Better late than never
Rob took a deep breath, booted up Spotify and started to run. Back in January, he had made two New Year’s resolutions: 1. Stop moping over Holly 2. Start exercising It was now April, and he’d just about cracked Resolution 1. For the first time since Holly ended things – nearly a year ago now – Rob was beginning to imagine the possibility of life without her.
The dark days of winter had given way to the green shoots of spring, and he felt what was unmistakably hope blossoming inside him. But since those aforementioned dark days had involved a lot of mooning about in his flat, eating junk food, Rob had decided it was high time to tackle Resolution 2.
The problem was, he had no idea what he was doing. He was 29 and had never run for anything other than a bus. He was wearing the tracksuit bottoms he’d worn to paint the spare room and a pair of battered Reebok Classics.
He began puffing through the park, trying to focus on the music in his ears, rather than the stitch he was sure was already gathering in his stomach. There were other joggers running the same circuit around the ring of trees, flying past in both directions. They all looked far more professionally kitted out than he was.
Coming towards him now was a girl about his age, who had all the gear – matching Lycra top and leggings, hot pink trainers, even a snazzy waistcoat-type thing to keep her phone in.
The girl caught Rob’s eye as she passed, and Rob suddenly panicked. Had he been staring at her? He hoped not. He would regularly hear his female friends complaining about gross, leery men infringing on their exercise regimes, and he was not about to become one of them. Yes, the girl had been uncommonly pretty, but she did not need some doofus in paint-spattered trackies gawping at her as she ran.
He focused on the music and kept going. When he saw the girl circling the trees and coming back towards him again, he made a concerted effort to keep his eyes on the ground. But at the moment that their paths crossed, his resolve broke and he glanced up.
In the split second before she passed, he realised the girl was smiling at him.
Or… No. She couldn’t have been. She was probably laughing at something in the podcast she was listening to.
Rob shook his head. This was ridiculous. Resolution 2 was supposed to be about getting fit and staying in shape, not fretting about whether some girl was smiling at him. When she almost certainly wasn’t.
Instead of circling back himself, he decided to keep running in a straight line and leave the poor girl alone. He cranked up the volume on his playlist, and headed off the grass, on to the concrete path.
But he was finding it very hard to get the girl’s smile out of his head. There had been something about it. He punched the volume all the way up. He picked up speed, faster and faster. He ran and ran and ran and –
He stopped sharply as he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Hey.”
The girl was there, out of breath, her cheeks flushed pink, her smile wide and bright.
Rob’s heart leapt into his throat. “Oh…
Hey!”
“You dropped these.” The girl opened her palm to reveal Rob’s house keys. He felt something deflate inside him. “I saw them fall out of your pocket,” she said. “I was chasing you for ages, yelling. You must have had your music up pretty loud.”
He tried hard to keep the disappointment out of his face.
“Oh. Sorry. Yes. Thank you! Thanks so much.”
“Are you just starting out, then?” she asked, nodding at his paint-covered trousers and flimsy shoes.
Rob affected a look of mock indignation. “I don’t know what makes you say that. I am an extremely experienced jogger.”
The girl laughed. Rob laughed, too.
“Oh no, it’s actually a New Year’s
resolution that I’m very late on starting.”
“Better late than never,” she smiled.
“Yep. Well, thanks again for the keys, I’ll let you –”
“I’m Lia,” the girl said, extending her hand.
“Oh.” He took it, feeling his stomach swoop. “Rob.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
She scratched the back of her neck. “I made a New Year’s resolution as well. To be a bit braver. A bit more ‘seize the day’.”
Rob swallowed. “Oh, right?”
She nodded. “So, with that in mind… Did you want to get a coffee or something? Not now, obviously. Some time when we’re a bit less sweaty.”
If Rob felt deflated a moment ago, he now felt as if his entire body had been filled with helium. Like he could literally float off the ground.
“I would… Yes. I would… Yes. I would…” He was stammering like a malfunctioning robot. The girl laughed again. “I would really like that,” he grinned.
“Great.”
They exchanged numbers, and as Lia turned back towards the park, she said,
“Zipped pockets.”
“Excuse me?” Rob replied.
“Get some trousers with zipped pockets,” she called, running backwards, away from him. “So your keys don’t fall out.”
He smiled. “Good tip.”
He stood there for a moment, watching her go, feeling happier – more hopeful – than he had done in months.
Then he took a deep breath, booted up Spotify, and started to run.