“Have you known Luis for very long?”
“Yes,” she said.
“He seems like a nice guy.”
She didn’t answer.
It was obvious that our conversation wasn’t going anywhere as long as it concerned Luis. Even though I was curious, I couldn’t be nosy and ask why she didn’t like him, so I changed the subject. “Do you know how to swim?” I asked.
“Yes,” Ashley said. “I’ve taken swimming the last three semesters, and I made the school’s team.” For the first time she smiled. “My best stroke is the butterfly. When we get to the pool, I’ll race you.”
I had a surprise coming. I lost the first race to Ashley because I thought she couldn’t possibly beat my record. In the next race I tried as hard as if I were in a meet with my own team. I managed to come in first, but it was tight.
I leaned on the edge of the pool as I struggled to catch my breath. “You’re good,” I said.
She rested her head against the tile edge and smiled. She was breathing almost as hard as I was, butshe managed to say, “Thanks. You are too. Where do you swim?”
“Our subdivision has a swim club,” I told her. Suddenly, I could picture so vividly the members of our team racing cleanly through the water that I spoke out in anguish. “We were going for the championship this year. I know we would have made it, but my parents decided it wasn’t important that I take part. But it was. It was to me. I hate having so many people make decisions that affect me, just because they’re family, and not being able to decide things by myself.”
Ashley gave me a strange quick look, then curled into a surface dive. I watched her swim away underwater, then reappear at the opposite end of the pool.
I found it hard to understand Ashley. Sometimes she seemed friendly, sometimes she didn’t—and I didn’t know why. She made it clear that she didn’t like Luis, and at times she didn’t seem to like me. Maybe it was just that she was shy, but for some reason her actions seemed defensive.
I climbed out of the pool and lay on one of the beach chairs, letting the sun blot the water from my back. In a few minutes, Ashley stretched out in the chair next to me. She didn’t speak, and I was trying to decide if I should start another conversation when the Hunk arrived.
He didn’t say hello. He just flexed his bronzed muscles and said, “I hope you kids aren’t going back in the pool for a while. I’m going to vacuum it.”
Kids! What a jerk. I flipped over to take a good look at him. Up close I could see leathery lines in his face and realized that he was probably close to thirty. I thought of Uncle Gabe’s telescope and how I had trained it on thepool and on some of the surrounding houses. The Jerk/Hunk had looked much better at a distance.
He poked his vacuum wand down to the bottom of the pool. Then, as though he knew I was sizing him up, he looked directly at me. “You ever live on ranch country before?” he asked me.
“No,” I answered.
“It takes getting used to,” he said. “Especially at night when it’s easy to get lost. Don’t go out in the dark again by your lonesome.”
I sat up, alert. “What are you talking about?”
“Last night I heard you yelling for help all the way down here.”
“Here? The pool isn’t open at night.”
“Sometimes I bunk on the couch in the office.”
I examined him suspiciously. “How did you know it was me?”
“Direction. It had to be the Hollister house.”
“If you heard me yelling for help, why didn’t you come?” I asked.
His shoulders rippled in a shrug. “While I was thinking on it, you stopped.”
Angry now, I persisted. “What if I stopped because I’d been hurt?”
“You weren’t hurt,” he said. “Mrs. Hollister opened the door and let you back in the house.”
“How’d you know that?”
Again he shrugged. “Figures. She was there, wasn’t she?”
He moved away, intent on examining the bottom of the pool, while I tried to sort through
“Yes,” she said.
“He seems like a nice guy.”
She didn’t answer.
It was obvious that our conversation wasn’t going anywhere as long as it concerned Luis. Even though I was curious, I couldn’t be nosy and ask why she didn’t like him, so I changed the subject. “Do you know how to swim?” I asked.
“Yes,” Ashley said. “I’ve taken swimming the last three semesters, and I made the school’s team.” For the first time she smiled. “My best stroke is the butterfly. When we get to the pool, I’ll race you.”
I had a surprise coming. I lost the first race to Ashley because I thought she couldn’t possibly beat my record. In the next race I tried as hard as if I were in a meet with my own team. I managed to come in first, but it was tight.
I leaned on the edge of the pool as I struggled to catch my breath. “You’re good,” I said.
She rested her head against the tile edge and smiled. She was breathing almost as hard as I was, butshe managed to say, “Thanks. You are too. Where do you swim?”
“Our subdivision has a swim club,” I told her. Suddenly, I could picture so vividly the members of our team racing cleanly through the water that I spoke out in anguish. “We were going for the championship this year. I know we would have made it, but my parents decided it wasn’t important that I take part. But it was. It was to me. I hate having so many people make decisions that affect me, just because they’re family, and not being able to decide things by myself.”
Ashley gave me a strange quick look, then curled into a surface dive. I watched her swim away underwater, then reappear at the opposite end of the pool.
I found it hard to understand Ashley. Sometimes she seemed friendly, sometimes she didn’t—and I didn’t know why. She made it clear that she didn’t like Luis, and at times she didn’t seem to like me. Maybe it was just that she was shy, but for some reason her actions seemed defensive.
I climbed out of the pool and lay on one of the beach chairs, letting the sun blot the water from my back. In a few minutes, Ashley stretched out in the chair next to me. She didn’t speak, and I was trying to decide if I should start another conversation when the Hunk arrived.
He didn’t say hello. He just flexed his bronzed muscles and said, “I hope you kids aren’t going back in the pool for a while. I’m going to vacuum it.”
Kids! What a jerk. I flipped over to take a good look at him. Up close I could see leathery lines in his face and realized that he was probably close to thirty. I thought of Uncle Gabe’s telescope and how I had trained it on thepool and on some of the surrounding houses. The Jerk/Hunk had looked much better at a distance.
He poked his vacuum wand down to the bottom of the pool. Then, as though he knew I was sizing him up, he looked directly at me. “You ever live on ranch country before?” he asked me.
“No,” I answered.
“It takes getting used to,” he said. “Especially at night when it’s easy to get lost. Don’t go out in the dark again by your lonesome.”
I sat up, alert. “What are you talking about?”
“Last night I heard you yelling for help all the way down here.”
“Here? The pool isn’t open at night.”
“Sometimes I bunk on the couch in the office.”
I examined him suspiciously. “How did you know it was me?”
“Direction. It had to be the Hollister house.”
“If you heard me yelling for help, why didn’t you come?” I asked.
His shoulders rippled in a shrug. “While I was thinking on it, you stopped.”
Angry now, I persisted. “What if I stopped because I’d been hurt?”
“You weren’t hurt,” he said. “Mrs. Hollister opened the door and let you back in the house.”
“How’d you know that?”
Again he shrugged. “Figures. She was there, wasn’t she?”
He moved away, intent on examining the bottom of the pool, while I tried to sort through
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