What happens in the sauna, stays in the sauna. Another title could have been "Dream or nightmare?" A slightly nearsighted and absent-minded man at the gym and what happens when routine dictates where you go. In this story, different people tell the story. Each new person is marked with three asterisks. First out is Eskil, the elderly man.
***
The January wind goes straight through my jacket and clothes. I can feel it straight through my body. A few degrees above zero and a persistent wind mean that no one wants to spend more time outside than necessary in Stockholm. After a lecture at the university, where it felt cold in the room, I just want to have lunch in a warm room. Maybe go to the gym, work out and get warm. Once home, I boil a couple of eggs and eat a sandwich. Pack the gym bag. It will be a regular individual strength session, there is no group training this afternoon.
When I get to the gym, there are hardly any others there. Just a single wman drifting around. As usual, I go into the locker room and change. No one there either. I lock the locker and go out to the gym. Start by cycling to warm up. I go into the spinning room; the bikes are much better than the ones in the gym. Put on a 30-minute program on my phone and do a reasonably strenuous workout. The idea is not that cycling should be the main thing today, but the strength training. Then out to the gym. Nods to a familiar face and starts with squats. Then chest, back, core to finish with some smaller muscles: arms and shoulders.
During the time in the gym, a few more people start to arrive. Including a small group of young women. They stand and cheer each other on. They are usually here and we have talked a bit. On several occasions I've tried to correct them. They are strong and train a lot and it's important to do the exercises correctly to avoid getting hurt. We usually talk and tease each other a bit.
"Hi Therese, hi Ann, hi Mia, and hi Jessica," I say. "What are you doing today? Your butts look like they need a workout, they look a bit flabby," I joke. Their butts are as perfect as they can be, but know they want to improve them even more. "Think tits need some work too. Looks like they're getting a bit loose and saggy." Mia takes her water bottle and splashes water on me, then they laugh.
"Old men like you, Eskil, shouldn't talk about sagging, you probably need to work on most things. Everything looks a bit saggy," Ann retorts and looks meaningfully at my pants. Then they laugh even more.
I continue my workout, not thinking much about them or others at the gym. Everyone is in their bubble, more or less. After 45 minutes I am done and have also stretched. A shower and a nice sauna will be a perfect ending.
In retirement, I started studying at university. I have been going to the gym for a long time, at least 30 years. I mostly do instructor-led classes like Bodypump and spinning. I find it inspiring to work out in a group, see others around and someone coaching. It's also fun that a little 75-year-old man can handle weights that many of the much younger guys can't, while it is important to do all the exercises as correctly as possible. Somewhat jokingly, I usually say that it is important to keep the head in shape by being challenged intellectually, the body by training and the dick... well, that's another story.
Once finished in the gym, I go back to the locker room. Still no others there. Nice, can shower and sauna in peace and quiet. I undress and go into the showers, and the sauna. Wonderfully warm and comfortable. Just what I need to warm my body and soften my joints. I know that many people sit in the sauna with swimming trunks or a towel. I want to be naked, no textiles on my body. I want to feel the heat and how it opens the pores.
After a while, the door to the sauna opens and a person with the towel wrapped comes in. I sit and close my eyes when I hear the person, a woman, exclaim "What are you doing here?" My thought is rather "What is she doing here in the man's section?"
I look up, and she is standing with her hands at her sides looking at me, looking at me, from top to bottom. Then she takes off her towel, puts it on the bottom bench and sits on it. Turns her body and face towards me and asks again "What are you doing here. This is the women's locker room and sauna."
"What, it's the men's. It's always been the men's locker room. It's probably you who's gone wrong. But I don't mind. I think it's perfectly okay for men and women to sauna together. So stay put, if you don't mind," I say. She looks nice, maybe around fifty, slightly rounded female form. The years have been kind to her, I can tell, as she turns her body towards me to talk.
"No, not today. Didn't you see that they are redecorating, changing the changing rooms? They were going to do some repairs in the women's, so that's why the locker rooms were temporarily changed today," she explains. Oh, dear. I've just been walking around as usual, not reacting to the change. Must be age making me both blind and distracted.
***
When I got to the gym today, I almost went wrong. I was almost completely inside the locker room before I saw that they had switched so that we women would use the men's, and vice versa. Backed out and went to what is usually the men's locker room. Change and go out into the gym. My usual routine is to run for a while and then use some of the equipment in the gym, mostly the rubber bands and machines.
Today there are unusually few people at the gym. The weather probably means that many people are reluctant to go out, it really wasn't nice out. Should probably treat myself to a proper sauna afterwards. An old man walks around, working out quite intensely with different exercises. Most men put on heavy and do maybe 10-12 repetitions. He has a little less weight but works on each 4-5 minutes without stopping. Will probably be long tough muscles I think. He looks pretty good. Old, definitely, probably 65-70, but has a well-trained body and moves quite smoothly. "It's nice that even older people keep going to the gym," I think. Then: "But, my God, I'm also a little older, 52, but at least younger than he. It would be nice to exchange a few words on occasion."
I have always liked older men, ever since I was in my 20s. But never really got the chance to explore that side. Married a man of the same age and had children. Now grown and self-sufficient. My husband is quite jealous, doesn't like me dressing up, going to the gym in thin workout clothes. But I want to live my life. I need to get, take, some freedom. The gym is part of this.
When I finish in the gym, I go and undress, take a towel around and go into the showers. Looks pretty much like our regular shower room. I wash myself and then go into the sauna. Open the door, have the towel around me. There, on the top bench sits the old man from the gym. What is he doing here? I just exclaim "What are you doing here? This is the women's locker room and sauna."
Then I realize that he has obviously not noticed that the changing rooms have been rearranged. He is sitting there completely naked, with his legs apart. He still looks good and what's hanging between his legs looks big. It's a bit disconcerting to see a man so exposed, it must be annoying to be in such a wrong place. How is he going to fix this? Will be a bit interesting! Fun to see how it develops. I take off my towel. Spin around a bit, giving him a quick opportunity to see me. Then I put the towel on the seat and sit at the lowest bench. I want to have some visibility upwards. See how he reacts.
He says something about it being the men's sauna, but he thinks it's nice that men and women can sauna together naked. I explain that just today they had switched changing rooms and that he is in the wrong place. "But I don't mind. Actually, it's nice to sauna together and you look really fit." Oh, what's going on, what am I saying? That was a bit crazy.
"God, how embarrassing," I hear him say. "I'm glad it's just you here, it would have been really unpleasant if there were a whole bunch of ladies who came in and started shouting. You seem to be taking it easy. But how am I supposed to get out, shower, get dressed? Without anyone else seeing?"
I see how he looks at me, as I turn my body towards him. I am a bit proud of my body and, not least, my breasts. Still quite firm and not sagging much. And speaking of sagging, look at him. What used to hang straight down has started to take on a different substance, so to speak. I would like to feel it a little. But not now, not here. It would be really embarrassing if other women entered.