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We’re not dating or anything like that. But he seems interested, although I have no idea what he sees in me. My god, he is gorgeous and could have any woman around.”
    “Does this make you feel out of control?” Ronda gently prodded.
    “He took me to breakfast where I was so nervous I ordered too much food, ate too much food, then found myself running forever trying to get rid of the excess calories.” Pausing to gather her thoughts, she continued. “I think he noticed. But I just covered it up. Nothing like scaring away a potential date by announcing ‘oh, by the way, I’m bulimic!’ I think I handled it well though.”
    “I’m sure you did, although you do realize that if you begin to see this man, or any man for that matter, the subject will need to come up.”
    Nodding in resignation, Carol agreed. “Yeah, but it needs to be on my time. I’d rather he have a good image of me before the finds out that piece of information.”
    Moving on, Ronda pressed her about her childhood. “What specifically have you been thinking about?”
    “It was after I was running. I remembered what it felt like to discover that I was chubby and how disappointing that was to my parents. I remember being summoned into their presence to discuss my weight.”
    “That must have been difficult. How old were you?”
    Carol let her mind wander back to when she was twelve. She could see the events in her mind as clearly as if they were yesterday. Leaning her head back on the chair, she began to speak.
    “I could hear the admonishment in my mother’s voice even as she just said my name…
    “Yes ma’am?” I answered respectfully, as I walked into the dining room. My father sat at the head of the table with his coffee next to the morning newspaper. My mother, perfectly coiffed, sat next to him.
    “Your father and I looked over your report card last evening. You have all A’s in every subject except for gym. You received a B. What do you have to say for yourself?”
    Before I could answer my father looked over at me, his eyes scanning me from head to toe. “You must have all A’s to get into law school after getting into college. Receiving a B in gym class is unacceptable.”
    Looking down at my feet, I replied, “I have trouble running. I can’t keep up.”
    “Look at me when addressing me, young lady.”
    Raising my gaze back up to my parents, I wished I wasn’t such a disappointment. I tried, I really did. I made sure my hair was always fixed, and my clothes were always hung up. My grades were perfect, well except for the B in gym class. I was quiet, polite, and always respectful.
    “Carol, your father and I just want the best for you, dear. You are a beautiful young woman, but you need to lose some weight. We think if you were thinner you would be able to maintain an A in all of your classes. We have hired a trainer to come after school and we are putting you on a strict diet.”
    My palms sweating, I ran my hands along my thighs, feeling the tightness of my jeans. I hate running. Sighing deeply I simply smiled at my parents, nodding my head. “That would be nice mom. Thank you dad.”
    Her father, nodded his pleasure at his daughter’s acquiescence. “We have to have you in top shape to run the law firm with your old man, right?”
    Dismissed, I turned and walked through the dining room into the kitchen. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, I grabbed a few cookies as I headed up to my room. I’ll run them off tomorrow.
    As she finished her story she looked into Ronda’s understanding eyes. Sighing, she continued, “I have no idea why that incident popped into my head.”
    “You tell me that you have been running just for exercise and to get fresh air after being in the hospital for such long shifts. And yet, you have admitted to recently trying to run off the calories just like you did years ago. I don’t think it is that unusual for your mind to travel back in time to when running was associated with