“I know,” she nodded, but the pain was still etched in her features. “But they were my only family, and I feel like I let them down.”
I regretted asking about her parents. It was a real shit situation, what happened to her. It was worse than my circumstances, in my opinion. I never had parents to care about, not really. So I didn’t feel like I lost anything, even when I went into the system. You couldn’t lose what you never had. But Erica had to deal with the sudden loss of people that she loved at such a young age. That kind of thing changed a person.
“No other family?” I knew how that was. “What about Dominic’s dad? Where is he?”
It was something that I had been wondering about since I found out there was a kid in the picture. I wasn’t intimidated by the idea of a jealous ex, but I also didn’t like to compete for affection. If Dominic’s dad still held a piece of her heart, I’d rather know now.
Erica’s demeanor completely changed, when I mentioned the mystery man. Before, she’d been sad, but open. Now, she was completely closed off. Her back went ramrod straight, and all emotion was wiped from her face. I’d never seen someone put on a mask so quickly.
“He’s no one. He’s not in the picture.”
Well, it looked like sharing time was over. I let the subject drop, but one day she’d have to tell me what she was hiding. I didn’t care if she’d done something bad, I was in no place to judge, but I didn’t think that was it. She was haunted by something in her past.
“He seems like a good kid,” I said. “You’ve got this single parent thing down. That’s all a kid needs, at least one person that gives a damn. Mama Tammy was that person for me.”
We’d finished our pretzels and were once again walking along the boardwalk. There were people all around, but I felt like it was just the two of us. She held my complete attention.
“You guys are still in touch?”
“Yeah. I moved out as soon as I turned eighteen, but I try to visit her every Sunday.”
“That’s nice.”
Erica’s phone beeped, and she checked the text message. “Looks like Elaine is ready for me to pick up Dominic.”
“Let’s go.”
When we got back to the bike, I mounted it and waited for her to climb up. A she settled in behind me, an unfamiliar feeling also settled in the center of my chest. A feeling of rightness and affection that I wasn’t quite ready to examine closely. All I knew right now was that I had the right girl on the back of my bike for the first time ever.
Ten
Erica
Monday was the beginning of my second week at the fitness center. I was fortunate in that yoga was very popular in this area, so I usually had a couple of classes a day. I wasn’t exactly rolling in the dough, but at least I had food in the fridge, and my rent was going to be paid on time.
I had even started to do research into different styles of yoga, such as prenatal and silent. I quickly discarded anything involving animals, such as cats, rabbits, and… goats? People had some strange ideas, but I didn’t think any kind of furry creature would be a good idea inside the gym. I wouldn’t want to clean up any messes afterward.
I wanted to offer a bigger variety to draw in more students and make myself a vital part of the team here. The first thing I wanted to add to the class schedule was a Mommy and Me class. It appealed to the parent side of me, and I thought that it would be a fun way to include Dominic in this part of my life.
I pitched the idea to Swole when she came by to check in with me before my last class of the day.
“Hmm, that’s interesting,” she crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side as her eyes took on a faraway look. “An evening class, I think. Start with one mid-week. We could emphasize the importance of youth fitness and maybe offer some kind of a discount if kids sign up for our new kids gymnastics classes.”
Swole was clearly talking to herself, working out the logistics in the way that an experienced manager does, but I couldn’t help interrupting.
“Gymnastic classes?”
“Yeah. Since Emory is getting older, I’ve been learning what a money pit kids are, and I figured it would be a good idea for the gym to benefit from it.”
I laughed. She had that right.
Swole left as my students started to file into the room for their beginner’s yoga class, promising to get back to me soon about the Mommy and Me class. I could tell she liked the idea, and that made me feel good because I respected the woman. She was smart and tough. No one would ever cross her. If I were more like that, I wouldn’t have become a battered wife.
As I rolled out my yoga mat and turned on soothing music, I told myself to focus on the now. All I could do was try to be a stronger woman now.
The class lasted an hour, and it was five in the evening by the time we were finished. I had arranged a daily pick-up time of six o’clock with Jennifer. This allowed me time to clean up and shower without hurrying. When I stepped out of the yoga room, I was looking at the main body of the gym, with rows of various exercise equipment on blue mats. Monday wasn’t the fitness center’s busiest day, being the beginning of many people’s workweek and all, so the place was nearly empty. There were two men on weight machines and a woman with earbuds in, was running full-out on a treadmill. I could hear a rhythmic thumping from near the locker rooms, but that wasn’t within my line of vision.
Pulling out my cell phone, I checked for text messages. I kept it on vibrate during classes, and I wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed anything from Dominic’s sitter, Tammy, or Trainer.
