Page 63 of Suddenly Entwined

I haul ass through the doors that lead directly to the lobby, Louisa’s bare feet slapping along next to me as we reach the desk.

“Hi, I was told I could get a suit here?”

The receptionist points me toward a rack of colourful clothing.

“Great, c’mon, Lou.”

I rifle through the rack, trying to find a medium or large top so I won’t be putting the goods on display during a seven year old’s swim lesson. These are the least practical styles I can imagine for a recreation centre. Who ordered this stuff? Where are the one pieces? Why does this bikini bottom look like it has enough cheek coverage for a toddler? I sigh, acutely aware that her lesson is beginning and return to the desk with my purchases.

“That will be one hundred eighty two dollars even, please.”

If my mouth wasn’t so dry from the sweltering temperature, I’d choke on my spit. I can’t afford that. I remember Berg’s credit card tucked into my wallet, but I could never charge something like this to it.

“Do you have anything…less expensive?”

The woman glances up from her screen, pushes back her rolling chair, and produces a white plastic laundry basket from beneath the desk.

“Lost and found,” she says, matter of factly.

***

This is what rock bottom feels like. I hold Lou’s hand firmly in what I tell myself is a safety precaution, but it’s really for moral support. Because I’m currently wearing an awning made of Lycra. There’s a skirt grazing my knees, attached to the top of the one piece. There’s ruching, so much ruching, that is adding inches of unnecessary volume to my waist. And for how much fabric this thing contains, it’s doing fuck all to support the girls. I feel dozens of eyes upon me as I speed walk past the parents whose children are old enough that they have the luxury of sitting there on their phones in their dry, non-borrowed clothing. A shrill whistle startles me, and I’m utterly horrified when Louisa’s swim instructor points at me and yells, “Walking feet!”

Nope. Now I’ve found the bottom. I need a heavy object, some rope, and a diving board. Stat.

I sink into the cool water with Louisa and the other parents. All except one are ignoring me. I get it. I wouldn’t want to look at this either. The skirt swirls heavily around my legs as I adjust my right boob. Louisa loves the water, and I forget all about what I’m wearing when I see her execute a perfect back float.After that they practise rocket ship glides and we sing some song about a tiny turtle that everyone else seems to know the words to. Thirty minutes flies by and before I know it we’re climbing back out of the pool to meet Natalie.

“Can we swim a bit longer?” Natalie asks, hands clasped tight beneath her chin.

Then Lou chimes in with the puppy dog eyes. “Yes! Please, can we?”

“Is that allowed?”

“Yes!” They chorus.

Despite my unfortunate attire, we have a blast. I get my arm workout in by launching them across the pool the best I can. I bet Berg can get them twice as high. Another mom, Sage, and her daughter that were also in Louisa’s lesson stay behind to swim too. She seems to be around my age, and I’m beyond jealous of her cute black one piece with the low scooped back and flattering neckline. I wipe water from my eyes after a splash from the girls.

“I’m just the nanny,” I tell her. “I had no idea I’d need to get into the pool today.”

“Just?” she asks, tipping her head. “These girls seem pretty full on.”

“They are. But I’m really loving it so far.”

She glances down at the floral print adorning my breasts.

“Do you like my new suit?” I ask her, managing to keep a straight face for all of three seconds.

At her mortified expression I burst into laughter.

“I’m messing with you. I had to take this out of the lost and found.”

Her mouth falls open. “Girl, you’re notjustthe nanny. You couldn’t pay me to put on something that had been all up in some other ladies business.”

“That…had not occurred to me until now. Thank you for that visual.”

“Piper and Lou actually go to the same school. She’s in Kindergarten, though.”

“Oh? I had no idea.”

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