‘Was he actually going to have to do some sessions? He was perfectly happy with his current muscle tone. She better be worth all this, he thought. Then she touched him lightly on his arm and he was in no doubt that she was worth every humiliation he was currently enduring.
‘Ow.’ He felt an electric shock. ‘Did you feel that?’ he asked her curiously. She hadn’t flinched like him.
‘Feel what?’ she asked him. ‘Now, let’s get you weighed and measured.’
She wrote something else down on her clipboard. What the hell was she writing on that damn thing? He tried to peep over her shoulder as he followed her to the scales, but couldn’t see anything.
‘Right, pop on the scales for me.’
He jumped on and pulled his stomach in automatically. He was regretting that breakfast roll he’d eaten an hour ago now.
‘Hmmm.’ Ruby said enigmatically, scribbling away on her clip board again. That clipboard was really beginning to irritate him now. Just what could she be writing?
‘Now, I’m going to do some measurements. Let’s start with your height.’ Ruby continued.
She guided him to a wall and quickly confirmed what he could have told her, he was 6′ 2.
She then took out a measuring tape from her pocket.
‘I need to measure your calves, thighs, chest and upper arms now. Wait there, please.’
James panicked. The thought of her touching him while measuring him was more than he probably could cope with without grabbing her and kissing her. And that would really scare the life out of the girl! But then again, maybe if she’s up close doing the measurements, maybe she’ll feel what I’m feeling, we’ll have a moment, and I’ll ask her out. It’ll be magic. He felt a goofy smile appear on his face as he daydreamed about what was about to happen.
‘Hey, man.’ A nasally voice said interrupting his daydream.
‘This is Seamus, my colleague. He’ll take your measurements.’
James looked up and saw a geeky looking teenager standing in front of him, who couldn’t have been more than eighteen and was covered in acne.
‘That’s ok, Seamus.’ James said to him. ‘Sure, Ruby will just do them.’
‘Afraid not.’ Ruby said to him. ‘Club policies. Guys measure guys, girls measure girls.’
‘Oh.’ James replied crestfallen. He quickly looked to see if Ruby was enjoying this turn of events, but she had her head in that damn clipboard again, scribbling away.
‘Right, work away.’ He said to the teenager. Ruby was furiously writing down the numbers as Seamus called them out in a flat voice.
‘Ok, that’s the measurements done. Let’s see how your fitness levels are.’ Ruby then said. ‘Follow me.’
She then proceeded to the treadmill and James hopped on.
‘Let’s just start with a gentle run for five minutes and we’ll see what your heartbeat is like then.’
‘No problem.’ James replied. He’d easily do five minutes he reckoned. He used to run a lot. Ok, that was a few years ago, but he was still pretty fit, he thought. He started to run. This is a gentle pace? He wouldn’t want to be assessed on a tough run if this was a gentle one. He could feel his heart pounding already. He glanced at the time on the machine. He’d only be running for sixty seconds and he thought his chest was about to explode.
The next twenty minutes were the most humiliating James had ever had. He didn’t realise how unfit he was until now. He practically fell off the treadmill when the five minutes were up. But that wasn’t the end of the torture. She had him doing stretches to check his flexibility and he couldn’t even get close to touching his toes. He was mortified with his performance and all along she was scribbling away on that clipboard saying nothing, except for the odd ‘Erm’ or ‘Ok’. Finally his ordeal was over.
‘Well done. You’ve done really well for a guy in your condition and I’m sure that we can work a programme out for you that will have you reaching all your goals in time for Christmas. Why don’t you go get showered and changed and I’ll meet you in reception with your fitness plan.’
James didn’t have the breath in him to speak. He simply nodded and limped back to the changing room. He was exhausted.
He showered and dressed quickly. He just wanted to grab his fitness plan and get out of there quickly. He was running late for next appointment, with a potential new client. After all of that and he wasn’t even going to get a date! When he thought of all the girls he’d dated over the years and how little he’d had to do to impress them, he was gobsmacked that he’d allowed himself to be manipulated to do that assessment. It wasn’t like he was short of female attention. He had two girls he was dating on and off right now, they were both mad about him. He didn’t need Ruby. Ok, he felt some sort of weird chemistry every time she spoke, but he’d get over that. He’d chalk it up to experience he reckoned. He’d laugh about it all in a few years. She obviously didn’t feel any connection with him at all; she’d not once given him any indication that she thought of him in any other way than that of a client. She just assumed he was there for an assessment, the thought of him asking her out didn’t even cross her mind. The more he thought about it, the more mortified he felt. He wondered if there was a back door to get out of the gym without having further humiliation.
No such luck on that front, there was only one way out and Ruby was standing right in front of it in reception waiting for him. She handed him a bottle of water when he walked towards her.
‘You look like you need that.’ She said kindly.
‘Thanks.’ James said. ‘I’ve a bit of a cold on me, that’s why I wasn’t at my best in there.’ He nodded in the direction of the gym.
‘Oh, is that what it was?’ Ruby said with a smile.
She could see straight through that lie, he could tell. ‘I’d normally do that type of workout in my sleep.’ He added for good measure. He wanted to shut up, he knew he was talking bull, but he just couldn’t stop himself.
‘You’re actually in quite good condition.’ Ruby then said. ‘I was very impressed.’
She was letting him off the hook but James could feel himself start to feel better immediately.
‘Oh, well I do try to keep in shape.’ He said trying to sound cool.
‘I can tell.’ Ruby answered him.
She looked down at her clipboard again and scribbled something else. He wanted to get that clipboard and throw it out the bloody door.
‘Why don’t you give the receptionist here a call and schedule in some sessions at a time that works for you?’
‘Yeah, I’ll do that.’ James said.
‘Well, it was nice seeing you again, James.’ Ruby said.
‘It was lovely seeing you too.’ He replied. He didn’t move, he just stood there looking at her, a big goofy smile stuck on his face.
‘My next appointment is here, I’ve got to keep going.’ Ruby then said indicating a guy who was sitting down a few feet from them.
‘I’ve been here for over 30 minutes.’ the guy moaned.
‘I’ll be with you in a sec.’ Ruby said to him. ‘I’m so sorry you’ve been delayed. There was a bit of a mix up with my first appointment.’
James reddened as she said that.
She then pulled a piece of paper off that stupid clipboard. She folded it in half and handed the paper to him.
‘Oh, and by the way, the answer is yes.’
‘Sorry?’ He said looking confused.
‘Yes, the answer is yes.’
‘I haven’t asked you a question.’ James replied. ‘Yes to what?’
‘Yes, I’d love to go out with you.’ Ruby replied smiling at him. ‘That’s my phone number. Give me a call.’ And with that she turned around and walked back into the gym, her ponytail bouncing again.
‘Oh.’ James managed to lamely say as she walked away. Then realising what had just happened he did a little jump and whooped, ‘Yes!’ as he walked to the door, and put the number in his jacket pocket.
Chapter Nine
teen
The past couple of weeks had just flown by and Sarah could hardly believe that it was now almost December. She had found a divorce lawyer, a guy called Conor Burke. He came highly recommended apparently. Ruby had a friend at work that had used him in his divorce the previous year. It was one of the most unnerving and scary things Sarah had ever done going in to meet him for the first time. When you fall in love, get married and start a family, you never ever see a future where a divorce lawyer plays a part in it. She really didn’t know what to expect. But she’d need not have worried, as Conor was extremely understanding and helpful. She supposed he saw people like Sarah all the time, looking for help to do something that ultimately they never really wanted to do, but circumstance had driven them to his door. She had vowed to herself that she would do everything possible to keep things as amicable as possible for the children’s sake, although there were times over the past couple of weeks that her resolve in that vow had very nearly weakened. It would be very easy to play the bitter and twisted ex-wife. And truth be told she felt she had earned that right to a certain degree. Had they no children she might have played that role with glee, but, for her children’s sake, she decided to stay on her moral high ground and do the right thing. She just hoped that Paul would do the same.
They all wanted to get an agreement fostered without the need for a court case. With this in mind Conor had written to Paul over a week ago and hoped that between Paul’s lawyer and him they could start negotiating on access and maintenance fairly quickly. Sarah hoped that Paul felt the same way about avoiding court, because every time Sarah thought of it her stomach just flipped. She’d never even been in court before, her only reference for what went on there was from watching soap operas. And she wasn’t sure that was a good source of information!
Another issue she had to deal with was financing it all. Money seemed to be always an issue these days. She just couldn’t get over how much it all cost. She had received an invoice from Conor already for €242 for just the letter he’d sent Paul. District Court could cost up to €5000, so she was really hoping that Paul would work with her, not against her. She had called him several times and begged him to come and visit the kids. Tommy was still struggling with his Daddy not being around and he was quick to lose his temper lately, which was very unlike his usual self. The sins of the father, a true phrase in this case. He’d not been in any more fights in school, he’d promised Sarah he wouldn’t, and was true to his word. But it was hard to miss the effect that Paul’s absence was having on the children. With Christmas fast approaching both Tommy and Katie had admitted to Sarah that they were scared that their Daddy wouldn’t be home before then. Finally, Paul agreed that he would visit this coming weekend and he was due to arrive any minute.
Sarah was so nervous about seeing him again; her stomach started doing flips at the mere thought of him. Despite the brave face she tried to put on during the day, once it was the cold dark of night, all her resolve would weaken. She had cried a river in the previous few weeks every night when the children were asleep. She was careful to cry into her pillow to muffle her sobs though; she didn’t want Tommy or Katie to see her in such a state.
She knew she was being morbid and it was like picking at a scab when you knew it was the wrong thing to do, but every night she would put on their wedding DVD and look at her face and Paul’s face over and over again as they said their vows. She was desperately trying to see something in his face back then, that she had obviously missed. Were there any signs there that one day in the future he would show that he didn’t really love her at all? But no matter how many times she looked at their video, each time she saw the same thing. Two young, happy people in love. She no longer recognised herself in that video, as long gone was naïve carefree Sarah. So much had happened since then.
Realising that her marriage was over, she realised was like coming to terms with a death. She was in mourning, as if Paul had died. And in many ways it seemed exactly like that because one day he was here and then suddenly he was just gone. The grief blindsided her so much that some mornings she struggled to get out of bed. If she didn’t have the children to see to, she thought she would have happily stayed there with the duvet over her head.
She’d spoken to Ruby about it quite a bit. It was funny how someone could come back into your life at exactly the right time and now it was as if she’d never been away.
She wasn’t trying to rewrite history and pretend that Paul and she were deliriously happy or anything before he left, she just thought that they had been muddling through and that they were content enough. She had gotten it all so wrong. While she was busy doing sleepless nights with the night feeds for Ella, Paul was off falling in love with Michelle. And to top it all off she had to get her head around the fact that Tommy, Katie and Ella would have a new brother or sister soon, and that little baby would be nothing to her but everything to them. Today was a good day though she supposed, she’d not cried yet. After all the crying of the previous few weeks, she’d no more tears left. And that was a good thing, because she really didn’t want to break down in front of Paul. She was desperately trying to hold onto what was left of her dignity.
One positive thing was that she was finally coming to terms with her psychic gift and she found that she was even getting used to the dreams she had every few nights. So far she’d not had any more in relation to Rachel’s murder, but she was dreaming nevertheless on a semi-regular basis. Some of her dreams were just too cryptic to understand and some were quite boring. She dutifully wrote all of them down in her journal which was getting really full already. Mary said that maybe one day the ones that seemed boring might make some sense.
Right now, her mind was on a pensioner who lived in her village, about a mile out. Her name was Bridie Moran and she lived on her own. Sarah tried to work out how old she would be now and figured it would be at least eighty. She’d often see her at mass and she was quite sprightly for her age. She did have a family, both a son and a daughter, but they were married and living in Dublin. It was one of those dreams that had awoken Sarah in a panic, as last night Bridie had died in a snow blizzard. Sarah closed her eyes and recalled the dream once again.
The weather is horrendous and everyone is housebound, as a white blanket of snow covers the ground Bridie gets more and more anxious as she is running low on groceries and fuel for her fire. She decides to walk to the local shop not realising how treacherous the roads are. But as she reaches the end of her lane, she slips on the snow. No matter how hard she tries she doesn’t have the strength to get herself back up. She dies on an icy bed, alone and scared.
Sarah had been dreadfully upset when she awoke with a start. She ran to the window as soon as she got up, half expecting to see that it had been snowing all night. But there wasn’t the slightest sign of any white in her garden. She’d checked the weather forecast first thing, but so far it wasn’t predicting bad weather. She had made a promise to herself to keep an eye on the weather channel. She shuddered again just thinking about poor Bridie shivering in the cold in her house and she was going to do everything in her power to ensure that Bridie didn’t die like that alone, even if she had to move her into her own home to make her safe.
No time for morbid thoughts now, as she glanced at the clock. Paul would be here soon. She stood up and went to check her appearance one more time. She had spent an age on her make-up this morning. She had no desire to win Paul back or anything like that, but she had her pride. She was determined not to look like the shabby ex-wife now that Paul had his shiny new accessory, Michelle.
Thank God for concealer, she thought. It had effectively covered the fact that she’d not had much sleep lately. Satisfied that she was looking good, Sarah peeped in the living room at the kids.
‘Mammy, there’s nothing on worth watching.’ Katie moaned. ‘I want to watch I Carly and none of the stupid channels have it on!’
Sarah sighed. She’d really thought long and hard about cancelling her satellite subsc
ription, but in the end the maths just didn’t add up. She was only working part-time and she just didn’t have the money for the luxuries that her family had become accustomed to.
‘I know it’s hard to adjust to only nine channels when you’ve been used to hundreds, but we’ve talked about this several times. You are old enough to understand that money is tight right now. I Carly might not be on but I don’t believe that there is simply nothing else on worth watching on all those channels we do have! And last time I counted you guys had over twenty different DVD’s in your collection!’ Sarah said. She really did not need her daughter making a big deal out of this; she’d enough on her plate. She felt bad enough that she had to cancel it. But until maintenance was sorted and Sarah knew how much cash she had, she had to be sensible and make cutbacks. Tommy, in fairness to him, had been great and took it on board pretty quickly, but Katie was evidently still adjusting to the loss. As for Ella, bless her, as long as there was a TV remote control to chew, she didn’t mind what channels it switched on.
Sure enough, Ella was sitting at Tommy’s feet, chewing something. Sarah smiled at her, her heart bursting with pride. She was just doing so well. She was crawling now and chattering away to anyone who looked in her direction. It had been great last Sunday when she crawled her first few inches. And luckily they were all there to watch her. And in addition to that every now and then there was even a word thrown in that they all understood. Tommy and Katie were besotted with her and loved playing with her, singing to her, dancing with her, anything that made her laugh, made them happy.
Sarah counted her blessings once more, three healthy children, a house, good family and friends, she wasn’t doing too badly. And then she heard a car pull up into the drive – Paul.
‘Kids, your Daddy is here,’ she called to them.
They stood up and walked to the window. Sarah had expected them to run out the door to meet him, but instead they stayed close to each other in the living room, shy all of a sudden of the man who answered to the name Daddy. Sarah could feel her temper rising again, she was just so angry with Paul for putting them through this. Taking a deep breath Sarah opened the front door to the beaming smile of her soon-to-be ex-husband.
The Life You Left Page 16