Читать книгу Hoop Mama - Amy Shankland - Страница 3

“So, tell me again just how much we’re saving in delivery fees today?” James Baker asked his sister-in-law as he drove them away from the south side of Indianapolis in his well-dented Ford pick-up truck.

“We’re not saving any delivery fees today, I am,” Paula Baker responded, “And if you must know, this saves Tim and me 50 dollars.”

“Geez, I coulda given you guys 50 bucks if you wanted and saved my back and all this trouble,” James said teasingly, glancing in the rear view mirror at the white washer and dryer tied down with an assortment of bungee cords and rope.

“It’s not really the money. It’s the principle of the whole thing. I mean, c’mon! We’re spending close to 2,000 dollars for these suckers and they still want to charge a delivery fee? That’s just crazy,” Paula wrinkled up her petite nose and crossed her arms, “And besides, you’re the one who volunteered to help me this morning.”

“I know, but it’s always so much fun for me to give you a hard time!” James exclaimed. Paula gave a soft snort and lightly punched his right arm.

“Lucky me,” she said. James chuckled and gave her a crooked smile. His brother could not have found a nicer woman to marry three years ago, not to mention pretty. Tim had taken one look at the tall redhead with a dusting of freckles and was almost instantly smitten.

As they drove on Highway 65 heading southeast of Indy towards Paula and Tim’s home in Field’s Corner, which was a town so small it didn’t even have a stop light, James remembered how he had helped Tim plan his proposal to her on horseback two years ago. He had never seen his brother more nervous about anything.

James just hoped he’d get news soon that he would get to be an uncle. Ever since his parents had died in a plane crash six years ago, he had felt somewhat lost, especially during the holidays. Sure, there were a few aunts and uncles that he and Tim kept in touch with, but they had their own children to celebrate special occasions with, although one aunt in Indianapolis invited both of them to her house now and then. Tim and Paula were all he had, especially now that he was single once again after breaking up with-

“Hey, where’d the exit sign go?” Paula asked, interrupting his thoughts.

“They probably figured that all fifty people living in Field’s Corner didn’t really need it anymore,” James replied.

“Ha, ha, Mister. I’ll have you know that we actually broke a thousand according to the last Census. And we’re getting a Dairy Queen,” Paula said.

“Oh, now you’re all going big time!” James exclaimed, waving one arm in the air as he got off of the highway. “Next thing you know you’ll be getting a McDonald’s and everything!” Paula didn’t exactly give him a light punch this time.

“You like our little town and you know it. It gives you a break from all the craziness back there,” she said, pointing behind her.

James had to agree with her, if only in his mind. Field’s Corner was about a half hour southeast of where he lived in Indianapolis and he enjoyed going to visit both of them, even if it was just once a month or so. Their house literally backed up to a cornfield, and their back deck was a great spot to meditate, which was one of his favorite ways to relax.

As he drove to his brother’s house, he glimpsed over at the requisite Main Street that every small town had. There was the usual pizza place, tiny post office and town hall, liquor store, bank, gas station/mini mart, drug store, sleepy little grill/bar, and hair salon. All of the essentials were covered, with their historic brick facades in mostly good condition. And, as if to prove what Paula had said, a large sign proclaiming “Coming Soon- Field Corner’s own Dairy Queen!” had been carefully placed at the end of the three-block downtown.

Though he would have loved to have lived close to his brother and sister-in-law, it simply wouldn’t have been practical with his job. Tim was self-employed as a fitness instructor with a unique specialization, and he needed to be close to an airport and numerous gyms. Indy had plenty of both.

“So how is your Broad Ripple class going?” Paula asked, as if reading his mind.

“Not too bad… I’ve got about 15 regulars now, and they’re a fun group.” James had lived in Broad Ripple in his early 20s and had fond memories its numerous restaurants, bars, and quaint shops.

“Any cute single women in it?” James rolled his eyes as they approached his brother and sister-in-laws’ driveway.

“Jumping onto that topic a little soon, aren’t we?” James asked. He had only broken up with Robyn just two months before.

“I’m just saying that you need to keep your options open, James,” Paula said as she opened her passenger door. James didn’t bother to respond. He still felt that dull ache in his heart sometimes, and even now he felt the familiar squeeze in his chest.

‘I guess that’s allowed when a relationship of four years goes down the drain,’ he thought.

He forced himself to not think about his ex-girlfriend. Right now he needed to concentrate on the task at hand. His brother had already unhooked the old washer and dryer and taken them to be recycled. Paula unlocked the side garage door to push the button for the main door to rise.

An hour later, James had connected both of the new appliances, and Paula was sweeping the laundry room floor while he sat in the nearby kitchen enjoying a glass of iced tea. Paula had opened the windows, which was an unusual thing for an early March morning, but the temperature was already in the 70s.

“Hey, all joking aside, we really appreciate this,” Paula said, “If Tim hadn’t been called out of town he would have been able to take care of everything no problem.” His brother was a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company and had been asked unexpectedly to attend a conference in New York.

“Oh, hey, no worries,” James replied, “That’s what family’s for.”

Paula put away the broom and dust pan, washed her hands, and poured herself a glass of tea. “Let’s go out on the deck. We may have to just stand, since we haven’t gotten our patio furniture out of the garage yet, but it’s so nice out…” she left the sentence trailing as she headed toward the sliding door.

“Doesn’t bother me,” James said.

Tim and Paula owned a house in the only “new”- meaning it had been built less than 20 years ago- subdivision in Field’s Corner. It was a two story brick home with a modest front porch and a large wooden deck that Tim had built himself. While their home was nice, it wasn’t pretentious. Tim wanted to make certain he and Paula would be able to live on just one income when they had kids in the future, although Paula did work from home running a few blogs for fun and for spending money.

James leaned on the deck railing and gazed over at the cornfield, which naturally was completely bare at this time of year, and sighed in contentment.

“I wish I didn’t have a class this afternoon. I’d love to stay here, maybe take a nap outside in the shade later,” Tim said.

“What would you nap on, the deck?” Paula teased.

“Just give me a blanket in the grass and I’d be out, no problem.” His eyes traveled to the privacy fence next door, which was missing a board.

“What happened there?” James asked, pointed at the gap.

“Oh, that board had been loose for a while, but Lily, our neighbor, kept forgetting to mention it to us. Tim’s always happy to help her since she lost her husband a couple of years ago. So last week it literally fell out. Tim will take care of it when he gets back,” Paula said.

James saw a flash of green and black through the gap just then, as well as something else that made him raise his eyebrows.

“Is that what I think it is?” James asked, setting his glass of tea down on the deck. Paula laughed as he crossed over to get a better look.

“Oh Lord, it’s like a moth to a flame,” Paula said. “Yes, Lily’s been doing hoop dancing for a while.”

“Really? You never told me that before!”

“Well, she’s not exactly the most outgoing person in the world. I just found out myself last fall.”

Hoop dancing- dancing with a hula hoop- was James’ specialty. He had discovered it three months after his parents had died and it had changed his entire life for the better. In fact, he had gradually changed his fitness instruction to focus solely on hooping, and was now considered one of the top instructors in the country. James traveled outside of Indiana at least two times a month to conduct hoop workshops, which were gradually reaching close to over 25 people for each weekend.

In all of his 38 years, he had never found an exercise that transformed not only his body, but his mind and soul completely. When he had accidentally stumbled across a beautiful hoop dancer while surfing You Tube one day, he was transfixed. Sure, the woman had been gorgeous. But while watching her graceful movements with the hoop, from head to toe, and the serene expression on her face, he knew without a doubt that he wanted to try it.

James had to do his research online to figure out how to even make a “grown up” hula hoop- a heavier version than what was sold in the big-box toy aisles around the country- one made of irrigation tubing and brightly colored tape. Once he made his first hoop, he started to teach himself the basics.

His first attempts, like many people’s, were rather clumsy. He didn’t remember it being as hard as a boy. But gradually, with the help of more You Tube videos, since there were no hoop instructors in Indianapolis, he figured out the basics.

James expected to have fun and get great exercise with hoop dancing, but he didn’t expect the peace he started to gain from the experience. Losing his parents had been the most horrific, shocking time of his life, and therapy or counseling hadn’t given him much relief.

But as he hooped more and more, he discovered that he could simply lose himself within the music and the hoop. It was the best form of meditation he’d ever practiced, and James soon realized that he wanted others to have the same experience. If hoop dancing could bring him out of months of despair and grief, he figured it could help others as well.

So it was no surprise that James’ attention was now drawn to Paula’s neighbor’s back yard and the petite woman standing in it. She was dressed in a green tank top and black capri yoga pants, a uniform James recognized from his many workshops. She was doing some stretching using a pink and purple hoop, which he saw was smaller than what beginners used.

James couldn’t see her face really well, but he could see that Lily was slim with long brown hair. He took a few steps closer to get a better look.

“Hey, bro-in-law, are you spying on my neighbor?” Paula asked with a little laugh.

“No! No, but you know me. I always like to see people hoop dance. Everyone has his or her own different style. It’s always fascinating.”

“Lily would be horrified if she knew you were watching her.”

“So, don’t tell her! It’s not likes she’s naked and I’m a peeping Tom or something. I won’t watch long, I promise,” James said, feeling slightly annoyed.

He saw Lily walk over to another spot in the yard then heard some music playing. It sounded like an upbeat country song. That’s one thing that attracted people to hooping- it could be done to most any type of music. James preferred Dub step or Hip Hop, but he had hooped to numerous genres.

He noticed that Lily was definitely not a beginner. She performed some easy “off body” movements- doing tricks with the hoop that didn’t involve it spinning around a body part- to warm up. Her movements were fluid, and her transitions from one hoop movement to the next were almost flawless.

His jaw dropped when he watched her start to twirl the hoop around her body.

“Woah- she’s good in BOTH currents!” James exclaimed.

“Uh. Hello? Translation? And keep your voice down,” Paula said almost in a whisper.

“Your main ‘current’ is the direction you’re most comfortable twirling the hoop in,” James answered, “Most people are pretty good in one current, but not the other. But it’s, like, effortless for her to switch from one to the other.”

James and Paula watched Lily for a few more minutes.

“How long has she been hooping?” James asked.

“Oh, I think she said it had been maybe a year when we talked last October?” James raised his eyebrows once again.

“So, 18 months?” he whistled loudly without thinking, which made Lily drop her hoop with a start. She looked over at the two of them with wide eyes.

“Uh oh, James, ” Paula said, “You may have just ended her hoop session.”

“Whoops. I hope not,” James muttered. And before Paula could protest, James hopped off her deck and started to walk purposefully to Lily’s back gate.