Page 16 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

With a sigh, I pulled on my yoga pants. Was I really doing this?

How had Emma convinced me this was a good idea?

Would four weeks in the middle of nowhere change my life?

Emma’s voice rattled in my head. She’d assert the two weeks of intensive programs would be the game changer.

Sure because yoga was an innovation nobody in New York City thought of before.

I slipped my T-shirt over my head and let it fall over my flat stomach. I’d been doing yoga for years, when I had the time, and I’d had no revolutionary epiphanies while doing it. A sharp rap on my door pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Hey, are you about ready?” Emma called.

“Yeah, just finishing up.” One last time, I glanced at myself in the mirror.

It was one of the few times I wished I had longer hair, so I could just tie it back and be done.

Instead, I ran my fingers through it, giving it a carefree vibe.

I chuckled to myself. Blake Saunders and carefree were rarely used in the same sentence.

When I emerged, Emma impatiently tapped her foot. “The others have already left.”

I glanced at the clock. “It’s ten till eight. Don’t we just have to step outside and we’re there?”

“Says the woman who always arrives twenty minutes early.”

“That’s business, not this.” I frowned.

“Maybe you could show some respect, instead of treating it as a joke. Or is it just an inconvenience?”

I stepped back, taking a fresh look at Emma. “What’s gotten into you this morning?”

Emma shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Come on, Em, spit it out.”

“It’s just... I invested considerable thought putting this together, and I know how you are.”

Her words stung. I knew exactly what she meant, but I wasn’t ready to admit it. “And how am I?” I didn’t hide my defensiveness.

Emma studied me for several beats before she shook her head. “Nope. I won’t engage in this argument. You’ve agreed to four weeks with me calling the shots. Four weeks where you let go. You can honor your promise or not, but I’m done begging you to try.”

I guiltily fidgeted with my thumb. Did she know? This morning, I’d taken a quick peek at my email, but I hadn’t responded to any of the over two dozen messages I’d received from what looked to be corporate headhunters. No, she didn’t know. I was just being paranoid.

I gave her a broad smile, hoping to erase the deep fissures in her forehead. “How long have you known me?” I changed my huge smile to an impish one.

“What does that have to do with anything?” The crease remained, but she also had a hint of amusement in her eyes.

“Do you really want me to be well behaved and complacent? Where’s the fun in that?”

She laughed. “You’re impossible.”

“Always have been.” Relief washed over me as the tension ratcheted back a notch. I held out my arm. “Are you ready to escort me to our class?” I smirked. “Do you think Wisconsin yoga is any different from New York yoga?”

Emma laughed. I noted her laugh was a little heartier than my comment warranted. I doubted she’d tell me the source of her amusement, so I snatched my yoga mat from the table and let her lead me toward the door.

When we arrived at the well-manicured area in front of Gratitude Grotto, most of the twenty-six women occupying the four villas were there and had marked out their territory with their mats.

Annie waved from across the way, motioning to the two spots she’d saved for us.

As I walked past Noelle, she bent in front of me and stuck out her ass. She gave me a flirtatious smile and said, “Oh, I didn’t see you there.”

Before I could make an equally flirtatious comeback, Emma said, “We couldn’t miss you with all that greeting us.” Emma circled her hand in a wide arc toward Noelle’s backside.

Noelle’s eyes sparkled. “Honey, that greeting was only meant for one of you.”

Emma grabbed my hand and pulled me along. I looked over my shoulder and mouthed, sorry. She winked and bit her lower lip. I didn’t have time to respond as Emma dragged me away, almost causing me to trip over a half-unrolled yoga mat.

“Uh, sorry,” I said to the woman, who I almost stepped on. “Geez, Em, someone’s gonna get hurt if you aren’t careful.”

“The answer is no. It’s no now, and it will be for the next four weeks.” Emma narrowed her eyes. “You have awful taste in women.”

Just as she said it, we passed Dana, who was making a grand display of unfurling her mat. I wasn’t positive she’d heard Emma’s comment, but she raised her eyebrows in greeting as we approached.

I muttered good morning and moved to the spot Annie had staked out for us.

“The answer is an emphatic no to Dana, too,” Emma said under her breath.

“What?” Innocence seemed the best way to play this. “I was just greeting one of our villa mates. Do you want me to be unfriendly?”

“In her case, yes!”

We’d set up our space and had only been talking for a few minutes when Vera appeared. She glanced at the group and appeared to be counting. Her gaze darted to a pair of stragglers who’d just wandered out of Harmony House.

Vera waved her arm toward them. “Ladies, if you could join us—quickly. We can get started this morning. It’s 8:01, and we like to begin promptly here at Blissful Breeze.”

I glanced around. There was no sign of Robyn. If she was supposed to be leading the class, surely Vera wouldn’t be happy with her late arrival, but Vera seemed unruffled by it.

“Okay then,” Vera said. “Once again, I want to give you all a warm welcome. I hope in the next two weeks, your experience here exceeds your expectations, and you find whatever it is you’re searching for.”

Several women clapped, and a few cheered at the announcement.

“I love your enthusiasm,” Vera said. “Before we get started, I want to share the evolution of our opening yoga session. Several years ago, we tried something a little different. Laughter yoga.”

What the hell was laughter yoga? I shot a glance at Emma, trying to determine if she knew. She kept her eyes straight ahead, but something told me she felt my gaze on her.

Vera raised her arm. “But we’ve progressed from there.”

Thank god.

“Then we tried goat yoga.” Vera shook her head. “We didn’t think it through.” She pointed to the beautiful gardens flanking the square. “That’s the year our flower gardens weren’t so flowery.”

The group laughed, and chatter broke out between some.

“No need to worry, though. We’ve got something better.”

I leaned toward Emma. “Do you know what she’s talking about?”

“Me?” Emma shrugged and smirked before she looked away.

Vera pointed to a woman standing by what appeared to be a sound system. “Cue the music.”

My eyes widened. This wasn’t what I’d expected. No classical music or meditative sounds. Nope. The square filled with barking as Who Let the Dogs Out? blared from the speakers.

I was so focused on Vera, I hadn’t noticed the commotion coming from the other side of the square until several women shifted their gaze to the south. I couldn’t help but notice the smiles on their faces before I saw what had drawn their attention.

A herd, at least that was how I’d describe it, of dogs raced toward us. Not just dogs, but at least a dozen pugs.

Emma chuckled beside me and called out, “Millie!”

I wouldn’t have been able to pick Millie out of a lineup of this motley crew racing toward us.

That was until one of the pug’s ears perked up and raced toward us.

Her tongue wagged out of her mouth, and her stocky body rippled as she ran.

I sensed the power behind her jiggling wrinkles as she sped past the other women to Emma.

Emma kneeled, and Millie launched herself at Emma, bowling her over. I couldn’t help but laugh as my sister giggled and rolled around on the ground with Millie.

Millie quickly tired of Emma and ran off to greet others.

Robyn, along with three other women, arrived at the chaotic scene where pugs ran unencumbered through the group.

The music cut off, and Vera said, “We hope that pug yoga becomes all the rage.” She gave Robyn a quick hug and then said, “Robyn will be your yoga instructor today, and she’ll be joined by her posse of pug wranglers.”

“Wrangling pugs is just about as easy as herding cats.” Robyn glanced at the volunteers.

“I’d like to thank everyone from Pups are Us for bringing our special guests for a visit today.

” She pointed toward Millie, who’d found another friendly face to lick.

“And my little Tasmanian devil, Millie, will also be here for your entertainment.”

During the introduction, we discovered that Pups are Us was an animal shelter and doggie day care all in one.

Some dogs, with their owners’ permission, were attendees at the day care, while others were awaiting adoption.

While Millie was what I’d call a traditional colored pug, with a tan body and black snout and ears, there was a sweet little black puppy whose playful antics caught my eye.

He raced between the mats like his ass was on fire, never stopping long enough for pets or ear scratches.

Robyn began the class with a sun salutation. The pugs chased one another as we stood and reached our hands back over our heads. It was when we brought our chests to our knees that some dogs went after the women’s long dangling hair.

As I stretched forward, I couldn’t see anything, but giggles nearby and the playful screams of no told me the pugs were in their glory. When I dropped to the ground and arched my back, a dog ran up my legs, across my butt, and settled on my lower back.

At first, the presence was light as I continued my stretch, until it wasn’t. Eventually, my arch collapsed as more weight piled onto my back. What the hell? I glanced over at Emma in the throes of laughter. Several other women were now staring in my direction.

Robyn walked toward me and said, “Pug pile.”

Several other dogs, hearing her voice, raced toward me. Soon, a sea of pugs crushed me to the ground. “Jesus, how many are there?” I asked Emma.