Zoe waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll get one on my way out so I canhave it with me for a while.” She leaned her forearms on the table. “Anybodyever call you Becky?”
“Nobody who’s still living.”
Zoe grinned. “Noted. So, Rebecca not Becky, you’re a trainer?”
“I am. For about ten years now. And you’re a paramedic.”
“Yup. Same timeframe, roughly. Kinda cool.”
“You enjoy it?” Rebecca sipped her coffee.
Zoe nodded. “Definitely. Never a dull moment.”
Rebecca felt at ease with Zoe. Instantly, like they were simplyold school friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while. “What was your craziestcall so far?”
“Oh, man, we get so many.” Zoe sat back in her chair, crossed oneleg up and rested her ankle on the opposite knee. “I can tell you thatrecently, we had a guy who was convinced he was a flamingo.”
“Seriously?”
Zoe nodded with a grin. “Yup. Like, doing the weird walk, standingwith one leg up, arms folded like wings.”
“Please tell me he was on a bad trip.”
“Sucha bad trip. His roommate called us because he wouldn’t come off the front lawn.Said he was going to stand there like flamingos were supposed to.”
“Oh, so he thought he was aplasticflamingo.”
Zoe’s laugh was a startling yelp, which caused Rebecca to flinchas if she’d been poked. “Yes! A lawn ornament. It was nuts.” When Zoe’slaughter died down, she said, “What about you? Any crazies in your line ofwork? Any surprises?”
Rebecca sipped her latte again as she contemplated the question.“I wouldn’t say I’ve ever had any crazies. I mean, it’s a gym. But some of myclients can be more difficult than others. I get some that expect unrealisticresults.”
“Like, ‘I’ve been here three times, how come I haven’t lost fortypounds?’ That kind of unrealistic?”
“Something like that, yeah. As for surprises…oh! I have one.” Shefilled Zoe in on the Be Your Best Bride class. How it started, how Karamarketed it and how much Rebecca hated that, how she had to take over when Karagot sick. “I was honestly dreading the thing. I didn’t go to school for this soI could listen to a bunch of bridezillas talk about how they need to fit intotheir size two wedding gown or they’lljustdie.” She punctuated it with a roll of her eyes.
“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
“But…” Rebecca grinned at her while holding up a finger. “I’mfinding it to be unexpectedly satisfying.”
“Yeah? How so?”
“Well, the girls aren’t bad. There are a couple that send meflashing back to the cheerleaders in my high school, but I’m getting to knowthem and they’re okay. A bit too focused on what they look like rather than howthey feel, but I can deal with that. There are two others that are muchmore…down to earth? I guess that’s the best phrase. One just wants to behealthy. She’s a tiny bit chunky, but I think that’s more genetics thananything else, and she’s working really hard. Plus, she’s one of those womenwho’s just…nice. You want to be around her.”
“And the other?”
“She’s working hard, too, which surprised me, given that herfiancée signed her up for the class without asking her first.”
Zoe’s eyes widened. “He did? What a prick.”
“Not he. She.”
“Her girlfriend signed her up?” Zoe’s tone registered disbelief.“How do you know she didn’t ask first?”
“My client said as much. She said her fiancée signed her up, sohere she was.”
“Man, I can’t decide if I feel sorry for her or think she’s anidiot.”
“Me neither.”
