When Love Calls (34 page)

*****

“Rise and shine,” Angie exclaimed as she pulled back the curtain. It was still dark out so I thought surely her gesture was for dramatic effect. I rolled over and squinted as Angie proceeded to turn on the desk lamp and the light on the nightstand. She turned up the volume on her iPod and let Justin Timberlake’s
Suit & Tie
blast as she danced around the room. “Get up Erin! Get up and get your mind right for this run!”

 “It’s only six miles Ange! I think I’m ready,” I mumbled and attempted to pull the covers over my head. Angie snatched them back. I sat up in the bed and shoved the wayward lock of hair dangling in my face behind my ear. “Besides, I need quiet to prepare.” I pleaded. “I like to meditate!” It was obvious my plea fell on deaf ears. Angie proceeded to twirl around the room singing at the top of her lungs. I ambled into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, washed my face and touched up the bun tightly coiled on the back of my head. When I came out, Angie was fully dressed and had rolled into song number two to which she was humming and gyrating. Accepting the fact that there would be no meditation in m future, I joined in on the chorus of
I’m Every Woman
and shimmied into my running pants. We danced and sang our way out of the room and toward the elevator and I pushed the down button.

My phone buzzed in my Fanny-pack and I reached to retrieve it. “I can’t believe you actually bought that thing.” Angie smirked and shook her head. “I was joking when I put it on the counter with the rest of your running gear.” I poked my lip out and feigned and offended pout as I pulled out my phone.

“What? This thing comes in handy! Besides, that hip-holster you wear isn’t too different from mine!” I glanced down at the pouch strapped around Angie’s waist. Sure, it was shaped a little different but we were both using them for the same purpose and in my eyes, she too was wearing a Fanny-pack. My phone shook again in my hand and I glanced down at the screen and saw two messages there. I clicked on the first message. It was from Josh:

Good Morning Erin! I know today is your big day! Enjoy your race and the rest of your time in Florida. Watch out for alligators and bring me back a souvenir!

I smiled down at the phone and sent back a “Thank you” text. The next message was from Mike:

Good morning beautiful! I don’t need to wish you luck because I know you’re gonna kill it out there today. I hate that I won’t be there to cheer you on and to give you a well-deserved rubdown afterward, lol! Seriously though, have a great run and enjoy your trip! I can’t wait for you to come back so we can get back to work on your new singing career!

I
smirked
at that
message and text him “Thanks. I’ll take a rain check on that rubdown.” 
Two different messages from two very different men.
Even though they both offered the same sentiment, each text had affected me differently. It was right there in front of me, the sweet versus the spicy. Together they were a perfect match. Josh and Mike were like cayenne pepper in chocolate. The initial sensation was sweet and comforting, but the aftertaste was vibrant and hot. Together they both stimulated and satisfied.
I can’t think about this right now.
I shook my head gently to scatter the thoughts. A glance to my right found Angie, arms crossed, with her nose turned up and giving me a knowing sideward glare.

 “What’s the matter with your face ma’am,” I asked fighting back a smile.

“Nothing Miss Polyamorous! I see you’re still playing both sides!” Before I could protest the fact that Angie had been spying over my shoulder she chimed in. “That’s right! I saw your little text messages from your two boy toys. I guess you and Josh must be getting along
much
better now, huh? And you and Mike?!! Well, judging from your reply, celibacy is just a vow waiting to be broken” Angie laughed full out as she shook her head and gave me a look that screamed, “Hopeless.”

My response was quick and laced with attitude. Maybe even a bit too much, but I forged on. “We are friends
Angela
! We support one another in our efforts to grow and change. Josh is working on some things within himself too, so he understands what I’m doing and what I’m going through. That’s all. As for Mike and I, we are working on a project for a performance at an open-mike night in a few months. That’s it… mostly.” I knew my overly emotional response had given me away if my eyes weren’t doing it now. Angie knew me too well for me to even fake like I didn’t feel anything for Josh and Mike and I knew she was about to call me on my shit.

 “Whatever,” Angela said. “Have you and Mike slept together again recently? I saw you two at the park the other day and even if you are just working with him right now, it will be more than that
very
soon!” She gave me a look that said, “You know I’m right” and truthfully, I knew that she was. I flashed back to how I’d nearly come unglued at Mike’s house the other day and how little Adrian had so unsuspectingly been my saving grace. I decreed right then that any future sessions needed to have Mike’s son in attendance if I had any hope of maintaining my resolve.
That’s not a very practical request.
I countered mentally. It wasn’t fair to use Adrian as a barrier between me and Mike. I was an adult and needed to keep my ass and hormones in check. Thoughts of Mike dissipated as little Adrian appeared in my head. He was so sweet and well-mannered.
Where is his mother? How could any mother not love such a sweet, respectful boy?
I considered asking Mike about it all when I got back. There was still so much I didn’t know about him and I still wanted to know it all. Angie hadn’t said a word the entire time I was lost in my thoughts.
How rude of me.
I committed then, that the remainder of the trip would be all about Angie and the rest of my friends. There was plenty of time to worry about Josh and Mike when I got home. This weekend was about my girls.

We arrived at the amusement park and checked in at the registration desk. It was official, I was runner number 1222. I was surprised to see so many runners in attendance. Most of them were families. Seeing so many children around had me second guessing.
These kids can run six miles.
I was either old as hell or completely out of shape. Either way, there was no point in dwelling on it now. Today I was running a 10K and gonna rock the shit out of it and I’d be damned if I was gonna let some little kids show me up!

The weather was considerably warmer than when I ran back home and the sun was only beginning to creep up over the horizon. The burst of sunshine prompted me to survey the scenery around me. My breath caught in my chest as I took in the Tree of Life carving. Etched in the base of a tree were the most tremendous details of wildlife. I walked over and resisted the urge to hop the fence and forage through strategically placed bushes to run my fingers across the detail of an ape and tortoise and a bear. Whomever the artist was, had given each animal life, although their images were undoubtedly petrified in the wood, in which they were created. A sadness rested atop my chest as I faced the fact that this was a time my photographic memory would need to capture and hold on to the details of every moment. I wanted to feel the curves of the wood beneath my fingers and burn them organically in my mind, but I knew it wasn’t possible. I scanned every minute detail I could take in before I heard the call for us to gather.
This will all make it to a canvas for sure.
I thought before Angie tugged my arm. “Come on, let’s go over here and stretch.” I unenthusiastically followed her lead and settled in an open space she found where we stretched and prepared for the race. “You good Erin?” Angie eyed me with inquisition.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just taking in all the beauty around me.” I said, taking a final scan of the park. A few minutes later we were instructed to line up. Soon thereafter, the man on the microphone began a countdown and when the gun sounded, people took off running. I shifted my thoughts to the activity at hand.
Focus Erin. Breathe. Listen to your rhythm.
 More than anything I wanted to finish strong. After all, I’d been training pretty regularly for this so it was officially “put up or shut up” time.

From the beginning of the race, Angie and I had trotted along at a steady pace and even managed to keep up comfortable conversation. It wasn’t until midway through the race that a faint churning began in my stomach. I dismissed it for about a mile past the initial feeling before I began to sweat profusely and the watery taste of bile flooded my taste buds. I slowed my pace some and took down some water to fight against the sudden urge to vomit.

“Maybe we should have eaten something this morning,” Angie said with concern as she reached into her waist pouch and pulled out an energy bar. “Here! Eat half of this. It should be enough to settle your stomach without making you sick. Are you sure you want to continue?”

 “Yes,” I breathed. “I’m fine. I just got a little overheated all of a sudden. I’m ok now.” I gnawed on a corner of the bar that tasted like tree bark and oats.  “The energy bar helped.” I showed a weak smile. It was all a lie! I felt queasy and hot. I wiped away the sweat that began to trickle down my forehead.  Despite feeling like I’d been hit by a car, I managed to maintain my slowed pace and trudged forward.

The race that should have taken us about an hour ended up taking closer to an hour and a half. I finished the race and immediately collapsed down onto the concrete. I chugged some more water in the hope of shaking off whatever had come over me. “Maybe it was running in the warmer weather or maybe I didn’t hydrate enough,” I said weakly between pants. Slowly I felt my body temperature regulate as I swallowed down the remainder of water in my bottle.

Angie sat down next to me, concern etched across her face. “Maybe we should go back to the hotel so you can lie down before we get on the road this afternoon.”

“Yes, I think that would be a good idea – but only until time for us to go on the alligator tour!” I gave Angie a weak grin. I took my time standing to my feet, careful to show secure footing for Angie who was waiting for me to stutter-step.
This is not how I planned to spend this trip. Shake it off Erin. Pull it together!
Angie drove back to the hotel and on the way she stopped for food and, despite my insistence that I didn’t need it, Pepto-Bismol.

 The food, rest and nice hot shower had helped a lot and after laying down for about an hour, I was ready to hit the street. I took the two complimentary waters from the end table in the hotel, shoved them in my oversized Coach bag and was ready to roll. I knew Angie would be watching me like a hawk so I painted on my best, most convincing fun face as we rode out to the alligator tour. If truth be told, I was actually excited. I had seen all those shows on TV about people going out into the glades on airboats and thought it would be awesome to try it. I had prepaid for a two and a half hour session for each of us. “I’m so excited!” I blurted out.

Angie had known me long enough to know that my outburst had been preceded by an entire thought process so she didn’t question it. Instead, she said,  “Yeah, me too as long as they don’t go doing anything stupid like throwing chicken legs in the water or coaxing these baby dinosaurs in some way!” I glanced over at Angie and found that her face showed a more muted version of enthusiasm than what I felt, but at this point I would take what I could get. Angie was humoring me and I knew it. She was far from a nature girl and neither was I to tell the truth. The fact that she’d agreed to brave a muggy swamp, infested with alligators and, undoubtedly mosquitoes, meant a lot to me.
I’ll make it up to her by taking on the three hour drive down to Miami.

We got to the tour and Earl, the guide, ushered us all onto the airboat. We sat in the middle of the airboat to avoid being too close to the fan, but it turned out that was the least of our worries. The backsplash from the water as the boat cut through it was the equivalent of running repeatedly through a sprinkler!

“It’s a good thing I got my hair styled in a way that was conducive to traveling, sweating and now, apparently getting soaking wet!” Angie griped. I flashed her a strained smile.
It looks like drinks will be in order when we arrive in Miami.
No sooner than I had a thought, apparent motion-sickness struck. I took some deep breaths, reached into my hip pouch and pulled out the Pepto and a bottle of water. I gulped down a swig of the thick pink liquid then took a sip of water to wash the chalky taste from my mouth.

“Are you feeling sick again Erin? I hope you’re not coming down with a bug or something. Especially out of town! That will make it a very long three days for you.” Angie’s face showed how badly she felt for me.

 “No, I really think it’s just a weird coincidence. I think this is motion sickness. I can’t recall the last time I was on a boat and I’ve
never
been in a boat this small with this many choppy waves. We don’t have much longer. I can tough it out. I don’t really have a choice.” I said more to myself than to Angie. I continued to sip water periodically and gave the medicine a chance to take effect. Eventually, I welcomed the spray of cool water against my heated skin. It had become a soothing mist and my saving grace throughout the rest of the tour. I managed to perk up some along the way when we stopped moving and saw alligators swimming in the water. We even got to see a few gators as they walked from the shore down into the water as our boat approached them.
I don’t know how swamp people do this day in and day out.
I mused as I took another swig of Pepto. Angie whipped out her phone and eagerly snapped pictures between glances in my direction. I knew she was checking on me and I was grateful that the Pepto along with a break from the bobbing of the boat had given my stomach a chance to settle. I actually had a chance to enjoy the remainder of the tour before we hopped in the rental car, set the GPS and hit the road toward Miami.