I grinned. “Genius.”
“Asshole genius,” Hawk clinked his beer bottle against mine. “I’ll take it.”
We both drank to that.
Six
Erica
It was Friday afternoon, and I’d just completed my final yoga class of the day. As everyone cleared out of the room, I stayed behind to tidy up. Rolling up my yoga mat, I tucked it into my duffle bag before pulling out my water bottle and taking several big gulps.
I had done it. I had made it through my first week of yoga classes, and I was pretty sure that it went well. At least, I hadn’t gotten any complaints. A heady feeling of accomplishment had me grinning like a crazy person as I walked out of the room.
“What’s put that look on your face?” Tammie, Swole’s wife, asked as she caught sight of me. She was a pilates instructor, and we had become friends in the past week.
“Just happy about this job,” I said honestly. I had met Jeff when I was eighteen years old and married him a year later. I didn’t have experience in the working world, and it surprised me how much I enjoyed knowing that I was earning my own money doing something that I enjoyed. I had never had that before.
“Oh, to be young and hopeful like that again,” Tammie replied wistfully. I laughed as we started walking toward the locker rooms.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, looking her over. “You can’t be any older than thirty-five.”
“Thirty-eight,” she corrected, “but thanks for that.”
“Anyway, I like this job. Are you saying that you don’t enjoy teaching pilates?”
“Sure,” she shrugged. “But the excitement has faded slightly after six years. I’m glad that you’re happy here, though. The last yoga teacher was a real bitch.”
That was what I liked about Tammy. She was always straight with you, saying what she really thought. After years of mind games from Jeff, I found that I appreciated directness above anything else.
We stepped into separate shower pods, and I quickly went through the process of washing my hair and body. By the time Tammie was done, I was already dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, braiding my hair in one plait.
“What are your plans for the evening?” she asked as she dried her pixie-cut blonde hair.
“I’m picking Dominic up from daycare at five.”
She waited a moment for me to continue. When I didn’t, she frowned, “And then?”
“And then, nothing. I’ll make dinner and maybe read a book or something when he’s asleep.”
“Oh my God, I almost died of boredom just listening to that. It’sFriday night.”
“I know that.” My voice sounded defensive, even to my ears. “I’m a mom. I can’t just go out and party every weekend.”
“I’m a mom, too.”
“I’m asinglemom.”
“All the more reason to go out. It’s tough being a single parent. You need a break every now and then.”
“I love Dominic.” There was that defensiveness again. The truth was, I did like the idea of an evening off, a chance to go out and enjoy myself for the first time in years. But didn’t that make me a bad mother?
“We all love our kids. That doesn’t mean that we stop existing as individuals once they’re born. You are a twenty-something single woman in a new town. You can’t tell me you have no interest in exploring the nightlife.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip. “My babysitter only does her in-home daycare during the day. And you’re right I’m new in town. I don’t know anyone that I trust to watch him last minute like this.”
“Swole and I are going out for a couple of drinks tonight. Will you join us if my niece, Heather, will watch Dominic along with my son? She’s a great girl. I trust her completely”
“I don’t know…”
