After the Sky Fell Down (37 page)

“Eventually,” she said with a grin. “Let’s just see how things go.”

“Your life’s like a soap opera, you know that?”

“Yeah, I do,” Kathryn said standing up to get Sarah.  She tried to laugh at Lacey’s comment, but deep down, it just saddened her, knowing Lacey was right and wishing more than anything she wasn’t.

Chapter 36

Kathryn did her best to avoid Luke over the next couple of days, which was not an easy feat considering they lived in the same house.  They were cordial to each other, but there were no late night chats or vegging out in front of the TV once they’d put Sarah to bed.  It was strictly business, which she hated.  She missed talking to Luke or being able to rely on him to watch Sarah when she needed to run out.  She knew he would do it if she asked, but that would mean talking to him and that’s exactly what she was trying to avoid.  If she just ignored the situation, perhaps he would too and they wouldn’t have to talk about it anymore and things would go back to normal, the way they had that night a year ago. 

To clear her mind, she’d gone running nearly every day.  Some days Sarah came along, but the days she was with her grandparents, Kathryn went alone.  She was slowly building up her stamina, although she knew it would be a while before she returned to the form she’d once been in.  Whenever she ran, she felt like she was okay or that everything was going to be okay.  She didn’t think about Luke or Jace.  Her mind was free and the energy that flowed through her body as she ran was rejuvenating and she regretted it had taken her so long to rediscover the way running made her feel.

She was getting ready for one of those runs when her phone rang and she was excited when she saw it was Jace.

“Hey!” she sai
d excitedly, resting the phone in the crook of her neck while she finished lacing up her sneakers.

“What’cha doing?”
he asked.

“I’m getting ready to go for a run.  Can I call you when I get back?”

“Why don’t I join you?”

“What?”
she asked surprised, stopping mid-loop as she tied her shoe.

“Why don’t I join you for your run?”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  Don’t sound so shocked.”

“I didn’t know you were a runner,” she said.

“And I didn’t know
you
were a runner.  So…mind if I join you?”

“No, not at all.”

“I’ll be over in a few then,” and he hung up the phone.

When he knocked on the door a little while later and walked inside she thought he looked cute in his sneakers, loose black running pants and gray hoodie.  His nearly black hair looked as if he had carelessly run his hands through it, not giving it much thought.

“You ready to go?” he asked playfully as he began jogging in place.

“Oh my gosh.  You are such a dork,” Kathryn laughed shaking her head at him.

“Thank you,” he said, but he continued running.

“Would you please stop?”

“What?  You don’t like my running?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Fine,” he said stopping in his tracks and then walking over and kissing her on the cheek. “You look cute in your running gear,” he said flipping her ponytail, causing her to blush.  She still wasn’t used to him complementing and touching her, even though she did like it.

“How long have you been running?” she asked him.

“I was in cross-country in high school, but I haven’t run that much since.”

“Why’d you want to come then?”

“I’ve thought about picking it up again
and
I wanted to see you,” he grinned and she felt her cheeks redden.

“Well, hopefully you can keep up.”

“Is that a challenge?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe,” she said smiling at him.

“Then I accept,” he said looking around the empty apartment. “Where’s Sarah?”

“She’s with my mom.  She’ll be home in an hour or so.”

“Too bad I missed her,” he said opening the door. “Shall we?” he said in a bad English accent, motioning to the outdoors.

Kathryn rolled her eyes and laughed. “Let’s go.” 

It was cool and crisp outside, a typical fall day.  She was stretching when Jace looked back and grinned playfully at her before taking off at full speed.

“Hey!  Wait up!” she shouted and then sprinted until she caught him.

“And you were afraid
I
couldn’t keep up with
you,
” he joked.

“You cheated,” she said as they found a comfortable stride and were soon jogging side by side.  She’d never jogged with a partner. She’d always wanted Ben to join her and she’d often wondered what it would be like if he’d agreed to go running with her.  When she looked over at Jace, she realized it probably would’ve been fun to share this with Ben.

Kathryn soon realized Jace wouldn’t have any trouble keeping up.  She even found him pushing and encouraging her as her legs began to burn. 

“C’mon, c’mon!  Don’t give up,” he called running backwards to face her as
he encouraged her to keep going.  She continued to push herself, but when the stitch in her side became too much after three miles, she stopped, clutching it.

“I feel like I’m going to die,” she sighed trying to catch her breath.

“Do I need to carry you home?” he laughed as he swept in and threw her effortlessly over his shoulder and continued jogging down the road.

“Hey!  Put me down!” she yelled at him as she slapped him on the back, but instead of putting her down, he just sped up and soon she was laughing hysterically as she bounced on his shoulder and gave up attempting to escape.

A few minutes later, he finally stopped and gently set her down.

“Jerk,” she said playfully glaring at him.

“You know you’re not mad at me.”

“Yes, I am. I’m furious!” she said trying to keep a straight face, but as he grinned at
her with a goofy smile, she started laughing. “You’re right, I’m not mad.”

“Good, because if you were I’d just have to throw you over my shoulder again,” he said taking her hand in his.  As their fingers entwined, she felt a tingle trickle up her arm.  They began walking side by side down the street silently.  She heard Jace’s breath begin to settle and soon they were both breathing at a steady pace.

“We should do this more often,” he suggested as they walked back to her apartment.

“Yeah, we should,” she agreed and then they were quiet for a while as they walked.

“Do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night?” he asked a few moments later.

“I’m not going to turn down a free meal.”

“Hey…I never said I was paying,” he joked.

“Well then, I’ll have to
think about it.”

“You know I’m playin’,” he said squeezing her hand. “There’s this Indian place, Mirch Masala, I’ve been wanting to try out.”

“Indian food?” she asked surprised.

“What?  You don’t like Indian food?”

“I’ve actually never had it.”

“Never?”

“Nope.”

“How is that possible?” he asked in mock disbelief.

“I’ve always wanted to try it, but…,” she began and then stopped.

“But what?”

“Nothing,” she said trying to get him to drop it.

“What is it?  Just tell me,” he said as his thumb began to gently caress the back of her hand. 

“Well, Ben...” she began and she thought she felt his grasp on her hand loosen slightly at the mention of his name. “Ben was kind of a meat and potatoes guy.  We both were actually.  My parents never exposed me to much ethnic food and neither did his family, and whenever I’d suggest something different to Ben, he’d curl his nose up at the idea.”

“He wouldn’t even try it?  Even though you wanted to?”

“No, no.  It wasn’t like that,” she said defensively, realizing she was making Ben out to be a selfish jerk. “He did lots of things I wanted to.  Food just wasn’t one of them.”

“Well, I like eating different stuff, so do you want to try some Indian food with me tomorrow?’

“I’d love too.”

Chapter 37

When they walked into the restaurant the next night, she was taken in by the eccentric atmosphere.  The windows were lined with twinkling white lights and the walls were painted a dark salmon color that didn’t quite seem to fit.  Golden elephants and statues of Indian gods were placed throughout the restaurant.  The tables were simple with white tablecloths and each one had a different napkin scheme, either maroon, sea foam green or bright orange, but all were folded so they stood up like blooming flowers. 

A small woman with dark brown skin, giant green eyes and long black hair led them over to a small table near the bar.  As they walked, Kathryn couldn’t help admiring her beautiful purple and gold dress that hung to the floor. Once they were seated, the woman placed two menus before them and left. Kathryn opened the menu and began scanning over the overwhelming choices, which all looked like Greek to her.  She was
excited about trying something new, but she hadn’t been feeling quite right all day. She pushed the discomfort to the side though and tried concentrating on all the choices.

“Okay…” she began as she continued to search the menu. “I’ve no clue what any of this stuff is.  Oh wait…I take that back,” she said as her eyes rested on the soup choices. “I recognize mulligatawny from the soup Nazi episode of Seinfeld,” she said proudly.

“Wow…you’ve got a lot to learn about culture,” he laughed and she smiled back at him as their eyes met over the top of the menus.

After reading the descriptions and thinking she’d deciphered them successfully, she finally decided on a bowl of mulligatawny, having always wanted to try it since
she heard about it on TV, and Tandoori chicken, which seemed like a safe choice.  Jace decided on Lamb Bhuna Punjabi and a bowl of mulligatawny too.  The waitress brought the soup over a few minutes later and she stared suspiciously at the yellow pasty soup which was sprinkled with flecks of orange and green. 

“Don’t be scared,” Jace said as he took a spoonful from his own bowl. “It’s good.”

She dipped the spoon into the bowl, and then blew on the soup a few times before drawing it slowly to her lips, taking a small sip.  She was surprised at the taste, which seemed to be a mixture of sweet and spicy. 

“What do you think?”

“Not bad,” she nodded taking a whole spoonful.

Their entrees arrived a while later and she looked nervously at the bright red pieces of chicken that were resting on a bed of lettuce and white onions.  She looked over to Jace who was already devouring his lamb. 

“It’s only chicken,” he laughed and she reached down and grabbed a crispy leg.  She bit into the tangy skin and realized how much she liked it. 

“You want to try some of this?” she asked
, holding up a piece to him.  He took it and set it on his plate and then cut her a piece of his lamb and put it on her plate.  She ate the bite of lamb which was tender and spicy and her mind drifted for a second as she tried to picture Ben at a place like this.  He would’ve felt like a fish out of water and she heard herself chuckle quietly at the thought.  She could almost hear him making cracks that the food looked like something you’d find in a baby’s diaper and that the smell of curry was just as bad.

“What’s so funny?” Jace asked wanting to be part of the joke.

“Nothing,” she said, but the smile didn’t leave her face.

“You’re laughing.  What are you laughing at?”

“I’m just thinking about how I never would’ve tried this place if it wasn’t for you.  You’re so similar and yet so different than…” she said and then her voice trailed off.

“Than Ben?” he said finishing her sentence and she nodded slowly.

“I’m sorry,” she said knowing she shouldn’t have said anything.  She should’ve made up a lie about why she was laughing.  He didn’t need to know she was thinking about Ben when they were together.  He just shrugged his shoulders, but didn’t say anything, although she knew he was uncomfortable. 

They were quiet for the rest of the meal and when they were done, Jace suggested they split a dessert.  They agreed on malai kulfi, which he explained was Indian cashew ice cream.  When the waitress set it down, they each picked up their spoons and began eating.  The sweet of the ice cream and the saltiness of the cashews were surprisingly complimentary and a perfect ending to the meal. 

“So,” he said as his spoon clanked against the empty glass bowl. “How was your first experience with Indian food?”

“Not bad.  It was fun,” she said resting her spoon down too.  He leaned back in his chair and smiled at her with his dark eyes and she found herself staring back at him
.  The waitress came by then and gave them the check.  Jace went and paid it and then came back to the table.

“Want to go back to my place and hang out for a while?” he asked as she stood up and slid her jacket on.