Everything is within your power , and your power is within you . - Janice Trachtman Yesterday when they had gotten together at Jaxon's house for Sunday dinner , Helen's adult children , had told her that she should take some time for herself . It was what she wanted to hear for years . She wanted to be noticed . To be appreciated . And finally she was . Jaxon even gave her a gym bag with goodies . Inside was the outfit that she had bought and two more . There was a cute pink water bottle that declared ' I'm a mom of three ... you don't scare me ! ' There was also a motivational workout and food log . In addition to everything else , there was a gift card to the local sporting goods store . " You've got this , mom . " JD told her . Jolene seemed off . More quiet than usual . But midterms were right around the corner and Hank dismissed their concerns . " My girl is going to be the best teacher this town has ever had . " He had boasted and said that he was going to get her the best school ring ever seen . She had just smiled , but it didn't reach her eyes . Bunny had been called into the office for an emergency . Neither Jaxon or Ty knew any details . Neither seemed concerned . Helen wanted to let them know that she knew about the three of them . But really , what do you say? Glad that you like giving it to your wife and my son . Not exactly something that she really wanted to know the details about . So , she didn't say anything . And when they got ready to leave , JD handed her the keys to her little Kia and said that he'd see her at home . That's when she found out that Jaxon , Bunny and Ty bought JD a second hand pickup from Jaxon's boss . She had objected but Ty stopped her . " It's his Christmas , birthday and graduation all rolled into one . Plus , in July when he goes to boot camp , we get an extra car . We added it to our insurance , so don't worry about it . " She felt so blessed at that moment . That night , when she started to cook dinner , JD had asked if he could help . He would be moving out soon , he should know how to do more than just PB & J and frozen pizza . He had even cleaned the kitchen ! This morning when she arrived at work , several people said that she looked like she was glowing . Helen wasn't used to this kind of treatment . She enjoyed every moment of it . 1/4 2:55 pm P PPD . Chapter 16 : New Helen At lunch , she had her vegetable tray and tried to convince herself that she was full . She was not . Helen had been eating much smaller portions and denying herself any sweets . But when Steve announced that cupcakes were in the break room , she found herself eating four . And then feeling shamefully disappointed in herself . Why couldn't she just have one ? Or none ? Why did she have to go overboard with it ? Helen was still chastising herself when she pulled into the gym parking lot . It had been years since she had been to a gym . Somewhere around high school when P.E. was still required . Carrying her new pink gym bag , she walked into the Golden Iron . Surprisingly , it did not smell like body odor and funk . There was a mural of a beautiful large blonde woman on the wall behind the reception desk . Under the woman's smiling face was written ' She was my Golden light with an Iron will . ' Golden and Iron were stacked together creating the gyms name . " Hi ! " the girl with bubble gum pink hair and bright blue eyes smiled happily at Helen . The girl was average size and a little pudgy around her middle . She wore a gray shirt with the gyms name on the back and pink leggings with black and pink hi - tops . " Hi . I'm Helen . " " Hi Helen , everybody calls me Pinky . " She held her hand out and Helen took it . " I love your bag . " " Thanks . " Helen blushed slightly . " My son got it for me . I work for TRAAC ... " " Oh ! Yeah , let me get my dad . " She went into a glass walled office and then came back . " Go on in . He'll get you set up and then I'll show you around . " " Okay . " Helen said going into the office . " Helen , right ? " the man said hanging up the phone and standing up to greet her . " I'm Joel and this is my gym in honor of my late wife , " " Is that ... ? " " Yes , ma'am . " He smiled and glanced at a picture on the wall . " Sit down and I'll give you our story ," She sat in the very comfortable oversized chair and sat her bag on the floor as he sat down and placed a brochure on the desk . " My wife struggled with her weight for years . After our youngest , Pinky , it got worse and her doctor kept pushing her to go to the gym or something . Every one that she went to , she felt uncomfortable surrounded by gym rats and toothpicks . Shortly before her death , we discovered that she had thyroid cancer . I opened this gym for people who are like her . " 214 2:55 pm P PPD Chapter 16 : New Helen " I completely understand how she felt . " Helen admitted . Joel smiled at her . " I'm hoping that you will be comfortable here . We focus on total health . Pinky is a certified dietician . We have two trainers on staff at all times . Several of them have primary jobs . We have four fire fighters , two teachers , a couple of county deputies and a few city cops . " He handed over the brochure . " We do not tolerate body shaming of any kind . If you experience it , please let the staff know . We will address it . We have a three strike policy . If we have to address you three times , your membership will be revoked and you will be banned for a minimum of 12 months . " " I'm sure that Katherine went over our discounted rates . " He handed over a contract and they went over it . She completed the form and he put her information into the computer system . He took her card out to the front desk and ran it for the first monthly fee . Then he activated a key card and handed it over . Walking her out , Joel handed her over to Pinky . She handed Helen a pink lock . " Don't tell my dad , I'm not charging you for the lock . It's our last pink one . " " It helps if you wait until I'm out of earshot . " Joel teased as he walked back into his office . " He knows that I'm horrible about giving away the locks . " Pinky laughed . " Let me show you around . As you can see , we have a track upstairs . " She pointed to the track that ran along the edge of the building . " It is a full quarter mile . Behind that wall is the basketball court . We also do classes in there , I'll get you a schedule . Obviously , these are the free weights and weight machines . If you need any assistance , just grab one of them in the shirts . " She pointed to a couple of guys in the corner wearing blue shirts like her own . On the back of their shirts it read TRAINER . The man in the black shirt waved back and blew her a kiss . " That's our masseuse . He's a flirt but changes boyfriends more often than I change underwear . The other guy is Purnell , he's one of our trainers and is a full time fire fighter . " Pinky pushed open the door to the pool room . " We have four current pools and one lap pool , not Olympic size but we have two lanes . No diving in any of the pools , they are only four feet deep . Current pools can be set to different strengths and have a thirty minute timer . Locker rooms are over here . " Pinky led the way into the women's locker room . " Both have five shower stalls , we do not provide anything for your shower other than the stall and water . Everything else , you need to bring . We ask that what you bring in , you take out , please don't leave anything long term . " There were three rows of full length wooden lockers with padded benches between them . " We have three beauty stations with plugs and holders for hair dryers and curling irons and beauty bar lights . " Pinky flipped a switch and entire area with the table and chair was lit up with round light bulbs . Shaking her head , she flipped it back off . " I always forget how bright that is . " 3/4 2:55 pm P PPD . Chapter 16 : New Helen They walked out the other door and back into the main area opposite the reception desk and office . " Next to my dad's office is the equipment room . We have floats and kickboards for the pool . We also have boxing dummies that we use for self defense class taught by my sexy husband . He's mine , you can't have him , but check again tomorrow , he may be available . " 2 2:55 pm P PPD . Mermaid Thighs Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!