Drawing the Line

Chapter 3: One Step Forward

I am wallowing in that nether realm between slumber and an avoidance of waking when the covers are rudely yanked from me and a hard slap lands on my butt. A voice that brooks no argument explodes in my ears like a bomb, "Time to rise and shine, lady bug." Jerrie claps her hands and pulls my remaining covers off. "Up. Up. Up you get." She throws something by my head. "Put this on, pull your hair up and be ready to go in ten minutes."

One eye cracks open to spy my workout clothes. "Noooooo. I'm not going to yoga today."

She opens my curtains all the way and turns to pull the pillow out from under my head. "You're right. You're not. You're going to Zumba with me."

I groan and roll over. "I don't do Zumba, Jerrie. Leave me alone. I'll make it to the studio on time. Just let me sleep."

She comes around to sit beside me on the bed. She strokes my arm and speaks more gently, "Sweetheart, you're sad. And you have a right to be. You're mourning the loss of a love. But I am done letting you sink further into this depression. It stops today."

I peep at her, "I'm not mourning and I'm not depressed."

She eyes me steadily. "You haven't gone to yoga or to work out since you left LA. You barely eat, you don't sleep well, and all you do is go to work, come home, and climb back in the bed. You are avoiding your friends and your family, and you'd ignore me if you could." She strokes my head, "It's time to get you back on track, love. You know I'm right."

I roll out of the bed and reach for the clothes. "And what track is that, pray tell? Honest to God, Jerrie, I feel like such a laughingstock. Those carefully orchestrated pap pictures lost all their mojo when the idiot was dumb enough to be spotted in Atlanta with his girlfriend. And let's not forget that Jamie's wife is still happily ensconced in his Los Angeles home and is rumored to be talking about them being ready to expand their family again."

I yank off my t-shirt and pull on my clothes. Jerrie knows no boundaries and follows me to the bathroom. "Okay, first of all, you don't care about Chris – so let that one go. He is the one who looks ridiculous, not you." She roots through a drawer and hands me a hair tie. "As for the other, you know as well as I do she is just looking for any way to make herself seem relevant. Jamie sure hasn't said anything like that – in fact he says absolutely nothing about her. It's bullshit and you know it, so why give it a thought?"

I wave her out so I can pee. I scrub the sleep out of my eyes and will away the headache that is looming. As I wash my hands, Jerrie sashays back in with a pair of shoes. I take a good look at her for the first time and can't help but grin. "WHAT are you wearing?"

She looks down at herself and back to me with a frown. "My Zumba clothes." She smiles at me, "Jealous?"

I laugh as I sit down to pull on my shoes and socks. "Nope. Only YOU could pull off THAT look." I admire her sense of style and courage and I have to admit, she's got a pretty rockin' body that I did not suspect was hiding under her designer clothes. I hope I have the guts to wear electric colored spandex with strategically placed fringe when I'm her age.

She heads toward the door and turns to me with a pointy finger. "You're calling your Mother today and you're going home this weekend to have dinner with your family and see a few friends."

My eyes roll dramatically, "Not yet, please. I really don't want to talk about anything yet and you know them – it'll take a hot second before everyone is in my business."

A sympathetic smile graces her face. "Honey, they are worried sick about you. They're your family and they know you better than anyone. They can read you and they won't push you to talk before you're ready. They know you're hurting and they just want to love you through it. That's all." She holds the door open for me, "And whether you admit it or not, you need them right now."