had three little sisters to keep an eye on. But I managed to squeeze in a quick last visit with Heather and Amy before they went off on their summer trips, which was really nice. And I even enjoyed hanging out with my sisters; I found it pretty funny to see how Poppy’s Aster act, all silent and broody, made my goth sister crazy.
“It’s cute,” said Rose. “I don’t see why it bothers you so much.”
As we sat around the kitchen table one morning finishing our bagels, Aster was seized with a sudden inspiration.
“Hey, Poppy,” she said.
Silently, Poppy turned to her sister and raised an eyebrow. I nearly choked. Classic Aster move.
“I notice that your bedroom is yellow,” she said. “Have you ever taken a look at the walls on my side of the room Rose and I share?”
I could see Poppy gulp.
“What color are they?” Aster asked.
“Black,” Poppy said softly.
“I would never have yellow walls, Pops,” Aster said. “Too sunshiny for me.”
Poppy nodded. She got it.
The day was supposed to get pretty warm, so I decided we would head to the town pool. They offered free swimming lessons on Tuesdays and I could relax while my sisters swam. Plus, Poppy still loved to splash around in the kiddie pool. I wondered if I’d see anyone from school.
I showed our family pool card to the bored high school student behind the front entrance and we walked inside.There were three pools — a deep pool with diving boards, a swimming pool with a section of cordoned-off lap lanes, and a kiddie pool. I waved to Carmine Belloni, Penelope Peterson, Chloe Davis, and Mike Hurley, who were playing Marco Polo in the main pool.
My sisters and I laid our towels down on the white plastic chairs near the big pool and slathered one another with sunscreen, paying special attention to super-pale Aster. Then I walked my sisters over to the big pool for their lesson and sat on the edge, my feet in the water, to watch. Poppy’s group was blowing bubbles in the shallow end and doing the doggie paddle. I watched as Rose, Aster, and two other kids their age each lined up in a lane to determine their swimming ability. Rose was wearing a bathing suit with a big red strawberry on it and a ruffly skirt while Aster had on a black suit with a grinning purple skull. Typical.
I watched as my sisters dove in the water. Though they hadn’t swum since last summer, Rose and Aster left the other kids in their wake. They reached out to touch the wall simultaneously, looked up, saw each other, and slappedhands. I shook my head. Completely different, yet so many similarities.
Sometimes Rose and Aster’s closeness makes me feel a little left out. That’s where Becky came in. Except, of course, when she was going away for the entire summer!
Enough thinking about that. The sun was beating down on me and I was ready to go for a swim myself. I decided to ease myself into the water instead of jumping in, which is never easy. The water was so cold I had to force myself to duck my head underneath. Finally my body began to adjust and I bobbed around for a while.
“Marco!” shouted Mike. I ducked out of the way of his flailing arms.
“Polo!” cried Carmine. “Hey, Del, wanna play?” he asked as he swam past me.
I shook my head no, swam over to the ladder, and climbed out. I was pretty good at diving and thought I’d practice a bit. It was fun bouncing off the low board and jackknifing cleanly into the water. After my sixth dive, I climbed out, dripping on the cement, and eyed the high board warily.
“Do it! Do it!” cried Rose and Aster from the side of the pool, egging me on. I closed my eyes. The high board both thrilled and terrified me, but I had never gotten up the nerve to try it. Then a voice in my head said:
Do it Del, do it before your birthday. That way you can always say, I dove off the high board when I was twelve.
I liked the thought of that, and before I knew what I was doing, I was climbing up the steep ladder. My knees felt a
“It’s cute,” said Rose. “I don’t see why it bothers you so much.”
As we sat around the kitchen table one morning finishing our bagels, Aster was seized with a sudden inspiration.
“Hey, Poppy,” she said.
Silently, Poppy turned to her sister and raised an eyebrow. I nearly choked. Classic Aster move.
“I notice that your bedroom is yellow,” she said. “Have you ever taken a look at the walls on my side of the room Rose and I share?”
I could see Poppy gulp.
“What color are they?” Aster asked.
“Black,” Poppy said softly.
“I would never have yellow walls, Pops,” Aster said. “Too sunshiny for me.”
Poppy nodded. She got it.
The day was supposed to get pretty warm, so I decided we would head to the town pool. They offered free swimming lessons on Tuesdays and I could relax while my sisters swam. Plus, Poppy still loved to splash around in the kiddie pool. I wondered if I’d see anyone from school.
I showed our family pool card to the bored high school student behind the front entrance and we walked inside.There were three pools — a deep pool with diving boards, a swimming pool with a section of cordoned-off lap lanes, and a kiddie pool. I waved to Carmine Belloni, Penelope Peterson, Chloe Davis, and Mike Hurley, who were playing Marco Polo in the main pool.
My sisters and I laid our towels down on the white plastic chairs near the big pool and slathered one another with sunscreen, paying special attention to super-pale Aster. Then I walked my sisters over to the big pool for their lesson and sat on the edge, my feet in the water, to watch. Poppy’s group was blowing bubbles in the shallow end and doing the doggie paddle. I watched as Rose, Aster, and two other kids their age each lined up in a lane to determine their swimming ability. Rose was wearing a bathing suit with a big red strawberry on it and a ruffly skirt while Aster had on a black suit with a grinning purple skull. Typical.
I watched as my sisters dove in the water. Though they hadn’t swum since last summer, Rose and Aster left the other kids in their wake. They reached out to touch the wall simultaneously, looked up, saw each other, and slappedhands. I shook my head. Completely different, yet so many similarities.
Sometimes Rose and Aster’s closeness makes me feel a little left out. That’s where Becky came in. Except, of course, when she was going away for the entire summer!
Enough thinking about that. The sun was beating down on me and I was ready to go for a swim myself. I decided to ease myself into the water instead of jumping in, which is never easy. The water was so cold I had to force myself to duck my head underneath. Finally my body began to adjust and I bobbed around for a while.
“Marco!” shouted Mike. I ducked out of the way of his flailing arms.
“Polo!” cried Carmine. “Hey, Del, wanna play?” he asked as he swam past me.
I shook my head no, swam over to the ladder, and climbed out. I was pretty good at diving and thought I’d practice a bit. It was fun bouncing off the low board and jackknifing cleanly into the water. After my sixth dive, I climbed out, dripping on the cement, and eyed the high board warily.
“Do it! Do it!” cried Rose and Aster from the side of the pool, egging me on. I closed my eyes. The high board both thrilled and terrified me, but I had never gotten up the nerve to try it. Then a voice in my head said:
Do it Del, do it before your birthday. That way you can always say, I dove off the high board when I was twelve.
I liked the thought of that, and before I knew what I was doing, I was climbing up the steep ladder. My knees felt a
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