Nora’s Workout
By Ayesha Haqqiqa
"One, two, one two," Jack counted to
himself as he lifted the weight. He was
almost done with this set of exercises.
He breathed deeply, coordinating his breath with his movements. Only two more to go now. He put the weight down and stood up. Now it was time to do leg lifts. He reached
down to get the loop that was attached to the weight machine. He'd put it over his shoe, and-- That was funny. He felt like someone was watching him. But everyone else in the gym was busy with their own
workout. He turned around and saw Nora
Lewin, standing just behind him.
"Hi," he said, taking a moment to towel
the sweat from his eyes. "I never
expected to see you here. It must be important."
"Y-yes," Nora seemed to be dazed. "I have some important things to talk
over with you."
"Well, I'm almost done with my workout,"
Jack said. "Leg lifts and then
cooldowns. It's not a good idea to stop
in the middle. I'd have sore muscles
for days."
"Oh-oh sure," she said. "Go right ahead. I want your muscles-uh, to be --I don't want
your muscles to get sore."
Jack shook his head. Nora must have a lot on her mind. He fastened the loop to the toe of his gym shoe and began the
stretches.
"Just what do you need to talk with me about?"
he asked as he stretched his leg.
Nora just looked at him, as if in a trance. "Yeah, we need to talk. Something about work."
Must be confidential, Jack decided. He finished his leg lifts and went into his
cool down. Nora continued to watch him,
apparently lost in thought. Cool downs
done, he took his towel and wiped his face.
Then he headed for the locker room.
To his surprise, Nora was right beside him.
"I've got to go shower now," Jack
said. "You can't come into the
men's locker room."
"Oh!" It was as if Nora had just awakened.
"Sure, Jack. I'll be right
here."
Jack went in and stripped off his gym shorts. As he soaped up in the shower, he tried to
figure out what it was that made Nora act so strange. He rinsed off and dried his hair as quickly as he could. As usual, it was wild, but then Nora was
used to that. He changed into his jeans
and shirt and put his shorts in his gym bag.
Nora was waiting for him right outside the
door. "Here I am, clean and
decent," Jack said.
Nora sighed. "Want to go get a bite to eat?" she asked.
"I usually eat light after a workout--but yeah,
that will be ok." He walked beside
her as they left the gym. "La
Papion is right around the corner, if you want to talk business." He turned and looked at her. "Or is it something else?"
Nora blushed.
"Something else," she sighed as she kissed him on the cheek.
Jack smiled at her gently. "If you're going to do it, do it right," he said,
gathering her in his arms and kissing her on the lips….
What was that buzzing sound? Nora was annoyed. She opened her eyes to see what it was. The alarm clock. She was
in bed at home, and the pale light of early morning was just creeping in
through the window.
“Darn it!” she said to herself. She made a mental note to try and find out
the name of Jack’s gym when she went to work that day…