A Sauna Tale

I am sitting in the sauna, eyes closed, sweat running down my body. In the dark I can make out the figure of a small, round woman basking in the heat. After a few minutes, she speaks: "The sauna is so nice, isn't it?" "Oh yes," I reply. "This is my last remaining luxury." We both get up to go out and she continues chatting with me.

"We don't belong to this gym. I snuck in here while my son plays basketball with his team. We belong to the one on the other side of town. They have a pool." She has a Phillipino accent.

"Ah, yeah, if I need to swim I go to the school near my house."

We begin talking about working out and what sports we like. I mention triathlon training. "Did you do that with Team in Training?" she asks, noticing my TNT hat.

"Yes," I say. "It's a great charity, and they also do the best job preparing you athletically."

"The charity is for what?" she asks.

"It's the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society," I reply. "Blood cancer."

"Oh, yeah, they are a good charity. It's a terrible disease. I lost my daughter to that."

"Oh my God, how sad. I'm sorry to hear that... Did the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society give you any support?"

She hesitates: "No... We didn't find out until too late. She, ah, she checked in to the hospital and died the next day."

"That's terrible," I say. A few beats of silence pass while we both dress.

"When did this happen?" I ask.

"Yesterday," she replies simply.

"Ah." More silence, and we are finished dressing. In my head I am wondering why she has made this story up for me. It's almost like a form of improv.

"Leukemia mostly gets young people, doesn't it?" the woman asks.

"Well, yes, compared to other cancers. No one knows what causes it. My grandmother died of it," I answer.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was she young?"

"In her forties," I answer. We are walking out.

"Where are you going now?" she asks brightly, as I head for the kids' area. "I'm going to get my kids, and you?"

"Oh, I guess I'm going now." She looks like she wished she could tag along with me, but instead walks out the door into the sunshine, leaving her imaginary son behind on the basketball court.