Page 38 of Run with Me

“She knows you’re pregnant.”

“Those are both bad. You’re a cheater! You promised not to tell anyone!”

“I never promised, and believe me, I did you a favor. You don’t know Mary the way I do, and the Mary that I know adores kids. You wanna know what she adores evenmore?”

“I’m a little afraid toask.”

“Pregnant women. And I apologize in advance.”

“What are you apologizingfor?”

“You’ll see when you call me in the middle of the night asking me to fill Mary’s day with someone else other thanyou.”

Shit!

“But she’s also very smart and diligent. You’ll see, kid.”

I sighed. It could have been worse, right? She could have been batting her monstrous wings outside the penthouse windows, day and night, night and day. Fearing future nightmares, I shook the imageaway.

“Why do you keep calling me ‘kid’?”

“Because you look like akid.”

“You can’t be much older than me. You have your first baby on theway.”

“That’s a little bit rude, especially coming from a kid.” He winked.

“And you admitting that you’re older than me would be like admitting that you have no stamina and your little swimmers had a tough time making it up the stream. Because a guy like you should definitely reproduce.” I looked across the street again. Mary was gone from the rooftop. In my mind, she was probably sharpening her butcher knife, but I trusted Jack, and if he said that Mary was good, then I had to believehim.

But Judas was good in the beginning aswell.

“And why should I reproduce?” Jack interrupted my thoughts, and I continued pacing the room, pulling my fingers over the backrest of the plush white sofa, suddenly feeling a little bit out of place in my ragged clothes.

“You live in one of the most expensive penthouses in the city, I presume, have everything you ever wanted, a good job – and I don’t judge on legalities, a beautiful wife… why not kids? Why not all three point two of them, to be part of that definition of an American family? Hence, my conclusion.”

“You’re implying I should have four kids, I get that; but I’m not quite following the rest of your logic there. But then again, not everyone makes sense. Especially in this city. The more eccentric, the better. Hmm… maybe you could survive New York after all. Use that wit to get on Mary’s good side, Anna. Believe me, it’s the only way to survive New York. Mary knows everyone, but only those who are supposed to know who she really is actually do. And I’m thirty-three.”

I wanted to make a whipping sound, the kind a lasso makes when it strikes a horse’s hind, but there was something to Jack’s words. He wasn’t whipped; he just knew which fights to accept and which ones to avoid. He was like John, able to lose a game when the stakes were low, but never giving up when they were high. And Mary sounded like a gem — a very unique gem, thatis.

“Thanks for the advice. Jack, where would I go to send a postcard?”

“I can get one for you if you’dlike.”

“But I’d like to send it from out of state. Some people may be worried aboutme.”

“That could be arranged aswell.”

“Thankyou.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Oh, honey, comehere!”

I turned in slow motion toward the front door. A happy Mary looked even scarier than an unhappy one. She dropped the bags she was carrying and made her way toward me with open arms. Before I knew it, I was being squeezed, tightly enough to feel the strength of her embrace, but still not too tight, as if she were being careful aroundme.

In my peripheral vision I saw Jack retreat into the elevator like a coward, waving as I slowly began to uncoil from Mary’shug.

“Hi, Mary. I’m sorry we got off on the wrongfoot.”

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