“One more leg lift, and I’m jumping her,” Mel muttered. Although she hadn’t meant to speak aloud, it was apparently the perfect move. Linda flashed her a grim smile.

“I’m right behind you.” She panted as she executed what the instructor gleefully called hitch kicks. “She can’t be over twenty. She deserves to die.”

Mel chuckled and puffed. When the music stopped, the women sagged together in a sweaty heap.

After pulse checks and cool-downs, Mel dropped down next to Linda and buried her face in a towel. “That’s what I get for taking ten days off.” With a weary sigh, Mel lowered the towel. “I can’t believe I scheduled myself for an entire day.”

“I know what you mean. I’ve got weight training next.”

“Really?” Mel offered her a surprised smile. “So do I.”

“No kidding?” Linda blotted her neck, then rose. “I guess we might as well go suffer through it together.”

They moved from weights to stationary bikes, from bikes to treadmills. The more they sweated, the friendlier they became. Conversation roamed from exercise to men, from men to backgrounds.

They shared a sauna and a whirlpool, and ended the session with a massage.

“I can’t believe you gave up your career to keep a house.” Stretched on the padded table, Linda folded her arms under her chin. “I can’t imagine it.”

“I’m not used to it myself.” Mel sighed as the masseuse worked her way down her spine. “To tell you the truth, I haven’t quite figured out what to do with myself yet. But it’s a kind of experiment.”

“Oh?”

She hesitated, just enough to let Linda know it was a sensitive subject. “You see, my husband and I have been trying to start a family. No luck. Since we’ve gone through the whole route of tests and procedures without results, I had this idea that if I quit for a while, maybe shucked off some of the career tension … well, something might happen.”

“It must be difficult.”

“It is. We both— I suppose since we’re only children ourselves and don’t have anyone but each other, we really want a large family. It seems so unjust, really. Here we have this wonderful house, we’re solid financially, and our marriage is good. But we just can’t seem to have children.”

If the wheels were clicking in Linda’s head, she masked it with sympathy. “I guess you’ve been trying for a while now.”

“Years. It’s really my fault. The doctors have told us there’s a very slim chance that I’d be able to conceive.”

“I don’t mean to offend you, but have you ever thought of adoption?”