Love It or Lose It

Chapter 3

The fifth scale I stepped on confirmed that in the past month, I'd lost a total of Ten pounds. Ten pounds! It was a direct result of Dave's constant provocation to push harder through the complaints my muscles often made during my twenty minutes with him. I got off the silver digital scale and did a little victory dance. Mandy gawked at me, entertained by my obvious lack of coordination. I didn't care. I lost ten pounds!

"It would help if you let me take a peek," she said, pointing a painted finger at the scale.

I picked it up and replaced it back on the shelf. "No. I'm not ready, but it's good." My grin widened, letting my cheeks relax. "It's really good."

"But you're not buying it?"

"Nope. I'm looking for a special one." I continued to walk along the shelf.

"A special scale? One that tells you you're beautiful?" she kidded, and then followed it with a cackle.

Eyes averted, I ran fingers over the shiny displays of bathroom decors on the shelves.

Mandy gently but effectively slapped the side of my arm, causing me to face her. "Oh my god! You're looking for a scale that will tell you you're beautiful!"

"What's wrong with that? I'm working my butt off, I'd like a little encouragement every now and then."

"From an inanimate object?"

"It helps boost morale," I simply stated.

"Babe, you do know that you are beautiful, right? And Dave is obviously doing a great job with you. You look fabulous." She held onto my shoulders and held me within an arm's length so that we saw eye to eye.

I shook my head. "I've still got a ways to go. I'm not even halfway through my goal. Anyway, can we just stop talking about that? And stop looking at me like that? You're making me nervous."

She wagged a finger at me. "Get used to it. Before you know it, guys will be lining up outside your place, each one wanting to woo you."

I snorted. "No one uses that word anymore, Mandy."

"Well, people should." She flipped a chunk of hair over her shoulder. "Women love to be wooed. Can I start setting you up with guys yet? Young guys too. They're into older women. It's a thing now."

I almost dropped a ceramic owl soap dish after hearing her, and then laughed out loud. "You're crazy. Besides, shouldn't we wait until I lose a bit more weight? And I'm not that old. I'm only thirty-five."

"I would have hooked you up with five guys by now if you didn't put a pause on it. I'm respecting your decision, giving you space, but let me remind you that you only have five more months before the big event. You need to have practice dates before you bring someone to the wedding."

I rolled my eyes at her, and when she quirked a brow at me, I did it again.

"I'll do it when I'm ready. I'm not sure when that's going to be but when I know, you'll know."

Luckily, she left it at that, and we spent the rest of the morning picking pricey items for her new client.

***

Set to workout, with a new pair of yoga pants and an exercise bra which helped keep the ladies in, I entered GoodLife confidently, head up high and with a sway to my hips. Slowly, I was starting to feel like my old self. There was something to be said about these happy hormones the body would release during and after exercises. Dave had told me that they could make me addicted to exercising.

"Good morning, Sheri," Krista, the svelte receptionist greeted me with her infectious smile.

"Good morning, Krista."