Passenger

“You did what?”

Annie glanced at me with a smile and tackled me onto my bed, with a loud ‘unf’. But I did my best not to show my annoyance to my sister as I spoke to Lisa on the phone.

Gran was out of town for the week; on retreat with a few ladies from her gardening club. Leaving me with Annie- something I was always used to. Going on bike rides, heading to the park, maybe a few theme parks too, but all those were shot when I got an early phone call from Lisa.

“I’m sorry!”

I squeezed my eyes shut in annoyance, “Let me get this straight... Do I have a bike anymore?”

“Not in so many parts.”

“Fucking perfect.” I hissed, gathering Annie’s attention, I waved my sister off, and quickly clambered off of my mattress and towards my living room which was just down the hall, and took a seat on the couch, “You know that was really my only way of transportation, the Volvo belongs to my Grandmother.”

“I know I’m sorry.” Lisa sighed, but I could hear the clear distraction in her voice, “Can’t you drive the van.”

“That’s not the point Lis.” I groaned, pulling my phone away from my ear as it beeped at the receiving of a new text message, and though I was in a foul mood the new message from: Michael P. made me smile.

“But you could drive it.”

And the mood was back.

“When are you going to pay me back?” I asked sternly, feeling the around my couch for my pillow as I laid down.

“Uhm, eventually.”

“Eventually?” I nodded with tight lips, “Fucking thanks Lisa.”

“Hey, don’t get snappy with me.” she said in the same tone, “It was an accident, if I hadn’t jumped off the bike, I would be broken too.”

“If you had your own bike, you wouldn’t be in this predicament.” I said shortly, and I quickly took a quick breath, “Whatever, I’ll get a bike at some point. But, for compensation, please come get Annie and I and take us to the Aquatics Center, I know you’re working today.”

Lisa agreed, though she didn’t sound happy about it. But she stated clearly and pointedly, that she couldn’t take my Sister and I home, because she had a date right after work.

❊

Sitting on the bleachers, I blushed as Michael walked into the pool area, dressed in tight swimming trunks, and a hoodie over his upper half. The zipper was half way down, exposing his toned form, and I quickly averted my eyes as he caught me starring. I watched him bite his bottom lip and make a movement to come towards me, as I waved softly, but he stopped as someone took a seat beside me, and I grimaced as Lisa began talking.

“What happened between you and Michael, after your few dates?” I questioned a bit harshly, as I watched the tall man jump into the pool as he joined Donna’s swimming group.

Lisa shrugged, going into thought. She was dressed in her pool attendant uniform- clean white collared shirt and a pair of beige shorts. I was dressed still, in my outer Fall wear- jeans, boots, long sleeve, and my coat on my lap, my messy hair thrown around my shoulder.

“I don’t know really.” she said, and I followed her gaze to the object of our conversation, “We clicked for a while- but he’s such a nice guy, too nice, it felt weird.”

I frowned, glancing at her, “It felt weird going on dates with a genuinely kind guy?”

She laughed and I couldn’t help but smile, as she nudged my side, “You made that sound terrible. But you know what I mean? I like a bad boy, not too bad, but just a guy who has a differently edge. Michael, Michael’s just perfect.”

No one’s perfect- but I guess maybe, Michael could be one of those exceptions.

“I guess that makes sense.” I said my eyes traveling to the pool, where I smiled widely, at Annie, who was on Michael’s back laughing as he swam the length of the pool, “So, it wouldn’t bother you, if I was possibly, slightly, interested in him?”

I expected her to go on bitch mode. I swear, I saw it pulling at her lips. But she stared at me, studying me carefully, before she broke into a smile, “You like him don’t you?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Yet?” she questioned with a pointed giggle, and I immediately blushed.

“He took me out to ice-cream after my restaurant shift-”

Lisa’s squeal echoed through the natatorium, causing my cheeks to burn and my eyes to widen, as several parents, teachers, kids and Michael turned to look in our general direction, with confusion, annoyance and interest.

“... And he drove me home.”

She covered her mouth to prevent another squeal. My eyes were on Michael who standing waist deep in the water now, helping another student, as he watched me, with an adorable frown of confusion on his face.

“Maybe it’s a good thing, you don’t have a bike anymore, he can drive you around now.”

❊

“It’s freezing.”

Annie rolled her eyes at me from the shallow end where she stood at ease, her arms stretched on either side of her as she dipped her head, and quickly came back up and floated at the rim of the pool water.

She had convinced me to stay until the night class arrived.
The two of us hadn’t been swimming together in years.

“C’mere.” I smiled her, and she paddled towards me as dipped my entire body into the water, ignoring the bursts of cold that spasmed around me and opened my eyes as I swam towards her. I heard her muffled squeal from above the water as I grabbed her thin legs and tickled her knees, and I quickly surfaced laughing.

We stayed silent, floating on our backs. Annie much more practiced then me, and I stared at the ceiling, that seemed so many miles above us. The bright lights, and tiles so clean, so perfect. Untouched.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a tall figure approaching the pool, walking towards the exit. As it rounded the corner, passing the bleachers closest to us, I dipped into the pool and sunk to the bottom.

As I touched the bottom of the pool, I opened my eyes, squinting as the chlorine burned them, and my hair flew in front of my face. I heard muffled noise, and quickly fixed my one piece as I shot up, spitting water out of my mouth as I caught sight of Annie, talking to Michael, who had rolled up sweat pants up to his knees, as he put his legs in the water.

“Hey.” he smiled at me, as his eyes met mine.
“Hi.” I said softly, walking towards him, the water putting pressure on my upper half as I wadded.

“Never seen you in the pool before.” he said thoughtfully, as Annie floated away from us with a shake of her head.

“She’s afraid- but not as much as she used to be.”

Michael glanced at me, his eyebrows raising in surprise, as he studied my face, “Really now.”

I leaned back against the pool wall, frowning at Annie. Not knowing how she remembered the story, but all I could do was cross my arms and dip my body collar bone need into the water as I listened to her speak. Michael listened intently. His hand was gripping the edge of the pool, and his fingers touched my bare shoulders.

“Gran used to tell me this story all the time, so I wouldn’t roll the chair into any bodies of water.” Annie said as she tried floating on her back, before she gave up.

A motion beside me, made me stir, and I turned my neck up, watching as Michael walked towards the bleachers, and placed his belongings; a backpack, shoes, sweats and jacket next to Annie’s chair. He stripped from his clothes slowly, and stood in the same pair of tight swimming trunks. I turned back to Annie who continued talking, but gathered goose-bumps, as Michael dropped gently into the pool, standing beside me before he sunk to his knees, and I smiled as he stood close to me, on his knees, but still reaching my standing height in the pool.

“Gran says Kazz was ten or eleven, and they, she, Mom and Gran were visiting family in Florida. She didn’t know how to swim, but she wanted to get in the water. Our relatives, had a pool in their back yard, but it had a cover over it.”

Michael hissed from next to me, his arm bumping against my own, causing me to stare at him, as he held a pained expression on his face, “I think I know where this is going.”

I chuckled and nudged him, allowing Annie to continue.

“Kazz, decided to go and check out the pool. The cover overlapped on the cement, and pool, giving it a very flat look, so she didn’t know where the pool started or ended. But when she was walking on the covered cement, she thought it was all like that. So she kept going.” Annie said, trying to float again, but she stopped and instead went to sit on the steps, “You tell the next part, you tell it better.”

I rolled my eyes, and splashed at her as I stood taller in the pool, straighter, finally standing over Michael’s head.

“I kept walking and I fell into the pool, bring the lengths and lengths of the cover with me, as I sunk in. The more I sunk, the more water gathered around me. I was stuck. And from what I remember, no one noticed for a really long time.” I said darkly, frowning at the thought, “I remember blacking out, and then my Mom giving me mouth to mouth.”

Michael shook his head as he stared at me, “I would’ve never gotten into the pool, if that happened to me. Seems horrifying.”

“It was.” I nodded honestly.

He shook his head still amazed, and then went completely in the water, crossing the pool under water in under three seconds until he reached Annie who was at the stares.

“Do you want to float like a pro?” he asked her with a crooked smile.

Annie nodded and she allowed Michael to cradle her in his arms. She looked so tiny, so puny compared to him. She looked like a thin branch in his arms, but she looked happy, and was laughing when Michael pretended to drop her. I watched him interact with her, with genuine interest, confidence and kindness, as he told her what to do with her arms and legs, how to place them.
Annie listened to him eagerly, and I watched as she spread her arms at her sides, and widened her legs, and titled her head back perfectly so she was all leveled.

“What made you change your mind?”

I glanced at Michael, as he moved away from Annie, who giggled as she floated perfectly. Michael stood beside her smiling at my baby sister.

“About what?” I asked him as I dipped my hair back.

“Getting back in the pool.”

I sighed and motioned my head at the girl who was floating, and watched as she let out a loud laugh and dipped into the water.

“She did. She changes everything.” I replied honestly, “In such an amazing way."