Chapter 2
Chapter Two
“Grapevine! One two three, and one two three!” the instructor shouted.
Rita Osbourne, puffing hard, did her best to keep up, but it was impossible. She hadn’t done aerobics since she was twenty-five years old, and that was back when her coordination skills were mediocre at best. More than a quarter of a century later, she certainly hadn’t improved.
Beside her, Cathy moved in time to the music as though she was built for this exact moment.
Her blonde-grey hair barely moved due to the enormous amounts of hair spray she’d apparently applied, and her aqua-coloured tights blazed like a bright beam in the midst of a sea of black and charcoal workout clothes.
Finally, the class ended, and Rita collapsed onto a bench seat against the wall, her chest heaving.
“That was fantastic,” Cathy crooned as she wiped sweat off her face with a matching aqua hand towel. “Don’t you think?”
Rita nodded, unable to speak.
“I’m going to grab a shower. I’ll meet you in the café after?” Cathy waved over her shoulder as she departed, her matching athletic bag swinging from her other hand.
Slowly, Rita pushed herself back onto her feet and followed her cousin to the locker room.
Cathy had convinced her to join the gym a few weeks earlier, saying it would be good for her health and would give them a chance to bond.
Rita had lost almost one hundred pounds since she started chemotherapy.
It’d been a tough journey but now that it was over and she’d recovered from the treatment, she felt better than she had in twenty years.
But still, she struggled to get through an aerobics class.
Lack of coordination aside, she’d been so busy taking care of her family and running the café, she’d been lax with her exercise routine.
She took a shower and changed, and by the time she found Cathy in the café attached to the gym, she felt a lot better.
It was a small setup with a little deck and a few black tables.
Her muscles ached and she was tired, but it was a good feeling — she’d pushed her body to its limit, and she’d made it through. It was satisfying.
Her phone rang as she sat down. Cathy motioned that she’d order for them, and Rita answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Hey, Aunt Rita. It’s Julie. How are you doin’?”
“I’m well, honey. How are you?”
“I’m well too, thanks. I’m glad to be back at school, honestly. I miss you and the lake house, of course, but it feels good to be on campus again. I feel refreshed. I’ve been studying so much harder than I was before, and I think it’s because I had a break — I must’ve really needed it.”
Cathy sat down with two takeout coffee cups and pushed one toward Rita. Rita took a sip.
“Oh honey, of course you needed it. I’m so glad you’re feeling invigorated. And you’ll be done in no time, ready to start your new career as a psychologist. Dr. Julie Brown—I can just picture you now in that cap and gown.” Rita smiled.
Her niece had been through a lot in her twenty-six years of life. It brought tears to Rita’s eyes to know she was finally happy and thriving again after a difficult patch over the past year. They chatted for another minute, and then Rita hung up the phone with a smile on her face.
“You look positively giddy,” Cathy said dryly after she took a sip of coffee.
Rita picked up her cup. “I feel good. Julie is back in school and doin’ well. I’m finally done with chemo and back to my old self. Tyler is on his way home.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s comin’ up soon, isn’t it?”
Rita gulped the coffee, and it scalded her tongue and throat. She set the cup down and reached for a glass of water. “Tomorrow. I can’t believe it. Eight years serving in the Navy, and he’s finally on his way home.”
“I know you’re excited to see him,” Cathy replied.
“Beyond excited. I can’t wait. I feel like bustin’ out of my skin. He’s gonna stay with me in the lake house, at least for a while until he gets on his feet.”
“Are you worried about him finding his way?” Cathy asked, one eyebrow quirked.
Rita sighed. “Of course I am. I don’t know what he’s gonna do with himself.
All this time, he’s served our country, but he doesn’t have many marketable job skills.
Well, not exactly. I think he’d be great at just about anything he put his mind to.
The discipline they teach them in the Navy is incredible, and he’s great in a team.
But I wonder if it’ll be enough. I told him he can work at the café, but he says he doesn’t want to.
He’s not concerned. He’s assured me that he’ll be fine and can figure it out on his own.
” She raised a hand as if to wave their worries away.
“So, I’m gonna let him do that. Heaven knows he doesn’t want his momma to interfere in his life. He’s a twenty-eight-year-old man.”
Cathy laughed. “I hear that. My kids are the same way. It seems I don’t know anything after all these years living on God’s green earth. They tell me that all the time.”
Rita rolled her eyes. “Good heavens. I don’t know how we manage to get ourselves out of bed in the morning.”
They both laughed. Then Cathy pursed her lips before she spoke again. “I wanted to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
She inhaled a deep breath. “I’ve decided to start dating.”
Rita choked on a mouthful of coffee. She sputtered for a good minute before she could speak again. “You what now?”
“I’m putting myself out there.”
“Words I never thought I’d hear from your mouth,” Rita replied. “You don’t think it’s a little soon?”
Cathy frowned. “Is it too soon? I don’t know.”
“Well, your divorce was only finalised a few months ago. My husband died years ago, and I’m still not ready to date.”
“But you were lucky. You had a husband who really loved you. I want that.”
“That’s true—I was lucky.”
“And besides, I’m not saying I’m ready. I don’t know if I am. But I’ve got to get out there so I can figure it out.”
“I suppose so… I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
Cathy squeezed Rita’s hand. “And I appreciate that, Rita. You’re a good friend.”
“Besides all of that, I wouldn’t know how to date even if I wanted to. What will you do?”
“I’m joining one of those apps.”
“Apps?”
“You know, an online dating thingy.”
“Oh. Wow.”
“You don’t think I should?” Cathy looked vulnerable and alone for a moment as her bravado faded.
Rita smiled. “Of course you should. I hear that’s how the young ones are doing it these days. And if they can do it, you can too.”