Curves | ONC 2020 Shortlist

18. Juliana Learns the Truth

Juliana frowned at the clock. Jenny didn't strike her as the flaky sort who blew off appointments without so much as a phone call, but after half an hour of waiting, it seemed the woman was a no-show.

Did something happen to her? Was she hurt? Maybe a car accident?

Juliana halted her thoughts. What was she doing? This was a client, nothing more. Mild concern was warranted, sure, but not this excessive worrying. She barely knew the girl.

Time to move on to other duties.

An hour later, she paused her wiping down of the row of elliptical machines. This was the one Jenny had fallen from. Was she okay? Maybe she should call, just to follow up and be sure. As a concerned trainer.

She headed outside, pulled out her phone, and dialed the number.

It seemed the call was about to go into voicemail when Jenny's breathless voice answered, "I'm sorry!"

"Sorry for what?"

"For flaking out on you. That's not something I do, but today I did. So I'm sorry."

Juliana couldn't help smiling at her sincerity. "No harm done. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just... I saw... never mind. It's stupid."

"I'm sure it isn't."

"No, trust me. It's really stupid."

Juliana pursed her lips. "Then why are you letting it stop you?"

Silence.

She waited, then became unsure if the call was still connected. "Jenny?"

"I'm here. And you're right. I don't have to be a tumbleweed."

She had no idea what that meant. "Okay, yeah. Tumbleweeds are optional. Maybe a cactus is more your thing."

"You think so?" A pause. "Am I that prickly?"

"No!" Juliana said quickly. "Not at all. Um, what are we talking about? I thought it was desert plants."

"I don't think I should say."

"Why not?"

Jenny whispered something she couldn't quite make out.

"I didn't catch that. Say again?"

"My ex bought me this gym membership."

"Um, okay." Juliana waited for more.

No more came.

She scrambled to think of something motivational to say. "Okay, well, so what? You don't owe him anything. You're here to improve yourself, for you. Not for him."

Jenny sighed on the other end of the call. "I know. You're right. Again. But she got it for my birthday. And then she dumped me!"

Juliana's ears perked at the pronoun change. Jenny's ex was a she.

She shook her head. It didn't matter. Jenny was still a client, and therefore off limits.

"So the girl has poor taste in gifts. You're better off without her."

It was hard to tell if the choked sound on the other end was a laugh or a sob. "You don't understand."

"What don't I understand?"

"I saw her."

Juliana struggled to make sense of the other woman's distress. "Today?"

"At the gym. Flirting with you."

Her mouth parted. No. No way. "Danielle Washington is your ex?"

All she heard was a muffled groan.

It was time to set Jenny straight. "Look, I don't do that with clients. Ever. I help them reach their fitness goals, and that's it. I'm sorry if what you saw upset you, but I promise you, I would never cross that line."

Yet here she was—huddling next to a dumpster—chatting with this cute but distressed client, pretending this was a professional phone call.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you of impropriety. I just—ugh! I'm such a mess. I'm over her, I swear. I just don't want to see her smug face when she finds out she influenced me to go to the gym. I moved here to get away from her. Sort of. Gah, that makes me sound even more pathetic!"

Unsure what to say, Juliana let the woman rant.

Jenny took a gulp of air. "It's just I wanted to make a fresh start, you know? And then she shows up, reminding me of all the ways I failed as a human being. And on top of all that, she's hitting on you! A girl I really like." A pause. "Oh crap."

Juliana found herself leaning against the dumpster for support and peeled herself away. Jenny liked her. Liked her a lot. A silly grin spread across her face.

She forced it away. This was not good. Jenny was a client. A client.

She closed her eyes and repeated the word over and over in her head. Client, client, client.

"Oh, God, I knew it. I freaked you out. I'm sorry, Juliana. I know you could never be interested in someone like me. So I'll just, um, I'll stay out of your way."

Juliana found her voice. "Wait, what are you talking about? You don't have to—Jenny?" She looked at the display on her phone. Call ended.

She lowered her phone to her side, dumbfounded.

Pop Quiz! What should you do when you accidentally blurt to your crush that you like them? Do you...

A. Wait for an answer like a patient human being.

B. Hang up in embarrassment so you can cry into your ice cream.

C. Hit the vote button because that always makes people feel better.