Stalker at the Gym

I am a gym whore. I put out to work out! And I work out to chill out!!

About 4 gyms ago, I had met a petite, pretty woman who was as into exercise as I. We began to converse and casually chat about our workouts. She said she was a soccer mom who didn’t work outside the home, and her husband owned a local restaurant. I surmised she knew nothing about me. Since our conversations were always gym-related, that was what we continued to chatter about.

One day, I was clearly in a rush, as I quickly went through my workout routine. She casually asked why I was in such a hurry. I said I had to return to my desk because I was on deadline to complete a book I was writing. She asked, “What kind of book?” I never go into detail about what I’m working on until it’s a finished product. I responded, “It’s a book about relationships.” I didn’t specify whether the subject concerned business relationships, personal relationships, friends’ relationships, neighbors’ relationships, family relationships, or anything else. Just “relationships.” Suddenly, this pert person’s fangs flew out: “That’s interesting. How can you write about relationships when you’re not married?” I stared right through her. In fact, I was married, but I wore no rings to the gym—although that was not any of her business, and that certainly would not define my legitimacy as a writer. Suddenly, this bitch who knew nothing about me, was questioning my credentials and legitimacy. I concluded she was rude and insulting with no class or couth. OK, I’m in the public eye, so what people say to me and about me has a currency as valuable as kitty litter. Since this woman was a non-entity in my life, I walked away and stayed away from anywhere she stood. End of story—or so I thought.

Now, 4 gyms later, she has reappeared! She tries to talk to me, but I ignore her. If someone continues to ignore you, in Tony Soprano language, "Just fuggetaboutit." But this woman is so tenacious, she won’t let go. She even asked my friend why I was giving her the cold shoulder. My friend repeated her stupid comment to her. She admitted she noticed the change in me after that conversation years ago. Without taking responsibility however, she told my friend that SHE couldn’t stand having an enemy at the gym. So now this inconsequential rift has become an issue that is all about her! Please, just let me be in my gym zone in peace.

The other day, while sitting amid a group of people ready to enter the spin room that I was just leaving, she called out, “Gilda, can we talk?” I responded with a thunderous, “NO!” People laughed at her. So now she’s a stalker! I teach people to discard the drainers from their life—and I walk my own talk. If she’s of sound mind, behavior modification will dictate that since she is not getting positive reinforcement from me, she will simply proceed with her workouts—sans ME. If she’s not, perhaps a restraining order will raise her consciousness. Please, just let me be in my gym zone in peace.