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thirteen
Guess what I got your daughter to agree to? She’s coming to the gym with me today! See, we made a deal. She wanted to bring home another dog from the shelter—this time an old wiener dog that’s lived in a cage all his life. She’s named him Benedict and he’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen. You’d never guess someone’s had him locked up for two years, other than he’s very shy and justifiably not very trusting. Problem is, we still have George and Gracie. The deal Lily and I have always had is she can bring anybody home that needs saving but one has to be adopted out before the next one comes in the house. Since she’s breaking that rule she has to do something I’ve been nagging her to do since last spring, and that’s try Semper Fit. This means I might actually get your yoga-loving ballerina to sling some weights around today! I can’t wait. I’ll keep you posted.
Yours forever,
Clem
Lily had dressed in yoga pants and a crop top that said Hit the Barre across the front. The fluttery, short sleeves highlighted her long, slender arms and the short length gave an occasional peek at her defined midsection when she stretched at certain angles. She’d put her hair in a French braid and wore the only pair of sneakers she owned, which she typically wore to and from the dance studio. She’d been silent on the ride to the gym, not complaining, but not engaging in Clementine’s chatter, either. Lily was holding up her end of the bargain with neither attitude nor excitement. Her expression read:I’m doing this for the dogs.Typical Lily.
The gym was busy for a Friday evening. There were people near the cubbies and on the floor warming up; both bathrooms had “occupied” notices on the handles and the coach was already engaged in conversation with one of the regulars, Hank, who was clearly describing his latest muscle tweak by the way he was working his shoulder. Clementine was surprised to see Hobbs, as he’d been gone for a couple of weeks now. In hindsight, she probably should’ve brought Lily to a quieter class, maybe one coached by Zoe, who had a bright, confident personality that Lily would appreciate. Clementine’s jaw about hit the floor when Lily caught Hobbs’s eye and, prompted by his big smile, gave him one in return, along with a wave.
A zip of panic ran through her before Clementine remembered that Lily and Hobbs had met on Halloween night. She reminded herself that though Hobbs was a player, he wasn’t a sleaze. She doubted he’d hit on a teenager.
Lily had no bag, only her water bottle emblazoned with anen pointesticker, so she skipped the reception area with the cubbies and went straight to the floor where everyone was warming up. She melted into the crowd, unafraid and oblivious to the looks she was already getting, from both men and women alike. Clementine knew that her daughter was a head-turner—the combination of height, striking looks and poise was hard to miss—but she never got used to the instant attention Lily got in public. Lily, on the other hand, was oblivious, or at least acted like it. So much like Tyler, with that cool confidence and irreverent beauty. When Clementine had first met him during the Marine Corps Marathon, both of them only nineteen years old, one of the thoughts that had run through her mind was how beautiful he was, even with sweat all over his face and a good twenty miles behind him.
Hobbs ditched Hank and made his way over to Lily, who greeted him with a grin of familiarity. Hobbs said something and Lily started laughing. As soon as her face broke into that dimpled smile, a few more people sneaked glances in her direction. Clementine rushed to dig her lifting shoes from her bag, eager to get on the floor and hear what they were talking about, but she reminded herself that Lily was old enough to hold a conversation and wouldn’t appreciate her mom butting in. By the time Clementine headed in their direction, she saw that another woman had joined their huddle. The woman was of medium height, had blond hair that leaned in the direction of golden and had an aura of worry that weighed down her soft, rounded features. She wore a large T-shirt over a pair of black yoga pants.
“Clem!” Hobbs’s jovial voice rose a notch as she approached. “You brought your girl to work out. This is awesome.”
Clementine had never told Hobbs that nobody called her Clem except Tyler, because Hobbs meant nothing by it. Giving people nicknames that stuck was kind of his thing. Tabitha had once told her, “Yeah, nobody calls me Tabby, either, but I don’t mind when Hobbs does it.” He just had that way about him, a congenial sort of openness that welcomed everyone, made them all feel safe and a part of the tribe.
“It’s payback,” Clementine said as she joined the trio. “Lil broke the rules on the number of pets in the house, so she has to work off their room and board by giving in to one of my whims.” She opened her arms to indicate the gym.
“Well, that’s not really punishment,” Hobbs said. “Lily’s getting the better end of this deal. Speaking of...how are George and Gracie?”
“They’re actually in the car,” Lily said. “Gracie is asleep in a big blanket in the back seat and George is curled up against her. They didn’t even budge when we got here.”
“They wore themselves out this morning,” Clementine added. “Gracie wants to play with Benedict, the new dog Lily brought home. Benedict wants nothing to do with Gracie. George wants nothing to do with Benedict. Much chaos has ensued. Our only choices were to lock up Benedict, which we didn’t want to do because he’s lived in a cage all his life, or lock up George and Gracie, which would result in a huge mess, so...we just brought George and Gracie along. They at least have each other and we’re not sure how Benedict would react to being left in the car.”
Hobbs’s eyes had glazed over a little, like that was way too much responsibility for him to deal with, but forever laid-back about everything, he laughed. “Gracie is the one I told you about,” he said to the woman in black yoga pants. “She looks just like Gemma.”
“Aww.” The woman’s face finally shed the worry and fear that had been clouding it and turned to a warm, misty reminiscence. “Can I see her?”
“Sure,” Clementine and Lily both said.
“Oh, sorry.” Hobbs shook his head. “Clementine, this is my sister, Hannah. Hannah, this is Clementine, Lily’s mom. Don’t let her miniature size fool you. Clem’s a beast.”
“Hi,” Hannah said, turning to Clementine with a soft smile.
“Your sister.” Clementine clapped her forehead with the heel of her hand. “I see it now.” Hannah and Hobbs had the same color eyes—a pale, liquid blue rimmed by a shade of indigo. Hannah’s hair had a red color mixed in that Hobbs’s lacked, but if Clementine looked closely she could see that same red poking through the three days’ growth of beard Hobbs had failed to shave. “Nice to meet you, Hannah. Sure, you can see Gracie. And George. No way you’re seeing Gracie without seeing George, am I right?” Clementine bumped Lily with her hip.
“This is true,” Lily agreed, though her smile was tight.
“How about after the workout? Is Hobbs just now getting you to join the gym?”
Hannah’s smile, rather than brightening her face, softened it, making her seem even more affable and gentle. “I’m here to try it out. Get my blood flowing. After the workout sounds great. I love dogs.”
“She just got here,” Hobbs added. “From Omaha. Trust me, if she lived here I’d have had her in years ago.”
She gave him a shove. “You could try.”
Clementine could definitely see the familial likeness now. She tried to picture them as kids, playing together, getting in fights, ruining each other’s things, keeping secrets—all the things Clementine did with her brother growing up—but there was definitely something parental about the way Hobbs treated her, which hinted at a large age gap.
“Ballerina, right?” Hobbs turned to Lily. “So, you’re already superstrong.”
“The legs, definitely,” Clementine chimed in.
“The core,” Hobbs said, rubbing his middle. “That’s the important part. Her core is probably crazy strong. And her flexibility won’t hurt none, either.”
