The River Path

Selena climbed out of her beat-up Toyota Corolla, which had a sticker bearing the phrase, “My AK47 Killed Your Stick Family” peeling off the rear bumper. A look of irritation was plastered on her pallid face. As she swung her legs out, a crumpled Doritos bag fell out of the car. She kicked the bag to the side. The glare she cast around the parking lot was a challenge to anyone nearby who might comment on her littering. She trudged across the Boston Museum of Science’s crowded parking lot and looked for a sign that would point her in the direction of the Charles River path.

How many drinks in had she been when she agreed to meet Reyna here for a run? Her legs hurt from just walking across this freaking huge parking lot. Selena reached the paved, tree-lined path and looked up and down it. People moved everywhere- jogging, walking, and biking. Someone was even walking a cat, for Christ’s sake. Then there were all the people out on the Charles River, in kayaks, as well as those long boats, where a little guy yelled directions at the other people in the boat who rowed. As she continued to scan the river, Selena also saw people standing on some floating boards, using long paddles. It was just sooo much motivation. A fresh surge of anger and regret rushed through her that she had agreed to this idiotic plan.

To top it all off, she was early. The traffic from Dorchester was much lighter than she had anticipated, so now she had twenty-five minutes to wait for Reyna. She walked over to the nearest park bench, which faced the river, flopped down, and lit up a cigarette. A few of the people nearby gave her the side eye, as apparently, they weren’t used to seeing people with bright green spiked hair, or maybe it was her lip piercings? Whatever. Screw all these posers anyway.

She took a drag on her Camel and glanced around. Her eyes lit upon two very fit women standing nearby. Holy money.

“... the Glycerins have always been my favorite, but I decided to give these Asics Gel Nimbus’ a try since I’m really ramping up my mileage right now.” A blonde, ponytailed woman was showing off a pair of nauseatingly bright pink running sneakers to her friend.

“You know I’m a New Balance devotee since I’m such an overpronator.” Her friend pushed her lightweight hat out of her eyes and stuck out her muscular leg to indicate her own clearly expensive sneakers.

Selena took a long drag on her cigarette and did some quick math in her head. How many hours would she need to work at her job as a tollbooth operator to pay for one pair of those sneakers? She guessed somewhere around twelve hours, so one and a half days of work. No. Way. What a waste of time and hard-earned cash.

The women bent, reached, and stretched in ways that Selena could only imagine. Reaching for the bar of soap each morning was enough for her. However, her attention was drawn to these rich chicks like a bug to a porch light. The women pushed on a tree for some apparently complicated stretching maneuver.

“Did I tell you that I got another PR at the Mountain Goat last weekend?” the Asics bitch said to the New Balance bitch (as Selena had started to think of them).

“Again!? That is unreal. You’re really killing it, Chelsea.”

“Well, you know,” replied Chelsea, AKA Asics bitch, “I’ve upped working with my personal trainer from three to five times a week, right? I think that’s made a difference.”

Umm, yeah. Maybe that would make a difference. Selena rolled her eyes.

“By the way,” Chelsea continued, “Rochelle told me she’s been doing Paleo exclusively for the last two months. She basically only eats sockeye salmon from Whole Foods, along with organic vegetables and just a dribble of EVOO. She’s lost like 5% of her body fat.”

“I still think carb loading before the over ten milers is useful,” New Balance bitch smacked her muscular thighs, which were only slightly bigger than her friend’s, “so that wouldn’t work for me. I’m more of a Mediterranean diet kind of girl.”

“Right?!” Chelsea responded, “As long as a few bottles of Sauv Blanc are in the diet, I’m good.” Both women laughed.

Selena looked down at her own pudgy thighs and thought of the Little Debbie snack cakes she had stashed on top of her fridge. She could not wait to eat a couple of the oatmeal pies when she got home from this stupid shipwreck of an afternoon. Traces of the headache she had woken up with this morning picked at her brain, possibly due to the fifth shot of Johnny Walker she had stupidly agreed to last night. Or had it been the PBR chaser?

When would Reyna ever get here? Selena blew out an impatient breath and crushed her cigarette butt into the dirt at her feet. She glanced back up at the RBs (Rich Bitches). This new pet phrase for the pair made her smile, and she felt her shoulders loosen up a little bit. The New Balance bitch moved slightly, giving Selena a clear view of a semicolon tattoo on the inside of her right ankle. Selena stared in surprise at this rich chick, who might not be all that she seemed. She looked down at her own matching tattoo, on the inside of her left wrist- a semicolon as a commitment not to give in (again) to her suicidal thoughts. The two women took off running at an astoundingly fast pace down the river trail.

After the women were out of sight, Selena sat motionless among a sea of moving people. Lost in thought, she pondered the possibility that she and the New Balance bitch might have something in common. A few moments later, Selena looked up and saw Reyna walking towards her. People moved around her tall, thin figure, like the boats parting the Charles River. When their eyes met, a blanket of warmth spread throughout Reyna’s heart, warming the cold that had just settled there. Selena stood and kissed Reyna, her lover of two years, and anchor in her hard life.

“Hey,” Selena said, “what do you think about bailing on the running idea? We could go smoke that joint I saved for a rainy day instead.”

“You know me so well,” Reyna laughed and grabbed Selena’s hand. “Maybe we can start exercising next week.”

Reyna walked towards the parking lot, holding Selena’s hand.

“I don’t know about that, but I am thinking about starting a Paleo diet. I hear you can drop some serious pounds that way.”