Home for Love (An Adult Contemporary Romance) (15 page)

“Now you be a good girl,” Bree leaned
down and spoke to Amber, “and listen to Charlotte.” Smiling at the gym’s
child-minder, Bree returned to the lobby to wait for Shelly who was getting
changed. The gym wasn’t very large, but considering it was one of the newer additions
in town, as well as the only gym for miles, it had a bit of everything. Its
only competition, the gym at The Lodge, was typically stocked with the basic
equipment holiday makers sought out such as treadmill, step-machine, and a few
basic weights.

It also meant that the place was packed
with after-work fitness enthusiasts or people trying to get fitter, healthier,
or thinner. Bree walked over to the large wall on the one side of the lobby
that held a variety of notices, the classes held in the aerobics room and their
services.

“Bree,” Todd advanced towards her and
called out in greeting. He looked like he’d just had a shower as his hair was
all wet, a towel was draped around his neck, and he was carrying a zipped-up
sports bag.

“Hi,” Bree smiled back, focusing on his
face and refusing to look at his long, muscular legs being shown off
inadvertently in his shorts. “I didn’t know that you come here.”

“I have since it opened,” he replied.
“Since running the business interferes with the amount of time I can spend
outdoors, I thought I better do something to maintain fitness.”

“I’ve just joined myself,” Bree
answered. “Shelly’s joined with me. I’m just waiting for her to get changed. Oh
and Amber’s in the children’s area. She didn’t want to join any of their
exercise programs today. I think she’s scoping out what happens here first
before she decides what she wants to do. So for now she’s happily making things
in the craft area.”

“That’s okay,” Todd nodded. “I’ll pop by
now before I leave and see what she’s up to.”

“Speaking of Amber,” Bree ventured,
“I’ve focused a lot on her this week. I wanted to show her that I was getting
better. And one of the things I’ve started is a games night. It’s basically a
TV-free night where she and I play board games or Wii – quality time that’s fun
and does not require staring comatose at the television. My grandparents
decided to join in and it actually turned out to be a blast. So, if you want to
join us, you’d be welcome. We’ve dedicated every Wednesday night to it as it
fits into Amber’s homework and extra-mural time-table.”

“That sounds good,” Todd replied.
“Thanks for the invitation. I’d like to join you.”

“My pleasure,” Bree smiled back at him.

“So, what do you have there?” He asked,
pointing to the flyer she held in her hand.

Bree colored pink, wishing she’d hidden
the darn thing away except that the baggy t-shirt and tights she wore didn’t
leave much room for stuffing things away in them – unless you put things in
your sports bra and that was not something she was going to do. Maybe, though,
it would’ve been preferable to do that than have him look at the flyer.

“Nothing much,” she blushed harder,
effectively mitigating the nonchalance she was trying to portray.

“Really?” Todd asked, disbelievingly.
“Come on, Bree, give. I’ll find out anyway and I’ve been coming here for a
while so I know what’s good and what to avoid. The special classes are
expensive so my advice might save you money.”

Bree sighed in resignation. When he got
an idea into his head he was like a bulldog with a bone. She’d learned earlier
on in their friendship, before they’d even started going out, to just give in –
it was easier to say ‘I told you so’.

He looked at the flyer in silence, his
raised brows embarrassing her to no end. “Well?” Bree inquired. “What’s your
opinion?”

Todd looked back at her, “It’s a waste
of your money. You don’t need post-pregnancy classes ‘to hit those flabby areas
you just can’t get rid of’,” he read from the flyer. “There’s nothing flabby
about you.

“You know how I feel about my tummy,”
Bree reminded him.

“Yes,” Todd nodded, “and you know that I
disagree.” He stopped her retort with a show of his hand and went on, “Look,
it’s abdominal strengthening that you need.”

Bree looked at him questioningly and
Todd responded with a sheepish, guilt-laden grin. “I looked up the ‘mummy
tummy’ as you called it after… you know…”

Bree nodded, waving a hand for him to
continue. “Okay, before I explain what I found. I need to be clear that I think
that there’s nothing wrong with your body and that includes your tummy. I only
looked it up because what you said made me curious – not because I agree with
you.”

“I get that Todd,” Bree stated. How
could she not have after he’d so sweetly convinced her? “The thing is that I
still have issues with it and on this new journey I’m on, I’m doing something
about the stuff I don’t like in my life or about myself. So, this,” she shook
the flyer in the air, “is for me. So, go on, tell me what you’ve found.”

Todd searched her face and found genuine
interest. Breathing a sigh of relief that his ‘investigations’ hadn’t upset the
apple cart again, he explained, “It seems that the plastic surgery information
you read was accurate. There’s nothing that can be done to bring the muscles
back together again after having had a baby. But, you can strengthen them,
which flattens and tones that area – not completely, but you’ll see a
difference. And the way to do it is pretty simple. In fact, I do them all the
time. I could show you and save you the cash.”

“Two things,” Bree interjected, “while
that,” she waved a hand at the t-shirt covered six pack, “is hot on a guy. I
personally don’t want to be all muscular. And why do you want to do this?”

Todd shrugged, “We agreed last Saturday
to work together and to try and forget the past right?” At Bree’s nod of
acquiescence, he continued. “I said that I’d help out if I could with what
you’re going through and I can with this, so why not?”

Bree recognized that he was waving a
white flag and given the good place they were at, though not far from
tentative, she felt urged to take him up on his offer. “Okay,” she nodded, “if
you promise that I won’t become all muscular and sporting a six-pack, we have a
deal."

“Bree,” Todd replied, grinning, “A six
pack is kinda hard to get and keep so there’s no danger of that. So, you think
they’re hot, huh?”

Bree searched the floor for an invisible
something and muttered, “You know they are, so stop.”

Feeling oddly satisfied by the grudging
compliment, he pointed his arm in the direction of a big, blue plastic mat
towards the back of the weight-lifting area.

Bree put a hand on his arm to stop him.
“I’ve got to go tell Shelly that I’m skipping this session with her.”

“No need to,” Todd responded. “I saw her
go up the stairs and wave while we were talking. She must be going to the
aerobics class and from the music coming from up there, they’ve started
already. You sure you want to do this?”

“Sure,” Bree answered. “I’ve never been
big on exercise though, which you know, so I’m new at this. So be gentle okay?”

“With you,” Todd looked down at her,
making her insides melt, “always.”

Oh boy, she thought, this should be
interesting.

xxx

“So, what was up with you and Todd at
the gym?” Shelly asked, sliding into the booth at the local diner. They hadn’t
been able to speak about it, after exercising as Bree had to get Amber home.

“And hello to you too, Shelly,” Bree
greeted, sarcastically.

“Oh never mind that,” Shelly waved it
away. “Spill.”

“Todd’s helping me work out,” Bree
shared. “He knows what physical insecurities I have, and when he saw the flyer
I was holding, he offered to help out and save me some cash. So, once a week,
when I’m not going to gym with you, he’ll help me out. He’s just being friendly
after the chat the other day.”

“I’m not sure that’s all there is to
it,” Shelly offered.

Bree shrugged. “If there is more to it,
then you know I’ll be glad, but if not, then that’s okay. We’ll work things
out. Our truce just seems a bit new to be jumping to conclusions or onto him
just yet.”

Shelly nodded, “Okay, you make a valid
point. So, what’s this meeting about?”

Shelly was referring to Bree calling her
and their friends up to meet her at the diner. Bree had to drop Amber off at
Todd’s that afternoon for a play date and figured she’d use the opportunity to
get together with some friends and pick their brain. She was touched that,
despite the short notice she’d given them that morning, they’d all agreed to
show up.

“Let’s wait for everyone to sit down,”
Bree pointed at the diner’s door where the rest of their friends were coming
through.

Moments later with berry pie and coffees
ordered, Bree explained the reason for the meeting. “Well first off, I
realized, that I needed to see more of you guys.”

“I agree,” piped Kristine. “When you’re
married and you have kids, that can become the center of your life, as it
should, but after going out with you guys the other night, I realized that I
needed to get out a bit more – have some girl time.”

The others bobbed their heads in agreement
and Shelly suggested, “Seeing as we’re all on the same page, why don’t we agree
that we do this the first Saturday afternoon of every month.”

They smiled appreciatively at Shelly;
she’d always been very managing. On the cheerleading squad, Bree'd had the
ideas and Shelly helped figure out the details.

“Deal,” they all said in unison and
giggled liked the high school kids they had once been, feeling lighter and
excited by the prospect of getting time off.

“Now, I want to pick your brains,” Bree
sat back and picked at her pie. “I spoke to Jack this morning at The Lodge
about an idea. He wants to start using high school kids to work during the
summer and on weekends as part of an internship program in hospitality
management.”

“What a lovely idea,” Shelly clapped her
hands in glee. “The DPC can help; maybe include it in one of the youth
programs. And if not, we can certainly offer advice on what has worked and not
worked for us.”

Bree nodded, “And, I did tell him that.
In fact, I gave him your number so expect a call.”

“But, that’s not why you want to pick
our brains,” Megan observed.

“No,” Bree shook her head. “You know how
I always enjoyed planning a party.”

“Sure do,” chirped Kristine, smiling
wickedly and eliciting laughs from all around the table.

“Yes,” Bree grinned, “we had those types
of parties, too. But I used to love planning all sorts of parties – especially
the kiddie ones.”

“Oh,” exclaimed Kelly, “I remember. You
did the Halloween party for the kids for the DCP. That was adorable. You know,
after that guacamole brain dip, I still haven’t eaten any avocados to this
day.”

“And you did the princess and pirates
pageant for the pre-school too,” Alice reminded them.

“Yes,” Bree bobbed her head, “those
parties. Well when I was at The Lodge, I noticed that Jack had just installed a
humungous jungle gym. It’s huge, literally the size of a standard house. And he
paid quite a large sum of money for it, because he ordered it from a company
specializing in that type of thing. So, looking at it, I thought how much Amber
would love it, and how nice it would be to have a party for her so that the
kids could play on it. I realized that this was a gap in the market. So, why
not throw parties there?  When I mentioned it to Jack, he said that it was a
great idea but that he didn’t have the time or the staff capacity to go into
such a venture. So, I asked him if I could give it a shot and do a
demonstration as well as come up with a proposal. So, what do you think?”

“You’re right about there being nothing
like that in town,” agreed Kristine. “I try to make Amanda’s parties special
but we always just end up having it at our house every year and it nearly
always turns out to be a family meal with friends or a barbeque. Crazy Tom
bought a few jumping castles in Fairbanks a few years back so we often get that
too. Everyone in town basically does the same thing.”

“She’s right,” agreed Kelly, “we try to
make it exciting. Like for Steve’s birthday, we got each boy a bug-hunting kit
to keep them occupied and for something a bit different and then for Lacey we
got a face-painting kit and my husband, Zach, dressed up as a clown.” She broke
into giggles, “That was hilarious, although the parents were more entertained
by it than the kids.”

After hearing more stories from the
others on what was available in Devil’s Peak and what they did, Bree felt that
she had a better understanding of the gaps in the market. “You have no idea how
much you’ve helped,” Bree said thankfully, “I really appreciate it. So, now I
have to figure out what to do for the proposal and demonstration. And, I have
some ideas so I want to hit the shops before they close.”

“Before you go,” Alice stopped Bree,
“Janet’s birthday is next month, and like Kristine, I’m getting sick of
throwing a summer barbeque every year. So, while you’re thinking of ideas for
the demonstration, you can think of Janet’s party, too. That way, you can use
the same décor and maybe even a similar theme.”