"So this is Tulsa," I murmured as I drove into the city. I glanced down at the directions I'd gotten from the woman at TAG, then turned onto the appropriate street. After a few minutes of driving, I spotted the large sign reading "Tulsa Academy of Gymnastics".
I got out of my car and walked to the building. This was it...the start of my new life.
As I entered the building, I looked around. I was in an area that was apparently a waiting room, with long windows on both sides. Through those windows, I saw gyms to either side with girls and boys of all ages working. Ahead of me, I saw the office, for which I immediately headed.
I walked around to the door of the office, noticing someone inside to whom I assumed I needed to talk. I knocked on the door to get her attention, which resulted in the door being opened.
For a second, I just stood there, unable to believe my eyes. "M..Monica?" I said finally.
She looked very surprised that I knew her name, but then she took a closer look at me. I could see that her reaction was similar to mine. "Monica!" she said finally. "Wow...this is amazing! How have you been?"
I went in the room and hugged her. "I've been pretty good."
"You've been at Capital?"
"Yep...for the past eight years. Then I got the letter offering me a job here, and I decided that it was time for a change. But I was definitely not expecting to see you! Man, I haven't seen you in almost seven years! How have you been?"
"Great...but I missed you," she said, hugging me again.
"I missed you, too." I said. "Do you remember that one night when I said I wanted to be as good of a coach as you?"
"Yes," she said, smiling.
"Well, I still don't think I've done that yet...I don't think I ever could...but I was getting really close to some of the girls I was coaching. One of them, Kristin, even said that she trusted me more than any other coach...just like I always said about you."
"That's awesome, Monica!" she said. "Now...I guess we should discuss when you'll be working."
"I could work pretty much any day, except I'd prefer not to work Sundays," I said.
"That's fine; the gym isn't even open Sundays, because most of us here feel the same way. Now...there's a class on Wednesdays and Fridays that needs another coach. It's about the same level as the class you used to be in. Will that work?"
"Yes, I think it will."
"Great!" she said as she wrote something down on a clipboard. "And you are also welcome to come in other days, in case another class needs a coach."
"I'll do that for sure," I smiled. "Well, I'll see you on Wednesday, then. Bye, Monica!"
"Bye, Monica!" she replied, and we both laughed a little as I left.
Over the next few weeks, I became accustomed to my new life. I had started learning names, and the class I was coaching was very similar to the class I'd once been in, making it very familiar for me. Monica and I had gotten even closer than we'd ever been as coach and student. On this Thursday evening, I was adding another class. I was going to be helping a preschool class.
After the class had stretched, we divided them into two groups with two coaches for each group. I went with one group to the floor, where we worked with the girls on cartwheels and roundoffs.
As we were finishing on floor and taking our group to balance beam, one little girl came up to me. She was adorable, with dark curly hair and chocolate brown eyes.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"I'm Miss Monica," I replied. "What's your name?"
"Juliet Angelique," she said proudly.
"That's a beautiful name, Juliet," I said, smiling at her tone.
"Most people call me Jules, but Mommy and Daddy call me Angel. You can call me either. I don't care."
"I think I'll call you Jules," I said thoughtfully. "I once had a friend whose nickname was Jules. And she even looked like you."
"Is she as old as me?" she asked excitedly.
"She's quite a bit older, actually. She's about as old as I am."
"Oh," she said a little bit dejectedly. Then she brightened. "Daddy says I look like Mommy."
"He does? Your mommy must be really pretty, then, if you look like her."
"Yep, she's really pretty. And she says I have Daddy's eyes."
Since we had reached the beams by then, I had no time to consider the girl's last comment. We started working, with me following the lead of the other coach, and I quickly forgot that she had even made it.
After some time, class was over, and I was preparing to leave. I picked up my purse and started for the door, but halfway there, I felt a tug on my shirt.
I looked down to see Jules standing there. "Miss Monica?" she asked.
"Yes, Jules?" I replied.
She tugged on my shirt again. "Come meet Mommy!"
I smiled. "Okay. Let's go meet your mommy."
We started walking through the lobby, when Jules suddenly started running. I quickened my stride to catch up, and saw her running up to a young woman who appeared to be about my age, with the same dark curls that Jules had.
"Hi, Mommy!" Jules exclaimed, running into the woman's arms.
"Hi, honey," the woman replied, hugging her daughter tightly. "Did you have fun?"
"Yep!" Jules said excitedly. "I did a good cartwheel!"
"That's terrific, sweetheart!" She kissed her daughter on the top of the head.
"And you know what else?"
"No, what else?" the woman asked.
"We got a new coach today! She's really nice." Jules then turned back to me. "Come on, Miss Monica!"
I smiled and joined them. "Hello," I said to the woman.
"Hi," she replied with a friendly smile. "You're the new coach?"
"Yes. Monica Hurley, nice to meet you." I offered her my hand.
She shook it, replying, "Nice to meet you, Monica. I'm Jamie Hanson."
Chapter 2
Can't Let Go
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