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“I didn’t know you wear glasses.”
“I told you I’m getting old.”
I laugh. “Sam’s here to see you.”
He slides his glasses off and sets them on the desk. “It’s been a while since I’ve written in a journal,” he says, closing the notebook. “You inspired me to start writing again.”
“What made you stop?”
His shoulders lift. “Life.”
Right. Vague, one-word answers. Must be Tuesday.
I help Sam fill out his paperwork while TJ sets up their equipment.
Sam looks like a regular gym-goer. In his twenties. Decent build. But when I look closer, I notice he’s a bit different.
His eyes blink more often than everyone else’s. His eyebrows repetitively pinch together while he’s speaking. The muscles in his arms contract as he clenches his fists over and over again. Sometimes, he’ll make a sound like something’s stuck in his throat and he has to keep clearing it.
When he’s sparring with TJ, you’d never see it. His body is busy and his mind is concentrating on the task at hand. It’s when he takes a break, or talks. That’s when it happens.
Toward the end of each of TJ’s sessions, he sits in the middle of the ring with his clients and talks to them. They hang on to his every word. I can’t blame them. I’m enamored by his commanding presence even when he’s just talking about the weather.
I start by racking the dumbbells, my ears straining to catch snippets of their conversation. Then I walk around the ring, taking the long way to the opposite side of the gym to clean the mirrors. When I circle back, I’m caught.
“Vulture or shark?” TJ calls.
My spine stiffens and my nose scrunches. “Huh?”
“Sam here wants to know why the pretty girl is circling us like a vulture. I told him you remind me more of a shark. So, which one is it?”
My cheeks flame. “I’m sorry, Sam. Didn’t mean to interrupt your session.”
Sam’s fist knocks against his leg several times as he smiles. “That’s okay,” he says, clearing his throat. “You’re much easier on the eyes than this guy. Couldn’t help myself.”
TJ chuckles. “Not gonna argue with you on that.”
I lean my elbows onto the mat outside the ring and smile. “How did you like your first session?”
“I loved it. I really think it’s going to help me.”
“Sam has Tourette’s,” TJ says. “Studies have shown that exercise can lessen the severity of his tics.”
“Tics?”
“My body performs these frequent movements,” Sam says. “Kind of like constant twitches.”
“And you can’t stop them?”
He shakes his head. “They’re involuntary. They get worse as my emotions heighten.”
“Like if you’re nervous or excited?”
“Exactly.”
I frown. “That must be hard.”
“Was made fun of every day growing up. Even my dad didn’t understand it. People still stare at me like I’m a freak.”
