Maura's Run

Several people have mentioned to me that, although my stories usually include strong female characters, I have yet to write something featuring a woman as the main character of the tale. Thus, I had an idea...

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            “What are you doing?”

            “Meditating.”

            “Why?”

            “To prevent myself from wanting to strangle all the stupid people.”

            Jayden shrugged her shoulders. “Like that’s gonna help,” Jayden said to her sister as she walked back into the kitchen.

            Maura Grady sat cross-legged in the middle of the living room, resting her hands on her knees. She breathed deeply, trying to relax herself before her daily run. Adroitly, she lifted herself up without uncrossing her legs and bent over to stretch. Jayden watched Maura from the kitchen with jealousy of her sister’s figure, ignoring her ironic hypocrisy as she spooned Ben & Jerry’s right from the container to her lips. At 7:30 in the morning. When Maura finished stretching, she announced she was going for her run, as if there was any doubt of her intentions.

            “Whatever,” Jayden said with a roll of her eyes before continuing to eat her ice cream. Maura ignored her, strapped her iPhone to her arm, put her ear buds in her ears, and headed out of the apartment to the elevators. Julio from 1410 entered the elevator at the fourteenth floor. Maura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Somehow it was easier to deal with Julio’s lecherous stares if she didn’t look at him. His eyes coursed over every inch of her body, from her feet adorned with bright pink Reeboks, to her muscular thighs covered by black, Capri style yoga pants, to her perfect 34C breasts hidden beneath a black sports tank. Her long, blond hair was streaked with highlights of red and copper, giving it the appearance of flames. Today she had it pulled back in a simply ponytail. Julio was practically drooling.

            Concentrating on her workout routine, she barely took notice as the elevator doors opened and Julio stared at her ass when she bounded into the apartment building’s lobby. Soon she was making her way through the already growing throngs of New Yorkers and tourists. Today was an eighties day, she had decided, and Asia’s Heat of the Moment played loudly in her ears. She knew the volume was too high, and that she would likely have hearing loss later in life as a result, but as much as she enjoyed living where she did, she still couldn’t quite convince herself that she was a city girl. She had left home at an early age, and had started her career in business marketing and been living out on Long Island for the better part of ten years before she returned. She preferred the slower pace on the island over the bustle of the city.

            By the time she reached Reggie’s snack cart, her heart was about ready to burst from her chest. It had gotten much warmer far faster than she anticipated.

           

            “Hey gorgeous!” Reggie called to her as she approached.

            “Mornin’ Reggie. Water?” she requested.

            “You got it hot stuff! Coming right up!” They went through this same ritual every morning. Reggie was an African-American man, probably in his late sixties, and had manned that snack cart on that same corner for the last thirty years. He had become as much a fixture of the city as were the buildings in whose shadows he stood. Maura always paid him double, and every morning he promised to buy her flowers with the extra. He never did, and Maura didn’t care. He was a sweet old man that flattered her, and it worked for her.

            Her heart rate slowed and the cool water soothed her aching throat enough for her to catch her breath. Like she did every morning, she stood at the memorial and stared down into the reflecting pools below in disbelief that so much time had passed. Both her parents were high-end brokers, and both had perished when the second tower collapsed. As frugal as they were savvy, they had amassed a fortune prior to their deaths, leaving Maura and Jayden with an estate estimated to be worth over a hundred million. Knowing their daughters all to well, though, their wills left everything to their daughters, with one catch. Jayden had never shown any real responsibility, partial due to the fact that by the time she was unexpectedly born, Maura was already in high school. The estate, including the penthouse apartment the women now shared, was devised to them in equal shares. The kicker was that Maura had complete control over Jayden’s share in trust. Jayden would have likely spent it all on drugs, clothes, and unsavory men had Maura not been there. Reluctantly, Maura moved back to the city and into the penthouse to keep an eye on her little sister.  She regretted it every day since.

            “I miss you, mom,” she whispered as she stared down into the pools. With a heavy sigh, she turned and began her run back home. Music poured into her ears and she became a ghost among thousands, drifting in and out of the crowd as she made her way. She never knew what hit her.

            Mr. Mister blasted her eardrums. Apparently the fall had bumped the volume to the point she could not hear what the man offering his hand to her was saying. She took hold and he pulled her up. When righted, she removed her ear buds.

            “What?” she asked. Maura rubbed her hip, which was now throbbing.  

            “I said I am so sorry! Are you ok?” he asked. Maura sensed genuine concern and apology in his voice. She recognized him, but couldn’t place him. In that moment she really didn’t care. Her attention was torn between his emerald green eyes and the pain in her side.

            “Um, I think so, just a little sore. What happened?” she asked, never taking her eyes off of his.

            “Again, I am so sorry. I was late for a meeting and was running for a cab. I never saw you. Look, if you’re hurt, I’ll gladly pay any medical bills,” he explained.

            “I’m fine, really,” she informed him, her head clearing. “That’s what I get for running the sidewalks instead of Central Park. More obstacles.”

            He smiled. “Well, just in case, here’s my card. My name is Grayson. Grayson Palmer.”

            Maura was mesmerized. He stood at about 6’1”, a good eight inches taller than her. He wore what she could only imagine to be an incredibly expensive, personally tailored black suit with thin white pinstripes, a stark white shirt and a deep, green tie that matched his eyes.

            “Maura Grady,” she replied. They shook hands awkwardly and both blushed. “Well, I should keep moving, don’t want to stiffen up.”

            No sooner did the words come out of her mouth did she realize the sexual innuendo that could be gleaned from her declaration. Had her face been able to redden any further, she would have looked like a tomato with a ponytail. Grayson grinned.   

            “Yeah, wouldn’t want that to happen,” he said with a smirk and an air of confidence. Maura smiled again.

            “Well, see you around," she called as she resumed her jog.

            “Count on it,” he whispered once she was out of earshot.

© J.J. Goodman 2012. All rights reserved.