Page 8 of For the Win

“Of course I turned him down.”Taj knows better than anyone why that is.

“Seriously, though...”He regards me with a notch of worry between his eyebrows and touches my shoulder.“You were okay after falling in?”

“Oh yeah.Fine.Good thing I can swim!”I appreciate his concern.He’s a good friend.

“That would be important if you’re doing classes on the water,” Arlo says with a grin.

“Let me know if you need me to hang around or get rid of him if he shows up again,” Taj adds.

I want to deal with life on my own.But it’s definitely comforting to know there’s someone close by who’s got my back if I need it.

We have one more beer.The Edison lights strung around the patio glow as the sun lowers below the horizon and the music gets a little louder.It’s Saturday night in Venice and crowds of people are still walking along the boardwalk, taking in the little shops and bars.Arlo and Indigo head out first.I watch them walk out, heads close together, Arlo’s arm around her shoulders.They’re such a sweet couple.Then Janey leaves too.I hug her goodbye.

“Bike ride tomorrow?”she says.

Sundays I have no classes.“Sounds good.”

“I’ll text you.”

Ziggy saunters over and takes a seat at our table across from Taj and me.“Hey,” he says, with a special smile for Taj.

Another sweet couple.I’m happy for my friend that he’s found someone so great here in California.He went through some shitty relationships in college.It gives me a flicker of hope that there’s someone for everyone, but after what I went through, I don’t know how I’ll ever have the guts to take a chance again.

* * *

Monday afternoonI’m riding my bike to Prana when my phone rings in my backpack.I don’t stop to answer it.It’s most likely a call about SUP yoga class hours or fees, even though all the information is on my website.

At Prana, I lock up my bike outside on one of the racks.A lot of customers use bikes as transportation, so we accommodate that.I carry my backpack inside.

The studio is housed in an old building with exposed brick walls, high ceilings, and dark hardwood floors, but it’s been modernized with fresh coats of paint inside, new lighting, private showers, and cellphone lockers.The main floor has a small retail area with big windows looking onto the street, one studio, and the showers and lockers.A new open staircase leads to the second floor, where two more studios are located, as well as the teachers’ lounge, where I now head.

I drop my backpack onto a couch and sit beside it to pull my phone out.There’s a voice mail, so I tap the button to take me there and listen while I toe off my running shoes.

It’s from someone I don’t know and it confuses me a bit.The guy’s name is Gary Jones, and he works for the Condors.I don’t know what the Condors is.Are.They want someone to give private yoga classes for the team.

Is this a new kind of corporate team building?Surely they only want one class.I don’t really know how I’d make yoga a team-building exercise; that’s not my thing.

I listen to the message again, trying to make sense of it.

Oh, wait—theCondors.The hockey team.I do know what that is.Hockey’s a popular sport in North Dakota.I went to a lot of games at UND.I wasn’t so much into NHL games, but once some friends and I went up across the Canadian border to watch a Jets game in Winnipeg.

Okay, the Condors want their own yoga instructor.

Yoga for hockey players?I grin.That’s...crazy.

I don’t have time to deal with this right now since I’m teaching classes right away.

Later, when I’m home and Taj is there helping me make Mediterranean quinoa bowls, I tell him about the voice mail.

“Holy shit.”He pops a slice of cucumber into his mouth and chews.“That’s so amazing, Ari!”

“Is it?I guess it is.How on earth did they get my name?”

He shrugs.“Google?”

That seems doubtful to me.“I can’t do it.I don’t know anything about yoga for hockey players!And honestly, teaching a class in front of thirty big goons kind of scares the crap out of me.I don’t think I can do that.”

He nods slowly, eyes thoughtful.“I get it.But it sounds like a great opportunity.You want more work.”

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