“Really?” I say. “You think so?”

“Well, I’m not the runner that you are—yet. But I signed up to run in the 5K with you. I know you’re doing it for your papa Joseph, and I want to, too.”

“Thanks, Ronan. That’s really cool,” I say. “How about we race to Saucepan Lynn’s? I’ve got a crazy idea I want to talk to her about.”

“Of course you do,” Ronan says, and with that, we break into a sprint.

It feels good to have Ronan running next to me.

Like they always do, the tides have shifted again.

And the only little voice I hear is Papa Joseph’s. He always told me that when you’re running a race, it’s important to look forward and not back.

• • •

We burst through Saucepan Lynn’s door, and Ronan nearly trips on one of the dogs. “Sorry, girl,” he apologizes.

“Hey! Don’t be running in here like you’re on fire!” Saucepan Lynn yells.

“Should a firefighter say something like that?” Ronan asks with a smirk.

“Exactly. I’ll throw water on the both of ya.” She laughs to herself as she flips the perfect crepe, then slides it onto a plate and points at the ceiling. “I think of you every day, Ronan. With this stain on the ceiling here.”

“Sorry about that.”

“No sorry necessary. If I’m to be honest, I kind of like it.” She leans toward him. “You want another try?”

“Naw, I’m moving on to pancakes.”

She shakes her head. “Another one lost to pancakes.” Then her head pops up again. “So, RONAN,” Saucepan bellows. “I have to tell you. Henry was in here this morning talking about you again. I don’t know that I have seen Henry Lasko that impressed by a person he’s just met—of any age—in a long time.”

“Huh?”

“But listen. You really have to give up chasing great whites, okay?”

A guy down at the other end of the counter yells, “This is that kid?” Then he takes a good look at Ronan. “Geez, kid. And you dress like a seal. And you’re jumping in after sharks?”

Another guy laughs. “Better watch it, Lynn. Don’t want to get this one mad.”

“I think I can handle him,” she says, looking sideways at us.

“I don’t know,” the man says. “The kid is willing to fight great whites. Not to say that’s a smart thing to do! Brave, maybe. Loyal for sure. But . . .” The guy shakes his head. “It’s probably the loyalty that gets Henry, though. He loves that. Just think how ticked off he gets when free agents leave the Sox to go somewhere else? Like Jacoby Ellsbury. He’s never going to get over that one.”

Saucepan Lynn says, “All I know is that Henry says he’d be welcome to work aboard the Reel. That tells you something.”

Then she turns toward the door and yells, “You better leave something in that bucket, or the next time you’ll have a table next to the restrooms.”