The Gym

 

There is a gym in the garage it made it easy to train yet at the same time it made it very hard. The first time she went into the garage she cried. She always trained in the morning, he always liked to wake up move to the couch and nap. He was not a morning person like she was, he needed time to wake up and get moving. 

Everytime she would be in the garage, he would pop in to see how she was making out, if she needed a spot or just to say hello. She could hear him rustling around in the kitchen refilling his coffee, she liked hearing the sounds of him waking up. 

The first morning she trained after the day she kept hearing sounds, she would instantly think he is up getting coffee or he is going to pop in for a minute, she was so happy, this was all a nightmare, he wasn't gone. She would stop training every time she heard a sound to come check if he was there. 

It was too much for her, every creak every sound she thought it was him. She couldn't train between thinking she was hearing him, remembering the unthinkable and the tears it was too painful. 

She thought maybe it would be better if she went to an actual gym she just didn't know which one to go to. She decided to get a free pass to a local gym to see if she could handle it. She also wanted to see if the gym had a heavy bag, she needed to get out a lot of anger. The anger was building up inside her and she needed a safe way to let it out. 

She walked into the gym immediately she knew this was not a good idea. It looked identical to the gym they first trained in, Gold's gym in East Northport. They would train for hours down in the basement, it was called Classic Gold's Gym. It was filled to capacity with Hammer Strength machines, old iron plates and dumbbells up to 150lbs. The basement was classic old school gym the machines were old but they loved it. 

She walked further into the gym noticing the steps were the same color and design as the steps going down to the basement of Gold's, her stomach did a flip, she stopped in her tracks, her breath taken away from her. She could feel the tears starting to fall she knew she had to get out. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the benches, she couldn't hold it in any longer she stood there staring at the benches tears streaming down her cheeks thinking of the countless Sundays they spent training chest. 

Sunday was always chest day, they began their morning stopping to get a big breakfast than heading to the gym to train. She is pretty sure people hated seeing them walk in because they knew whatever bench they trained on would not be available for quite some time. 

Between the two of them, it took time getting through their sets, most mornings it was eight sets each, four up than four back down. He was a firm believer of training chest with pyramid sets, each set increasing the weight. He also was a firm believer in longer rest in between sets, she thinks more so he could chit chat with whoever was in the gym, he was the social butterfly. She was always impatient ready to go, always having to do something between sets until it got to the real heavy weight than she would take longer rests. They both had set goals for their PR'S which they both reached with the support of each other. He was the best spotter, she felt safe under the bar with him behind her and vice versa, he knew with her behind him he was safe the same as it was in life. 

They had so much fun training together, the laughs from the jokes and trash talking was so much fun. If people ever heard the way they trash talked each other they probably were shocked but it was harmless fun between them. 

She was standing there looking at the bench all the memories running through her mind. She was trying to catch her breath to turn to leave yet she couldn't all she could do was stand there staring at an empty bench, just like her world was now, empty without him. 

She remembers a time when training was her escape, she could zone out, just lift nothing else mattered except what was in front of her now there is no escape. Now his absence fills every fiber of her life she misses her training partner, her love, her Bobby.  She is finally able to turn to leave knowing she will never be able to walk into that gym again, the memories are to heavy for her shattered heart right now. 

S.M Schultes