Page 63 of Talk Birdie to Me

Geena had seen it when he’d first shown up on her doorstep with Gary. But Gary wasn’t there, and he wasn’t the topic of conversation.

She was.

Heat built in her chest and crept up her neck. She was sure her cheeks must have been reddening under his stare. No hiding it now.

Time to deflect again.

“So, was the burger worth the drama?”

He looked down at his empty plate, then back at her. A small smile appeared, but that same look remained.

“I can handle a little drama,” he said. “You’re the one who has to deal with that stress. I’m sorry I added to it by asking you to take care of Gary.”

She waved a hand dismissively. “Gary’s the easy part of the equation at this point.”

“Good.” That look of his morphed into something more playful. “You know what gets rid of ex stress?”

Her cheeks grew hot against her will. “Uh, what?”

His grin widened. “Running.”

Geena rolled her eyes and laughed.

Why not? Might as well continue the reimagining her life quest.

She replied to Taylor’s text and told her she’d go running with her that weekend sometime.

“There. Happy, Brasseaux?”

Cody puffed up, taking pride in his work. “Ecstatic.”

16

Geena grabbed Taylor’s arm and slowed to a stop. Then she bent over with her hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath.

“Need… a second,” she said through ragged breaths.

They had made their way almost entirely around Geena’s neighborhood. Taylor usually ran through a park where she and Austin lived in Breaux Bridge near the shelter. But the sidewalks on Geena’s block were nice and wide, great for a beginner. More importantly, Taylor wanted to make the transition from townhouse to running path as seamless as possible for Geena. No room for chickening out in between.

Geena wasn’t sure if she was grateful for the plan or if she would hold this against Taylor for the rest of her life.

“It’s time to cool down anyway,” Taylor said. “We can slow walk back to your place. Just focus on restoring your breath to normal and keep moving so you don’t cramp up.”

Geena nodded and stood straight again, matching Taylor’s much slower pace as they headed toward Geena’s townhouse.

Her sister had started Geena out easily with a series of one-minute jogs alternating with a minute and a half of walking. But even an easy plan had been hard on Geena since she hadn’t run a day in her life. Maybe a little in high school P.E., but she couldn’t remember that anymore. She was definitely out of shape for this.

“How do you feel?” Taylor asked. “And I don’t just mean your legs.”

“Emotionally?” When her sister nodded, Geena said, “Exhausted.”

“I don’t know that exhaustion is an emotion. That’s a physical state. But it’s good for your emotions.”

Geena’s breathing was returning to normal. Well, maybe not normal, but she could at least maintain a conversation again through her mildly labored breaths.

“I don’t see how this is supposed to have any effect on my emotional state.”

“It clears them out. All the built up stuff like work or your divorce or whatever. How do you normally deal with emotions if you aren’t burning off your stress?”

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