Читать книгу An Ice Cream For Henry - Emanuele Cerquiglini - Страница 16

I n New York, Barbara Harrison was running north to south through Central Park. She would do her daily workout come rain or shine, although sometimes she had to put work first, in which case she would make do with the treadmill in her apartment or, when she was out of town, the ones in hotel gyms.

She had a lunch date with Robert at one o’clock. They had made up over the phone the previous evening, and this afternoon they would be heading off together to spend the weekend in Robert’s woodland cottage up in Maine, which Barbara considered to be their love nest.

Robert, who was already forty-seven and had an established career, was keen for things with Barbara to move to the next stage. It wasn’t that she wasn’t keen on Robert or hadn’t thought about taking the next step - after all, they’d been seeing each other for years - it was just that he didn’t seem to tolerate her working hours anymore. She could be around for the whole week then suddenly take off for days, or sometimes weeks, on end. Robert hated that, but for Barbara work had to come first, even if she had begun to rethink her priorities a little over the last few weeks after Robert started to keep his distance.

Barbara was forty-two now, and if she wanted to become a mom she would have to get a move on. She didn’t want people to think she was her own child’s grandma on his or her first day at school!

She loved being in the field and getting around, being active rather than stuck behind a desk, but she figured she had already got everything she wanted from her career, and getting it had hindered her private life more than she could ever have imagined. She felt ready for a new chapter because she loved Robert and knew that she’d never find another guy like him and would eventually end up alone. ‘ A horrible, frumpy old maid. That’ s what would become of me!’ Barbara thought to herself as she ran along West Drive before turning at the south end of Central Park and lengthening her stride as she headed toward East Drive. From there, she would exit the Park on 72nd Street and make her way to her apartment, where she would have time for a quick shower before packing her case for the weekend.