Lonely Hearts Club

*Author's Note: I wrote this one in a week and enjoyed every minute of it. Maybe the 'mojo' is returning. Maybe.

My thanks to the reader who told me about his 'love at first sight' experience with his wife from 37 years ago after my last story I called The Incident. He mentioned a comment another reader made, ostensibly about love at first sight, and I let him know I stopped reading them 4-5 years ago.

So, best wishes to you, and I hope you have another 37 more years together!

*******

"So...you in?"

"Yeah, I guess," his younger brother replied with unenthusiastic resignation.

Doug Hoffman was 28 years old and in incredibly good shape. His brother, Don, was 26 and had put on weight over the years. A lot of weight.

When they were 12 and 10, their mother died from something called a DVT or Deep Vein Thrombosis, a condition they'd never heard of before. And why would they? They were kids, and things like that didn't happen to people their mom's age who was just 34 years old.

She'd had surgery on her foot after getting a job with health insurance. When she found out that correcting the issue that plagued her years, something that was called 'hammer toe' was covered, she jumped at the chance to get it taken care of.

It was a condition in which a toe is bent at the middle joint, so that it resembles a hammer. There was a related issue called mallet toe which was very similar to hammer toe, but in that case it affected the joint closet to the tip of the toe.

It had gotten to the point where walking was painful, but she never complained. She had a family to take care of, and complaining wouldn't make the problem go away.

After the surgery, their mom was still able to work, she just had to use a kind of scooter that kept the foot elevated, and most importantly, prevented her from walking on it. Her doctor told her the surgery had gone quite well, and that with proper rest and care she'd be back to normal in a few weeks.

At her one-week checkup everything looked great. She was able to put her foot down without pain and even take a few steps. The doctor cautioned her to take it slow for another week, but because she felt so good, she found herself walking on it. It caused her some discomfort, but she didn't really care because using the scooter was a much bigger pain.

What no one knew was that because of the pressure walking exerted on the foot, a small blood clot had formed near the toe that had been corrected. Nor did anyone know it had just sort of laid there...until it didn't. Their mom had been eating dinner with them, and when they finished, she got up to clear the table.

Don, who'd always been very close with her said, "Mom. Let me get it, okay?"

"Nonsense. I feel fine," she said as she got a little silly and pretended she was doing ballet which included raising herself up onto her toes while extending her arms and the other leg.

Both he and his older brother thought she was goofing around when she said her leg felt funny. She told them it felt like she had a creepy crawler inside the leg that was moving up her body. Then, just seconds later, her eyes rolled up inside of her head just as she collapsed in a heap.

Their father, who'd been working late that evening, later explained to them that their mom died when the blood clot, or DVT, had broken free from her foot and moved up her leg all the way to her to her brain where it caused a massive stroke that had taken her life immediately.

Doug reacted by turning to sports, something he'd always loved. He threw himself into football, wrestling, baseball, and swimming. By the time he graduated from high school he was in incredible physical condition. He then went to college where he swam competitively then did four years in the US Marine Corps as a commissioned officer and spent as much time in the gym as he could. At the age of 23 he was 5'11" and weighed a lean, muscular 180 pounds.

Don, on the other hand, took the opposite path. He turned to food for comfort. When he graduated from high school, he weighed well over 290 pounds. At 5'10" he was morbidly obese, and had been on precisely one date, a date that happened when a very pretty girl agreed to go to homecoming with him after a classmate dared her to.

He was the best looking boy in school and told her he'd to out with her if she'd go with the "fat kid." Don had no idea it was a 'pity date', and when he found out later he coped by eating even more.

Don stayed home and worked with their dad at a furniture store the family owned as Doug left for school and the military. Doug was now back and had been instrumental in helping his father open a second store which he was now running.

Doug had tried to tactfully and gently get his brother to join him at the local YMCA where Doug went swimming 4-5 mornings each week since he returned home. After months of dropping little hints here and there Don had finally agreed to go with him on a Monday morning which, Doug had assured him, was the least busy day of the week.

On their way to the "Y", Don asked his brother if there were any hot girls at the pool.

Doug smiled and looked over at his brother.

"Yeah. There are a couple of them. One's a little younger than us, and the other is a little older, but they're both smokin' hot."

"Yeah?" his brother replied, a rare hint of enthusiasm in his voice.

"Uh-huh. The older one is downright fine. Blonde, fair skinned, amazing smile. I tell you what. If she wasn't married...."

Don laughed nervously then asked about the younger girl.

"Ah, yes. She's a brunette with an amazing body and a really cute face."

He looked over at Don the told him, "You'll have to see them both for yourself."

He took his right hand off the wheel and playfully shoved his brother. He felt even worse for him when the the push made him acutely aware of the enormity of his brother's body.

Doug couldn't imagine life without swimming or some other form of aerobic exercise along with regular weight lifting. Those things were such a part of his life that he wasn't sure he'd want to go on living were he no longer able to enjoy doing the things he loved the most. His mind told him he'd adapt if there was no other choice, but it was a thought he hated to even consider.

As he put his hand back on the wheel, Doug had another unpleasant thought. It was hard to imagine how lonely his 'little' brother was and how addicted he seemed to be to food.

Food wasn't like alcohol or drugs. One didn't have to drink or get high to live, but if one didn't eat, well...that would be the end. So how could he help Don learn to eat but eat less but also eat healthy the way he did and help him to learn to enjoy the kind of exercise that would take off the weight and give him the confidence he needed to even fell comfortable talking to women?

Doug could feel the discomfort Don was experiencing as they went into the locker room where Doug changed into some swimming trunks. Don brought a large bath towel and an extra pair of shorts with him but keep his tee-shirt on along with the baggy pair of shorts he was wearing.

"Do I have to swim laps?" Don asked as they got ready to leave the locker room.

"Sorry, bro. This time of the day is lap swimming only. But that doesn't mean you have to do laps unless someone else is in your lane. Plus you can just hang out or literally hang on to either end until you're ready to go again then paddle back at your own pace."

The 'Y' allowed two people in each lane, and if it got crowded sharing a lane was mandatory. It rarely got that busy at 6:30am, so he told his brother not to worry.

When they entered the pool area the smell of chlorine hit their noses. Don mentioned the smell and Doug told him that was the smell of fitness.

"Let me guess. You love the smell of chlorine in the morning," Don said doing his imitation of Robert Duvall in the movie Apocalypse Now from 1979.

Duvall was an Army air cavalry commander who was on a beach in Vietnam watching some US aircraft drop napalm.

A shirtless Duvall hollered out, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning! Smells like...victory!"

Doug chuckled then advised his brother not to quit his day job.

"So what lane do I get in?" a nervous Don asked.

"Um...let's see."

Doug scanned the pool then said, "Okay. Four and five are empty. Which one do you want?"

Wanting to be as far from people as he could Don chose lane five.

Doug waited for his brother to sit down on the edge of the pool then slide in to the water.

"Feels pretty good, huh?" he called down.

"Yeah. It's really nice!" Don told him before trying to breast stroke a few yards.

He only made it about 15 feet, but when he stopped, Doug hollered out, "That's it, bro!"

Don's smile made him smile, and for the first time he thought that just maybe this would be the ticket. Doug went through his normal routine in which he would freestyle one lap then backstroke a lap followed by the breaststroke and then the butterfly until Don told him he was done.

Neither of the so-called hotties showed up that morning, and Don never mentioned it. On the the way home he talked a lot about how good it felt to go swimming and that he was looking forward to going again. Doug encouraged his brother as much as he could, but wasn't sure he'd actually want to go back. But when Wednesday rolled around Don said he ready to go back.

On Monday Don might have done a grand total of two laps during the half hour they were there and told his brother he was going to try and do three this time. Doug told him he thought that was a great plan, and although he wanted to also mention food, so far he hadn't said a word about dieting. If Doug could just keep him interested they could work on eating healthier later on.

They'd been in the water maybe 15 minutes when Don got his brother's attention.

"Is she the younger one?" he asked his brother when a very attractive, very fit blonde woman walked up to the water and pulled on a swimming cap.

"No. That's the older one. The hottie. The younger one has dark hair, remember?"

"Dang! She's really pretty," Don said as he watched her slide into the pool in lane 6 as diving was forbidden on lap days.

"What'd I tell ya?" his brother replied with a smile as he wriggled his eyebrows.

"You think the younger girl will show up? The brunette?"

Doug glanced at the entrance and shrugged.

"I don't know, but if she does, you'll know it."

Don's smile encouraged him, so he said, "Come on. Let's make it to the end of the pool this time!"

He went as slowly as his brother, who, to his credit, made it to the other end without stopping for the first time. He was out of breath but got psyched.

"Yes!!! How about that?" Don said triumphantly as he huffed and puffed.

Doug high fived with him then said, "Nice. Now see how far you can get going the other way. And remember. Rome wasn't built in a day!" before he pushed off the far end and free-styled to the other before flipping back around and doing the butterfly.

A week later, Don was down five pounds and had taken an interest in improving what he ate, and for the first time, he was really looking forward to going.

They'd been there about 20 minutes when the younger hottie finally showed up. Don noticed her immediately and waited to get his brother's attention.

"That's her!" he said. "And if you keep at it I see you asking her out one of these days."

The look on Don's face made him happy, and even when he said, "No way. She's like way hot and way out of my league."

"Hot? You will be too, my man. As long as you don't quit."

He saw Don push off and watched him swim to the other end and make it halfway back before stopping.

"That's it!" Doug said when Don came up for air.

Don saw his brother look away and turned around to see what he was looking at. There was the older hottie who didn't look old to him at all. The pool was now nearly full, and as the woman looked around, Doug raised his arm and signaled to her.

"You don't mind?" she called out.

"No. Plenty of room!" he hollered back.

"Okay. Thank you!" she told him as she sat on the edge and again pulled on her cap.

"She is...smokin'!" Don quietly said to his older brother.

"Yeah, but don't forget. She's...."

Don said 'married' at the same time just before he swam to the other end where he stopped to catch his breath. As he turned around the blonde was next to him in Doug's lane. She stopped, grabbed the edge then said 'hi' to Don.

His face immediately went beet red, and all that came out in response was part of the word 'hello' as his voice cracked.

"Isn't this place great?" she asked cheerfully.

"Um...yeah. It's really...cool," Don mumbled, too embarrassed to even look at her as Doug swam up.

"Hey, dude. I told you she's married," he said with a laugh to his brother while looking at the woman.

The smile on her very pretty face disappeared as she said, "I should get to work. I only have another 15 minutes available this morning."

As she swam away Don asked, "What just happened?"

"I don't know, but it looks like I hit a nerve or something."

"Hey, maybe her husband's, you know, mean to her or whatever."

Doug didn't respond. His brother could be right, but he had the impression there was something more to it. As the woman hit the other end, he pushed off and stayed on the opposite side of the lane from her while Don tried doing the backstroke for the first time since he was seven years old. He made it about 15 feet before choking on the water he was churning up, so he stopped then finished the half lap using the breast stroke.

A few minutes later Doug heard someone getting loud.

"No way. I'm not swimming with some fat-ass beachball with lips!"

The lifeguard told him, "It's either that or you wait for another lane to open up."

Doug was finishing up a five-lap set and grabbed the near end of the pool and looked to see who was yelling so loud.

"Fuck that!" he heard a guy of about 30 say. "That guy could create a fucking tidal wave and drown my ass."

Doug's anger flared, but before he could say or do anything, the attractive blonde glided in beside him.

"Hey. You can have this lane," she said as Doug looked at her. He also noticed that Don had been swimming and he prayed his brother hadn't heard anything.

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" he cocky guy with the great hair said. "Stay right there, baby!"

The woman muttered, "Asshat," as she moved to the lane Don was in; the only lane without two people in it.

The 'asshat' was now standing in front of Doug but talking to the woman.

"Where you goin', baby? I'm here and I'm all yours."

The woman gave him a 'you make me sick' look then glanced at Doug and shook her head as she turned around and swam toward Don who'd just surfaced.

"What's her fuckin' problem?" the guy asked rhetorically.

"She doesn't seem to care for assholes," Doug calmly stated as the guy got his hair wet.

Doug was standing up in the shallow end, and his extremely well-defined neck, chest, and arms were visible. The asshat took a quick look and realized he didn't want to get involved with him.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever, dude," he mumbled as he pushed off.

"Dickhead," Doug spat as the guy headed toward the other end.

Concerned that his temper might get the best of him Doug pulled himself up out of the water and moved in front of the lane with his brother and the hot blonde whose name he still didn't know.

Don was now at the other end and holding onto the side of the pool as he tried to catch his breath. As she had with Doug, the woman quietly appeared next to his brother.

"Hi!" she said, causing him to flinch. "Sorry! I didn't meant to scare you."

"Weren't you swimming with my brother?" he asked as she, too, held onto the edge.

"Yes, but I thought I'd come over here and check out the other cute guy."

She was smiling brightly, but Don was confused, because no one had ever called him 'cute' and especially not a woman who was as hot as her.

"Come on," she replied. "I can see the resemblance."

"Maybe from the neck up."

Don knew his neck was also huge and changed it to, "Well, from the nose up anyway."

"I have something I want to show you, okay?" the woman told him. "If you have time when we both finish swimming, please meet me in the lobby."

Don had turned to look at her, and it took several seconds for him to realize he was staring. He'd never been this close to a woman who was this attractive before in his life, and he was mesmerized by the symmetry of her face, her bright, blue eyes, and her dazzling smile. He forced himself not to look below her neck as he realized he now had a bulge in his trunks he needed to conceal.

"Um...sure," he told her as he turned around and pushed off.

"I'll race you!" the woman called out as Don started breast stroking.

The woman was in fantastic shape and could have lapped him. Instead, she swam next to him, and each time he looked like he was going to quit, she gave him some encouragement.

"That's it! Keep going! Almost there!"

Don made it all the way to the end, and when he did, he grabbed the edge and fist-bumped into the air.

"You did it!" the woman told him as she was once again right beside him.

Gasping for air, Don turned her way, and without thinking he held out his arms. The woman responded in kind immediately, and as they hugged she told him he was amazing. Fortunately, the 'problem' he'd had was long gone as his body desperately needed his blood to carry as much oxygen to his lungs and brain as it could, and when they embraced there was nothing to push against her. Then again, his stomach was large enough that even had his um...problem...fully manifested itself she wouldn't have noticed.

"Look at you!" the woman said in that encouraging tone of voice. "Awesome job!"

The hug ended and she offered Don a high five. Doug had been just a few feet away and to his great surprise was blinking back tears thanks to the smile on his brother's face that was due to this woman's kindness and attention.

"Don? You ready to roll?" he called over to his brother.

"Oh. Uh...yeah. I'm beat."

"Perfect," the woman said. "I need to get going myself."

The asshat was finishing a lap doing the breast stroke and heard. As he flipped around he said, "Gee, what a surprise. Tons of fun is tired."

Again, Don didn't hear it, and it took all of the self-restraint Doug could muster not to grab this piece of shit and tune him up. He'd never done that to anyone in his life, but this guy was really cookin' his grits.

The woman noticed and told him, "He is so not worth it."

Feeling ashamed for what he'd been thinking, Doug nodded and told her she was right.

The three of them stood there at the pool's edge when the woman spoke first.

"I understand you two are brothers."

"We are," Doug replied as he looked at Don who was still smiling.

She stuck her hand out then said, "I'm Nicole."

"Doug," he said as he shook it. "And this is my little brother, Don."

She pivoted a little then shot her hand out for him to shake, as well.

"Pleased to meet you, Don. You swim like a fish!"

Now very aware of his size again, his soaked tee-shirt not really hiding anything like his sagging man boobs, he lowered his head and said, "You mean a whale, right?"

"No! I do not mean that, even though whales are excellent swimmers."

She waited for him to look at her then said, "Don't forget. I'd like to talk to you. In the lobby. If that's okay?"

"Oh, um...yeah. Sure. We can do that."

"Okay. Then I'll see both of your handsome faces in a few minutes!"

As the guys headed to their locker room, Doug said, "I think she likes you, bro."

"Gimme a break. She's just really nice."

"And hot, right?" his brother added as he elbowed his brother.