Ferris - The Drowning Spool

F OR Betsy, it started in January, when the Courage Centers Olympic-size pool needed repairs. It was announced at her early-morning water aerobics class that the pool would be closed for twelve weeks, starting next week, and everyone was going to have to take a hiatus or find a new place to go during that period.

There was grumbling in the locker room after class. Twelve weeks! That was far too long to go without exercising. But where were they going to find another pool heated to ninety-three degrees? And one that offered a water aerobics class beginning at six thirty in the morning?

A woman changing for the Individual Therapy class that followed aerobics said, I know a place that has a water aerobics class starting at seven.

Well... Heated pool? asked Betsy.

Around ninety degrees or a little more. The pools nice, although not nearly as big as this one here.

But Betsy didnt need a big pool to stand and do jumping jacks in. Where is this place?

Its a new addition to a senior-living complex in Hopkins. It cost them so much to add the pool that theyre offering classes to the fifty-five-and-older members of the public to make some money. My mother lives at the complexits called Watered Silkand she told me about it.

Hopkins was a suburb farther west of Minneapolis than Golden Valley, where the Courage Center was locatedwhich put it closer to far-west Excelsior, where Betsy lived. So there would be a shorter drive to Hopkins for twelve weeks. Nice.

Why is it called Watered Silk? asked Betsy.

The building that houses the complex was once a silk factory, back in the 1800s. One of the varieties they produced there is called watered silk. They actually found a piece of it inside a wall, or maybe it was under a floor, when they were remodeling. I guess they liked the term. It does have kind of a smooth, luxurious feel to it, which describes the complex itself. Everything is first-class over there, the residents really like it.

So when Betsy called the office, she should not have been surprised when she was quoted a price for three months worth of thrice-a-week classes that was fully half again what the Courage Center charged. Not so nice.

Dismayed over the cost, she searched on her computer for alternatives. But all the other water aerobics classes in the area were held in pools far cooler than Watered Silks, or were farther away, or didnt start as early; and none were less costly. So Betsy sighed and signed up.

Around twenty to seven on the first day, Betsy was guided by her GPS to a street on the west side of downtown Hopkins. The building was big, of dark red brick, old and plain. It had obviously once been a factory, perhaps built in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Four stories tall, it took up most of a city block, with a narrow alley separating it from a smaller, newer commercial building next door.

It was set far enough back from the street to accommodate a new stone and cement portico with a curved driveway leading underneath it to the main entrance.

There was a parking ramp across the street, bi-levelthe second story was the roof of the firstand there was no charge for parking. Betsy pulled in and found it almost empty at that hour of the morning. She parked and hurried across the street, under the cement portico, and into the broad entrance.

A pair of doors brought her out of the cold into a good-size entrance area, brightly lit and blowing hot air. She stopped in front of a pair of thick glass doors, tinted brown. But before she could press the button indicated for entry, the doors slid open.

The hall inside was tall. Really tall. Betsys eyes were drawn up and up to an immense, very modern chandelier of crystal and chrome. The pale walls were bare except for one small painting in an elaborate frame. It was hung too far away for her to see any details other than it was red, and probably an abstract. The low-nap carpet had a pattern of dark gray curves and angles on a light gray ground. There was a long, plain buff couch near the framed art. A matching chair stood at right angles to it, with a chromed-metal-and-glass coffee table inside the angle. The lighting was gentle but adequate, and stronger on the right, where a beautiful wooden counter was guarded by a handsome, young African American man, who was smiling inquiringly at her. Betsy had a feeling shed seen him before, but she couldnt place him.

Betsy Devonshire, Betsy said, approaching him. Im here for the water aerobics class.

He checked for her name on a list, found it, and handed a clipboard to her to sign in. Pools down the stairs and to your right, he said, gesturing toward the back of the lobby.

It was then Betsy realized that the floor ended well short of the far wall. She walked over and saw a set of eight steps nearly the width of the lobby.