Page 114 of Absorbed

“The pool is closing as of today.” Bob sighed audibly.

Stacey dropped her knife. It clanged on the linoleum. “Oh…”She thought of Chad and Tiffany’s words from the night before. How right they’d been.

Bob went on. “With school starting soon, there aren’t enough lifeguards to safely keep The Plunge open. And we haven’t had enough swimmers to meet our operating expenses.”

“I get it,” Stacey said, plucking the knife from the floor.

“I’ll be here for a few hours. Come by and grab any belongings you left. After that, anything I come across will be placed in the lost-and-found box outside the gate. Goodwill will stop by and grab the stuff in a few days. Then it’s out of my hands.”

“Thanks, Coach. Maybe I’ll grab Jessie’s skateboard and guitar, too. I can drop them at his apartment.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Bob said quietly.

Stacey hung up and stood still beside the counter.

Her mom bustled into the kitchen, dressed for work. “Who was on the phone?” She grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee.

“Bob. They decided to shut down The Plunge for good. Starting today.” Stacey’s arms were crossed, and she held the toast near her mouth. Murphy stood at her feet staring upward.

Stacey’s mom set the coffee pot back, and leaned against the counter, her mug between both hands. “Wow. What a surprise. Did you have any idea it might happen so soon?”

Stacey took a bite of her toast, chewing as she spoke. “We talked about it. I thought for sure it wouldn’t be before Labor Day, though.”

“I’m sorry, Doodle Bug. Honestly, it surprised me they ever reopened it after the accident. The facility is so rundown; they’ve talked about a new pool for years. Seems like what happened was the excuse they needed to find the funding.”

Stacey took another bite, and Murphy snuffled up the crumbs as they hit the floor. “Bob also said we can visit Jessie now,” Stacey said. “I think I’ll call and see if anyone wants to go with me.”

“Oh, gosh. That’s going to be hard.” Her mom grimaced. “Especially for you. You think you’re really ready to see him again? After everything?”

“I think so. I feel like I need to, you know?”

“Just don’t go alone, okay? It might be really emotional.” She leaned over and kissed Stacey’s cheek, then grabbed her keys. “I’ve gotta get to work, but call me if you need to. Love you, Bug.” She headed for the front door.

“Love you, too.” Stacey dropped the crust of her toast for Murphy. “I guess I should change, huh?” She looked down at her red swimsuit and pulled at the loose, faded fabric.

Murphy gnawed the crust out of the side of her mouth, the tags on her collar clinking.

“After all the drama I created about this thing, it’s crazy to think I may never need to wear it again.” Stacey pushed away from the counter and dragged her feet back to her bedroom.

Murphy quickly sniffed the floor one last time for any rogue crumbs, then trotted behind Stacey down the hall.

Crossing the parking lot, Stacey could feel the hot asphalt through her cheap flip-flops.

“Good thing no one brought chocolate,” Tiffany said. “It would melt before we even got inside.” She looped her left arm through Stacey’s, her bag of Red Vines crinkling in her left palm.

Stacey held tightly to the seam of the bag of Cool Ranch Doritos she had in her opposite hand, attempting to keep as many chips unbroken as possible in her meager gift. On Stacey’s left, Melissa gripped a bottle of Mountain Dew between both hands. The trio led the way to the entrance, followed by Chad and Desiree, his arm around her.

Beads of sweat ran down Stacey’s spine. The top of her head burned until the moment they entered the entrance walkway.

“Shade, finally,” Desiree gasped.

The Red Hills Hospital’s large glass doors swooshed open ahead of them, and they stepped inside the frigid, antiseptic-laden air.

“Thank God!” Melissa put her arms out to let the cool air conditioning envelop her, while Tiffany crossed the lobby to ask the front desk receptionist for the room number.

Noting the security guard’s lengthy instructions about lefts and rights down corridors, and the importance of avoiding staff elevators, the group began winding through the building’s long empty hallways.

Stacey wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her purply-gooseflesh, regretting her outfit choice. “It’s freezing in here!” she whispered, although there was no one nearby to disturb.

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