Chameleon In New York

CHAPTER 19 | burden of guilt

Bernie indicated for her to come closer as he continued to speak to Walter.

As she came closer, Walter looked up expectantly. She stopped breathing when he stiffened and slammed his eyes back down to his hands, which were resting in his lap, and shook his head.

"Aw come on Walter, don't be shy," teased Bernie, "she won't bite."

Walter squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head again. He reminded her of a child who didn't want to eat their vegetables. Sydney was thrown by Walter's reaction to her. This was something Bernie had warned her about. However, now that it had happened she wasn't sure whether she was relieved or upset by it.

This was her way out. If she wanted one. If he were going to make a fuss, she wouldn't be able to sit in on his sessions. There was no way the clinic would allow a patient's recovery to be impaired.

The question was, did she want a way out? Was she prepared to ride the emotional rollercoaster that undoubtedly was to follow, now that she had met the man?

Her world was beginning to spin. Sydney thought she had prepared herself. How wrong she had been. She was nowhere near prepared. Looking around the gym at the other patients and at the man-child in the chair, she had been delusional.

You were out of your gourd to think you could waltz in here and not be affected, she chastised herself.

She looked back at Walter and Bernie and then scanned the room again. Blinking a few times to not let on how emotional she was, Sydney turned back to Walter and cleared her throat. "That's a shame because I picked up some candy to share on the way here."

This had an effect on Walter. He slowly raised his face to her and cocked his head. "Wh-wh-what s-s-s-sort?"

Sydney tapped a finger on her chin and pretended to think. "Let me see," she began, "I've got snickers, butterfingers, m&m's and KitKat."

Walter's eyes lit up, "Y-y-you got b-b-b-bu-bu,"

Seeing he was getting frustrated Sydney cut him off. "Butterfingers? Do you like Butterfingers?"

Walter nodded shyly.

"Would you like some?"

Walter glanced across at Bernie, who had been watching the interaction in silence. "C-c-can I?" he asked.

"If you manage to do your exercises I don't see why not," he shrugged as he stood up.

"Wait right there," Sydney called out as she spun around and raced out the door in which she had entered. A few minutes later she returned with two candy bars and handed them to Walter, who quickly put them in the side bag of his chair.

Seeing Bernie's surprised expression, she shrugged and said, "What? I'm not above bribery, and I noticed a vending machine when I came in the building."

Bernie rolled his eyes and laughed. "So Walter," he said, turning back to his patient. "Is it okay if Sydney joins us?"

Sydney couldn't believe how relieved she was when he nodded his acceptance.

"We're going to start out on the Total Gym, we call it the TG and work on Walter's legs," Bernie explained as he pushed Walter to a piece of equipment that to Sydney looked like a standard weight training machine that she would see in any gym.

The apparatus consisted of a flat cushioned glide board that attached to rails. The top part was attached to a mount that allowed the angle of the glide board to be adjusted. The bottom of the glide board was connected to a squat stand, which would be used to place feet as the person pushed the board up and down the rails, using their leg muscles in the process.