I grab my hat from the entry table. “I need fresh air, and my body needs blood flow, movement, something vertical.”
She shoots me a look that says,Fine, you win. “No more than ten minutes, tops.”
As soon as we enter Rockefeller Park, it’s clear the walk is going to take more than ten minutes. Toffee insists on smelling every blade of grass and soaking up each ray of the lowering sun.
“Let him have it. He only has a couple of months left,” I say.
Hazel drops to her knees and gives Toffee a side hug. “I’m sorry I was ever mad at you.”
I play my words back. “Oh no. Like, he only has a couple of months left before temperatures drop too low for his toe beans to touch pavement, and he’s taking full advantage.”
She releases Toffee from her grip. “I’m still kind of mad at you,”she whispers to him. She accepts my outstretched hand to help her up, her eyes lingering on me. “You’re always wearing that hat.”
“Thanks for noticing.”
“What’s the story?”
I lift my hat to run my hand through my hair. “I’ve worn it during some tough times. Ever since then, I guess it’s kind of become a habit.”
She nods slowly. “Your lucky hat. I’ll note it in the tracker.”
We continue our stroll through the park, taking small steps to keep up with Toffee’s pace. “Hey, uh, did you also get the interview request?” I ask. “For AARP?”
“Like the magazine for retired people?”
“Yeah. They want to put us on their cover.”
Hazel’s eyes widen. “The disguises were good, but they couldn’t possibly have been put-you-on-a-cover good.”
“If there were a Tony Award category for Best Makeup, my friend would win,” I say.
“And maybe we’d get a nomination for Best Actor and Best Actress,” she says. “We must’ve been a pretty convincing married couple.”
I can’t explain why my first thought isbeing married to her wasn’t hard.
A pigeon lands in front of us, and Hazel grips Toffee’s leash tighter. “How do you even know this?” she asks. “You’re not actually listening to all your voicemails, are you?”
We wait for a biker to pass before crossing over to the water’s edge.
“I can’t help it,” I admit. “You’re not a little bit curious?”
She scoffs. “I know what they’re all saying:We want something from you.”
“Not all. Some people want togiveus the chance to help them.”
Hazel makes a face. “While we’re on the topic of helping, I saw that you got a goldfish. That’s information I need to know, Logan.”
“Yeah, but… wait, you were in my apartment for ten seconds. How did you see that?”
“I’m visiting your apartment alone. I was assessing it for danger.”
My mouth quirks at this. “But you’ll go on a roof with me alone?”
She half smiles. “There were three fire escapes. Besides the suspiciously large, practically human-size fish tank, your place looked safe enough. For now. I’ll get a better look later.”
I couldn’t bear the thought of trapping the goldfish in a small bowl, so I got the biggest tank I could carry. Then I went back to get the fish a friend.
“I’m surprised you listened,” she says.
