Family Honor - Robert B Parker by Parker

Author:Parker
Language: eng
Format: epub

CHAPTER 30

Whenever I skipped rope I had to block Rosie out of the room because otherwise she would attempt to participate. I was skipping rope, wearing tights and a tank top in Spike's living room while Millicent watched television and Rosie sat in the hallway, humped up like a skunk in the fog, looking at me balefully. "How come you're doing that?" Millicent said.

"I can't get to the gym," I said.

I kept skipping as I talked, trying not to sound winded. "Because of me?"

"Yes."

"So why'nt you just forget it?"

"Several reasons," I said. "I try to stay in shape, for, ah, professional reasons. I like to eat and drink, but I am vain about my appearance and I don't want to put on weight ... also I'm compulsive about it."

"My mother's always exercising," Millicent said.

"Would you like to try it?"

She shook her head.

"Didn't you ever skip rope when you were little?" I said.

She shrugged. I stopped skipping and dropped down on Spike's rug and did some push-ups.

"Have you ever done push-ups?" I said.

"Girls don't do push-ups," she said with scorn of an intensity only adolescent girls can achieve.

"Women do," I said.

"Well, I guess I'm not a woman."

"Maybe you are," I said. "Try one." She shook her head. I kept doing them.

"Try one," I said.

"I can't do them. They tried to make us in gym once."

"They didn't do it right," I said. "Get down here. I'll show you."

Millicent dragged herself off the couch and flopped down on the floor on her stomach.

"Okay," I said. "Start with a half push-up. Put your hands out like this, and push up, but leave your knees on the floor."

She did what I said and pushed her torso up and let it down.

"Okay?" she said.

"See, you can do it," I said. "Try five."

She looked disgusted, but she did five.

"Excellent," I said.

Millicent got up and went back and flopped on the couch. I finished my push-ups and got up and went to the door and moved the footstool, and Rosie trotted into the room and wagged at us. I picked her up and gave her a kiss and let her lap my neck.

"How come she doesn't just jump over the footstool?" Millicent said. "Can't she jump?"

"She can," I said. "But she doesn't know it. She thinks she can't, so she doesn't try.

Millicent looked at me and didn't say anything. I smiled at her innocently.

"You think I'm like that?" Millicent said.

"Sorry," I said. "But you handed it to me."

"But you do think I'm like that."

"You were like that about the push-ups," I said.

"I didn't do a real push-up," Millicent said.

"You did six real half push-ups," I said. "We work on it regularly and in a while you'll do some real full push-ups."

"So what? I hate doing push-ups."

"If you can do them, then you can decide if you want to do them. If you can't do them, the decision isn't yours."

Millicent frowned, as if I'd said something mathematical that she suspected was correct but she didn't understand the terms.

"Who cares about push-ups?" she said.

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