“Good morning,” I said, swallowing all my questions. Those were things you wondered about a crush, not a client.
“How was your weekend?” I asked.
“Good. I’m trying to get back on track after taking Friday off with Preston.”
“How is he?” I asked.
“Much better. He’s back to his old self after some cold medicine and some Mama hugs,” she said with a soft smile.
“I don’t think it matters what age you are, sometimes you just need your mom,” I said.
“I grew up with two dads, but I know what you mean,” she said.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, realizing I shouldn’t have assumed.
Piper waved me off. “No, it’s fine. I definitely sometimes have something come up and want to pick up the phone and ask my papa or my dad to fix it,” she said. Now I remembered seeing family pictures with Piper and two very good-looking men in suits and I hadn’t put the pieces together that those might be her fathers.
“Parents are good like that,” I said. My parents were always worrying and trying to fix my life, even though they had six other kids and so many grandchildren to worry about. They still made room for me.
“So, what mood are you in today?” I asked. “Or I can surprise you.” I’d planned two different classes, or I could do it on the fly like I had last week.
Piper smiled slowly and my breath caught in my chest for a moment. Her hair was in a messy bun for the first time since I’d met her. Usually her hair was arranged perfectly, but with her hair more casual she looked younger.
“Surprise me,” she said, and I somehow got it together to nod.
The two classes I’d planned were one classic yoga class, and one with some interesting transitions between the poses, and some little creative twists that I thought she might like.
I went with the second class idea.
Piper followed me through the class, not complaining or hesitating. I even took her into some more intense inversions near the end, and she got her legs in the air in a headstand.
She came down gently and looked up at me, a surprised smile on her face.
“I’ve never done that before!” I hadn’t known that. I’d been so caught up in teaching that I hadn’t considered that she wasn’t as advanced with inversions.
“You did amazing,” I said, and she let out a joyous laugh.
“I wish I’d taken a picture.”
“I’ll take one for you next time,” I said, even though that wasn’t really my job, and it would be a distraction. I just couldn’t stop staring at her smiling face.
Several dark blonde strands had escaped her bun and were curling on her sweaty forehead and on the back of her neck. For some reason they made me think of vulnerability.
“Okay, let’s keep going,” Piper said, taking a big swig of water.
I flipped her over onto her back and had her do a nice restorative bridge pose with a block under her hips to wind down from the headstand.
While she was in Savasana, I told her to remember the feeling she had in the headstand, and that that joy was available to her always. She could tap into it when she needed.
She melted into Savasana, and I wondered if she had fallen asleep. Her eyes did open when I told her it was time for her to move her fingers and toes and come back to the present moment.
I ended the class as usual and we sat on the floor, staring at one another.
“That was an incredible class, McKenna, thank you so much. I feel like I forgot that time was passing, and I just completely let go. That’s not a thing I do very often.”
“I got that impression,” I said, before I could stop myself.
“Are you saying I think too much?” she asked, pretending to be offended.
“That’s not what I said.” I tried not to smile.
Piper laughed softly. “It’s fine, I know who I am. It’s hard not to overthink when you have a business and a son who is depending on you.”
I wanted to ask her about her ex-husband and his involvement, but I didn’t want to hurt her. From what Natalie had told me, he didn’t give a shit about her or Preston, but he did send a check every month, and I guess if he didn’t want to be around, at least that was something.
No father was better than an absent one.
Piper waved her hand. “You don’t need to hear about my troubles. You’re just here to teach yoga.” She got up and I sat there for a second. Her words were said so casually, but it was like being punched in chest. They hurt, and I couldn’t put my finger on why. It was the truth. I was just here to teach yoga. That was my purpose in this house. So why did it cause me so much pain to hear her say that?
Eventually I got up and joined her and Natalie in the kitchen for tea. I guess this was our ritual now.
“I have some kombucha in the fridge if you want it,” Piper said, and I made a face that caused her to burst out laughing. There was a lightness to her today that I liked seeing. Another glimpse into who she was.
“Not a fan?” she asked.
“No, and I know it makes me a bad yogi. For some reason if you do yoga, you’re required to love kombucha, and I just don’t. It tastes awful to me, no matter how many different flavors I try.” I shook my head and cringed.
“Well, you don’t have to drink it,” Piper said, handing me my tea. Our fingers brushed and I tried not to flinch at the intensity of the contact with her skin.
“Thanks,” I said, raising the cup and hoping she didn’t see my hand shake a little.
“If you don’t want kombucha, would you like a donut?” Natalie asked, brandishing a box from Sweet’s Sweets Bakery that had an array of delectable looking donuts in it.
“I would love one,” I said. Natalie told me which flavor was which, and I selected a donut that had matcha cream in it. Of course. I would eat anything that had matcha in it.
Natalie grabbed one that was filled with blackberry jam and had a lemon poppyseed glaze.
“I’m so mad at you for bringing these,” Piper said, glaring at the donuts.
“No you’re not. You love me,” Natalie said, completely confident.
“Okay, fine. Twist my arm,” Piper said, going for the classic Boston cream donut with the vanilla cream filling and chocolate ganache on top.
“We have to save the one with the jam in it for Preston,” Piper said, putting her donut on a plate. I’d planned on just holding mine, but a plate seemed classier, so when she handed me one too, I took it. I almost wondered if she was going to use a knife and fork, but she didn’t. She ate her donut with grace, somehow not getting any chocolate or filling on her face.
I bit into my donut and immediately felt the filling sploosh onto my face.
Natalie snorted and I tried to wipe my face as quickly as possible.
“Here,” Piper said, fighting a smile as she handed me a napkin that was white with a blue stripe on it. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was monogrammed. She seemed like the kind of woman who appreciated a good monogram.
“Thanks,” I said, once I’d cleaned my face. I wanted to go in the bathroom and make sure I wasn’t still covered in matcha cream.
The three of us finished our donuts and Piper washed her hands in the huge sink.