It was strange to Lydia to be carrying her backpack and shoes naked through town instead of wearing them, as if that would have made being naked in town any better. Nevertheless, she took back alley after back alley, only crossing streets if it was absolutely essential, until she was a half-block away from her next destination. This was to be the farthest away from home that she would get this evening. Looking down the street from the sanctuary of darkness provided by the alley, she really started to feel the distance. Everything that she had done so far that evening flashed back to her.
Pool, park, Trace. Tracks, books, bronze. Power, park.
Lydia repeated in her mind the pneumonic upon which she had laid her plans.
Biking on the trail, diving in her friend's pool, dancing on picnic tables at the park, breaking into Trace and Avers where she worked, past the train tracks, then getting into the library, visiting the centermost part of town where the tall bronze statue stood, and doing it all without a stitch of clothing.
She knew it was crazy, but it was also exhilarating as evidenced by the shiver that rushed down her spine at the mere thought of her misadventures. There was just one more place to visit before heading home, and that was the gym that she went to three or four times each week to work out. It was the place where she went to feel powered up. Then it would be back to the park the way she came, and then on to home.
It was a small gym, as befitted the small town that Lydia lived in, but it had all the equipment that a modern gym needed as well as a spacious room for yoga classes and a shower room. Inside the shower room stood a wall of stacked, square lockers. Inside Lydia's locker laid the last key that she needed from town before heading back to the park.
This particular sidewalk was a bit unique among the other streets. It was a line of businesses that ran the length of the block without an access to the back alley. In fact, Lydia was pretty sure that there was no alley access to the gym and its only door was the front one. The businesses enjoyed an overhang supported by wide pillars every 30 feet or so with a waste bin on every fourth pillar. Several of the businesses even had benches or some other adornment to make their shop inviting. The gym was across the street from Lydia and halfway down the block.
Eight, four, eight. Five, two, six.
This was the code that her friend, Jennifer, had given to Lydia in confidence in case she ever wanted to work out during the off hours. Jennifer, or Jen as Lydia called her, was the manager of gym. Lydia doubted that Jen was the owner at just 25 years old, but Lydia had become a regular. In her visits, Lydia had become familiar with Jen and even developed a friendship. They talked during workouts about boys, travel, fitness, and whatever else came to mind. Often, it turned to photography since that is what Jen aspired to do one day for a career. If Jen knew what antics she was up to, Lydia wandered if she would be welcome back at the gym.
Lydia repeated the numbers over and over as she found a large dumpster nearby to stow her backpack and shoes next to. She held her hat in her hands and decided to leave it behind as well, but then remembered the grime that her last key had accumulated as she was crawling through the dirt. Looking down her front, she could almost be said to have been dressed in mud and it was not wiping off. She unzipped the compartment in her hat holding the dirty key and decided to take it with her into the gym to clean.
I might even clean myself up while I'm at it
.
Lydia considered it carefully, thinking about the occasions when her chlorine smell from Kerri's pool had nearly given her away. Plus, she did not relish the prospect of staying muddy until she got home.
Lydia decided to take all four keys with her to wash, just in case. It would not do to have any keys that would not open the padlocks at the park. She stuffed her hat in her backpack and turned away from it. Gripping the brick wall that cornered the alley, she peered out into the night which was rapidly becoming the early morning. No one was there, so she ventured forward into the street and crossed it. She ran until she stood behind the first pillar to make doubly sure that she would not encounter anyone. There would be no side alley to duck into if she did.
The streetlamps shone brilliantly upon the windows and Lydia could see dark silhouettes of furniture within. Each shadow cast by the pillars felt like an oasis for Lydia as she tip-toed hastily down the sidewalk. Finally, the gym was upon her and she stood in front of the glass door. A ghostly reflection of herself stared back at her. The door stayed automatically locked but hung upon during the day to let in fresh air. She was just about to get lost in thought again, imagining another scandalous scenario about walking into the gym naked during the daytime, when she became suddenly aware of a low rumbling sound approaching from down the street.
Aghast, Lydia looked to her right and spotted a garbage truck turning left onto the street where she now stood without any cover at all. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she shook her head and turned back to the door which had a keypad with a green LED panel awaiting a code. She entered eight-four-eight-five-two-six with each press accompanied by a soft beep to confirm the entry.
*beepbeepbeep*
Lydia pulled on the handle and it simply banged in place, refusing to open. The garbage truck was picking up speed and the driver would be able to see her any second. Was the code wrong? Had Jen changed it without telling her? Not only was she about to be seen with no place to hide, but if she could not get the key inside the gym then she was stuck there until it opened. No, she needed to get that key. One last chance.
*beep, beep, beep... beep, beep, beep..... beep-BEEP*
Lydia heard the door click and it was perhaps the most beautiful sound that she had ever heard. She had mis-entered the code after all. She swung the door open just enough to run inside and hide behind the front desk, just in time for the garbage truck to roll thunderously past the gym.
Oh my gosh. I don't know if I can do this anymore.
Lydia was sitting on the floor with her knees up for leverage. She stood up to place her hands on the front desk and face the street. She was somewhat under light but not enough to worry about since the danger had passed. She furrowed her brow and bit her lip, thinking about how to proceed. The clock read 3:31am, and four keys rested on the surface of the desk under her palm. Lydia ran her fingers through her hair and scooped them back up. Trembling, she walked amidst the tidy gym equipment that formed a sort of maze between the front desk and the shower room.
Not wanting to attract attention from any unlikely passersby, she decided to keep the lights off. Unlike the library, lights on in the gym meant that anyone would see her from the sidewalk through the all-glass barrier that formed the front. The bathroom was a bit unsettling in its darkness, but Lydia had washed up in there several times following a workout. She ran the water and passed each key through the stream until she felt no more dirt in the ridges.
Satisfied, Lydia returned the wet keys to the front desk and laid them there since she would have to pass by them again on the way out. Next she looked down her front to see that the mud had now dried into streaks of packed dirt, crumbing as her body moved lithely at various angles. Lydia thought there was something oddly beautiful about it.
That's when she decided that her adventures this evening were over. She was getting tired and morning was getting closer. Besides, she had made it to the farthest point in her journey, overcoming all the obstacles. She had accomplished what she set out to do, crazy though it was. Lydia was ready to pack it in. No more being dirty, sweaty, or at risk of being arrested for public indecency. Walking home in a dress would be just as pleasing as walking home in nothing at all.
That left some time for a little reward. She turned and pranced toward the shower room where the lockers were. Entering on the ladies' side, she felt around until she found a stall and turned on the water. She decided to keep the light off because she still had to go back down the street to retrieve her dress before she could let herself be seen. The light would attract attention to the gym. While the water warmed up, she carefully stepped over the bench in the middle of the room and used her hands again to find her locker.
With no small measure of worry, she realized that she needed the light for this. She guided herself to the wall with the light switch, turned it on, rushed to her locker to unlock it as quickly as she could, and swung the door open. Inside, laying innocently and waiting just for her, was her fifth key. Lydia picked it up and ran back to the light switch, turning it off immediately. She huddled in the darkness, unable to hear if anyone was outside who might have seen the light suddenly turn on and off. The noise from the shower overrode everything else.
She inched her face outside the shower room to see that the gym was still dark and no one was either inside or outside. The few seconds of light from the back room of the gym had gone unnoticed. Just for good measure, she skipped across the gym floor to place her new key next to the others. Five keys ready to open five locks, and one more at the park under the picnic table. Lydia retreated back into the shower room and passed her hand through the water. It had warmed considerably to a pleasant degree.
Lydia stepped into the shower and instantly felt waves of euphoria rush through her soul as layers of dirt fell away from her body and into the drain. She ran her fingers through her hair to comb out anything that might have been too stubborn to dislodge upon first rinse. Removing her face from the stream, she gasped for air and started to work on her front. Shoulders, chest, breasts, abdomen, and then her back. It was all quite dirty but getting cleaner by the second.
She realized that for all the strange places that she had been naked that night, this one was in some ways the strangest of all. That is, she had never been completely nude in the shower room where a lack of clothing would be considered socially acceptable. Lydia thought about how Jen teased her for taking showers in her sports bra and panties, and then getting undressed and redressed under a towel next to the lockers.
"It's just us girls," Jen would say.
