Reinventing Ruthie by Kate Lloyd

Author:Kate Lloyd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kate Lloyd
Published: 2023-03-30T17:13:21+00:00

17

I felt like I’d just survived boot camp. Reclining on a foam mat barely cushioning my limbs from the exercise studio’s wooden floor, I attempted to imitate the instructor’s cool-down stretches. But why start now? I hadn’t been able to follow her routine for the last grueling hour. When Gloria suggested I take this Zumba Latin dance workout with her she’d promised it was a beginning class. No sweat—a free trial for prospective members. “You like dancing, don’t you? And Latin music? You’ll love it.”

Finally, the music ground to a halt. “You were fantastic,” the instructor proclaimed in a voice broadcasting a profusion of reserved energy. The other people, mostly women in their twenties and thirties, glided to their feet and picked up their mats to return them to the back of the room. As I stood up, Gloria, who’d exercised front and center, walked to my side. Her face wore a rosy hue that divulged no sign she’d been in constant movement while waving her arms over her head for most of the hour.

“Well, what did you think?” she asked me, then swigged from her water bottle.

“That I’ll be lucky to make it to my car.” I ran my tongue across my lip and tasted salt. I’d never sweated so much in my life. “My legs are so stiff I’ll have to ask someone to untie my shoelaces when I get home.”

“Come on, I bet you’ll be fine.”

Several women strolled by talking at rapid-fire speed. I caught glimpses of their words to hear their toddlers were in the day care somewhere in the building.

“I’m usually not such a klutz,” I said as Gloria and I followed them toward the locker room. It had been five years since I’d taken an aerobics class and was disappointed with my lack of coordination. “I’m glad I was in the back of the room where no one but the instructor could see me.” Of course, my reflection in the mirror offered everyone a good shot. “The moment I thought I was onto her routine, she changed it.”

“The dance steps take concentration, but keep coming and you’ll catch on.” Gloria swayed her hips. “We’ve been doing that routine for over a month.”

“Now you tell me.”

We reached the locker room to find half a dozen women in various stage of dress milling about the carpeted room with its two walls of lockers and a floor-to-ceiling mirror. Gloria had stowed both of our purses and jackets in her locker. She and I had agreed we’d shower at home later so she could get back to Saturday morning with her husband and daughter. And this way I wouldn’t have to expose my body to these toned young women. Even when I was their age I didn’t look like an Olympic athlete.

“Do you remember Stephen Harrick?” Gloria yanked her hair out of its ponytail. “You met him at my New Year’s Eve party.”

“The frog man?”

“He’s a biologist.” She wagged her index finger at me. “He teaches at Shoreline Community College and does consulting for Jonathon’s firm.

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