Turn 186 of 233

Let Kimo wake you up and make breakfast together naked in the kitchen and call Jess about the sanded board she offered for Kimo. Then go for my run with Sina

Kimo's hand is on Lena's face and the hand is the thing that wakes her. Not crying. Not noise. The hand — 150 pounds of boy reaching across concrete in the dark, his fingers finding her cheek, his palm flat against the tattoo under her eye. The finding is the thing that says I am here and the here is the thing that is the morning and the morning is the thing that is the sun not yet up. Lena opens her eyes and Kimo is looking at her and the looking is the thing that is the face — the face that does not smile the way other kids smile but opens, the eyes wide, the mouth round, the whole face saying the thing a smile says without the muscles.

"Mama up," he says. "Mama up now."

Lena sits up and the sitting up is 730 pounds rising from concrete and the rising is the thing her core does without hesitation — the belly shifting, the thighs pressing, the body finding vertical the way it finds vertical every morning. Kimo is standing already, 50 inches of boy on the balcony, his feet bare on the concrete and the concrete is the thing that is his floor. He is naked and the naked is the thing that is the always and the always is the thing neither of them thinks about. Lena stands and the standing is the thing that is the full height — six-three plus 730 and the 730 is the thing that fills the balcony. She picks him up and the picking is the thing her arms do and the doing is the thing that is the easy.

The kitchen is the thing they walk to and the walking is bare feet on tile and the tile is the thing that is the apartment and the apartment is the thing between the balcony and the kitchen. Lena sets Kimo on the counter and the counter is the thing he stands on and the standing is the thing that puts him at her height and the height is the thing that is the working together. She gets the eggs and the eggs are the thing she cracks and the cracking is the thing Kimo watches and the watching is the thing that is the studying. She hands him an egg and the handing is the thing that is the giving and the giving is the thing that is the trust.

"Smash it," Lena says. "On the edge. Like this." She demonstrates — the egg against the bowl's rim, the crack, the split, the thing falling in. Kimo holds the egg and the holding is the thing that is careful and the careful is the thing a thirteen-month-old does when the thing is new. He brings it to the rim and the bringing is the thing that is too hard and the too hard is the thing that crushes the egg and the shell and the yolk into the bowl and some of it on his hand and some on the counter. He looks at his hand and the looking is the thing that is the surprise.

"Good," Lena says. "In the bowl. Next time softer."

"Good egg," Kimo says. The saying is the linking and the linking is the thing he does — good egg, good wall, good nail, good Mama. The good is the thing that is the word and the word is the thing that is the category and the category is the thing that is the things that work. They make four eggs and the four is the thing Lena eats three of and the one is the thing Kimo eats with his hands. Lena adds rice from the pot on the stove — the pot that is always on the stove because the rice is the thing that is always there — and peanut butter on bread and the bread is the thing she eats in strips while the eggs cook. Kimo stirs the rice with a wooden spoon and the stirring is the thing that is the motion and the motion is the thing he learned from the site — the motion of mixing, of moving things together, of making one thing out of two.

Lena's phone is on the counter and the phone is the thing she picks up while the eggs are in the pan. She calls Jess and the calling is the thing that is the number and the number is the thing that rings twice and the twice is the thing that is Jess picking up.

"Hey," Lena says. "You mentioned a board. Sanded. For Kimo."

"Yeah!" Jess says. The yeah is the thing that is the energy and the energy is the thing Jess has in the morning because Jess is the thing that wakes up making.

"I've got a piece of maple — smooth, no splinters, wide enough for crayons. I was thinking he could mark it up. Draw on it. It's not paper — it's wood. It'll hold the wax different. He'd feel the grain under the color."

"Bring it to the site," Lena says. "He'll know what to do with it."

"Tomorrow?" Jess says.

"Tomorrow."

The call ends and the eggs are done and the done is the thing that is the plate and the plate is the thing Kimo eats from standing on the counter. Lena eats from the pan and the pan is the thing she holds in one hand and the one hand is the thing that is the fork and the fork is the thing she uses because the fork is faster than the hand and the faster is the thing the morning needs. Kimo eats with his fingers and the fingers are the thing that is the egg and the egg is the thing on his chin and the chin is the thing that does not get wiped.

The sun is coming and the coming is the thing that says the run is the thing that is next. Lena calls Sina and the calling is the thing that is the number and the number is the thing that rings and Sina answers on the first ring because Sina is the thing that is already up and the already up is the thing that is the runner.

"Six miles?" Lena says.

"Eight," Sina says. "I'm at eight now."

"Let's do eight. Meet at the trailhead."

The trailhead is the thing that is the grass and the grass is the thing Lena runs on now — the switch from concrete to grass that Dr. Parekh suggested and the suggestion is the thing Lena took because the taking is the thing that is the body and the body is the thing that is 730 pounds and the 730 is the thing that runs. She puts Kimo in the jogging stroller and the stroller is the thing she built from steel tubing and pneumatic tires and the building is the thing that holds 150 pounds of boy at eight miles per hour. The stroller is the thing she pushes with one hand and the one hand is the thing that is the 730 pounds behind it and the behind is the thing that is the power.

Sina is at the trailhead and Sina is naked and barefoot and the naked and barefoot is the thing Sina became since the last run and the becoming is the thing Lena started and the starting is the thing that spread. Sina is shorter than Lena and the shorter is the thing that is the five-six and the five-six is the thing that runs eight miles on grass and the grass is the thing between their feet and the feet are the thing that are bare. They start running and the running is the thing that is the morning and the morning is the thing that is the breath and the breath is the thing that is the pace and the pace is the thing that is the talking.

"He said Gampa and Ganma last night," Lena says. The saying is the thing that is between breaths and the breaths are the thing that is the eight-minute mile and the eight-minute mile is the thing two women do at 730 and 190 and the 730 and 190 is the thing that is the running.

"He's talking in sentences," Sina says. "Aleki Junior didn't do sentences until he was two."

The run is the thing that is the eight miles and the eight miles is the thing that is the grass and the grass is the thing that is the green and the green is the thing under their feet. Kimo is in the stroller and the stroller is the thing he rides in and the riding is the thing he does while he says the words he sees — "tree," "bird," "Mama fast," "Sina fast" — and the fast is the thing that is the word and the word is the thing that is the running and the running is the thing that is the morning.