Page 69 of The Amazing Date

Visions of us racing around Seattle in the middle of the night fill my head. It was the night the barrier between Roberto and me truly cracked. A smile crosses my face, my anal attention to the finances finally proving to be an asset.

“Minus the unauthorized wild goose chase the blondes sent us on?” Roberto whispers to me, reminding me we never reported this violation by the blondes. Juanita’s ears perk up because it’s impossible to whisper in such an enclosed space without being heard.

I quickly recalculate the amount in my head and provide the answer. We’ve had to turn in receipts at each city, and I know my number is correct down to the penny.

The corner of her lip ticks up for a split second, her gaze flicking in Roberto’s direction. “Correct. Question two.”

Having a member of the race staff crushing on my boyfriend gives me mixed feelings. Roberto is undeniably hot, and after observing him the last few days, I’ve seen this look on more than a few women. I turn toward him, and his gaze is locked on me. The brilliant smile on his face and the squeeze of my hand tells me he only has eyes for me. I don’t know how I’ve gotten this lucky.

Juanita flips to a second card. “It Takes Two is all about communication and teamwork. But it is also about discovering your limits in stressful situations. When tested, will you crumble, will you fight, will you bark at the world? Or during those dark moments, you realize your world isn’t just yours, that it also includes how you interact with everyone around you. The footprints you leave on the sand.”

Juanita may be reading the question, but in my head, I hear Wilma’s voice. These are her words. I recall an article written about her and her husband when she first formed the race so many years ago. He had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She quit her executive job, and they spent the last year of his life traveling the world together, compressing into a year all the things they had deferred for a lifetime.

Juanita flips to another card, and I prepare for the final question. “During the race, you’ve encountered dozens of people. People unaware of your journey. People going about their everyday life. People like the stewardess on the plane, the front desk clerk at your hotel, and dozens like them. In your need to rush through life, did you pause and learn the lesson that life isn’t just the final piece at the end of the road but comprises all the jewels you encounter on the trip?

“Final question. The only thing standing between you and the finish mat. Please name five people associated with the race you encountered who left an impression on you. Please provide their name and the city.”

Tears flood my eyes as I turn to a beaming Roberto. I fought with him throughout the race whenever he took ten seconds to share a kind word with a stranger. My inclination was to skip the formalities, save what seemed like precious seconds to race to the next mat. I’ve been wrong. There is always time to be kind, to share a few words. I think of all the encounters and how each put us in a better position than we were prior. We have only come this far, avoided elimination, because of the kindness of strangers.

Roberto stares at me with the pride of a mentor. He knows I’ve paid attention and have the answer. “I can easily rattle off ten names, but I sense you want to take this one. I got your back.”

He’s right. I whip through my life paying attention only to the people who can do something for me, ignoring everyone else. I can tell you Mr. Garrett’s favorite snack, how he takes his coffee, and what time he leaves the office each day but would be stumped to tell you the names of his kids. I’ve worked with Kira for two years but couldn’t begin to tell you if she’s in a relationship. Zion has invited me out to happy hour with his team three dozen times, and I’ve yet to join them.

I had prepared to run this race with my head down, eyes focused on the finish line, but Roberto changed all of that. He made me lift my head, look around at the beauty that is already here, the people who are there. Cities are just buildings. What makes them special and unique are the people who inhabit them.

“There is Sergei, our cab driver in San Fran. He’s from Bulgaria. He holds a master’s degree.” My eyes mist up, and I know it’s not from sweat as I recall the grief I gave Roberto for tipping the man. “Of course, there is Agent Olson at the TSA. She and her wife are going to run this race next year.” My head fills with memories of all the people who left us in a better position than when we met them. “Ma—I believe that is her birth name.” I laugh. “Best breakfast in Washington State, runs the diner off the interstate.” I recall how she forced us to sit and eat a proper breakfast, mine on the house. Her advice shaved an hour off our trip to Mount Rainier.

I bump hips with Roberto and smirk at the next name. “There is Maggie, the attractive Seattle native who became my boyfriend’s phone-a-friend buddy.” With the mention of the word “boyfriend,” I catch the raised eyebrow of Juanita but continue. “And finally, there is the most adorable six-year-old in the world in Central Park. Jordan.”

As I speak, Juanita swipes across her iPad, check marks filling her screen. I don’t know how the race has been able to track and monitor all this information, but they seem to have contacts everywhere, and buried in the contracts are the mention of drones, video surveillance, and race officials monitoring our every move.

“Correct. You may proceed.” Juanita steps to the side and waves us through but not before tapping my boyfriend on the shoulder. “I’m not supposed to tell you, but Kelly and Caitlin ate up fifteen minutes coming up with their five names. So desperate at one point in time they tapped my name tag and tried to include me on their list.” Juanita scoffs at the last comment.

Roberto whispers, “Thank you.” He slips his hand into mine to pull me up the steps.

With the pause to answer questions, we return to taking the steps two at a time again. We make it up about three flights when we hear a sound that is so out of place, it can only come from one source.

“Do you hear that?” Roberto asks.

“It’s above us only a few flights. Sounds like people singing.”

We race up and turn, not surprised to find Ronnie and Thelma.

They are moving one step at a time. Right foot up, left foot onto the same step together, and then repeat. The step march is in time with the song they sing. “Now that we’ve come to the end of the road…” I don’t recognize the song, but with the two of them, I rarely do.

“Fancy meeting you here,” I joke as Ronnie hugs the wall and makes way for Roberto to pass through. I follow his lead, and we stop and turn on the next landing.

“Don’t wait on us. We’re doing our thing, our way. We’ll see you up there,” Thelma says, beaming. I hesitate for a second, my pause causing her to continue. “We’re good. Really. I’m right where I want to be with who I want to be with. Go.”

I wave to Thelma and turn to spot Roberto nodding in Ronnie’s direction. We continue to race up the stairs two steps at a time.

Two flights later, we see the sign in large block letters on the stairwell: 86th Floor Observation Deck. Roberto flings open the door, and I stop.

One hand on the open door, the other pointing into the building. “It’s the blondes. They’re here. We’ve caught up.” Surprise and glee fill his voice, yet I remain planted in the stairwell. His brow furrows. “You coming?”

I shake my head. “Do you trust me?”

“You know I do,” he says, stealing a final glance out the doorway before letting go of the door. “They’re running around like mad women. I don’t think they’ve found the finish mat yet. We still have a shot.”

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