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She groans. “That’s the worst one yet.”
“What’s wrong with that nickname?” TJ asks. “It’s cute.”
I shake my head. “Cute is the exact opposite of what a teenage girl wants to be called.”
“Thank you!” Kimmie fist-bumps me and follows TJ.
For the next hour, I’m entranced by the way TJ interacts with Kimmie. He pushes her to train hard and doesn’t hold back. He doesn’t treat her differently because she’s young, or because she’s a girl. She tires easily and asks to quit several times, but he doesn’t let up. At the end of her session, they sit facing each other on the mat and TJ does quite a bit of talking.
“Carla.” He’s waving me over.
“What’s up?”
“Why don’t you join us? I think Kimmie can use some of your wisdom.”
My eyebrows fly to my hairline. “Me? Oh, no. I don’t think I have much wisdom to share.”
“Come on,” Kimmie pleads. “TJ’s great and all, but I need some girl power right now.”
I climb the stairs and duck under the ropes, taking a seat beside Kimmie. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t really have a lot of girl friends,” she says. “And I can’t talk to my mom about this stuff.”
“Ah, this sounds like boy stuff.”
She nods. “How do you know if a guy likes you?”
“Well, that’s kind of different for every guy. Some guys are more straight-forward. Others are too shy to make a move. Who is the boy in question?”
Kimmie’s cheeks turn pink. “His name is Tyler. He’s my best friend. Sometimes I think he’s flirting with me, but other times I think he looks at me like one of the guys. I don’t want to ruin the friendship, but maybe it would be great if we could be more than friends. I just don’t know what to do. I’m not pretty and confident like you.”
I choke out a laugh. “I am not that confident. I second-guess myself all the time. And you are pretty, Kimmie. You just don’t see that yet. You need to appreciate and love the person you are. Don’t put yourself down and don’t sell yourself short.”
“Easy for you to say.”
TJ opens his mouth but I hold my finger up. “Look at you in here. You didn’t give up. You’re fighting. I admire you for doing this. You’re so young, yet you’re stronger than so many people older than you. You should be proud of yourself. Any guy would be lucky to date you. And if it’s not Tyler, there will be plenty more. Trust me.”
Tears brim and streak down her cheeks. “Nobody’s ever said that about me before.”
“Nobody has to for you to believe it, kiddo.” TJ places his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t wait for other people to tell you how great you are. Start telling yourself that every day.”
As we’re walking toward the front desk and saying goodbye to Kimmie, the phone rings. I jog around the counter. “Thanks for calling Heavy Weight. How can I help you?”
The line clicks before a recording plays. “This is a call from the New York City Department of Corrections. Please press zero to accept this call.”
Uh-oh. My body tenses and my eyes flick to TJ.
“Everything okay?” he mouths.
“Uh …” I lower my voice and say, “It’s the Department of Corrections.”
TJ stalks behind the counter, takes the receiver from my hand, and slams it down. “Never accept that call. Got it?”
I swallow. “Got it.”
“I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
First the letter, and now the phone call.
