Run to Me by Erin Golding Read Free Book Online

longer I stand by that
whiteboard and talk about literature the more boring I become.  
    I turn right onto Madison and scan the radio
stations for something other than hip hop. Outside my former school I have to
pull up at the pedestrian crossing, as a bunch of kids amble by in their jeans
and sweat tops. Luckily I don’t recognise any from my old classes.
     One of the boys in eating a hamburger and I
realise how hungry I am. I might just cook that curry tonight anyhow. Or maybe
I’ll order a pizza. Get in a good dose of fat before I have to start running
again.
    Peter Stewart seemed very happy with me taking
over the squad. Like it wasn’t his idea to begin with. But I don’t really mind.
Even though I was pigeon-holed into it, I know it’ll be good for me to run
regularly again. And Luke definitely loves my runner’s butt.
    My mobile starts to ring just as I pull up in
our driveway. I zip open my handbag and grab the phone. It’s Nadine.
    ‘Hey,’ I say.
    She wants to know how my day was. And if I fancy
a cuppa.
    ‘Yeah all right,’ I say, pressing the buzzer for
the garage door. ‘Come round. I just got home.’
    I park the car and get out. The garage is loaded
with boxes, packed full of old books and records. Some have been here since the
day we moved in. After four years it’s safe to say they’ll never be unpacked.
Our bicycles are mounted on the wall; one of Luke’s Sunday handy-man jobs.
There have been a lot of those. The garden shed, the coffee table, the
discarded crib. I have to squeeze sideways and step over Luke’s tool chest to
get around the car. Inside, the phone is ringing. The machine clicks on just before
I get to it.
    Luke’s voice echoes around the empty house. ‘Hey
it’s me. I’m, well, it looks like...’
    I pick up the receiver.
    ‘Hey. I’m here.’
    ‘Oh, hi. Yeah, look. I’m definitely stuck here
until I can make this conference call. So, um, go ahead and eat without me.
I’ll grab some dinner here. OK?’ he says.
    ‘Yeah OK. Nadine is on her way over so maybe
we’ll order pizza or something.’ I dump my bags on the kitchen bench and step
out of my shoes. The tiles are icy on my feet and I think about taking a long,
hot bath. And maybe a glass of wine.
    ‘OK. Well tell her I say Hi’.
    Nadine. The bath will have to wait.
    ‘Sure. OK’ I say.
    ‘Right. Better go’ says Luke. ‘But, ahh how was
it, today?’
    ‘It was actually fine. My senior class seem
great and the younger ones are good too. Plus I met Todd, the P E teacher, and
he’s fantastic. I think we’ll get along great.’
    ‘I’m glad it went well. Look I’ve got to run. Speak
tonight. Bye.’
    I hang up the phone and head to our bedroom. That’s
what happens when he’s at work; it’s as though the rest of the world melts
away, including me. But I shouldn’t complain. One of the reasons I married him
was for his commitment to his career. At the time I thought it was a good
quality in a man; he could take care of our family. I didn’t factor in what it
would mean if we never actually started a family.   
    The carpet in the bedroom is warmer on my feet. I
quickly take off my ‘school matron’ clothes and throw them on the bed. My
tracksuit pants are bunched up on the floor beside the wardrobe and I can see
my Ugg boots poking out from under the bed. This is always the first thing I do
when I get home; get into my comfy clothes. I remember when Luke and I were
first living together I noticed he does the same thing. It surprised me because
my previous boyfriends used to sit around in their work clothes, creasing the
pants, and slopping food on the shirt. But Luke loves his trackies just as much
as me. Such a small thing, but it was these details, back when we were engaged,
that made me think we really did fit together.
    The doorbell rings as I’m yanking on a T-shirt.
Nadine is smiling when I open the door, and she holds up a giant box of
chocolates.
    ‘I figured if the day was crap then