The sun is just edging above the tops of the taller trees at Love Park, and loping along at a good pace, Lisa and Auguste have almost reached the halfway mark of the five mile loop, when a small rabbit scurries across the path. “Aiyee!” yelps Auguste, and he pulls up short.

“What is it?” Lisa asks. “Don’t tell me that little bunny frightened you. You’d think you saw a bear.”

“No, it’s—it hurts.”

“Did you twist your ankle?”

“Something in my shoe,” Auguste grits teeth. “Hurts like—” He sits on the path and pulls off his shoe. Then his sock. Lisa kneels before him and examines his foot. “Looks like some blood. But otherwise...” She picks up Auguste’s discarded shoe. “Aha! Here’s the culprit.” She shows Auguste the nail. “Inch, inch and a half,” she says. “I wonder how far in it went. Anyway, you’ll have to get a tetanus shot. Do you think you can walk to the car?”

“I’d rather you call me a helicopter.” Auguste is trying to get a look at the bottom of his foot.

“Your legs are just too long,” Lisa tells him. “If you were a baby, you could do it. You could get your whole foot in your mouth.”

Auguste manages to stand. “Let me see that shoe,” he says. Shoe in hand, he pokes his finger through the hole. “I needed new shoes anyway,” he declares, and he flings the shoe into the trees. It doesn’t come down. He takes a step and winces. “Are you going to call for that medicopter, or do I have to crawl to the car?”

“I’d call, but my cellphone’s in the car. I wonder how that nail got way out here. Kind of shiny. Maybe a crow snatched it off some roof, then dropped it.” She put the nail in the little pocket of her running shorts.

“Evidence?” Auguste asks.

“I doubt if the crow will be apprehended anytime soon,” Lisa says. “And I don’t think crows leave fingerprints. I just don’t want anyone else to get stuck. And I think when your foot’s all better, now that you’ve disposed of the guilty shoe, you’re going to want to give this nail a good hammering.” She takes off her top.

Auguste gives her a question glance.

“I’m just going to wrap this around your foot so you don’t get dirt in the wound when you hobble back to the car.”

“Brilliant,” Auguste says. “If I should step on another nail, would you wrap my other foot in your bottoms?”

“I would,” Lisa says. “And I do believe those nails travel in pairs.”

“Maybe you should do it now,” Auguste suggests. “As a preventative measure.”

It takes Lisa and Auguste almost two hours to hobble back to the car.

It would have taken but an hour except for a couple of fuck breaks.

“I’ll drive,” Lisa insists.

“Hm, now I’m wondering if you planted that nail just so you could drive my car,” Auguste speculates.

“I’m wondering if you planted the nail just so I’d wrap your foot in my top,” Lisa answers. “Give me the keys.”

It’s six miles to the hospital and Lisa gets there in less than six minutes.