“What are you going to do with it?”

“Keep it, I guess. I haven’t really thought about it that much.”

“Hmmm,” Deanna said with an indecipherable smile. Then, “How was your jog?”

Theresa sipped a glass of juice she had poured. “It was good. The sun was really something when it came up. It looked like the world was glowing.”

“That’s just because you were dizzy from lack of oxygen. Jogging does that to you.”

Theresa smiled, amused. “So, I take it you won’t come with me this week.”

Deanna reached for her cup of coffee with a doubtful look on her face. “Not a chance. My exercise is limited to vacuuming the house every weekend. Can you picture me out there, huffing and puffing? I’d probably have a heart attack.”

“It’s refreshing once you get used to it.”

“That may be true, but I’m not young and svelte like you are. The only time I can remember running at all was when I was a kid and the neighbor’s dog got out of the yard. I was running so fast, I almost wet my pants.”

Theresa laughed out loud. “So, what’s on the agenda today?”

“I thought we’d do a little shopping and have lunch in town. Are you up for something like that?”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

The two women talked about the places they might go. Then Deanna got up and went inside for another cup of coffee and Theresa watched her as she left.

Deanna was fifty-eight and round faced, with hair that was slowly turning to gray. She kept it cut short, dressed without an excess of vanity, and was, Theresa decided, easily the best person she knew. She was knowledgeable about music and art, and at work, the recordings of Mozart or Beethoven were always flooding out of her office into the chaos of the newsroom. She lived in a world of optimism and humor, and everyone who knew her adored her.

When Deanna came back to the table, she sat down and looked out across the bay. “Isn’t this the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen?”