“Hello?”
"Are we going for a run today?" she asked.
"I don't know, maybe, I'm in a meeting, I'll call you later," said John
"I really need to go for a run."
"I'll call you later."
"When?"
"When I can."
"Fine."
She hung up the phone, looked out the window and then down at the running shoes on her feet. She them off and threw them at the wall.
She tried to be understanding. He needed to work. But why didn't he understand that she needed to run? If some- thing as simple as regular exercise really did counter the progression of this disease, then she should be running as often as she could. Each time he told her "Not today," she might be losing more neurons that she could have saved. Dying needlessly faster. John was killing her.
She picked up the phone again.
"Yes?" asked John, hushed and annoyed.
"I want you to promise that we'll run today.
"Excuse me for a minute," he said to someone else. "Please, Alice, let me call you after I get out of this meeting."
"I need to run today."
"I don't know yet when my day's going to end."
"So?" "This is why I think we should get you a treadmill.