If you missed any previous installments, go back to Words From the Sowul and read from Part 1.

12:30. Kristy walked into the break room, pulling two dollars out of her pocket and smoothing them out with her fingers.

“How many bottles will it be after this one?” said a teasing voice behind her. Kristy turned. It was Rodrigo, head of the custodial staff. He’d picked up on Kristy’s Smartwater addiction, and now every time he saw her with a bottle in her hand or heading toward the vending machine, he’d ask her for a number.

“Only my third,” she said, putting her first dollar in the machine. “Besides, water’s good for you.”

“But you spend so much money,” he said, getting up from the break table and coming to stand next to her. “You must spend fifty dollars a week on these things.” The machine gave a loud clunk, and out rolled the bottle. Kristy picked it up.

“I’m keeping the stock boy happy,” she said, and turned to go.

“Wait,” Rodrigo said. “Isn’t this your lunch break? Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

“I had a Clif bar earlier,” Kristy lied.

Rodrigo looked as if he didn’t believe her. Before he could say anything more, though, Kristy turned with an extra-bright, “Bye!” and left the room.

 ________________________

The afternoon started with a double session, an overweight married couple named Marly and Bob. Kristy had only been seeing them for a few weeks. As they breathed heavily, side-by-side, through their sets of Bosu ball jumps, Kristy had to admit to herself that she’d been wrong about them. When they’d first showed up at the training desk, she’d taken a quick assessment of their combined weight, their matching brand-new white sneakers, and their semi-negative attitudes- Bob was timid, Marly terrified- and she’d thought, “Biggest Loser.” The show’s season finale had just aired, and that always brought in a few people who were temporarily inspired by the success of those on the show. Invariably, those people figured out how hard they’d really have to work and how much they needed to cut out of their diets to be successful, and they only lasted a session or two. But Marly and Bob had more tenacity than Kristy had given them credit for. This was their fourth session, and they seemed to be getting over the hump. Earlier, Bob had been cheered to find that he could bench press more weight than the week before, and Marly had told Kristy that she was up to walking two miles a day and had already lost seven pounds.  

Kristy started them on a partnership exercise, passing a balance ball back and forth from low angles to high. Marly took the ball first, raising it up over her head and squatting to pass it to Bob, who was already in a low position, like a catcher without a mitt. As she passed the ball, she said, “Barbequed chicken!”

“Excuse me?” Kristy said.

Marly laughed as Bob rose up and she mirrored him to receive the ball again. “Bob and I decided to think about all the foods we weren’t allowing ourselves to eat and release them, out loud, as we worked out. We think it’ll help us stop obsessing over them,” she said.

“That’s a good idea,” Kristy said, even as her stomach flipped over.

“Nachos with cheese!” Bob said, huffing a little as he squatted down.

“Chocolate cake!” Marly said.

“Ben and Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk,” Bob answered, needing to hang onto the ball for an extra moment to finish speaking, and Marly laughed.

Kristy’s stomach gave an almighty heave as she thought about chocolate cake with several scoops of Ben and Jerry’s on top. “Excuse me,” she said again, “I’ll be right back. Keep going, you’re doing great.”

She dashed over to the upstairs bathrooms, but both of the ladies’ rooms were occupied. “Shit,” she murmured. She checked to see if anyone was looking and slipped into one of the men’s rooms, throwing the bolt. Kristy leaned over the sink and retched. Nothing came up, of course, only bile and water, but it still made her feel a little better. She retched again, but the second time wasn’t as satisfying. For the umpteenth time, she thought about sticking her finger down her throat, but it never seemed to work for her. She hadn’t been able to throw up properly since she was a little kid. She often wondered how different things would be if she’d just been able to do that one simple thing whenever she wanted.

Kristy turned the cold water tap and splashed some water on her neck and hands. She didn’t want to go so far as to ruin her makeup, minimal as it was. She didn’t mean to look in the mirror, but as she was turning to leave something caught her eye, and she glanced up. The thing that had stopped her was only her fake diamond stud earrings; a piece of her hair was snagged in one of them. She pulled it away and gave herself an appraising glance.

“No wonder Cheryl thinks you don’t look right,” she murmured. She poked her stomach and felt it give a tiny bit. Closing her eyes and turning away, she decided to add some time in the pool to her workout this evening. Who was she kidding, thinking she could get away with only her morning warm-up, kickboxing and teaching step class later?

Tune in tomorrow for Part 3!