“I know. They told me you’ve kept your life a mystery.”

“You’ve been inside already?” He glanced toward the doorway. “You met Simon?” She nodded. “And Stef?” She nodded again. “Ray, Carole, all the others?”

“Some of them, anyway. The lady at the reception desk, Della, sent me downstairs to wait for you. I met everyone there. They were amazed you had any friends from the past.” She gave him a meaningful look. “They were amazed you even had a past.”

He nodded slowly. “I expect so. I don’t ever talk about it.” He hesitated. “I don’t know what to say. Or where to begin. Things have changed for me, Nest. A lot of things.”

“I know that, too,” she said.

He looked closely at her now, and suddenly there was suspicion as well as curiosity mirrored in his eyes. “I’ve read some articles about you,” he said, his words tentative, cautious. “I know you’re a student at Northwestern University, that you’re still running competitively, that you’re good enough that you’re expected to represent the United States in the next Olympics.” He hesitated. “Is that why you’re here?”

She waited a heartbeat, meeting his intense gaze. “No. I came here looking for you. I was sent. By the Lady.”

He stared at her, astonishment filling his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was unsteady. “The Lady sent you?”

“Is there somewhere we could talk about it?” she asked, no longer comfortable standing out in the open where they could be heard. “Just for a little while.”

He seemed distracted, uncertain. “Sure, of course.” He glanced toward the building.

“No, not in there,” she said quickly. “Somewhere else, please.”

He nodded slowly. “All right. It’s almost noon. Why don’t we go down to the waterfront, and I’ll buy you a northwest kind of lunch. Some clam chowder, some fish and chips. How would that be?”

“That would be good,” she said.

He didn’t bother with going in to tell anyone he was leaving. He didn’t even pause to consider doing so. He simply motioned her toward the direction from which she had come, and they began to walk. They crossed Second Avenue, passed by Waterfall Park, and moved over to the island platform in the center of Main where the trolley stopped on its way down to the waterfront. They sat together on the wrought-iron bench and stared out over the cobblestones of Occidental Park, waiting.

“Do you know what I do now?” he asked after a minute. His tone of voice was distant and weary, as if he were at the start of a long journey.

“I know you work for Simon Lawrence at Fresh Start,” she replied. “I know about the work Fresh Start does.”

He nodded. “It’s important work, Nest. The most important work I’ve done in a long time. Maybe ever.” He paused. “Did the Lady tell you about me?”

Nest nodded, saying nothing.

“Then you know I’m no longer a Knight of the Word?”

She nodded a second time. It’s what you believe anyway, she thought, but she didn’t speak the words.