Page 93 of Absorbed

When Melissa exited the guard shack at 11:30 and took Mark’s place in the rotation, she was obviously fuming. Still queasy, Stacey was eager to head inside. Mark handed Melissa his red buoy and megaphone before moving to the deep end tower to take over for Jessie, who in turn made his way to take over for Stacey.

“You okay?” Jessie asked as she climbed unsteadily out of the tower.

“This is just too much. Especially with…EVERYTHING ELSE.My nerves are fried.” She dragged herself inside.

Stacey found a smushed Nutri-Grain bar in the back of her locker and ripped the wrapper open. Nibbling on the mealy snack, she filled her empty 44-ounce Del Taco cup with water and gulped half down, before slumping into the couch. Soaking in the coolness of the office and relative quiet, she closed her eyes.

A loud tap at the pay window interrupted her dozing. She blinked her eyes open and recognized one of the pool’s regulars at the window. The woman was about eighty, with a round, pale face and a lemon-yellow swim cap pulled over her hair, a strap secured beneath her double chin. Stacey stood and pulled open the pay window.

“Can I help you?” Stacey asked groggily.

“It’s so loud out there.” The woman’s voice was high pitched and shaky.” I was afraid you wouldn’t hear me.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. It’s a crazy day.”

“I saw in the paper about the Plunge Olympics. It’s happening for a couple of weeks, right? Will there still be lap swim?”

“Um, yeah… As far as I know.”

“Even today?” the woman asked, eyeing the crowd through the guard shack window.

Stacey leaned back and looked up at the clock on the wall above the window. It was five minutes to twelve. She looked over her shoulder, and could see the winning relay families’ silhouettes through the tinted glass, posing for their photos in front of the guard shack, their backs to her. Parents handed Bob their cameras and he juggled the collection while the newspaper photographer clicked pictures and directed the children to hold up their medals and smile.

“I think they’re just wrapping up,” Stacey said. “I’m sure the pool will be cleared in a few minutes.”

“Okay. Can I pay now?” She showed her three quarters, the senior discounted price for an hour of swimming laps.

“Sure.” Stacey held out her hand and the woman dropped the quarters in. She put the change in the cash box and pushed the window shut as the elderly woman pulled open the door to the girls locker room.

Stacey picked up her cup, gulping what was left of her water. The photo session had wrapped. She perched on the arm of thecouch, watching as Mark and Jessie stood in the towers blowing their whistles, announcing the end of the morning swim session. Bob unlocked the gate, ushering patrons out.

Mark and Jessie climbed down, and along with Melissa, they paced the pool deck encouraging stragglers to climb out and collect their belongings.

Water pooled into a lake at the far end of the deck under the diving blocks, where the relay racers had waited their turns in dripping swimsuits. Bob, Mark, and Jessie trotted around the massive puddles on their way to the guard shack. Melissa took a seat in the tower, and the elderly lap swim woman sat on the edge of the bleachers, removing her orthopedic sandals and housecoat. The woman wore a saggy, faded purple swimsuit that was only a few shades darker than her almost transparent lavender skin.

“Okay!” Bob threw open the door, clapping excitedly, and headed straight for the desk. “That was a great start!”

“Are you kidding me?” Mark stopped in his tracks. “That was a fucking circus!”

Bob turned back, his smile ear to ear. “Come on, Mark! Sure, there are some kinks to iron out, but we haven’t had that kind of a turnout here in two decades!”

There was a metal clicking noise at the pay window. All four of them turned to see another regular: a shriveled bald man with leather skin and an arched back. He showed them his quarters, then set them on the counter.

The man was already headed in through the boys locker room when Bob waved at him. Bob grabbed the quarters and dropped them into the cash box. He turned back to Mark, whose arms were crossed and jaw was set. “This many people coming in for two weeks straight could convince the city this place is worthwhile,” Bob said. “They might even finally refurbish the pool.”

“There’s no safe way to run that many races twice a day and keep free swim open at the same time.” Mark pointed his thumb at Stacey over his shoulder. “Her rescue the other day was with good visuals on all the swimmers. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened today.”

“I agree. Safety first!” Bob said. “We will always have at least four guards on duty. We’ll shut down the shallow end for the second hour of open swim to conduct the races back-to-back. Jessie, Stacey, can you stay on this afternoon in case we need you?”

They both nodded, but gave one another knowing looks.

“Maybe we can get swim team to open the snack bar?” Jessie suggested.

“Great idea. Mark, can you give their director a call? Tell him they can recruit some new swimmers from the events! Let’s get some posters made. List the races and top three swimmers’ names with gold, silver, or red stars next to their times.”

“I can run to Thrifty and grab the poster supplies,” Stacey offered, eyeing Jessie. “I’ll get back before Melissa’s thirty minutes are even up.”

“Yes! Great! Thank you. Jessie, order some pizzas for all of the crew, too. Here,” Bob took his wallet from his back pocket and handed them a few twenties. “Get a bunch. I’m going to run to city hall, see if the mayor can be here for our two hundred freestyle this afternoon!”

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