AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re heading out?” Jim, the grade seven teacher, asked.
Kyle thought about giving the same excuse he’d just given Mari. But he didn’t need to hide his evening plans. “Have an old girlfriend to catch up with. She’s just in town for a few days.”
“Nice.” Jim didn’t know the Calhouns. He didn’t even live in Wardham, but the next town over.
“Yeah, it has been.”
“Where is she now?”
“Chicago.”
“Nice. Went there for a weekend with my wife last summer. Saw a ball game.”
“Fun.” He was definitely broaching the idea of a visit to Laney. He’d never been. At the very least, it would be a good chance to see the city. “What else did you do there?”
“Waterfront cruise. You gotta go see that bean statue thing. And the pizza…actually, all the food. There’s this Polish restaurant that makes the world’s best pirogies. My God. You thinking of visiting?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Life is short.”
Yeah, he was finally learning that lesson.
Chapter 14
“Squeeze your butt! Maintain a straight line through your ribs and tummy, good, now slow inhale, and exhale, hold it there, good, inhale again, slow, that’s good.” Evie had missed her calling as a drill sergeant, although after a week of these exercises, Laney had to admit that her core did feel stronger. Not that she’d actually confess that out loud.
“And with this exhale, you’ll come out of shoulder bridge, maintaining a neutral spine. Roll down to the mat, then up to a seated position. Connor will lead the next exercise.”
Laney grinned at her nephew. “Whatcha got for us, big guy?”
Connor put his hands on his hips. “This is an advanced move, it’s really for superheroes, but you can try it. It’s called superman flying supertwist. Max is going to demonstrate.”
Max came running in wearing a tea towel as a cape, which he whipped off and flung at Laney’s head. He threw himself onto her mat, flat on his stomach, arms and legs stretched out and lifted slightly off the ground.
“Super Max, roll over. Uh, on the, you know, exhale.” Without touching the ground with either his hands or feet, Max flipped effortlessly to his back, then returned with similar ease to his front. “Once you’ve mastered that move—” Laney and Claire exchanged skeptical looks “—then you can add the twist. Super Max, fly!”
Max started to rock from side to side, wriggling his body, and Laney skittered backward off the mat to give him more room. He flipped once, and then again, and finished with a triumphant 90 degree turn, settling into a flying Superman pose, with the unique Max flair of using his hands as pretend laser guns. The three women dissolved into giggles, and Evie led them through a few final stretches.
“Maybe you and Connor should run family Pilates classes,” Laney suggested as they wandered to the kitchen for some homemade protein bars.
Evie nodded. “Honestly, I’ve been thinking about it. I’ll need to find a different space, because the studio space I’m sharing right now is fully booked. I’m only doing six classes a week, all adult, and they’re too popular to change.”
“If you got a dedicated space, how many classes could you offer?” Laney was surprised to hear that her sister wanted to expand. Evie seemed quite happy with her part-time schedule.
Evie shrugged. “Me personally? I could do four a day, although I’d rather hire part-time instructors and just lead one or two myself. I’ve drafted up a schedule with classes every day of the week, but in order to make a go of a standalone studio, I think I’d need to partner with a complimentary service. Maybe a spa. It’s still in the early planning stages.”
Laney gaped at her sister. “I had no idea. That all sounds fantastic. If you need anything...what’s mine is yours, you know that, right?”
Evie nodded. “Thank you. It won’t be necessary, but I appreciate it. If I can change the subject...”
“No, you can’t.” Laney shook her head, and stuffed a protein bar into Evie’s mouth. “I’m going to shower, then I think we should watch Love Actually.”
The diversion worked, and while Evie opened her mouth to ask again a few times during the movie, she thought better of it each time. The afternoon flew by, and after dinner, Laney reflected on how nice the day had been without any discussion. Talking is overrated, she decided, and that gave her an idea.
Kyle sent her a text shortly after nine o’clock saying he was heading home. She smoothed a hand across her outfit, borrowed from Evie—a denim miniskirt and a black long sleeve stretch shirt that looked conservative at first blush, but up close was thin enough to reveal the shadow of her black bra and the long delicate silver necklace she wore nestled between her breasts. She finished the outfit with her thigh high grey knit stockings and Evie’s hooker boots. She left her hair down, and didn’t bother with much makeup—only smudge proof mascara and peach flavoured lip balm.
She tucked the piece of paper she needed into the micro pocket on the skirt and squeezed her thighs together in anticipation.
