Petra arrived at the starting line determined to beat last year's result. She had a new bicycle, a carefully calculated target time, and a sister she had promised not to spend three days telling exactly where she had lost her advantage. Beside her, Tarik was trying to open a food packet with his teeth. She offered the little scissors from her bag, and he said she was exactly the sort of person missing from his life.
She did not take him seriously. People said all sorts of things before a race to hide their nerves. They rode together through the first few bends, then she overtook him. On the climb beyond an orchard, she heard whining from a ditch. A small dog on an excessively long leash had become tangled in branches. Petra pedaled several more turns before braking. Tarik stopped as soon as he saw her bicycle beside the road.
The dog would not let them approach. They did not pull at it. They sat on the ground, left some water within reach, and waited for it to settle. Riders passed; some asked if they needed help, while most merely slowed down. Petra watched her plan disappear down the road without her. Tarik recognized the name of a smallholding on the collar and called the number beneath it.
The owner arrived about twenty minutes later, breathless and wearing slippers. The dog approached her as soon as she freed its leash. She invited them in for juice. Petra was already lifting her bicycle when she realized there was no longer any reason to hurry. They sat beneath a tree and drank from glasses of different sizes. Tarik received the one decorated with a smiling rabbit.
Only then did they begin talking. Both had divorced the previous year, and both had signed up for too many activities to avoid empty weekends. Petra admitted that she competed even when nobody else was keeping score. Tarik said he had entered the race because he felt awkward refusing a colleague. It was not the meeting she would have chosen in advance, which felt unexpectedly pleasant.
They reached the finish while volunteers were already folding the tables. Her sister was waiting with a spare jacket and a sympathetic expression ready. Petra told her she had not completed the final lap. She did not begin explaining how fast she would otherwise have been. While they returned their race numbers, Tarik asked whether she would like to ride to the same smallholding the following Sunday. "Without registering or timing ourselves," he added. Petra agreed, but insisted on bringing the scissors.