A woman twirling a hula hoop above her head had made her stop at the TLC station. Lily’s tears had actually halted and she sat up straighter. The woman had short, spiky red and purple hair and a slim figure. She was doing things with the hoop that Lily had never seen before, such as tossing it high in the air, twirling around, and catching it. She looked like she was having a blast. The female narrator was talking about how the dancer had lost 84 pounds just from hooping.
“84 pounds!” Lily had practically shouted in amazement. Her constant battle with weight had always been a hardship. It seemed like no matter how healthy her diet was, Lily couldn’t budge the scale much in the direction she wanted. But she also had to admit that her lifestyle was rather sedentary. Maybe hoop dancing would be the answer to prayer.
Lily ordered the woman’s hoop video that very evening, and went online to order one of her beginner hoops as well. She even cleared out a spot in their finished basement so she could start as soon as she received everything. Brian and Melissa were surprised when they saw her trying it a week later, and of course Lily had stopped the moment they came down the stairs. She never wanted anyone to see her, although in time she did let her kids watch once in a while.
In one year, not only had the weight come off, but Lily’s depression had lightened considerably. When she was hooping, her mind was completely clear, focusing on her movements and the fast-paced Christian music she enjoyed. She was only able to hoop for an hour at a time because of her busy schedule, but that 60 minutes seemed to fly by. Lily devoured every new move she learned from her videos and from You Tube and had to admit to herself that she was a fairly quick study.
‘And it would be great to learn some new things now,’ a voice from nowhere piped up in her head. She felt like she had reached a plateau lately, although she still enjoyed her private hoop sessions.
‘Maybe a class or a hoop jam would be worth a try,’ Lily sighed and shook her head as she sat down to boot up her computer.
‘No way, never,’ she thought. But for the rest of the day, she couldn’t stop thinking about giving either or both a try.
Chapter Four
James was engrossed his own thoughts as he went on with his day. Sure, he was always enthusiastic about meeting someone who hooped. It was an instant connection he made with hundreds, if not thousands, of people now each year. But with Lily, he had felt different.
He loved her light blue eyes, which reminded him of the Atlantic Ocean he had just seen last month, and her smile, once she finally revealed it. She hadn’t put on a bit of makeup that morning, he was certain, but her pale skin was smooth except for a cute little mole on her upper cheek. Her long wavy hair was a light brown. James remembered thinking it looked like the color of tea in the sunlight. And he had to appreciate her recently-acquired, or purposefully-created, toned figure.
‘Okay, Baker, that’s enough of that,’ James thought. He saw lots of pretty women thanks to hooping, as men weren’t into the art quite as much as ladies were. In fact, he maybe saw three of them at the most in his numerous workshops and hoop jams. But Lily was unique. She wasn’t as chatty or confident as the women he typically met, although he enjoyed their company and post-hooping conversations. He had noticed a tremor in her right hand while she had talked with him earlier. Paula was right. The woman was definitely shy.
His mostly outgoing students had been the cause of a lot of tension between him and Robyn. Not that James had ever cheated on her with one of them; he had loved Robyn too much for that. She had even been one of his first students. But while his zeal for hooping had continued to grow, Robyn had only seen it as a good cardio exercise and had moved on to other things, like Zumba.
Her paranoia about the possibility of James cheating with one of his students had grown significantly, even though James had given no fuel to that fire. Ironically, Robyn was the one who ended up being unfaithful one weekend while James was conducting a workshop in Houston. It had been like a scene in a bad movie.
‘The unsuspecting man comes home early from a business trip to catch his lover in bed with someone else,’ James narrated in his head. And what a scene it had been. James had slammed their bedroom door so hard the doorknob had flown off. He hadn’t said a word as Robyn tearfully chased him to the front door of their apartment. She moved out the very next day.
James uttered a curse word and smacked the steering wheel. He tried hard to not think about that terrible day anymore, and here he was, falling into the trap once again. James was glad for the distraction of ordering lunch at Taco Bell a few minutes later.
His cell phone rang as soon as he returned to his truck. He grinned to hear the light, airy voice of his best friend, Kayla.
“Hey, James, how’d it go with the appliance delivery service?” she asked. “Do I need to worry about losing my hoop guru?” Kayla owned one of the gyms where James taught class on a regular basis.
“No, I think I’ll keep my regular job for now. How’s it goin?” he tried to keep his voice upbeat.
“Fantastic, Babycakes,” James chuckled.
“When are you not fantastic?”
“Oh, I have my moments.” she paused. “Hey, you sound funny, are you okay?”
‘Leave it to Kayla to see right through me.’ James thought.
Kayla was smart both mentally and emotionally. She and her life partner, Samantha, ran a successful business that was one of the most well-known fitness centers in Indianapolis. They were even considering opening a second location.
“Just distracted. I have a lot on my mind today.”
“I hope you’re not thinking about what’s-her-face,” Kayla replied, using her not-so-nasty nickname for Robyn.
“Nah. Just planning out this afternoon’s session.”
“Speaking of, I just heard from two more women… Do you have some extra hoops they can borrow?”
“Yep, I’ve got plenty.”
“All right… That’s all I needed… See you soon…”
“Bye, Kayla.”
James smiled, pleased that he would have a large class that day. While it was tricky at times helping beginner, intermediate, and advanced level hoopers all at the same time, he relished the challenge. Most hoop dancers were pretty friendly and encouraging to one another.
‘Now I just need to get Lily to see that somehow,’ James thought. He was touched by her shyness, but his instinct told him she had the potential to be an excellent hoop dancer. James wanted to do all he could to coax her out of her shell.
‘Just to help her with her hoop skills,’ he told himself firmly.
Two classes later, as James made himself a salad at his apartment for a late dinner, he still couldn’t stop thinking of Lily.
‘Don’t text Paula… Don’t text Paula.’ Before he realized what he was doing, he grabbed his cell phone.
Hey, Paula, did you talk to Lily yet? He went through his snail mail as he ate, tossing various pieces into the paper recycling bin. When he hadn’t gotten a response five minutes later, he figured Paula was busy and was ready to give up when his phone chimed.
My, aren’t we impatient? She replied.
I’m merely curious.
Sure (sarcasm)… If you must know, she and her kids went out for dinner and I didn’t get to talk to her. James was surprised at how disappointed he felt.
Oh. was all he could think to type. He was just about to say goodbye