10. Paula
Paula
A s the coach led us through our warm-ups, my mind was preoccupied with all that had happened during the last eighteen hours. This time yesterday, I would have said it was crazy that I’d feel a connection to Deena Lovelace, but things had changed dramatically since Coach Radcliffe dropped us off at our room.
I still felt bad that I hadn’t picked up on her neurodivergence, although the more time I spent with her, the more I realized that her anxiety was a bigger barrier. As she felt more comfortable with me, her personality was starting to shine through, and I quite liked it.
I loved that we could even tease each other about the bird. I didn’t love that the damned bird had stolen half my breakfast. I was still hungry, and the coaches were sending us out on a five mile run after warm-up. Not that five miles was a big deal to a person who regularly ran twenty miles or more, but I didn’t like to do it without enough fuel in the tank. As long-distance runners, we didn’t have a lot of body fat to burn if we were underfed, and that made it super important that we consumed enough carbs before a workout.
Deena and I stretched side by side, the rest of the track and field team around us. We had an entire group competing at the shorter distances. Kara, the third runner on the US marathon team was a few feet away from us, stretching alongside some people from her home training team. Since all of the delegates to the International Games were from one of the two training teams, the two coaches were working together to put us through the paces.
As Deena reached her arms above her head, her shirt rose a little, exposing that cute little outie belly button I was so obsessed with. I realized with a jolt that I was attracted to her. I wasn’t sure if I’d been in denial about it before, or if getting to know her better had brought it on. Or maybe sleeping snuggled up next to her had done it. No matter what the impetus, I was definitely feeling drawn to my new roommate.
And that was a problem because we were just friends. Roommates. Teammates. And ultimately, competitors. Anything else beyond being friends would be too messy.
Only until after the race, the slutty part of my brain pointed out unhelpfully.
“You girls ready to run?” Kara asked with a chipper smile, interrupting my wayward thoughts. We’d just finished the warm-ups and the coaches were releasing us to our individual workouts.
“Remember, easy pace, just a shakeout run,” Kara’s coach called to the three of us.
While the rest of the teams worked out on the track, the three of us exited the training area and took off on the streets, heading towards a path along the river Seine. We would run about two and a half miles until we hit the turnaround point, then head back. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but early enough that it wasn’t too humid yet. The perfect time for a nice, easy run. The view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance didn’t hurt either.
As we ran, Kara and I chatted while Deena was completely quiet. That was typical. While the rest of us tended to use running time as a way to get to know each other or talk through problems, my roommate never initiated conversation and rarely spoke. It reminded me of her conversation list. I wondered if she would talk more now that she felt comfortable.
“Deena, tell us about your hometown.”
Kara’s head whipped over to look at me, but I ignored her. I knew she thought that Deena was weird. Hell, I’d thought the same thing as recently as yesterday.
“My family lives in a small town in Minnesota called Mather.”
When she didn’t say anything else, I prompted, “What’s it like there? What’s cool about it?”
With those additional questions, Deena spoke for a few minutes, telling us about the stores in Mather and a description of her parents’ house. She started off stilted but as she went along, she became visibly more comfortable speaking.
“Wow, that’s the most I’ve ever heard you talk, Deena,” Kara called.
I reached over and patted the back of Deena’s arm. “Thanks for sharing.”
After we’d debriefed with the coaches and done some more stretching, Deena and I both opted to see if we could get massages. The medical trainers did sports massages, so they weren’t relaxing like when you visited a spa, but they also knew right where to dig in to loosen up the knots in our bodies.
With the rest of our day free, theoretically we could do anything, as long as it didn’t tax our muscles or do anything to interfere with our ability to run our race in three days.
“What are you doing this afternoon?” I asked Deena as she came out from behind the curtain where her therapist was working on her back.
“Oh, hi.”
Her face was impassive, but I was starting to realize that her eyes were like mood rings. They changed based on her moods. Right now, they looked surprised.
“You waited for me.”
I playfully rolled my eyes at her. “Well I was planning to ditch you, but I didn’t know how to find my way back to our room.”
“You just…”
I smacked her arm. “Teasing. If we’re going to be friends, you’re going to have to get used to my humor.”
“Are we? Going to be friends, I mean?”
I couldn’t say why, but for some reason she seemed both happy and disappointed about it.
“Yes, and for your first duty as my friend, I need you to accompany as I explore Paris.”
“We’re supposed to be resting,” she reminded me.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a great idea. Let’s go get changed. And don’t forget your sunscreen.”