After breakfast I took a soothing hot shower and enjoyed the force of the water pounding onto my shoulders and arms. My shower was only thirty inches by thirty inches, though the glass walls on two sides gave the illusion of a larger shower. A small hexagon-shaped glass tile covered the shower floor, and a rose-colored subway tile covered the walls and gave off a warm glow. I should have painted the walls of the apartment the rose color instead of lavender. The lavender walls looked gray and flat in the northern light. Why hadn’t I known that would be the case? If there was one thing I knew about, it was light. What kind of light made people and places shine.

CHAPTER SIX

On a Saturday afternoon in early March, I received a text from Amelia.

What r u up to during the day tomorrow?

Her question was one I’d hoped and prepared for.

going for a run over Brooklyn Bridge

I knew that Amelia enjoyed the route over the Brooklyn Bridge and through Brooklyn Bridge Park, because I’d overheard Natalie discussing it with Piper. I surmised that Amelia liked Brooklyn Bridge Park because she wanted to feel like she was part of the community. She liked the image of herself as someone who took advantage of the free things that the city had to offer, as if what she loved most about her life was accessible to anyone who lived in Brooklyn.

It wasn’t an especially convenient route for me. Moreover, I disliked running. But I had a feeling that if I casually mentioned a plan to run over the bridge, Amelia would be tempted.

She wrote back: I’d love to go with you.

I spent a few minutes composing my response. I hoped to appear pleased, in a measured way, but not excited. In the end, I wrote: Great.

We met at 10 A.M. on Sunday morning and started by running north on the promenade. It was late winter, but still cold, so the walkway was relatively empty. The BQE below us was backed up with traffic and oppressively loud. For the first twenty minutes of our run, Amelia talked nonstop. “They’ll move on to another architect in a heartbeat,” she said. “And Fritz has a lazy confidence. He thinks the clients are loyal. He’s always surprised if we lose them.”

We approached the end of the promenade and continued down the long hill past the playground. In spite of the fact that Amelia was ten years older than me, she was a lot faster and in better shape. I tried to disguise my heavy breathing.