I’m a creature of habit, and this is my favorite habit of all.
Running started as a way to calm my brain when the darkness felt like it was hovering just a little too close, and now it’s the thing I can’t live without.
Jogging up the steps to my third-floor apartment, I stop on the landing to the second floor as the door to Jordan andJo’s apartment flies open and Jo comes barreling out, almost slamming right into me. I grab her arm just as she trips over nothing and stumbles forward.
“Shit,” she gasps, huffing out a laugh and shoving hair out of her eyes. “Sorry, El.”
“Where’s the fire, Jo Jo? It’s barely six in the morning.”
“Seven a.m. train to New York. There’s a trustee meeting at the museum that my boss from the summer wants me to be at. She says no one can convince them to fund my programs for another year like I can and, well, she’s right.” Jo grins and shrugs. She’s a museum consultant, helping museums all over the country establish kids’ programming. She spent last summer working at the Museum of Natural History in New York, and the programs she set up gained national attention, which catapulted her new business into the stratosphere.
“That’s badass, Jo. You staying overnight?”
She shakes her head. “Nah, the meeting is at noon and should be done by three. I’m hoping to catch the five o’clock train back.”
“You don’t want to hang in New York for a few extra hours? You love it there.”
“Oh, I do, but Jordan’s on call so he couldn’t come with me, and New York doesn’t feel as fun anymore without him. It’s kind of our place, you know?”
I smile at the affection in her voice for my brother. I love Jo because she’s amazing, but I love her even more because of how much she loves Jordan, and how game she was to come to Boston and start a life with him here. “It’s nice you guys have that.” I give her a once-over. “Uh, Jo?”
She looks up from where she’s rummaging in her bag for something. “Yeah?”
“Do you think you might want a coat? It’s, like, fifteen degrees outside.”
“Fuck,” she mutters, turning around to push open her apartment door, ducking inside and pulling a coat out of the closet by the door. “I hate anything before ten, so a seven a.m. train is basically my worst nightmare. Especially when Jordan’s at the hospital and can’t make coffee. I suck at making coffee and never have enough time, so now I’m running late and am under-caffeinated. I can’t kick ass and raise millions of dollars when I’m under-caffeinated.”
I smile at her rambling. “Here,” I say, handing her my untouched coffee cup. “Just got this on the corner. I think you need it more than I do.”
“Bless you,” Jo breathes, taking a sip and giving a little sigh of relief. “I needed this so hard I’m not even going to feel bad that now you’ll be the under-caffeinated one.”
“Can’t send you off to New York to kick all that ass unprepared. I can make coffee upstairs. I still have a couple hours before I have to be at school.”
“Oh, yeah!” Jo brightens. “Start of a new semester. You ready? I always loved the start of a new semester in college. Fresh start, new classes, blank notebooks, new things to learn.” She shrugs, taking another sip of coffee. “Closet nerd alert.”
I chuckle. “Preaching to the choir, Jo Jo. I teach a lot of grad classes, so I already know most of my students, but there’s at least one starting mid-year, so I’ll have a new face or two. Anyway, didn’t you say something about a seven a.m. train?”
“Shit, yes!” she exclaims, hitching her bag up on her shoulder and bouncing a little on her pink Converse. “Gotta run. Have to convince a bunch of museum trustees to open their wallets.”
I lean in and kiss her cheek. “My money’s on you. Need a ride to the train station?”
She shakes her head. “I’ll grab a cab. You better go feed your dog or she’ll eat your plants again.” Then she grins widely. “I lovethat I know that. Living here with all of you is the best. It’s like the sorority house of my dreams.”
I didn’t exactly havelive in the same brownstone with all three of my brothers and my oldest brother’s girlfriendon mythings to do as an adultbingo card, but there’s something wildly comforting about living side-by-side with all the people I love most. And having Jo here has made it even better. She’s a blast, and she makes Jordan happy, so it’s a win all around.
“Love having you here, Jo Jo. Go catch your train. Text me afterwards and tell me how you wrangled all the money out of those old guys to teach more kids science.”
“You got it. Jordan and I are doing a late-night disaster movie night with candy popcorn when I get back. You want in? Noah’s on call, but Cooper is coming and lobbied hard forIndependence Day. I was on the fence because I’m not sure an alien invasion counts as a disaster, but he’s been in a mood lately because of that new associate at his firm making his life hell, so I’ll allow it.”
I grin, knowing how seriously Jo takes disaster movie night. “Sounds perfect. I’ll make brownies.”
“The kind with chocolate chip cookie dough on the bottom and Oreos on top?” Jo asks hopefully.
“Slutty brownies?”
She cackles. “Is that what they’re called?”
“Yep, found the recipe online years ago. They’re my specialty.”
