Leaving the bar, the men headed in opposite directions and John decided to head home on foot. It wasn't far, but he was usually too rushed for time to walk. He thought about the turn of events that had occurred as he weaved through the pedestrian traffic towards the river. He hadn't really expected to see Amy again and his disappointment was short-lived, but now he had her phone number and the potential was unsettling. He knew Amy was not impressed by money, possibly even turned off by it, but what did impress Amy? And did he even care?

Then there was the matter of William's uncustomary pushiness. Was it just underhanded self-interest, the convenience of two friends dating two friends? William had never pushed him towards any woman before and even steered him away from a previous girlfriend's friend. Perhaps he should have mentioned to him that he was planning to see Sarah this weekend in London.

The sun was low and blocked by buildings, making it seem darker than it really was as he made his way to the Hudson. It was unusual for him not to take the most direct path to his destination, but he wasn't ready to go home yet. There were droves of runners and walkers along the river and he wondered if Amy ever ran that route. He could see the sun now, low on the horizon and playing off cumulus clouds, creating a remarkable spectacle of cascading pink, yellow, and blue tones. The lighting was spectacular, reminiscent of a Hudson River School painting. John decided to take a photo with his phone and momentarily regretted not having his SLR camera with him. He took several photos, including one of an old man sitting on a bench in front of a tree in fall foliage. He sat down next to the man and felt unusually introspective and gregarious at the same time. He looked at the half-dozen photos he had snapped, then leaned towards the man and said, "Look at this: have you ever seen anything this beautiful?"

"Of course I have. I was sitting right here looking at the same view when you took that photo," the old man answered crankily.

John laughed, "Yes, that's true."

The man seemed to instantly regret his rudeness and offered, "Amazing what can be done with phones these days."

"Yes. Yes it is amazing, isn't it?" John put his back in his jacket pocket and felt its weight against his chest.

* * * * *

Amy waited until she was seated on the subway to take out a stack of papers and check her phone. She saw another text from Keith asking more questions about what she might like to do on Saturday night. Can't he just plan the date? she wondered. He's the one who's from here.

She hadn't yet responded when another text came through. Amy let out an irritated sigh as she looked down at her phone and saw that it was a picture, a scenic photo of the sky and a man sitting on a park bench. She stared at the photo for a second wondering why Keith sent the photo, and then it registered that it had not came from the same number. Another text came through seconds later that said, "Hi Amy. It's John."

John. John sent me a text. A text and a photo. She didn't expect to hear from John. Tracy had not even mentioned that he had asked for her phone number.

Amy took another look at the photo. It was stunning. He captured sunbeams coming from behind a cloud with a majestic tree and a man in silhouette sitting on a park bench. He mentioned that he liked photography on their date, but Amy assumed he was just naming a perfunctory activity, the same way so many people listed 'hiking' as a hobby on their resume but never actually hiked.

She put her phone back in her bag and wondered why John had texted a scenery photo, of all things. She wasn't sure how to reply, so she made up her mind to wait until after the writers group to answer. She needed to go over the manuscripts one more time, especially since tonight was Tracy's first time being critiqued and Amy knew her friend was nervous. She looked over Tracy's writing one more time to add more accolades and realized that the steamy content of her writing was one of the weather factors contributing to the level-four hurricane of sexual desire that had been distracting her all week.

She arrived at the library expecting to see Tracy, but was surprised to see William first. "Oh, hi, William," she greeted him in the foyer. "I didn't expect to see you."

"Hello, Amy. Did you forget I work here?" William laughed.

"I guess I did. Or I was deep in thought. I'm excited for Tracy to get her first critique behind her. How's she doing?"

William laughed, "Riding the highs and lows of an extrovert who is overly dependent on external approval. She is self-aware and wants to be immune to the opinions of others, but that simply is not her nature."

"The group will be kind and constructive, knowing it is her first critique. Besides, what she has written is really good. She has talent."

"She has many talents," and then his eyes lit up as Tracy came through the door looking as vibrant as a bouquet of flowers. Amy smiled at her effervescent friend and the term "wallflower" came to mind, followed by, I need to update my wardrobe.

Tracy hugged each of them and said she was a bundle of nerves. "Hey, have you heard from John yet?" She asked, turning to Amy.

"Yes, just a little while ago, in fact. He texted me a photo."

William's eyes widened and then relief washed over his face when Amy explained that it was a scenic photo. "Oh," William seemed to sigh, "John is more of a Renaissance man than you might guess. He really is a talented photographer. May I?"

"Sure, I don't see why he would mind," Amy showed the pair the photo and they oohed and aahed before Tracy looked at William and asked, "Why would John do that? His first message to Amy is a beautiful scenic photo?"

William shrugged, "Perhaps you should ask?" He said, looking back at Amy.

"Okay, but we better go -- huh, Tracy?" The two women said goodbye to William and disappeared behind the closed door of the writers group.

* * * * *

John sat in front of his computer answering an email full of questions from a client when his phone rang. He was startled to hear a feminine voice say, "Hi, John. It's Amy."

"Hello, Amy. What a nice surprise. I was expecting a work call."

"Oh, you're busy? I can let you go if you're working."

"Of course not. I'd love to take a break and talk to you. I guess you got the photo I sent?"

"Yes, yes I did. Thank you. That's why I was calling... I mean it would be easy to just text back, but I wanted to ask you about it."

"Sure, what about it?"

"Well... it's lovely... stunning, actually. I just wonder why you sent it to me."

"Hmm," John answered. "Good question. I didn't think about it too much, to be honest with you. I took it the other night and was looking at it again earlier today and it made me think of you. Especially after what you said about the things you miss about North Carolina. I guess I wanted to show you that you can have that in New York too, you just have to keep your eye out for it."

"Did I say I liked sunsets or something?"

"No, you mentioned the tranquility of solitude."

Amy paused, surprised that he picked up on that tiny part of a long conversation. "Well that explains the photo perfectly. It is really lovely and now it's meaningful as well. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Amy. Actually, I should thank you. It got me thinking about how much I love to take photos and why. I wanted to convey a mood with no words, but I guess I missed because you didn't quite get it."

"Oh, I think you communicated it beautifully. I just wasn't expecting it and didn't know what to think. I don't know you very well, you know."

"We should fix that."

Amy laughed and didn't know what to say, but John spoke up. "So you won't mind if I send a photo once in a while if the mood strikes?"

"Not at all. I'd like that."

"Okay, I will. Hey, Amy, I've got to return some work calls, but thanks for calling me. It was nice to hear your voice."

"Um, okay. Goodnight, John."

"Goodnight."

John stared down at the phone feeling very pleased to have resisted the urge to keep talking. He grinned to himself thinking that William wasn't the only guy in Manhattan capable of practicing restraint.

Two days later he sent another photo. It was another cell phone pic, but when he converted it to black and white, even he was impressed. Light filtering through a window obscured by plants fell on an empty table with two chairs. There was a small vase with a few daisies, and an old-fashioned lamp with an exposed bare light bulb hanging directly over the table. The light caught his eye, but the wall really made the photo special -- an exposed brick column next to a wall of stone that looked ancient. He sent it to Amy and tried to focus on work. He considered the lack of immediate answer a good thing. Maybe she would call again instead of texting. It was hours later when her name rang on his phone.

"Hi, Amy."

"Hi, John. Another interesting photo, but very different."

"I'm a multifarious man," John laughed and Amy did too.

"Well I hope I don't disappoint you if I don't correctly guess what you were trying to convey."

"Of course not, Amy; it isn't a test. I'm not sure I know myself."

"Well to me this photo looks inviting. And intimate."

"Huh, that's a great description actually. I was buying coffee this morning, obviously very early by the way the light is coming through, and the table was empty. I don't think I've ever seen it unoccupied before, but the thought crossed my mind that I would love to be sitting there drinking coffee with you."

"Wait a minute, that photo was taken today? In New York?"

"Yes, a little coffee shop called 'The Smile.' It's on Bond Street in NoHo."

"I thought that was an old photo, something you had taken in Europe or something."

"Must be the stone wall. It is amazing, isn't it? So yes, 'inviting and intimate' is very accurate description."

"You have a great eye," Amy said. "And your love of New York is contagious."

"Don't you love New York, Amy?"

"I love/hate it," Amy laughed then diverted the topic before he could ask why, "Hey, do you ever take photos of people?"

"Sure, when they let me." John answered, thinking of a locked file of "personal" photos on his computer depicting ex-lovers in all sorts of compromising positions. "Why? Do you want me to take your photo?"

"Well, um... no... I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry, that was horribly forward of me to suggest..."

"Amy, don't apologize. Tell me what you have in mind."

Amy sighed, "Okay, well, I have this blog and I need some photos of myself running. This sounds horribly vain, and I'm... oh, I almost apologized again, sorry, I mean I'm not sorry! Jeez!... Anyway, the blog is meant to inspire young women to run and it is called 'Runner Girl'. I'd love to get some current photos on my blog. Maybe Central Park or along the Hudson, or... I don't know. Please don't feel obligated."

"Yes, you haven't posted a photo for over a year!"

"What? You've seen my blog?"

"Not until now. I'm sitting in front of my computer, you know. Beautiful trail, but whoever took the photo titled 'Lower McAlpine Creek' cut your feet off. Hmmmm, probably distracted by those green shorts. Anyway, yes, I can see you need my assistance. I'd be happy to help you, but I'm going to London this weekend."

"Oh, that's okay. I mean, at your convenience of course!"

"Well, let's plan on the following weekend. Would that work?"

"I'm doing that damn underwear run on Saturday, and I definitely don't want that on my blog! I just agreed to do it because my running group is cancelled because of the race and it's for charity and..."

"The 'underwear run,' huh? I've only been a spectator," John laughed. "It looks like a lot of fun though."

"It'll be my first time, and not my usual thing, but... well, I'm trying to loosen up." Amy laughed.

"Well, running through Central Park in your underwear sounds like a damn good start. So let's take photos on Sunday? In fact, let's get out of the city and take a little hike."

"Oh, I'd love that!"

"Okay, next Sunday we have a date. We will get some new photos for 'Runner Girl.'"