Page 17 of Beyond the Stroke

“What’s the damage?” I ask, knowing she’s right. There’s what happened and then there’s what people, mostly the media, portray.

“You’re the golden boy of swimming, a national hero, and while the media has always loved you, they can turn quickly.” She sighs. “I can deal with the media, but unfortunately, I can’t deal with your mom.”

“She called you?” I groan, stopping in front of the library to take in the familiar brick building with its white and green striped canvas awnings. I’ve already heard from my parents regarding the mermaid incident, my mom leaving me several voice messages about it.

“Yes. And unlike you, I picked up.”

“Hey. That was your choice.”

“I’m a publicist, it’s never a good look to avoid people.”

“What did you tell her?” I ask, curious.

“That it was an act of heroism. A battle with wet Lycra that required your specific skill set. She wanted to know if there was anything going on between you and the woman.”

“No. I don’t even know her name. She disappeared before I got it.”

“Seriously? The photos had me thinking you were on a first name basis.”

“We were interrupted by the club’s security officer.”

“Yeah, I got that part.” She laughs.

“Interrupted before I could get hername.”

“So, the mermaid thing. Is this a fetish I need to be concerned about?”

“She was dressed up for a child’s birthday party. I was helping her take off her mermaid tail.”

“Hmm. It looked like you were helping her with more than that.”

“I thought you called to help me navigate this.”

“Okay, I’ll stop teasing. I can put out a statement that you were lending a helpful hand, but that’s the extent of the situation. Or, I can say no comment, which everyone knows means something is up.”

“Is there a third option?” I ask.

“I know the situation with your parents and your ex has been a source of distraction for you, so why not create a counter distraction?”

“What do you mean?”

“Embrace the mermaid. Oh, and Hydra-Fuel reached out yesterday.”

“Why didn’t you lead with that?”

“I like to get the unpleasant stuff out of the way first. It makes the good stuff that much better. You know, work out first, then eat cake. That kind of thing.”

“So, Hydra-Fuel, huh?”

Swimming isn’t hockey or football. There are no multi-million-dollar contracts being signed. So, unless you’re sponsored, you’re paying out of pocket for coaching, gear, and travel.

When I thought my career was over last year, several of my sponsorships ended. A long-time contract with AquaEdge, a high-performance swim gear line, as well as endorsement deals with Visa and Colgate. Vivi’s been working on a Hydra-Fuel endorsement and it sounds like things are getting finalized.

“They want to shoot in a few weeks. A montage of you swimming and working out in various ways. Should be an easy campaign.”

“Sounds good.” I temper my response, but the reality is it feels fucking amazing to still be wanted by major corporations. “I’ll have my legal team review the contract. I’m sure they’ll have some feedback.”

“I’ll forward it to everyone.”

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