"Alright, Saba, please tell me, what are your lifestyle and fitness goals?" Dwayne Jacobson said, speaking in his characteristic deep voice, and the six-foot-tall, burly and dark-skinned fitness trainer flashed his prospective client that million-dollar smile he was known for. For two and a half years, Dwayne had been named the top fitness instructor at the gym where he worked, and had his picture on billboards next to the franchise owners. Those billboards were all over the Canadian Capital, making something of a minor-league celebrity.
Dwayne loved his job, but there were certain days when it was a real challenge. That day's prospective new client, Saba Yeganeh, seemed quite indecisive. They were at the backroom office inside Movati, one of the fastest-growing fitness centers in the Ottawa area. Outside, a fast-driving snow blanketed the sprawling urban landscape. Dwayne loved the snow and felt like going for a run through the nearby park, but he focused on the lady in front of him...
"Honestly, I absolutely hate my body," Saba said softly, with a forlorn look on her lovely face. Dwayne looked at Saba and frowned, annoyed by her choice of words. As every fitness instructor knew, most women have a love-hate relationship with their bodies. He paused and his eyes roved over Saba's body. Standing around five-foot-nine, somewhat on the chubby side but very attractive, Saba didn't look bad to Dwayne, but what did he know?
"Saba, we are all at war with our bodies, I started shaving my head completely after I discovered that male pattern baldness is in my destiny," Dwayne remarked, in a humorous tone, and he ran his head over his smooth bald head. Saba looked at Dwayne, and a flicker of interest appeared in the forty-something Middle-Eastern woman. What is this gal thinking? Dwayne wondered.
"Wish I had your confidence," Saba mused as she looked at Dwayne, who seemed so damn full of energy and youthful confidence. Kind of makes one feel one's age, Saba thought. After a twenty-year marriage that didn't work out, it felt weird to be starting anew in a new country. Still, Saba left Iran and came to Canada for a fresh start, and that was that. Getting fit was just one of the many goals Saba had set out for herself.
"You shouldn't worry about your looks, brother, you look good as a bald man, like Montel Williams, from that old television programme," Saba said, smiling faintly, and Dwayne smiled in turn, then nodded thankfully. He'd grown up watching Montel on television, in between The Jerry Springer Show and The Wayans Brothers. Sure brings back memories, Dwayne thought, feeling nostalgic for a brief moment.
"Sister, I promise to help you with your fitness goals, I'm respectful and hard-working, and I won't quit on you or let you quit on yourself," Dwayne said, looking directly into Saba's eyes, and the woman nodded firmly. Dwayne was pleasantly surprised when Saba held out her hand for him to shake. From what he understood of Islamic customs, Muslim women didn't shake the hands of men they weren't related to, but what the heck? You only live once.
"Mr. Dwayne, thank you, I would like you to become my fitness trainer," Saba said with a grin, and Dwayne nodded and shook her hand firmly. Just like that, it began. A defining chapter of the lives of two rather unique individuals. As fate would have it, Saba and Dwayne were both looking for something, even if, at the time, they had no idea what that thing was...
Dwayne Jacobson, a newcomer to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, by way of Detroit, Michigan, and Saba Yeganeh, a newcomer to the Canadian Capital by way of metropolitan Qazvin, northwestern Iran. Trainer and client began working out and got to know each other really well. A bit too well, in fact. One afternoon as the two of them worked out, something funny happened...
"Alright, Saba, give me some squats, come on, sister, you can do it," Dwayne said encouragingly, and Saba nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow. Clad in a long-sleeved gray T-shirt with the Adidas logo, black sweatpants and sneakers, with her long dark hair pulled into a bun, Saba looked pretty good. She'd lost five pounds since she'd begun working out with Dwayne, six weeks ago...
"Okay, I think I got it in me," Saba said enthusiastically as she began doing squats, and seconds later, she regretted those exact words. Prior to coming to the gym, Saba had an egg and cheese sandwich at the Tim Horton's where she worked, and it appeared to have had a negative effect on her lower regions, to say the least. Without warning, one slipped out from under, as they say. In other words? Saba farted. Right. In. Front. Of. Dwayne.
"Um, don't worry about it, it's perfectly natural," Dwayne said hastily, as Saba began apologizing profusely after she accidentally tooted right in front of him. The two of them looked at each other and then Dwayne smiled, and Saba smiled sheepishly. The Iranian gal thought she was going to die of embarrassment but Dwayne seemed to take the whole thing in stride...
"I'm so sorry," Saba muttered, unsure of what else to say. If she could have crawled into a hole at that moment, she would have. She'd just embarrassed herself in front of Dwayne, her tall, hunky fitness instructor. Dwayne, the tall, muscular and handsome stud with the unique swagger and deep, resonant voice whom most of the women at the gym ( and a few of the men ) seemed to lust after.
