Switch

good, and I found out I no longer qualified for the same

reduced fees I'd been used to getting based on my income,

but that was fine. I had insurance now.

'Wish I could lose ten pounds,' said the nurse-practitioner when she read my chart and looked me over. 'But I like to

eat too much.'

'Me, too. It just takes…' Discipline was the word that rose to my lips, and I was thinking of that note again.

'Work.'

She patted her round hips and bely and sighed. 'Yeah,

doesn't everything?'

Of course it did. You didn't get very far in the world

thinking you could get away with anything less. But I didn't

say anything else, just took my shot and paid my bil and

went on my way.

went on my way.

I thought about it, though.

Discipline.

I thought about it on the drive home and up the elevator to

my apartment, where I changed into a pair of black yoga

pants and a formfitting white T-shirt with the words

Frankie Say Relax in block letters across the front. It was

a good conversation starter. On my feet I put a pair of

trainers that had actualy cost more than the Madden

pumps and were the most expensive shoes I'd ever

owned. I'd discovered I could deal with sore feet for

fashion's sake, but not when I was trying to exercise.

Discipline.

Today, you wil extend your regular workout by fifteen

minutes.

I grabbed a cereal bar from my snack drawer and wolfed

down the chewy jam center and crust as I cracked open a

can of diet cola and drank it back in a few gulps, then filed

a water bottle with ice and water from the tap. My shoes

might be designer, but my water was generic.

I took the stairs to add a little extra to my workout,

laughing at myself for obeying a command meant for

someone else. My heels rang on the metal stairs as I took

them two at a time al the way to the basement. I flung

open the metal door, too, and it clanged against the wal.

Riverview Manor has a nice, if outdated, gym, though it

was hardly ever used. Not trendy enough, I guess. There

was someone at the eliptical machine when I came in. He

looked up but didn't speak around his huffing and puffing.

It was him.

Of course. Why shouldn't I have to sweat and strain next

to the man, that handsome man, I kept running into al over

the place? I drank back some water to give myself

fortitude and hopped on the treadmil.

After five minutes my legs were screaming, and I shot him

a glance. His mouth had set into a tight, hard line of