As the Treadmill Turns: Breaking Up is Hard to Do

As the Treadmill Turns: Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Jennifer had her mind set. It had to end. She couldn’t go on. Not for the sake of her stomach, their relationship, not even for the children. There was no way this was productive for her. She wondered how Mike would take it, whether he would grunt with sadness or contempt. She couldn’t care. She had weighed all of her options. There was no other viable choice. She had to break up with him. That is, if she could drag her broken body to meet with him.

Mike felt something was wrong. Maybe it was the fact that he’d only had 32 protein shakes today. Maybe it was the fact that he’d only lifted for 5 hours yesterday. He couldn’t be sure but he felt something was off. He was still feeling this way when the door opened and there was Jennifer, limping her way into the room. She collapsed just inches from the door, too exhausted to go on. Mike grunted, rolled his eyes, and used his small finger to hoist her to her feet. He didn’t notice the tears in her eyes, nor did he notice the bruises on her arms and legs from the workout the day before. He merely noticed that she was 15 seconds late for their session.

Mike had noticed that the workouts weren’t working. Jennifer was weak; she was making no progress and he had to rethink what they were doing. He thought she should man up, but he could see that she wouldn’t. He had rethought the routine to something he thought she could handle, and he was ready to lay it on her. Little did he know that the timing of this could not be better, considering Jennifer’s decision. Before she could say anything, he threw the plan in front of her and grunted his idea to change the plan.

As he did this, Jennifer thought that maybe Mike had changed. Maybe their relationship would change. Maybe, this time, things would be different. Maybe her stomach, their relationship, and even their kids could benefit from them staying together. She sighed and told herself this was his last chance and he’d better prove himself worthy.

Stay tuned for the next episode: Try, Try Again