A shiver ran through her as she headed down the stone step pathway along the river. She didn’t care that it was extra chilly as she walked along the water. She loved taking this route, not only because it was a shortcut, but also because she loved the sound of the rushing water.
She took a deep breath, and her phone dinged with a message. When she pulled it out, she saw it was from Gabby Richmond. Gabby was one of the other wives on the football team her ex-husband played for. She’d grown close to her during her marriage, but since her divorce she hadn’t really kept in touch with her or any of the other wives.
Brock was one of the stars on his team and, of course, had the loyalty of the other players, which was totally understandable. Tiana never wanted to put any of the women in a position wherethey felt as if they were choosing sides. Football was his world, and she’d gracefully excused herself from it.
Gabby: hey girl hope you’re doing okay. call if you need to talk.
Hope you’re doing okay?
Call if you need to talk?
Tiana had no clue what Gabby was referring to. Had something happened with Brock? After the divorce became final, she’d taken off her Google alerts for his name. She’d also moved thousands of miles away, blocked him on every social media account and her phone, and changed her email, bank accounts, and every password she had.
Another shiver ran down her as she took the fork in the path that led to Golden Years Assisted Living. As she walked on the incline, she typed ‘Brock Bartlett’ into the search bar and pressed enter. The first page of results contained the usual suspects. His season stats, injuries, some locker room clips, and a charity event he’d attended.
Nothing that would cause alarm, she moved to page two. Those results were even more innocuous. A link to hisHot Onesepisode. A podcast he’d done and articles from a celebrity golf tournament he was co-chairing.
Not getting anywhere with her Google dive, she went to his social media. There was nothing out of the ordinary. She had no idea what was happening.
She was still trying to piece everything together when yet another text came in. It was from Jessica Garmen, who saved her name as Jess G. (WAG). Jess was a girlfriend of one of the players. WAG, which stood for wives and girlfriends, was a term Tiana always hated, but Jessica owned and loved it, and she was the one who programmed her number into Tiana’s phone.
Jess G. (WAG): head high. heart wide. just shine.
Jess was a huge fan ofFriday Night Lightsand loved Coach Taylor’s saying before the boys went out on the field “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” And had adopted her own saying for the girls whenever they got together to go out as a sort of mantra for girl power. Why was she sending Tiana a girl power mantra?
If Tiana was closer to the women, she’d just respond and ask, but she decided those worms were best left in the can and not opened.
She put her phone back in her bag as she moved forward to enter the senior home. The doors opened, and she was met with a pocket of warm air that surrounded her like a hug, instantly taking the edge off the chill that the freezing temperatures had settled in her bones on the short five-minute walk from her studio.
Like her studio, the walls were a muted shade, but instead of sage green, these were dove gray and dotted with framed prints of botanical illustrations.
Tiana’s jaw was still chattering as she approached the front desk, where Cindy Brown, who was in charge of all operations, was placing one call on hold and then returning to the previous and answering questions regarding the facility and its amenities, receiving a delivery and visually acknowledging Gus Cerrento—AKA Grumpy Gus—who clearly had a complaint, while also writing down a verbal lunch order from one of the resident physicians, who assumed his dining desires trumped everyone else’s needs.
As Tiana stood back and watched Cindy, she got the same feeling of awe she had when she’d gone to see Swan Lake. Both were beautifully choreographed ballets. Tiana would evensay Cindy’s was the more impressive, considering the delicate balance she had to maintain catering to physicians’ egos and patients’ emotional and physical needs while also running the day-to-day operations, and she did it all with a huge smile on her face and looking absolutely stunning.
Today her hair was a pixie cut, which accentuated her high cheekbones. She’d always reminded Tiana of Angela Bassett, and now that she had her exact haircut fromWaiting to Exhale,she was the spitting image.
After the delivery man got his signature, he turned and walked out, and Tiana took his place. Cindy was finishing her call, and once she did, she paged a nurse to come and assist Gus as she typed on her computer, most likely placing the lunch order.
By the time that had been completed, Tiana had just finished signing in, and she smiled as she set the pen down, expecting to be buzzed in. Cindy met everyone with a wide smile, but today there was no smile on her face. “Not so fast, I have a bone to pick with you.”
Tiana froze as her stomach dropped. She’d never dealt with Cindy about her outstanding balance, she’d only ever spoken to Leonardo, who was in charge of accounting. If they’d asked Cindy to speak to her, then this was serious. Were they going to kick Pops out? Had they asked Cindy to break the news to her since they had a good rapport, some might even say a friendship?
All Tiana could do was wait in silent anticipation for what was to come next. She wouldn’t allow him to be kicked out. No matter what. She would even swallow her pride and do what she had to do.
“I could not move for almost two days after your class on Wednesday night.”
Tiana exhaled in relief. This was a yoga-related beef. “Hot yoga will do that to you.”
“I had to roll myself out of bed. And it took me five minutes to stand up from the toilet, my legs were so sore.”
“But you’ll be back next week, right?”
“Of course!” Cindy enthused.
One of Tiana’s favorite things was watching people fall in love with yoga, or any exercise in general, just moving their bodies, and then seeing the value it added to their lives. Tiana felt like it saved hers. She knew after Cindy’s first class three months earlier that she’d caught the bug. When she started, her plan was to take one or two classes a month, now she was up to one or two a week.
The phone rang, and Tiana was going to head down the hall, but Cindy held up her forefinger, the universal gesture asking her to wait.
