Dexter climbed off the 'stair stepper' and announced, "I hate that machine."
Surprised by the vehemence in his voice, Samantha asked, "Why?"
"It's boring," Dexter said. "It is everything that I hate in exercise."
"Really?" Samantha asked.
"Yes."
Samantha had anticipated that reaction from Dexter, although not with the kind of emotion he had exhibited. She had put him on that machine, assuming that he would prefer the next machine more.
She pointed over to the stationary bike.
"Try that one."
Dexter climbed on the bike and started to pedal. He had been on it for about two minutes when he stopped.
He looked over at Samantha and said, "I don't like this one, either."
"I thought you liked riding a bike," Samantha said.
Dexter said, "This isn't riding a bike."
"Yes, it is," Samantha said.
"No, it isn't. When you ride a bike, the ground goes past you. The view changes. There are things to see," Dexter said. "This is sitting on a seat and turning pedals."
"It is the same motion as a bike," Samantha said.
"Like I said about jogging on the treadmill, if I wanted to ride a bike I would ride a bike. Why should I accept an imitation of a bike, when I can get a real bike?" Dexter asked.
"You don't want to use the treadmill, the stair stepper, or the stationary bike," Samantha said.
"That's right."
"You need a form of aerobic exercise," Samantha said.
"I'm not going to prance around in some exercise class either," Dexter said. "I would feel like a fool."
"Try that one over there," Samantha said.
The machine she was pointing at was some kind of device with a seat, foot rests, and handles.
Dexter asked, "What is it?"
Samantha said, "It's a rowing machine."
"A rowing machine?" Dexter asked.
"Yes," Samantha said.
"What do I do?" Dexter asked.
Samantha got him onto the machine and explained what he was supposed to do. Dexter gave it a couple of trial pulls. He paused, and checked out the machine to see how it worked. He made a couple of adjustments. He tried a couple more pulls. He could feel his legs, back, and arms working. The room moved backwards when he pulled.
Dexter started rowing at a nice leisurely pace. He got a rhythm going, and sped it up a little. He kept at it.
Samantha watched Dexter, rather surprised by his actions. He was really starting to work that machine. He was sweating at the five minute mark. He upped the pace a little.
Samantha said, "You can stop, now."
Dexter stopped. "Why? I was just getting going."
"You were on it for ten minutes," Samantha said.
"I find that hard to believe," Dexter said.
Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, his body let him know that he had been working out.
"I'm kinda sore."
"You set a pretty good pace," Samantha said.
"It seems easy enough," Dexter said.
He climbed up, off of the machine. His legs felt like rubber, as did his arms.
"Take some ibuprofen, tonight," Samantha said. "You'll need it."
"Okay," Dexter said.
Samantha said, "I'd suggest that you use the other three machines a little."
"I'll buy a bike," Dexter said. "I'm not going to do jogging. I think jogging is the devil's exercise."
"The devil's exercise?" Samantha asked amused by the description of the most widely practiced form of exercise.
"I don't know how many joggers I've known who have twisted their ankles, ruined their knees, or tripped and fallen. I don't think getting hurt is healthy," Dexter said.
He wasn't going to mention shin splints or knee replacement surgery. It seemed to him that most joggers had this cocky attitude that made them feel immune to the dangers of jogging, until they found themselves in the hospital. Everyone talked about how good jogging was for the body, but he just didn't see it that way.
"You don't have to jog," Samantha said.
"Good," Dexter said.
Samantha asked, "How about swimming?"
That question gave Dexter a little pause. He knew how to swim, but it was an awkward form of swimming at best. Janet had described it as a cross between dog paddling, and the breaststroke. He wasn't fast, but he didn't drown. He had always figured that not drowning was the important thing, when it came to being in water over his head.
"I'd feel foolish," Dexter said.
"Why?"
"I'm not a very good swimmer," Dexter answered. He looked at the rowing machine and said, "I'll stick with that one for a while."
"Think about trying a few laps in the swimming pool, anyway," Samantha said.
She was trying to put together a reasonable exercise program for Dexter, but he wasn't cooperating. She was smart enough to know that if you put someone to perform exercises that they didn't like, that they wouldn't do them. Dexter didn't like many of the exercises. He would walk on the treadmill, but not jog. She decided walking would have to be good enough.
The next day Dexter returned to the gym. For a change, he was the only one there at that time. Normally, there would be one or two others. He went over to the rowing machine and got on it. Samantha came over and watched him start to row.
He was just getting into a good rhythm when she asked, "Why did you hire an escort to take care of you after your heart attack?"
"What?" Dexter said, almost falling off the machine.
"Why did you hire an escort to take care of you after your heart attack?"
"Who told you that?" Dexter asked trying to get back into a rhythm on the rowing machine.
"Amber," Samantha answered. "We've become quite close. You can't imagine my surprise when she told me what she did for a living."
"She told you?" Dexter asked.
He resumed rowing finding a little solace in the act. It wasn't that he felt guilty or remorseful about his activities with women who charged money to have sex with him. It just wasn't the kind of thing that one wanted to advertise. Although his hiring Amber had nothing to do with sex, her profession would make any relationship seem seedy.
He wasn't ashamed of Amber or his friendship with her. She had been invaluable at a time when he had been weak. She had fed him and basically mothered him. Maybe there wasn't such a thing as a whore with a heart of gold, but Amber was pretty damned close.
Samantha answered, "She told me all about it."
"Why would she do that?" Dexter asked.
"I was really upset when I learned that she was your caretaker and had let you over exert yourself like you did. I believed her when she said she didn't really know what she was supposed to do. I wondered what kind of service would send someone so inexperienced out like that. I really badgered her to tell me," Samantha said.
Badgering was putting it lightly. She had cajoled. She had tried to make Amber feel guilty. She had shouted. Amber had resisted in a way that had left Samantha confused. She wondered what kind of hold the agency had over Amber that she wouldn't divulge its name. Samantha, in her frustration, had even threatened physical violence. Then, in what had to be the shocker of the century, Amber announced that the mysterious agency had been 'The Pussycat Escort Agency.'
Needless to say, Samantha had been stunned speechless. It was the most absurd thing she had ever heard. She had actually stood there with her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. It was so funny that Amber had burst out into laughter.
Dexter said, "I take it you aren't friends any more."
"Why would you think that?" Samantha asked.
"Her job?" Dexter asked.
Samantha said, "She's not the only member of this gym who is in that profession."
"Really?" Dexter asked. "Who else?"
"Why do you want to know?" Samantha asked with a sly smile.
"No reason in particular," Dexter said.
He stopped rowing and tried to look up at Samantha innocently.
Samantha rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that."
"Okay. I'm just curious," Dexter said.
Samantha said, "So tell me why you called an escort service to find a caretaker?"
"It's a long story," Dexter said.
"I have time."
Dexter said, "It wasn't my first choice. You see, I was stuck alone in an apartment with almost no food, and a lot of dirty laundry. My car was in Nevada (it still is, for that matter) and I didn't have a rental at the time. I was feeling weak as a result of my medical problems. It was not a very good situation.
"The first day there I had a microwaved dinner. It sucked, but it was about the only thing in the house. I spent most of the day on my easy chair. I even fell asleep in it.
"My second day at home, I went to open a bank account with my lawyer. It was supposed to be a quick stop, and then we'd have lunch together. We checked out a dozen banks before I found one that satisfied me. I was so tired afterwards, that I skipped lunch and went back to the apartment, where I just slept. I didn't want to get up to cook, even though it would have been little more than nuking it.
"The third day at home, I had to go to the store to get some food. I called a taxi to pick me up. I got maced, stepping out of the apartment."
"You got maced?" Samantha asked.
"Yes. The woman upstairs thought I was leaping out at her with the intention of raping her when I stepped out of the apartment," Dexter answered.
Samantha said, "This was after you had heart surgery, right?"
"Right," Dexter said. "After dealing with getting pepper spray in my eyes and handling questions from the police, I sent the taxi cab driver to get some food. He got a variety of stuff. Most of it was okay, but he did get some things that I wasn't allowed to eat. I also forgot to take my medications.
"The afternoon of the third day, I started calling around to see if I could find someone to help. The first place I called was a maid service, since I figured that I needed a maid. I discovered that they don't really provide real in-house maids. They send a couple of people over to your place, they clean it, and then they leave. They don't shop or cook or do any of those things they show maids doing on television.
"I then tried a nursing service. You should have heard them when I told them what I wanted. You see, nurses don't run errands, do laundry, clean the house, or cook meals. So getting a real healthcare person was out.
"So there I was thinking that I was stuck without an option. I couldn't take care of myself, and I couldn't find someone to take care of me. You see, I wanted someone there when I woke up, to make the coffee and maybe cook a real breakfast. Microwave breakfasts aren't really good for you. I needed someone who would run errands and maybe help keep the house clean.
"There were two big problems. The first was that I had only one bed, so anyone who stayed there would probably have to share it with me, or sleep on the floor or in the recliner. The second is that I've kind of become a closet nudist."
Samantha interrupted, "A closet nudist?"
"I like walking around the house without any clothes on," Dexter said.
"I haven't heard that term, before," Samantha said.
Dexter said, "What I needed was a temporary wife. Then I really got inspired. Where do you go when you want to 'rent' a woman? An escort service!"
"In a sick way, that makes sense," Samantha said.
"So I called an escort service and said I wanted to rent a wife for a week. I laid out what she would have to do. She'd have to cook, clean, do laundry, run errands, and generally take care of me. She'd have to sleep in my bed and put up with me walking around naked in the house," Dexter said.
"So you called an escort service to rent a wife for a week," Samantha said.
"Do you want to know the really funny thing?"
"Sure."
Dexter said, "They asked if she had to have sex with me, or was it going to be like a real wife."
"That's funny," Samantha said giggling.
"That's how I came to know Amber," Dexter said.
He resumed rowing while Samantha studied him. She viewed Dexter as an eccentric uncle of the family. She liked him, but just didn't know what to make of him. Hiring an escort to act like a temporary wife, was something that would never have occurred to her in a million years.
She patted him on the shoulder and said, "That's enough rowing for today."
Dexter looked behind him and then across the room. He gave her a smile and said, "Well, I almost rowed all of the way across the room. Maybe I'll have better luck, tomorrow."
Samantha laughed. "Get out of here."
"So who is it?" Dexter asked.
"Who is what?" Samantha asked confused by his question.
"The other woman in Amber's profession," Dexter said.
Samantha asked, "Did I say it was a she?"
Edited By TeNderLoin