The building is decently sized, with eighty-four condos. My primary goal when I was hunting for a home here was the ability to lease. From there, I was looking for amenities, most importantly, a good gym. Everything beyond that was just a perk.
What sold me on this particular building was the view and the tub in the laundry room. It was made for a hockey player with that tub. I was convinced of that.
A lot of times when I’ve visited the gym in a building I lived in, it’s rarely used. I appreciate that there’s a decent amount of activity in this one, though. I’ve even seen Ellie and Paul down here. When it’s raining or we’re caught in the middle of bitter temperatures, I can often find them strolling along on the treadmills.
Ellie has often told me that getting her steps in every day is how she stays so flexible. She ends that with a wink, too. Hey, old people need love as well. Good for her.
There are a dozen people in the gym. Most I recognize. As predicted, there was an influx right after the new year, but all those resolutions have already fallen away for most. Just the people who are normally here are the faces I see today.
Including the guys that Arush met when he brought himself on a tour one of the times I had away games.
Tobias and James grin as we walk in. “Heyyyy!” they say in unison. As always, I shake my head with amusement.
Heading for them, I bump my fist with their proffered ones. Arush follows.
“Haven’t seen you in a minute,” James says. “Hockey taking you away?”
I nod. “Yep. Such is the life.”
“Dude, your last game,” Tobias says, shaking his head.
“This whole season,” I counter.
“Good to see you joining us, Arush,” James says. “We love that there’s another roommate duo in the building.” James and Tobias slap hands and then turn their grins on us.
I smile in return, meeting Arush’s eyes. He’s smiling too, but like me, his smile says something different. We don’t correct them, but we know the truth. Roommates, sure. For now. But in the same breath, not at all.
We’re not roommates. We’re something more. Something better. But we’re just getting started so we don’t correct them.
Instead, we join them in their rotations and enjoy some bro-centric conversation. I keep an eye on Arush and he seems to find them more amusing by the minute.
But the best part of the gym? The way we share a secret every time our eyes meet. The smiles we exchange are only for each other.
CHAPTER 18
ARUSH
I spend allthe warm mornings on the balcony. I’ve decided that every Thursday, I’m going to take a picture from the exact same spot and see if I can notice the changes in nature as the weather gets warmer.
Today isn’t exactly a warm day. The sun is out, but the wind is biting. I’m wrapped in a blanket as I sit in the chair. Skylar is on the other side of the glass wall as we talk nonsense. We’ve done this a few times now.
Through these conversations, I’ve learned that she’s thirteen and homeschooled. It sounds to me like she’s a couple years ahead of her peers and incredibly intelligent. This might be somewhat difficult to grasp since she talks through a made-up language as often as she can.
Two days ago, she told me about the different classes she’s currently taking. The biology classes she takes at the local college, as well as the labs for her chemistry classes. She also takes piano lessons, though she says her parents are looking for a new tutor since the last has already taught her all they know.
I’m under the impression Skylar is an incredibly gifted child. I’m not huge on psychology, but I wonder if maybe her escape into the make believe is a kind of release of pressure from all thechallenging courses and training she goes through every day. It’s a way of shutting down and giving her brain a rest.
I’ve always heard that if you’re creative, then you’re not scientifically inclined and vice versa. That doesn’t appear to be true for Skylar, though. The second time I spoke to her, she’d been finishing a drawing for an art class that she was taking ‘just for fun, it doesn’t count for anything’ and what she shared with me through the gap in the glass panel and wall was absolutely incredible.
I’m not sure where her talent ends, but I’m both a little envious at how incredibly gifted she is and also relieved because it feels like it puts a lot of weight on her. So much so that she escapes into a made-up world whenever she can.
My dad always asks about her now. From the moment I told him how we met through the glass on the balcony and our conversation, he’s been incredibly invested in Skylar’s life. He’s fascinated by her talents and escapism.
I also think she’s lonely, like me, so we take comfort in each other’s company. She’s an only child with two working parents. One works from home, which is why she’s able to be homeschooled. It also sounds like it’s necessary for someone to work from home because Skylar has labs and shit that I don’t think a thirteen-year-old would normally have.
Today is one of those days. We only have ten minutes to chat before her mother calls her inside to get ready for one of her labs at the college.
I’m surprised when I see her mother’s head peek over the wall. My first thought is,am I in trouble for talking to her daughter? Is it not okay in the US to talk to your neighbors like this?
