(no subject)

Meg lets herself back into the house one hour and twenty-five minutes after she left, and isn't all that surprised to find her father still in his study.

"I'm back," she says from the doorway.

"How was the library?" John asks.

"Fine. Full of books."

John nods, and then says, "I called Kim."

Meg hesitates. "I know," she says, finally.

"You . . . know?"

Meg comes in and sits down in the chair that's not at the desk. "One of the doors in the library led me to Milliways. And I ran into Kim there. And she said you had called."

"Oh." John is quiet for a moment. "Meg, I'm sorry I didn't . . ."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Meg says. "Telling you that story was asking a lot."

"Still, I should have . . ."

"Dad, please don't worry about it, okay?"

John sighs. "All right."

The room is quiet for a moment, and then he says, "So . . . you talked to Kim?"

"Yes."

"How did that go?"

Meg thinks for a moment. "Better than it has in a long time. Maybe even good."

John smiles. "I'm glad."

"Me, too."

"Meg . . . are you sure about Montreal? I know you want to see people there, but you could go a week earlier or later, if you liked, and be here when Kim is."

"She asked me the same thing."

"What did you say?"

"That I was sure about going to stay with Sylvain and Ginette. Dad, Kim and I have a lot of walking to do before we try to run again. And a week us both here . . . would be kind of like a marathon."

"All right."

"Yeah. I think maybe it will be," Meg says.

Maybe not right away. But for the first time in about a year, all right doesn't seem outside the realm of possibilities.