Chapter Thirty Seven – More Than a Membership

Once Olivia had started feeling comfortable and more like herself she had wanted to find a way back into working out. Going to Central Park for a run was great, but she wanted more than that. When she'd been on the job, she had tried to hit the gym as often as possible. It wasn't always as much as she would have liked, but it was better than what she had now. Time had been limiting and so had energy. She'd ended up dropping her personal gym membership and had simply used the one for the department. With more free time on her hands she wanted to try and get back into it, but the department one was out of the question now.

She had started looking into gyms in her area about a week ago. Membership prices and what was offered had helped her narrow down the choices. She didn't just want weight machines and treadmills. Having somewhere to get back to kickboxing would be wonderful. The opportunity to take a few classes in different activities would be nice too. While Olivia would prefer all of those things, none of them would be the final deciding factor. Suvi would be. Just because a gym legally had to allow her entrance with Suvi didn't mean they actually would. That had become very obvious. She didn't want to have to fight every time she came. On top of that, Olivia knew even if she was allowed in it wouldn't necessarily mean the owner would really be okay with it. Hostility and glares could be directed at her the entire time she was there, and that would make for a pretty hellish workout. For her own personal sanity, she would have to make sure everyone in charge of the gym was okay with Suvi being there. If she could find somewhere that would support her with potentially unhappy members that would be even better, but she didn't want to get her hopes too high on that. It made more sense business-wise to allow one client to remain displeased than to back one and anger multiple others.

Olivia couldn't expect to know what would happen with other people there to work out before she went herself. She could, however, know what the owner would think. All it would take was a few phone calls. After she'd set up her day with Amanda she'd started calling around. Most of the people she'd spoken with hadn't been very willing to allow her to bring Suvi with her. Some of them had outright refused. Those ones were easily crossed off the list of possibilities.

It took Olivia nearly a week to finish the calls. Three gyms had sounded open to having her there. Of the three, one seemed like her best option. The man she'd spoken with over the phone had been incredibly kind and had even encouraged her to come for a visit. Olivia was going to take that as a good sign. As an added bonus the gym had basically everything Olivia had been looking for too. The only possible problem was the location. It wasn't overly close to her apartment. She couldn't be sure it was worth the long trip until she visited and checked the place out herself.

That was exactly what Olivia was planning on doing, only it was harder to walk in than she expected. She had no real reason to be nervous, yet she was. Tired of waiting, Suvi took the opportunity of someone coming out to slip partway in. He turned back to look at her with a beaming doggie smile and a very simple question. Are you coming? Olivia couldn't help the tiny smile that tugged at her lips. He made it sound so easy. Then again, maybe it was that easy. All she had to do was open the door and walk in. Olivia decided to follow Suvi's lead. She drew off his confidence as she walked up to the front desk.

"Can I help you?" the attendant asked.

"I'm looking for the manager. Is he here?"

"Yeah, in the back. Hold on a second."

He disappeared into the back, and Olivia tried not to shift uneasily as she waited. Without truly realizing she was doing it she began threading her fingers through the fur on Suvi's head. It steadied her and put a halt to the nervousness trying to wash over her. While she was waiting Olivia took the time to look around. The place was clean and not incredibly busy, though it could get more crowded after work hours. Quiet was good for her. There would be less people around to raise a fuss about Suvi. Olivia didn't have time to do any more visual investigating before the attendant returned with the manager.

"Are you Olivia Benson?"

"That's right."

"Nice to meet you. Why don't I show you around?"

"That would be great. Thank you."

So far so good. The manager was being kinder in person than he had been on the phone. Maybe she would actually find a place that would welcome her like any other member and support her in the face of disapproval.

He led her through the facility, showing her the various workout rooms. As they walked he also discussed the classes that were held throughout the week. The further they got the more pleased Olivia became. This had definitely been worth the visit. If she'd actually worn the right clothes she would have even considered getting a membership after the tour and sticking around to workout. Unfortunately that wasn't going to work, but at least she could get paperwork filled out and her first fee paid so she could come back tomorrow.

"So I just want to make sure. He's not going to cause any trouble or leave messes around, right?"

"No. He's well trained. You won't have to worry about him, and I'll make sure we stop on the way in to be safe."

Not that Olivia figured Suvi would decide a bathroom break was necessary in the middle of her workout. He was good about going whenever he had the chance since those times could be few and far between.

"Good, good. He shouldn't bother anyone else either I'm assuming."

"Nope. He'll stay right by my side the entire time. I'll try to keep him out of the aisles too."

"I don't see that we'll have any problems then."

Even with how hopeful she'd been since meeting him Olivia hadn't expected the owner to be so sure everything would work out find. She wasn't even that confident.

"What about the other members? Not everyone thinks service dogs should be allowed in public places."

"They should be fine. I'll give them a heads up at the front desk."

Personally Olivia thought he was being a bit too confident, but she wasn't going to argue. He knew his clients, not her. She simply knew how people could react to Suvi when they were out. Once they reached the front desk he turned to her once again.

"How about I set you up with a free month of trial membership?"

"Really?" Olivia asked incredulously. "That would be fantastic."

"Let's get you ready to go then."

He handed her all of the paperwork she would need to fill out before heading behind the desk to work on something himself. By the time she was done with the forms he should have everything basically completed. All he would need to do was take the photo and add it.

Once Olivia had filled in all of the information she considered the forms again. While there had been a rather large section concerning medical information, she felt like more reference might be needed. If she were to have a seizure while working out they wouldn't necessarily look through her membership forms before they called an ambulance. It would probably be best to give them separate instructions. Hopefully it would result in less unneeded 911 calls. Plus, witnessing a seizure for the first time could be scary. Having specific directions in the event of one occurring should ease the fear a bit.

"Do you have a separate sheet of paper I could write seizure instructions on?"

"Of course." He held a sheet out to her. "Anything we'd need to know go ahead and put on there."

Olivia took the paper gratefully and set about writing down the requirements for calling an ambulance. She also added in the note that all of her medical information, including her doctor's name and her medications were in Suvi's vest. When that was all complete she handed the information sheet and her forms to the manager.

"Alrighty. All we need now is a picture for your account. I'd like to get one of Suvi too."

"Suvi? Why?"

"For the heads up I told you about. All I need to do is add the picture so I'll show it to you before you leave to make sure you're okay with it."

That sounded reasonable to Olivia. If she didn't like something he'd put in the memo to the gym's members she could ask him to take it out or change it. She didn't have any reason to think he wouldn't be sensitive to her condition though. He'd been more sensitive to her condition and the modifications she needed then most people were. There shouldn't be much to worry about. A short time later when the manager turned the computer screen to face her Olivia's guess was confirmed. Below the picture of Suvi the caption read:

This is Vesuvius. He and his owner are new members to our gym. Since he is a

service dog he will be permitted in all areas of the facility. Should anything

happen to his owner please advise the front desk before you do anything. If

you have any other questions or concerns feel free to talk to the manager.

"So what do you think?"

"It's perfect."

If it actually worked and kept people from arguing about Suvi's presence it would be even better. With the way he'd worded it the memo had the potential to make sure she didn't get unwanted ambulance rides too. Olivia was rather impressed.

"I'm sure we'll be seeing you in here soon."

She flashed him a warm smile in return.

"Definitely."

And she would be back, possibly even the next day.

O . o . O . o . O

Unfortunately Olivia didn't manage to make it back the next day. The mild headache wouldn't have been enough to keep her home if that was all she'd been dealing with. It wasn't though. She had to handle the trembling too. Shaky hands and a high likelihood of losing your balance were not things you wanted when you went to the gym. Olivia wouldn't have felt comfortable going when she felt that way even if it hadn't been her first time in. She hadn't been able to hit the gym in a long time. One more day wouldn't hurt.

The next day when she was feeling better she headed down. When she arrived she was greeted warmly enough, though she could feel the attendant's eyes following her curiously. The curiosity didn't particularly bother her. It was actually quite understandable. Looks of all kinds pretty much came with the territory when you had a service dog. Curiosity was one of the better ones.

"Let us know if you need anything."

Olivia nodded and headed back. While she seriously missed her kickboxing, now was not the time to try it. Sticking with something a little more basic and less strenuous would be better. Chances were a little extra exercise wouldn't do anything to trigger her head, but she couldn't be totally sure. She did not want to wind up having a seizure on her first day. Friendly or not, she didn't want to scare the staff too early. Eventually it would happen, but since she had a way to possibly postpone that moment for now it was best she use it. The elliptical and some weights would do the trick.

She had just finished her warm up on the elliptical when a man in a cut off t-shirt waltzed up to her. Olivia judged him to be slightly younger than her, probably in his mid-30s. Along with that guess Olivia was pretty sure he had been waiting until she was done before he came over. That could mean any number of things. She stepped off the machine and eyed him warily. Was this going to turn into a fight? Did he have a question? Did he simply want to introduce himself? She had no idea.

"So you're the one with the service dog, huh?"

Olivia's eyes narrowed. Starting like that was usually the sign of more negative feelings. Whether that was where this conversation was going or not, his question didn't deserve an answer. He hadn't seemed to be expecting one and continued on, this time with his attention on Suvi who was lying down near Olivia's machine.

"He's actually a good looking dog."

Olivia really wanted to roll her eyes but crossed her arms over her chest instead. He would hopefully get the hint from her body language that this conversation was not welcome.

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"No reason, I guess. Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or anything."

She wasn't completely sure she believed that. People didn't usually decide to chat with someone they didn't know for no reason. She rested a hand lightly on her hips and lifted an eyebrow.

"So you wanted to do what?"

"See for myself."

If he had given a decent answer she might have been slightly more apologetic for her sharp tone. His answer was even worse than she'd expected though, and it was cocky too. He deserved every ounce of hostility Olivia had given him, plus some extra. So far he was definitely being put in the asshole category. She really had no desire to stick around and see if that category changed.

"You saw. Now if you'll excuse me."

She patted her leg, and Suvi stood and moved to her side as they brushed past the bystander. Olivia had things she wanted to do still, and standing around so some guy could gawk at them like they were in a zoo wasn't one of them. There were better things to do.