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“Is that what you’re doing all day? Knock-knock jokes?”
“They’re not knock-knock jokes. Did I say, ‘Knock-knock’? But yeah, in French.”
“Hold on to your nuts,” Brody says. He comes to a sitting position, and I pass him the towel.
“Huh?” I say.
He scrubs his face and neck. No matter how many fans we bring out here, it’s still hot as blazes. I also hand him his water bottle. “The joke,” he says. “The hurricane tells the coconut tree to hold on to its nuts.”
I blink. “Genius. Please hold.”
CASE
Trop facile.
CASE
Accrochez-vous à vos noix.
WINNIE
…
WINNIE
Cheater! Brody told you.
I groan out loud and can hear the echo of laughter in the arena. Over the half wall, I can see Maria doing a little dance.
“Your girlfriend gave me away.”
Pax looks entirely unbothered by this news. “Well, you did cheat.”
Brody gets up from the bench, and we trade places. I lie down while he removes some weight from each side. Not a lot, and not nearly as much as we remove for Pax, but enough so I don’t kill myself.
I reach up and remove the bar, completing my sets. We go through the routine one more time with Pax and then move on to squats. Once again, Brody starts us off.
He stands beneath the bar, hauling it to his shoulders and stepping clear from the supports. Then he executes a perfect squat.
Bastard.
“Hey,” I say, “been meaning to ask you. I was at St. James last week to visit someone, and there was this nurse… or maybe she was a tech? Young, cute, with curly hair? She asked about you by name.”
His face turns red, and I can’t tell if it’s the exertion or something else.
“You were on the seventh floor?” he asks, his brows drawing together as he stops at the top.
“Yeah. Remember that kid Ryder? Cancer patient? His mom called. He’s back in after a bone marrow transplant. She asked if I could come and see him.”
Brody nods. “Little guy?”
“Middle schooler.”
“Shit.” Brody starts squatting again. He finishes his reps and places the bar with a clank of metal. “I don’t know how you can stand going back. I hate that place. I don’t ever want to see it again.”
I move to redistribute the weight. “Well, it’s not like I was there to sit in Walker’s old room and reminisce. I was visiting someone.”
“Yeah, another sick kid. No thanks. I’ve had enough to last a lifetime.”
