Cooldown
“Is it straight?” Spencer asked from his perch on the counter.
Barry stepped back to examine the banner. “Looks good.”
Spencer climbed down onto the step stool and moved into the gym to check on his handiwork. “Are you sure?” It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he worried that it was too over the top.
“Positive.”
A few early exercisers eyed the display curiously as they walked in, and one took a picture. Barry nodded approvingly at the sight. “Even if we can’t feature the athletes themselves in our ads, this’ll still be good publicity.”
Spencer nodded, but he hadn’t even been thinking of that. He’d just wanted to do something to surprise his girlfriend. She and Tish had picked this morning to use the massage credits they’d earned when Misty had joined, and they’d see this as soon as they walked in.
It reminded him of the days when he’d just won a major tournament and come back to his local dojo to see congratulatory signs.
The thought might have been bitter, but for talking through his old memories and current feelings with Dr. Kaur.
He ducked back into the office to check for messages from the clients he’d had to reschedule with so nothing would conflict with this morning, but could barely concentrate for his excitement about seeing Misty’s face.
A loud noise from the lobby distracted him. “Oh, my God!” The voice and volume were familiar but sounded a lot happier than the day with the ice bath.
A junior staffer stuck her head into the office. “They’re here,” she said unnecessarily.
“Thanks. Be right there.”
He left the office to join the applause that had started among desk staff and gymgoers alike. Tish and Misty had arrived to a red, white, and blue balloon arch over the front desk. At the center, he’d hung a banner reading, Congratulations to our World Winter Games athletes!
Tish was smiling modestly as people took pictures, but Misty couldn’t hide her giddiness. “Who did this?”
“Ask him,” Barry rasped, gesturing a thumb in Spencer’s direction. That was the cue and benediction he hadn’t known he’d been waiting for, and he stepped forward.
“It was this or a skywriter, and it’s too cloudy for that,” he quipped. “But in all seriousness, everyone here is incredibly proud of you.”
He’d been addressing both women, but he stepped closer to Misty. “I’m proud of you, and so excited to see what’s ahead for you and for us.”
Misty threw her arms around him, and he dipped her back into a kiss. More applause and a round of appreciative howls rang out, but he barely noticed. He was too lost in the warmth of her embrace.
The End