As breakfast wraps up, I realize I enjoyed it. The food was very decent, the coffee wasn’t watered down, and the orange juice was freshly pressed. A huge improvement to the hotel in Cahors!
Thanks to Emily’s extraverted nature and Virginie’s warmth, conversations flowed unfettered. Better still, I got excited about what Henri has planned. Who knows, during his excursions, I might stumble upon a clue about the elusive key.
Henri rises to his feet. “Everyone, the first fun activity starts in fifteen minutes! Go change into sportswear and meet me at the main entrance at ten sharp.”
Audrey and I head to our rooms to change. I opt for leggings and an oversize T-shirt. She puts on a tracksuit.
Back at the main entrance, Yann has joined the fray, dressed in cycling shorts and a sleeveless shirt. He looks like he drinks protein shakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We follow Henri and Yann to a spot in the park equipped with an outdoor fitness station. It’s fairly basic with a few pull-up bars, parallel bars, and some benches.
“Welcome to our fitness boot camp!” Yann announces.
Henri beams. “We thought this would make for a nice icebreaker.”
Yann shows us the exercises he’d like us to do. He begins with squats, accompanying his demo with a peculiar commentary that draws parallels between working out and love life.
“Now, pull-ups,” he declares, grabbing the bar, “are like relationships. It’s all about ups and downs. And when you’re down, you must find the will to rise up again.”
Chuckles ripple through the group.
“What if I lack that will?” Emily challenges him.
“Then you’ll stay down,” Yann retorts, unfazed. “And, eventually, you’ll fall.”
She feigns distress. “Ouch.”
“Now, the lunges,” Yann continues, stepping forward into one. “They’re about taking the plunge, like when you conquer the fear that you might fall on your face and ask the object of your desire out.”
“I think I’ve found a new object of my desire,” Emily whispers in my ear, ogling Yann’s thighs.
I glance at Henri who’s face-palming. Clearly, his friend’s unique insights weren’t supposed to be part of the program.
Yann moves on to the bench and pats it. “So many things you can do with this baby! Step-ups, incline push-ups, skip-ups, tricep dips, burpees… you name it!”
“I love benches,” the ecotravel blogger offers. “When I’m hiking, I often stop for a quick routine when I see one.”
Yann points at him in a “you” gesture. “That’s what I’m talking about! What’s your name?”
“Florent.”
“Will you demonstrate an incline push-up for the group, Florent?”
With an air of an Olympic runner stepping into starting blocks, Florent positions himself in front of the bench. As he drops into a nicely straight plank, Yann resumes the commentary.
“Push-ups,” he says, looking at me, and then at Emily, “remind us that sometimes, you have to overcome mechanical resistance to kiss the boy.” He shifts his gaze to Audrey. “Or the girl.”
I just.
Emily giggles.
Henri buries his face in his hands.
Audrey grins. “Damn right!”
Under Yann’s watchful eye, the rest of us launch, with varying degrees of success, into the exercises he demonstrated.
I overhear Henri say to him, “What’s with all the life wisdom, man? You never mentioned it when we discussed the boot camp.”
“That’s because I wasn’t planning to dispense any—not for free, at any rate.” He shrugs before adding proudly, “But I always end up over delivering. It’s who I am.”
