‘Welcome everybody!’ she cried, both to the group behind her and to the camera, ‘this is going to be such an exciting day! We are going to get those beautiful bodies moving and we are ALL going to be fitter, happier, more energetic and simply wonderful people, a pleasure to see, to know and to be with. Your loved ones will be delighted, you will be delighted! I’m Carol, and let’s go!” And she wasn’t just saying it to her companions, or to the camera, was she, she was saying it to me. That smile, that voice, that generous invitation! I felt included, welcomed, encouraged. Trumpets sounded, fireworks exploded, I felt a surge inside. The music started up, the ‘beautiful bodies’ began to sway, and we were off. And I could begin to feel it work its way over me, could feel my rising response to this breezy, warm-hearted role model.
The first few exercises – warm ups, she called them, though I rather quickly got pretty darned hot, actually – showed just how much out of condition I was, but at least, as Carol said brightly, ‘You’ve all made a start!’ There was a little problem a few minutes later, when I somehow ran right up to the fireplace and got a nasty scratch from the metal screen, but hey, that just showed how committed I was.
As the class proceeded, I began to get to know some of the participants. One was a friendly-looking, generously proportioned woman, probably in her forties, with a nice way of pacing and turning loosely, another was a very handsome late twenties bloke who moved rather stiffly but grinned easily when he got things a bit wrong (which he often did), then there was a beautiful Chinese girl whose precision was something to watch and admire. But for me the star, the standout, was Carol herself, showing us what to do, encouraging all of us in her American accent (‘What energy, Debbie! What spirit!’), and yet laughing at herself a bit if she, very occasionally, muffed a step. We all warmed to her.
Thirty minutes later, after the carefully structured sequence of exercises had begun to wind down, I happened to see something in the mirror. OMG, was that really me? Red in the face, sweat pouring down my back and arms, legs slightly pumped, a look of reluctant excitement?!? Yes, it was me all right. Well, well, who would have thought? I went to bed an hour later and slept better than I had in years.
That was just the beginning. Next day at work, in sharp contrast to most days there, was a breeze, most of the work done by lunch, some astounded glances from my hot desk colleagues, and even a small, barely visible smile from his lordship the boss (we’ll have to chalk that one up). Mid-afternoon - mercifully quiet too – I began to realize I was feeling a suppressed eagerness, an unusual excitement. Why was this? Someone suggested going out for a drink later, somehow we all did quite often, but some instinct led me to give a clear, immediate refusal. What was happening? Then I knew. I had to get home to see Carol again. And it was just as good, that second time.
