I pulledup to Kenny’s yoga studio slash soap store on Monday with Charlotte practically bouncing with excitement in the passenger seat of my truck and parked next to the three other vehicles already there.
“This is going to be so much fun,” she said as she undid her seatbelt and grabbed her purse, a water bottle, and a bag that held a change of clothes she’d brought “just in case”. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant and when I asked, she shrugged her shoulders and told me anything could happen. It really made me wonder what these women did during book club. “Thanks for driving me tonight. I’ll text you later.”
She leaned over the center console to give me a kiss, which I gratefully accepted, but when she went to open the door, I grabbed her hand and stopped her.
“Do you mind if I come in for a bit?” I asked, making her scrunch up her nose at me. “I’d really like to see this yoga class.”
“I suppose it would be fine this time,” she said after considering my question. “But only because it’s goat yoga. You can’t crash book club every time.”
Her voice rose at the end, hesitant and cautious, but I took her words for what they were. A boundary, and one I was proud of her for setting.
“I promise I won’t try to crash book club all the time, little fairy.” I pulled her in for another quick kiss. “Let’s go see if this crazy idea is going to work.”
“It’s not crazy, Tobin,” she informed me as we got out of the truck and walked up the path to the shop. “Goat yoga is super popular. This is going to be great. You’ll see.”
We entered, and it felt like we were stepping into another world. The lights were low and music played softly in the background. Scented candles flickered and filled the room with the smell of woods and incense. A table was set up on the store side of the room with snacks and drinks, and a group of people hovered around it holding plates and cups.
“Hey, Tobin,” a male voice called. I looked up to see Dixon Williams approaching. “It’s good to see you.”
I shook the hand he offered.
“Are you staying to watch this catastrophe, too?” I asked, earning a light smack to my side from Charlotte.
He laughed and nodded. “When Mellie told me what they were doing, I had to come check it out. But at least there’s food.”
Charlotte shook her head at us.
“I’m going to say hello to the girls. Please be nice and don’t make fun. Kenny has really put a lot into this and wants it to be successful.”
Her plea sobered both Dixon and I. “Little fairy, I want her to be successful too. I might think this is crazy, but I can tell by how excited you are that this will be great for her.”
I let her see how much I meant what I said. People thought I was nuts when I wanted to make the farm organic, but I’d ignored their comments and it paid off in the end. I would always support other small business owners, especially ones from Walker’s Grove.
She nodded and relaxed. “And don’t laugh at my yoga skills. I haven’t done this since college.”
I watched her walk away, enjoying the way her ass looked in the tight black pants she wore. Yoga pants she called them. If that’s what she wore for yoga, I’d be encouraging her to go as much as she wanted.
“You’ve got it bad,” Dixon said, interrupting my thoughts. I turned and scowled at him, thinking he was criticizing me, but he held up his hands and continued, “I’m not judging. I’m the same way with Mellie.”
“We’re still pretty new but I think she’s it for me,” I said, surprising myself when the words just popped out. I didn’t correct myself though, because it was the truth.
“When you know, you know.” Dixon nodded in agreement and thankfully changed the subject. “You want a drink? There’s wine and beer, and enough food to feed an army.”
We headed towards a table loaded with stuff and I found Dixon was right. There was far more food than six women could eat in an evening.
“Is it always like this?” I asked. “And what do they do with the leftovers?”
“Yeah. They take it home to eat the next day.” He grabbed two beers out of a cooler underneath the table. “They always say they’re going to cut back but it never happens. I don’t really mind because everything is always great, so it benefits me, too.”
I opened my beer and took a long drink, watching as a young guy with a bushy beard and a man bun came out of the back room.
“Who’s that?” I asked, eyeballing the guy as he approached the women.
“That’s the yoga teacher,” Dixon said as he filled up a plate with food. He seemed unconcerned, which made me feel better. “His name is Josh, and his boyfriend is also here. They teach together.”
“Gotcha.”
Another man came out from the back with his arms full of rolled up mats, and I relaxed completely. Not that I didn’t believe Dixon, but seeing the two men relieved the jealousy ripping through me. The ladies immediately went over, and each took a mat from him and started finding spots on the floor to unroll them.
“I’ve got two extras,” Josh said, heading towards Dixon and I with a mat in each hand.
“No, thanks, man. We’re just here to watch and take advantage of the buffet table,” Dixon replied, holding up his beer and plate.
“The food and drinks will still be there when we’re done.” Josh held out the mats and shook them at us. “Don’t you want to experience yoga with goats, gentlemen?”
“Uh,” I looked at Dixon who looked at me with wide eyes, “yoga’s not really our thing.”
“Yoga with goats is everyone’s thing. Now put down your beer and food and get over here.” Josh stalked away before we could respond.
A few giggles from across the room had me looking over to find all the women staring and laughing at us. I knew if we didn’t do this, we’d never hear the end of it. We’d be roasted mercilessly for being afraid of yoga. Or goats. Dixon must have come to the same conclusion as me because he let out a sigh and set his plate and beer down.
“Let’s go, Toby, before they all start making fun of us.”
I set my beer down and followed him into the yoga studio half of the room.
“At least we’re dressed somewhat appropriately,” I said, thankful that I’d only thrown on sweats and not worn jeans since I was originally only planning to drop Charlotte off and leave.
“Make sure that door latches behind you,” Kenny called. “I don’t want the goats getting in the shop.”
I secured the door and Dixon and I made our way to the mats Josh had rolled out for us in the back of the room, closest to the doors that led to the pasture.
“At least no one will be looking at us back here,” I mumbled.
“Have you ever done yoga before?” Dixon asked quietly as we reached our spots. The ladies were standing around, chatting still, so we did the same.
I sighed, wishing there were a way out of this, but when I found Charlotte grinning at me like a goof, I resigned myself to my fate.
“Nope. I just hope I don’t fall on my ass and make a fool of myself.”
“Relax, guys. This is more for fun and entertainment than anything else,” Kenny said as she walked up to us. “I’ll be offering regular yoga classes, too, if you’re interested. But nobody expects to get a workout when there are goats crawling all over you.”
“Wait a minute. What do you mean crawling all over us?” Dixon asked with alarm.
His look of horror made me laugh. Dixon was a townie, having been raised by his grandparents in a big old house right on the main street. He knew enough about farm equipment and hardware, but I guess he didn’t have much experience dealing with livestock.