What surprised me the most was I didn't think
he was older than his mid-twenties, yet Aunt Victoria had described him as the best therapist in his company. I wasn't prepared to turn my broken body over to a man who didn't look much older than I. I hoped I wasn't going to be someone's guinea pig or
the subject of someone's internship.
The look on his face when he confronted me
told me I was not exactly what he expected either. He
stared for a moment, his lips softening into a soft,
amused smile of surprise. Finally, he realized we were
both staring dumbly at each other and he practically
jumped toward me, his hand extended.
"Hi," he said. "I'm Austin Clarke."
I lifted my hand slowly and he pulled it into his
impatiently, holding it longer than I expected. Mrs. Bogart stood back in the doorway
watching a moment. "If you need anything, just
shout," she said, "I won't be far."
"Thank you," he said and turned back to me, his
eyes narrowing and his lips now forming a slightly sly
smile, almost impish. "You're disappointed I'm not
same older guy, huh?"
"Yes," I said, pulling my hand from his. "They tell me I'll always look like a teenager. I
have that complexion or maybe ifs just this carrot top.
I was thinking about dying it black, but then I'd have to dye my eyebrows and do something about these freckles. It's easier to tell everyone I take Dick Clark pills." He widened his smile in anticipation of my laughter. "They think we're related. Austin Clarke, Dick Clark?" I didn't react. "Dick Clark. 'Teenage
Bandstand,' the guy who never seems to age?" "I know who he is," I said.
He nodded and looked around the room. "Good. You've got it all here."
He put dawn his small gym bag and approached
the first machine.
"This is a leg pump. You know why we want
you to use it?"
"Stop atrophy." I recited dryly.
"Yeah, that's one thing. When the muscles of
the calves and thighs are in contraction, blood low in