by P.J. Lowry
Lizzy knew from the beginning that this was going to be a very difficult task. First off, Jared knew about the list and likely was aware that his name was there and she was eventually going to get to his item. It was only a matter of time. So when Lizzy finally came to the task that involved helping Jared losing some weight, she thought the best help she could get was from the only woman that he would ever listen to: his wife. They met over coffee and made up a plan of attack. Jared had already told his wife Cindy about the quest she was one to complete Hayden's list. So when Lizzy came to her door and showed her the part of the list that had something to do with Jared, she was all for it. She knew that Hayden had put that there because he was worried about Jared's health and wanted him to hang around a lot longer for him and for his family.
"Don't get me wrong.” Cindy said as she sipped her tea, “I love the man in any shape and size but he needs to lose a few just to make sure his heart keeps beating the distance."
"I know what you mean." Lizzy replied, "You never know when the next day could be the last."
"Awww dear." Cindy said with great respect. "You are living the nightmare none of us want to experience. For what it's worth, you've been doing very well considering what happened. I think doing this list while a tad obsessive is a lot more healthy that what I've seen other widows do. You're at least taking all the energy and doing something productive with it. I admire that."
"Thanks." Lizzy said as she had a deep appreciation for what she had said about the list. "So will you assist me in helping Jared lose a few pounds?"
"Yes, let's get to it."
Jared was expecting Lizzy to eventually come his way, but was completely blindsided by his wife taking her side. So when he got home that night, he was shocked to see that Lizzy was there with Cindy and they had both taken the time to make supper for him. He strolled into the kitchen. “Hello there, ladies.” he said trying to remain calm until he knew what was going on. “What seems to be going on here?”
"Well Lizzy came by for a visit.” Cindy said with a big smile. “And since she was here to check up on you as well, I invited her to stay for supper and she was so nice to help me cook it as well. She's such a good little helper.”
“Yeah, she's like that.” Jared said as he hung his coat up and washed up for dinner. “Whatever you gals have got cooking, it sure smells fantastic.” He took a seat and waited patiently for his meal to arrive. When it did he was pleasantly surprised to see it was one of his favourites: baked pork chops with mushroom rice. “This looks great, but I have to admit I was expecting to see a plate of steamed veggies.”
"We know that's what you expected, but that's still what you got.” Cindy said with a giggle as she sat down with her own serving and she gave the other one to Lizzy who was sitting on the opposite end of the table as her.
“I don't understand.” Jared said, somewhat confused.
"We didn't substitute your meal.” Lizzy said with a smile. “We merely substituted a few ingredients that are responsible for the high fat and sodium content.”
“So it's basically the same meal, just tweaked?” Jared concluded.
“You tell us.” Cindy said as she motioned him to give it a try.
Jared pulled the meal closer to him and cut off a nice chunk from one of the pork chops and gave it a try. It still tasted pretty much the same, but he was willing to part with perfection to make it a little healthier. “This is amazing.” he then looked over to Lizzy, “Is this part of the list you're working here: to help me lose weight?”
Lizzy smiled, “Yes it is.”
“Is this all you're going to do because I have no problem with this.” Jared said as he took another hearty bite. The Chops were great and going to be devoured at a record pace.
“Not exactly.” Lizzy replied, “I'll be here tomorrow around 6am for our morning jog.”
Jared nearly choked on his current bite. “I'm sorry, did you say morning jog?”
"Yes, she did dear.” Cindy answered for him.
Jared looked over at his wife and suddenly realized that he was facing a war on two fronts here. It didn't work out that well for Germany and he had a feeling this fight was going to have a similar end. Still, he carried on. “So you mean like run around the block a few times kind of jogging, right?”
“That's right.” Lizzy said, “We are going to burn some calories and slim you down!”
“Somehow I kind of saw this coming.” Jared said as he suddenly lost his appetite.
“This isn't a request, hun.” Cindy said as she gave him 'that look' that the person in charge usually gives his/her peons when they meant business and wanted results.
Jared looked at both women and realized that they were both dead serious about this so he relented. “I guess that means I'll be heading to bed early so that I will have enough energy tomorrow for my jog.”
Much to Jared's disappointment, Lizzy had arrived for the morning jog on time and in her own jogging suit. She brought one with the same colors for Jared. “Throw these on, big guy and then we'll get running!”
Jared looked back at her, but didn't say anything because he knew who was really to blame for all this and at the moment he was untouchable. It was Hayden's orders she was following and he made special note to give the Irish punk and kick in the ass when he joined him after his own passing, which might be this morning if he dies of exhaustion from jogging and trying to keep up with Hayden's limber and in perfectly fit wife. Instead of fighting it and his wife, he took the suit from her and smiled. “I'll be right back.”
Jared took his sweet time, but he eventually came down in the matching costume that Lizzy had gotten for him. She had to admit while she looked amazing in her jogging suit, Jared's made him look like a big marsh mellow. He didn't seem very impressed with how it looked on him but was going with it anyway. “All right then.” Lizzy said as she walked over to the front yard and sat on the grass. “We should do some stretches first.”
Jared came to the front yard and sat down and started to mimic whatever Lizzy was doing to warm up. She could tell he was going out of his way to try, and she and Cindy really appreciated what he was doing for the list. He knew Hayden wanted him to do this and he was making an effort for her and him. Yet as he was doing a stretch another reason why he should do this came upon him. There was a loud ripping sound that came from the part of the pant that covers his ass as it broke open. He stood up, embarrassed and unknown of what he should do next. “Damn.” he muttered, unsure of how bad the rip was.
“Don't worry about that.” Lizzy said as she stood up, “I'll get you another one tomorrow and I'll make sure that doesn't happen with a better size.” She started to pick up her legs and before Jared knew it she was running circles around him. “Time to run!” she bolted up the driveway and ran in one spot waiting for him to join her.
“What about my pants?” Jared cried.
“No excuses, let's hit the pavement!” Lizzy barked at him.
Jared didn't want to be the one person who refused to help Lizzy complete her list, so he sucked up the embarrassment and started to jog down the driveway and then onto the sidewalk. “All right, let's go.”
As they hit the sidewalks, Lizzy slowed down to keep pace with Jared but could tell he was really making an effort of it. He started to sweat a lot quicker than she did and started to huff and puff like a smoker but he wasn't one so that was likely a bad sign. By the time they reached the half way mark which was a local park, Jared was near exhaustion and was ready to stop. He crawled over to one of the park's many benches and took a seat. “Are you all right Jared?” Lizzy asked as she slowed to a stop and took a seat beside him.
“It feels like my chest is going to explode.” Jared said as he sat back and gasped for breathe. “I appreciate what you're trying to do here Liz, I really do. But I'm not the jogging type. Me and jogging just don’t mix.”
"Then how else am I supposed to get you to lose a few pounds?” Lizzy then asked. She had no inte
ntion of giving up.
Jared huffed and puffed again before speaking. “Give me that copy of the list I know you have on you.” Lizzy paused for a moment and the relented. She passed the list over to Jared and gave him a moment to look it over. Jared started to read it over and finally he reached the one he was looking for. “Here it is. It says 'help Jared lose a few pounds'. It doesn't say force Jared to lose a few pounds. It tells you to merely help me lose them.”
“What point are you getting to?” Lizzy asked, realizing that Jared might be trying to wiggle out of doing his daily jogs.
“It means you can't force me to run like this every day. You can help me, but you can't crack the whip. It's against what the item says!” Jared smiled knowing that he got her with mere semantics. It was a gift for him to point all this stuff out.
“Then how do I help you lose a few pounds then?” Lizzy asked as she decided to give jogging the heave ho. It was never going to work with Jared... he was too out of shape and the idea of Jared dropping of a heart attack wasn't going to help anyone.
“Well, I would rather use machines like treadmills before I do stuff like this.” Jared said very honestly.
Lizzy pondered the idea. “So you want me to buy you a gym pass?”
“Not really Liz.” Jared said as he sat back up. “I don't like gyms. I look like a blimp and am too ashamed to even show my face there.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Lizzy said trying to figure out how to get Jared in shape without killing or embarrassing him.
“Well if it wasn't too much of an inconvenience.” Jared started with a twinkle in his eye. “You could use some of that settlement money and buy me one or two machines and I can work out in the comfort of my own home.”
Lizzy thought about it. “How would I know you were using them?”
“You have Cindy in your pocket. She'll make sure I use them.” Jared replied, “Besides, this is for Hayden. I will run those machines into the ground to honour that man. You know that.”
Lizzy could tell by the way that he said that last comment that he meant every word of it. He had just run two kilometres in ripped jogging pants for his best friend, and she was sure he would use the machines and honour him by losing the weight and helping Lizzy with her quest to finish the list.
“All right,” she finally agreed, “We'll get you some machines. But I want results within the first few months.”
“You've provided me with the stuff I need and the motivation I need to change.” Jared said as he handed the list back to her. “That would qualify as 'helping' me lose weight. I will do it, I promise.”
“All right, that works for me.” Lizzy said as she took back the list, folded it up and put it back into her pocket. “But you also have to eat healthier too.”
“All right, I'll do that too.” Jared said as he groaned up from the bench to a standing position. “Can we walk back to the house? I think I'm all jogged out today.”
“Walking is still good for you.” Lizzy said as she also got back up and they walked back to Jared's house and sat with Cindy to explain to her their new compromise. Cindy actually admitted she was worried if they pushed him too fast too soon, and thought using machines would allow him to start off slow and then build up a good pace as he got into better shape. It was the safest way to take care of Jared so she volunteered to make her sewing room the new personal gym for her husband. She was determined to get Jared in shape and Lizzy was more than willing to buy the machines necessary for Jared to get there as well. Within the week the new machines were delivered and placed into the room that Cindy had cleared out for Jared. There was enough room in the new gym for a treadmill for walking and running, a rowing machine, an elliptical machine as well as an advanced weight system that would help him lean up or bulk his muscle which is helpful for any fireman. Cindy added something to the mix by putting up a flat screen television on the wall so Jared could watch something while he was doing any cardio on the machines that sat before it. It would help time fly and let him last longer on the machines. Lizzy brought something else to put up on the wall for Jared. It was Hayden's picture from the funeral. The massive painted picture of him in his dress uniform, up on the wall that was hard to miss going in and out of the gym. It was all the inspiration that Jared needed as he woke up early every morning and worked on every machine before breakfast and then did weights after breakfast before going to work. After several weeks everyone started to notice the difference as Jared's stomach was losing multiple inches each month and his arms and back was looking more lean and fit. Jared felt good about what he was doing for many reasons. He helped Lizzy finish a part of the list by keeping to his word while at the same time taking care of himself which was bound to help him stick around for years to come. Of course his main inspiration was Hayden, and he refused to give that painting back to Lizzy as it was the one thing that helped him keep going when he didn't want to. It was all he needed to make the change, his fallen friend.
The last time Lizzy went to visit Jared, he wasn't home. Cindy answered the door and smiled when she realized who it was. “You're not going to believe this. He's gone out for a jog. He said he would be back in an hour.”
“Wow.” Lizzy said, as she came in. Cindy showed her a before and after picture and she couldn't believe how well he was doing.
“If you thought that was something, you have to see this.” Cindy led her down the hallway to the gym room they had created and Jared had made some changes. Hayden's picture was still where Lizzy had put it but Jared had put up more pictures of other fallen firemen that the city had lost over the last several years. He didn't want to join them anytime soon and that was his true inspiration to work out, his own mortality. Jared loved life and wanted more of it, and he worked hard to ensure he would get more of it. He had done it for Hayden, his fallen brethren and most of all for himself.