Page 22 of Full Circle

Stepping off my father’s private jet in Savannah felt like stepping back in time. The air was clearer here, smelling of fresh mown grass and the rainstorm that passed through every afternoon in southern Georgia. The plane had only barely stayed behind the dark clouds on the way from Atlanta. Summer felt agonizingly long but now that I was on my way to River’s Run, I could breathe a sigh of relief on returning home.

Home. I hadn’t realized how much I had grown to love everyone in Smithson County, although Chief Hillsborough might be excluded from that list. My heart raced at the prospect of enveloping Aunt Shirley in a bear hug, eating dinner at The Comfy Cushion while Marla forced me to eat seconds, and telling Mr. Hendricks about the different restaurants I visited while on tour with my father.

Most of all, I couldn’t wait to see Celeste. I tried to send her postcards whenever I could with a phone call sprinkled in here or there. My father always had a pressing need for me to attend a meeting or photo opportunity with him whenever I managed to get Celeste on the phone. His pompous behavior grated my nerves the entire trip and I struggled to keep my anger in check. It was only by picturing Celeste’s green eyes, kind and hopeful, that I managed to bite my tongue. She saved me from more than one outburst over the past three months.

I was about to surprise her by arriving two days ahead of schedule after an unexpected disaster in the Hong Kong market sent my father in a tailspin and he headed over to China to sort it all out. We had barely spoken more than ten sentences during our visits to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. The only time he found me useful was when I was able to serve as an interpreter for those speaking Spanish in his presence, something he reminded me was only possible because of the private education I had received in Atlanta. He made it clear that his expectation was for me to attend Montmeri Academy and that my time in River’s Run was an indulgence that would soon be coming to an end. I dreaded the day that happened.

Phillip, one of my father’s assistants, was charged with delivering me back to Aunt Shirley and it was evident how annoyed he was at the task. He followed me off the plane and all but gagged in disgust. “They call this an airport?” he asked, his British accent dripping with disdain.

“You really don’t have to go with me the rest of the way,” I offered, silently praying he would take it.

He frowned at me, his bushy brown eyebrows angling in a way that made his face comical. “Your father would be most displeased with me.”

I shrugged. “Dear old Benny boy isn’t here, now, is he?”

Phillip’s face registered shock at my disrespect. He could give Mr. Hendricks a run for his money when it came to manners and etiquette. “I gave Mr. Madden my word that I would safely deliver you to your aunt, so deliver you I shall.”

Rolling my eyes, I continued along the tarmac to a waiting Cadillac with a paid driver standing next to the back passenger door. The man nodded curtly to Phillip and me before holding open the door for us. A male airline attendant carried my duffle bag over to the trunk that the driver opened remotely. As soon as we pulled away from the plane, Phillip pulled out his phone and started responding to emails and calendar notifications to manage my father’s schedule. He didn’t say another word to me for the entire drive to River’s Run, which was fine by me. We could both be irritated with the other’s presence in silence.

The familiar sights of Smithson County came into view and I found myself bouncing on my seat as we turned onto Main Street. “Just pull up here before we get to The Comfy Cushion,” I instructed the driver.

I jumped out of the car before the driver could make it around to open the door for me and snatched my duffle out of the back, slinging it crossbody over my back. My mind was whirling with imaginings of this moment, of seeing Celeste’s face light up, how she would run into my arms, and the next few days we would spend swapping stories of our long summer apart.

The bell chimed over the door as I entered the restaurant and Marla squealed in delight as soon as she laid eyes on me. “Wesley Madden, you didn’t tell me you were coming early!” she cried, coming around the counter to fold me into a warm hug. “Why, you’ve grown another four inches!”

A few other patrons called out hello’s, along with Jesse on the grill line, but I didn’t see the one smiling face I expected. My eyes darted around for her, standing on my toes to peer into the back kitchen.

To my surprise, Marla’s face dropped slightly. “You won’t find her here,” she said. Her voice was barely above a whisper as though she didn’t want to be overheard.

“What? Where is she?”

Marla pursed her lips and glanced behind her before nodding towards the door. “She got a job as a lifeguard this summer down at the pool. Just head on over.”

A lifeguard? What?

I was so confused as I shuffled out the door in a daze. Why would Celeste work anywhere other than The Comfy Cushion? She loved that place more than anything since it represented her mother. Besides, we were too young to start thinking of jobs, right? Why was she working in the first place?

The River’s Run community pool was a couple blocks from my aunt Shirley’s house, only a five minute walk if I cut through back alleys like Celeste taught me. It was normally packed all summer long as people tried to beat the stifling heat but didn’t wanna risk the ticks and leeches that thrived in the creek. If you were under 16, you had to have a parent or guardian present so Celeste and I had avoided it in the past. Her dad was too busy at the restaurant and Nana and Aunt Shirley were too old to lay out in the sun like that every day. Still, it was a decent enough place, with an end deep enough for a diving board along with a kiddie pool that led into a splash pad.

I arrived at the pool and Travis Emerson, a boy from class who didn’t typically annoy the hell out of me, was manning the entrance. He greeted me cheerfully, squinting up at me from under his bright red hat.

“Yo, Wes, my man!” He held up his hand to slap a high five with me. “Haven’t seen you all summer! Cee said you were going all over the world or something.”

Cee? Only Maggie ever called her that. I tried not to grind my teeth in irritation, but his overfamiliarity with Celeste felt like a torrent of ice water shooting down my spine.

“Yeah, dude,” I sighed. “Where’s Celeste?”

Travis turned and pointed towards the small shed that served as the lifeguard headquarters. “She should be in there. Hey, man!”

I didn’t wait to pay him the entrance fee or get a designated wrist band to indicate my age before I took off across the concrete patio. The rules were already broken anyway since I still had on my sneakers, jeans, and polo shirt my father insisted I wear to travel. Travis could go ahead and suck a fat one if he thought I was going to wait another minute to see Celeste.

A tall girl with long brown hair and the perfect sun-kissed tan was walking out of the shed in a tight red bikini that perfectly displayed her round breasts and perky ass. She had a pair of black sunglasses tucked into the hair on top of her head, and it felt like a Baywatch rerun as I watched her pull the glasses down to shake out her hair before sliding the glasses onto her face. The closer I got to her, the more familiar she looked…

“Oh my god, WESLEY!” the girl shrieked before hurtling herself at me.

“Celeste?!” I didn’t remember my voice getting so high pitched, but maybe that was what happened when shock turned on the autopilot function.

She pulled away from me beaming while my mind felt like it was being twisted by a corkscrew. “What happened to your hair?” I finally managed to ask. It sounded so stupid to say out loud that I nearly kicked myself.

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