Page 145 of Running
“I am thrilled about my new job, and I think I’ll be successful at it.”
“You should besuccessfulas a lawyer. The whole pathway is already paved for you. I can get you into Auburn at the snap of my fingers, anyway. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll write the dean Monday…”
“Mom, I’m NOT going to law school!” I yell out, loudly—it’s maybe the loudest I’ve ever been. Three people walking nearby stop and look at me.
Oh no.
“Sorry…” I start to say.
But.
But.
I’mnotsorry.
And so I’m going to say what I mean.
“I take that back. I’m not going to apologize.” Mom’s mouth is hanging open. “Law school is out. Zero interest. Done. I don’t want to talk about it again.”
“Grace—”
“I’m not going to be you,” I say in a quieter tone, with a fierceness still running through it. “I’m going to have my own path. And it won’t follow yours.”
“Well, I don’t even know what to say anymore,” Mom says, blustery like she’s trying to find her footing in the conversation. “I need to go.”
She hangs up without waiting for me to respond.
Within a minute, I’m coming down from my adrenaline high and dying to talk to someone.
Did I really just do that?
I don’t want to interrupt Johnson at the Waves facility, and I’m too irritated at Landon right now, so I pick a different option—Rawley.
I explain the entire conversation, and he responds seriously, tamping down his playful side.
“This is so huge. I’m proud of you. How are you feeling?”
“I’m glad I got to say my piece,” I confess. “Because I feel like it may be a long time before I speak to her again.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“I am. I’m…I finally feel like my future is my own to decide.”
“It is, Gracie, it is.”
After a few more minutes of collecting myself at the bench, I startwalking to my car, my mind starting to digest everything that Shelley had said.
I know I’ll talk it through with Johnson once I’m home, but there’s another person whose opinion I value on this topic—Sarah. She’s one of the few I’ve confided in about my track history, and who will get the push and pull of leaping back into elite competitions, even if we do different sports.
We haven’t been hanging out this fall, even though the Surge’s season is done. Between her jetting to Tampa to see Malcolm and my schedule with school and Johnson, this year looks a lot different than last fall. Still, I know she’ll be happy to talk about this with me.
Hoping she may be free now, I give her a ring as I walk into the parking lot.
“Hey, Grace!” she says as she does indeed pick up.
“Hi, I’m so glad I caught you! I wasn’t sure if you’d be in the middle of something.”
She laughs. “Yeah, I know, I’m a pain to be friends with. No, I’m good. I’m hanging with Malcolm, but we’re just relaxing.”
