Free Next Time by Robin Alexander Page A

gag. Her feet stopped moving, and she shot off the back of the treadmill like a rocket. When her back connected with the padded wall behind the row of treadmills, she released a burp that turned every head in the gym.
    Susan seemed to take the whole incident in stride and threw the emergency switch on Payton’s treadmill. “Maybe we should finish our warmup on the bikes.”
    “I’m warm,” Payton said and blinked away the sweat that dripped into her eyes. “Can I lay here for a minute or two?”
    *******
    “Are you sick?” Jana asked when Payton answered the phone later that day.
    “I might be. I drank out of a water bottle I found in the gym.”
    “Are you insane?”
    “Yeah, there’s no sense in arguing that point.”
    “Wait, did you just tell me you were in a gym?”
    “Yes,” Payton said with a loud sigh. “I’ve got all the muscle tone of a rubber band, and I’ve decided to make some new patterns in my life.”
    “That’s excellent. A gym is a good place to meet people.”
    “Yes, that’s a benefit but not why I joined. I think the change of environment and the exercises might do something for inspiration, maybe I’ll get new ideas. Matter of fact, an idea for a new song popped into my head. It’s called Monkey on a Treadmill .”
    “Leigh’s page is gone from the dating site, but that’s not what I called to tell you. Stargazer left you a compelling message, you should check it out.”
    “Can everyone see what people write to me?”
    “No, I used your login. She’s really cute. You need to get on there and check her out.”
    Payton wished that Jana had not mentioned Leigh. She’d fought hard to stop thinking about Ryann, but she found herself asking, “Has Melanie talked to either of them today?”
    “She talked to Ryann when she went by her house after work. Melanie made it a point to go to check the mail when Ryann did. She said Ryann was just as cheerful and sweet as usual, and she didn’t look like she’d been through any emotional storms. I guess that means Leigh didn’t make any confessions.”
    “I’m not surprised.”
    “I gotta run, but check out that hit on your profile. It might turn out to be something good.”
    “I’ll get around to it. Chat with you later,” Payton said and ended the call.
    She got up with a groan and passed the computer without the slightest urge to see what Stargazer had to say. What she desired more than human companionship at that moment was a hot bath that would hopefully stop her muscles from complaining. Her slow trip to the bathroom was delayed by a knock.
    Grace smiled at Payton kindly when she opened her front door. “My last lightbulb burned out in the kitchen, dear. Would you be so kind as to change them for me?”
    Payton stifled a groan. “Sure.”
    *******
    Half the bulbs in Grace’s house were burned out. Payton climbed up and down a ladder as she changed each one, adding to the pain in her legs. “Honey, why haven’t you asked me to do this sooner? You’re practically living in the dark.”
    “I hate asking for help, even from you.” Grace handed Payton another bulb. “I’d do it myself, but if I fall, Janet will stick me in a retirement home. She tries to make it sound so wonderful, calls it a summer camp for grannies, like I don’t know anything about those places. I have a friend who lives in one. The last time I visited her, a strange woman came into her room and started petting her head and said, ‘Nice kitty, pretty kitty.’ The old bird was so far gone she thought Gladys was a damn cat. Getting old sucks, kid, remember that. Why are you moving like an old woman?”
    “I joined a gym today,” Payton said with a groan as she climbed down the ladder.
    Grace rested her hands on her hips. “Why? So you can look like a man?”
    “No, I wanna be in shape. Where does this ladder go?”
    “Hall closet. How about some coffee and a slice of pie? It won’t be that great, it’s not homemade. I picked it up at the