Chapter 9: Golden Iron
*When “I” is replaced with “we” even illness becomes wellness. – Malcolm X*
When she arrived home, with a dead phone, all three of her kids were there.
“Mom! Where the hell have you been? You should have been home an hour ago!” JD chastised and she quietly apologized.
Her excitement from today was gone. Her determination to make changes fizzled. Her bag was tossed in the floor of her closet forgotten.
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Reese preferred the Golden Iron gym over the bigger gyms. There were usually fewer people. He liked the owner. Although he wasn’t gay, he enjoyed flirting with Preston.
And the pools.
He was doing laps, well, umm, without doing laps. The current in the ten foot square pool was turned up almost all the way. He had been going at it for about thirty minutes and was getting ready to get out. With a warning beep, the timer started to lower the strength of the current.
Even over the mechanisms, water and his own ragged breathing, he heard the giggling. Giggling like that belonged to girls.
The ones around Dean’s age, maybe a little older. The ones that meant trouble.
He knew that he did not look his age. But he was old enough to be the father of the majority of the girls that had been hitting on him lately. Or, as his lovely nieces pointed out, their grandfather.
The machine beeped letting Reese know that he only had ninety seconds until it shut down.
There was more giggling and loud whispers that he could not make out. Dean had told him that age gap was the latest trend on BookTok. He wasn’t exactly sure what age gap was, or even BookTok, but he had a pretty good idea, and thought the whole thing just sucked. He was fifty-two being hit on by college coeds.
Beep. Beep.
The slow current stopped and Reese reached out for the bar along the front. With his hand firmly in place, he placed his feet under him and pulled off his goggles. Sure enough, four college age girls sat by his towel.
He was certain that they were college because they all wore sorority shirts. The only thing worse than coeds, were sorority girls. Especially when they were pledging.
Catching himself before he rolled his eyes; thank you, Dean, for that habit; he moved to the stairs to get out. There were four current pools and one actual lap pool. He felt their eyes on him as he climbed out of the pool and walked over to the bench.
“Excuse me.” He said without looking at any of them as he grabbed his towel and slipped his shower shoes on.
“What is that bee for?” the blonde to his right asked putting her finger on his bicep beneath his Seabee tattoo.
“Navy Seabee. You should look them up.” Still drying off, Reese went to the attached locker room for a shower. Less than ten minutes later, he was walking out the other door leading out into the main portion of the gym.
Nearly at the door, he heard Joel call his name. “Come talk to me. I have a question for you.”
Joel was about Reese’s age, maybe a few years older. His dark hair was graying at the temples with the beginnings of a receding hairline. His hazel eyes held warmth and a spark of life that he nearly lost with his wife.
The laugh lines around his mouth and eyes had deepened over the last few years as he settled into being a grandfather. He was clean shaven today, his usual mustache and goatee gone, and he looked odd to Reese. Hopefully, it would be a while before he lost another bet with his kids.
Just like his staff, he wore the gym shirt. Where the majority of the staff wore exercise pants or shorts, he wore khaki pants. The crocks on his feet gave away the fact that he had not planned on being out of his office.
Reese nodded and walked over to the glass walled office. “Don’t have long. I have to pick my little princess up in a bit.”
There was a murmur among the women nearby.
“I thought Cheryl was in Colorado with the college.” Joel said ushering the other man inside.
The large office had glass on three walls. Reese knew that this was for two reasons. One for safety and he could keep an eye on the gym and on the front desk. And also because HD was notoriously disorganized. Everyone being able to see into his office forced him to keep his desk and office organized.
And if it got out of hand, his daughter, Pinky, stepped in. Her office behind the front desk was completely closed off. Not just because she was slightly OCD with everything being in it’s place. But also because as a dietitian and counselor, she offered her office as a safe space.
“She is. I have Dean while Mary is deployed.” He said stepping inside and sitting in the large chair.
“Right.” Joel replied closing the door and sitting behind his desk. “This is an odd question and one I never thought that I would ask. What do you do about people having sex in your clubs?”
“I don’t. I have bouncers. But first offense is a warning and second time they are kicked out and criminal trespass. Never allowed back in at any of the clubs.”
Joel looked at his friend in shock. Slowly, he shook his head.
“That simple?”
Reese chuckled at him.
“No. It cannot be that damned simple.
“It’s really that simple. Like I said. Bouncers. I’ll ask Neo to come over, he can set a system up for you. Train your staff how to handle it.”
“Thanks.” Joel said as they both stood up and shook hands over the desk.
“By the way, you have sorority girls hanging out in the pool room.”
“I hate fall.” Joel grumbled and Reese laughed.
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