Janet’s brown eyes flew open. They fixed on my face with some amusement. “Him? He didn’t think a woman could carry her own groceries, much less spot for him.”

“He’d seen female bodybuilders at those competitions. For that matter, he’d watched us work out many a morning.”

Janet made a rude noise. “Yeah, but we’re freaks to him,” she said, resentment in her voice. “Well, we were,” she amended, more neutrally. “He judged all women by that Lindy he went with, and Lindy couldn’t cut a ham without an electric knife.”

I laughed.

Janet looked up at me with some surprise. “That’s good to hear, you laughing. You don’t do that too much,” she observed.

I shrugged.

“Now that you’re over here,” she said, sitting up and patting her face with her towel, “I’ve been wanting to ask you something.”

I sat on the closest bench and waited.

“Are you and Marshall a locked-in thing?”

I’d been expecting Janet to ask me to spot her, or to go over the fine points of the latest kata we’d learned in karate class.

Everyone wanted to know about my love life today.

I kind of liked Janet, so answering her would be harder than answering Darcy. Saying no meant Marshall was open game for any woman who wanted a shot at him; I was abdicating all claim to him. Saying yes committed me to Marshall for the foreseeable future.

“No,” I said, and went to do my last set.

On her way to the changing room, Janet stopped. “Are you mad at me?” she asked.

I was a little surprised. “No,” I said.

But I was really surprised when Janet laughed.

“Oh, Lily,” she said, shaking her head from side to side. “You’re so weird.” She said that as if being “weird” was a cute little personality quirk of mine, like insisting my panties match my shoes or always wearing green on Mondays.

I left Body Time, vaguely dissatisfied with my workout session. I’d had my first personal conversation with Darcy Orchard, and I hoped it would be my last. I had confirmed that Janet Shook lusted after Marshall Sedaka; not exactly stop-the-press news. I had confirmed that Del almost certainly wouldn’t have asked a woman to spot for him. And I’d found out that Raphael felt he was getting a cold reception at a business he’d paid to patronize.