Absorbed

Chapter Twenty-Seven

T he Plunge reopened a week after Jessie’s accident. But everything was different.

Despite how complimentary The Sun ’s article had been to Mark, he quit working at the pool once the city finished their investigation. None of the staff had seen him since the day of the accident, other than Stacey for the brief moment after her testimony at city hall.

“He needed to move on,” Bob said when anyone asked about Mark.

“That bitch lawyer better not have made him think he did something wrong,” Melissa said. “Mark’s the reason Jessie’s still alive.”

“For the umpteenth time, I told you,” Bob said with exasperation, “she was just doing her job. The investigation determined no one was at fault. The city is closing the facility once summer is over, possibly to renovate or demolish it and build a new pool. Either way, Mark was going to be out of a job and he was ready to move on. I support his decision.”

“Seems like he should have at least said goodbye,” Desiree muttered.

“Yeah, something’s off,” Chad said. “We were friends. Friends don’t just disappear.”

The city canceled the rest of The Plunge Olympics, citing the reduced staff. After the bombing at the Centennial Olympics on Sunday, July 27th, the staff considered the word “Olympics” to be a curse, and forbade anyone from uttering it again at The Plunge. But the damage was done. At most, a dozen swimmers came to the pool on any given day. Often less.

Tiffany was made assistant manager for the remaining few weeks of swim season. That left only four regular guards to work all the open swim morning and afternoon shifts. Lap swim was never reinstated. The new staff safety rules required staff be given extra time to take breaks, eat lunch, and take care of work-related errands.

The following two weeks passed in a haze. Jessie’s guitar stood in the corner of the guard shack and Mark’s wide-brimmed hat sat atop the filing cabinet, both untouched and collecting dust, like monuments to their absence.

“They’re definitely gonna tear this place down. Soon,” Chad said on Thursday night as the team pulled the covers over the pool. “Look around, ladies. We are The Plunge’s last lifeguards.”

“A new facility could be way better, though.” Stacey pushed the empty cover cart against the wall. “Imagine how Mesa Valley would benefit from a pool twice this size, with retractable safety covers, vacuums that ran at night, and handicap access.”

Tiffany flipped off the pool lights and locked the doors to the pump and chemical rooms. “It would be better, but something like that takes years to build. I learned to swim in this pool. I can’t even count the number of races I competed in here as a kid. It’s just hard to imagine it not being around anymore.”

“What if they turned this place into a skate park?” Desiree asked. “That could be cool.”

Chad held open the door to the guard shack for them, and the girls filed inside. “Jess would love that. He partied here enough with his buddies at night, it might as well have been a skate park already.”

Stacey remembered the way Jessie reacted to Melissa’s conniption fit about the mess on the morning after the Fourth of July. Stacey had suspected it was Jessie and his friends who’d been there drinking and setting off fireworks. “Has anyone talked to any of those guys?” she asked. “I hope Jessie can have regular visitors soon. His skater friends are more like family than his dad is.”

“So are we!” Desiree whined, grabbing her keys and towel, then shutting her locker. “It’s too quiet around here without Jessie or Mark.”

Stacey nodded. “Yeah, we were together practically every day for two months, and then suddenly they aren’t here anymore. It’s totally bizarre.”

“That was the saddest part last year.” Tiffany leaned against the desk and looked around, her eyes glassy. “I was like you, Stacey; the only lifeguard still in high school. The whole crew left for college at the end of summer and the only two I ever saw again were Mark and Bob. Now Mark and Jess are gone, and The Plunge might close forever. It feels like losing my home.”

Desiree and Stacey enclosed Tiffany in a group hug.

“We won’t abandon you, Tiffany,” Desiree said. “Even though school starts soon, we’ll stay in touch.”

“Hope so.” Tiffany squeezed each of them around the waist.

“We still need to have our girls’ night!” Stacey looked at Desiree. “We need to talk to Melissa. Figure out a time we can do it.”

“For sure!” Desiree agreed. “I’ll call her when I get home.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come ooon.” Chad slumped against the doorframe, his hand on the light switches. “It’s late. Let’s get out of here.”

The girls parted. They turned off the guard shack lights and locked the office doors behind them. The other three stood around Tiffany as she locked the outside door, then they all headed for their cars.

On Friday, August 9th, Stacey’s home phone rang at seven thirty in the morning.

“I have good news and bad news,” Bob said when she picked up.

Stacey was making toast before work, already dressed in her red swimsuit. “What’s the good news?” She slathered butter on the toasted sourdough, cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder.

“Jessie is allowed visitors now. You guys can all go see him.”

“That’s great!” Then Stacey’s stomach dropped, and she braced herself against the counter. “So…what’s the bad news?”

“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.

“Suck it up, Chapman,” Chad said.

“It’s just because it’s so hot outside.” Melissa bumped her upper arm against Stacey’s in encouragement. “You’ll get used to it.” Their footsteps echoed through the hallways.

Exiting the elevator on the third floor, they were met with muted beeping sounds from various blinking machines and the squeaking wheels of the janitor’s garbage bin.

“These rooms are so dark, it’s sad. Why are all the curtains drawn?” Stacey whispered.

“Keeps the rooms cool. Bacteria spreads faster when it’s too warm,” Melissa said.

They arrived at Jessie’s room as an orderly was carrying out a still mostly full lunch tray of clear soup, red Jell-o, and apple juice. The small, round woman smiled at them, her crooked teeth adding a familiar charm to her kind face. “‘He could use some visitors!”

Jessie’s blinds were also drawn, and he gazed blankly at The Price Is Right on the snowy screen. A thick, white brace spanned his shoulders and chest. Metal rods ran upward from the brace to a halo around his skull, supporting his neck with screws attached to the sides of his head.

Chad led their group in as Bob Barker announced, “Come on down!” to a clapping TV audience.

Jessie’s eyes shifted to see who had entered his room. His body lay still.

“Hi Jessie!” Tiffany waved enthusiastically, living up to her role as The Plunge’s pep-commissioner.

They surrounded Jessie like he was a wounded bird. Chad and Desiree stood at his right side, and Tiffany hovered on Jessie’s left, while Melissa and Stacey stood at the foot of the bed.

“Hey,” Jessie’s throat scratched out through his dry lips. He managed a meager grin. His eyes lit up as he took them all in. The scrapes on his forehead had healed to a baby pink, the scar on his nose a fine line, and his skin was pale. Purple moons hung under his eyes, emphasizing his sunken cheeks, and his shaggy blonde hair was dingy with oil.

“We’ve missed you so much!” Tiffany leaned over the bedrail and gave him a gentle embrace, maneuvering around all the medical devices and apparatuses. She set her Red Vines on a small, beige, wheeled table hovering over Jessie’s lap.

The other guards added their offerings to the pile: a colorful array of chips, soda, and candy. Stacey worried Jessie wasn’t allowed any of it, based on the untouched tray of liquids that had just been wheeled out, but Jessie smiled dimly at the stash of contraband. “Thanks.”

“Looking good, man.” Chad gripped the bed-rail with both hands. “Anything worthwhile on TV?”

“Sure,” Jessie breathed out. Unable to move his head, he smiled, straining to look Chad in the eyes. “Mexican soap operas.”

“I hear those are way sexier than American soaps,” Desiree said. “You know, you could totally pass as a hot patient on General Hospital .”

The other girls grinned and nodded, chuckling nervously.

“Except those patchy face-pubes make you look like Beavis.” Chad brushed a finger against Jessie’s chin.

“Shut up, Butthead,” Jessie managed.

They all laughed. For a brief moment, the teasing felt almost normal.

Stacey squeezed her arms tighter around herself.

“Stacey, take that blanket,” Jessie said. “The one on my feet.”

Stacey shook her head and dropped her arms to her sides. “No, no, no. I’m fine.”

“You’re cold.” He sounded sincerely concerned. “Might as well take it. I can’t feel anything anyway.”

And there it was. The uncomfortable truth. Stacey’s eyes misted.

Tiffany went to the window and opened the blinds.“This’ll help.” She was careful not to let the sunlight shine directly in Jessie’s face. “See, it’s cheerier in here already.”

The heat of the sun immediately warmed the room.

On the nightstand next to Jessie was the newspaper article about the accident. There was also a generic rainbow “Get well soon” greeting card, a bouquet of wilting daisies with mossy green water, and a yellow smiling sun balloon that barely floated. Stacey pointed to crayon-drawn cards taped to the wall behind her, just past the foot of Jessie’s bed. “Where did these come from?”

“Bob dropped ‘em off.” Jessie coughed weakly. “Kids left them at the pool for me.”

There were pictures of flowers, hearts, smiley faces and rainbows, and one of a stick figure in red shorts with a gold medal that said, “You’re my hero!”

“Those belly flop kids keep coming in, asking about you,” Desiree said. “Chad gave one $5 for managing a perfect backflop last night.”

“It was epic.” Chad beamed. “Never saw a kid so confidently do a backward swan dive like that and never break.”

Jessie’s grin faded. “Bob said The Plunge is shutting down for good?”

“Maybe not,” Tiffany said. “They might just renovate it.”

“It hasn’t been the same without you.” Melissa’s words eeked out, releasing a flood of her tears. “I’m so sorry, Jessie!”

Stacey bit her lip and put an arm around Melissa.

“It’s not your fault.” Jessie’s nostrils flexed and his eyes welled up.

Chad looked around at the girls who had all started to weep. “We just hate that this happened to you, Jess. But…you’ll be back on your board before you know it.”

Jessie focused his gaze on the ceiling, and over a minute passed as tears fell silently down his cheeks.

Melissa’s crying intensified. Desiree took her hand and led her out to the hall.

“We should let Jessie rest,” Tiffany said, wiping her own tears away.

Chad nodded in agreement, and Tiffany went back to close the blinds again.

Stacey squeezed Jessie’s foot, then turned to follow them.

“Stace…wait,” Jessie breathed out. “Can we…talk?”

Stacey nodded at Tiffany and Chad. They pulled the door closed behind them. She moved to Jessie’s side. She perched carefully on the edge of his bed, and took hold of his left hand, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Jessie took slow breaths with his eyes closed. Stacey assumed he was trying to get his tears to stop. Sitting in the silence alone with him made her uncomfortable.

“I, um, grabbed your guitar when I got my stuff from The Plunge this morning,” she rambled, wiping her nose between her fingers. “I have it in my car. Want me to drop it by your apart—”

“Keep it,” Jessie said.

“No way! I can just drop it off with your brother or something.”

“I can’t play anymore. I want you to have it. You love music. You should learn to play. Give my board to Chad.”

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, dripping onto her skin above the scoop neck of her tank top. “This is all my fault,” she said quietly.

Jessie furrowed his brow, confused.

“You were guarding because of me. I should have been in that chair.” She wiped at the damp splashes on her collarbone, the motion doing nothing to slow the pounding of her heart.

“No, you couldn’t be in the tower because of me.” Jessie closed his eyes. “That was my fault. Are you…okay?”

Stacey bit her lip and shrugged.

“I mean, are you…pregnant?”

A lump formed in Stacey’s throat. She swallowed hard and shook her head.

“Thank God.” He closed his eyes again. For a moment they both let the relief wash over them.

Stacey wiped her face with the back of her hand. Jessie stared intensely at her.

“Thank you,” he said, searching her eyes, “for saving my life.”

“I… I didn’t,” Stacey mumbled, surprised. “Mark did…”

“I know. But, you did, too. And Melissa.”

Stacey nodded.

Two of his fingers twitched against Stacey’s palm and her heart leapt. “Your fingers!” She gripped his hand tighter.

“They do that. The doctors say it might be a good sign.” Jessie sighed, rolling his eyes, then looked at Stacey again. “Where’s Mark?”

“I don’t know. He quit. None of us has seen or heard from him for more than two weeks.”

“Tell Mark to come here.”

“But…we don’t…”

“Please, Stace…” Jessie seemed weak and tired. “I need to see him.”

“Okaaayyy.” Stacey wasn’t sure how, but didn’t want to argue with Jessie in his fragile state.

“Promise me.” His fingers twitched again in Stacey’s hand.

She looked into Jessie’s crystal blue eyes. “I will. I promise.”

“Don’t worry, Stace. I’m a fucking warrior, just like that coyote. This won’t stop me.”

Stacey thought of the animal that had stood so proudly in front of them, and nodded. “You are a fucking warrior. Nothing can keep you down.” She squeezed his hand.

“Get Melissa?”

“Sure.” She squeezed Jessie’s hand one last time. Without thinking, she leaned down and kissed his cheek. She tasted the salt from his tears on her lips as she looked one last time into his eyes. Then she let go of his hand and stepped into the hall.

“Melissa,” Stacey said, leaving the door open behind her. “Jessie wants to talk to you.”

Melissa had calmed and wiped her cheeks. She let go of Desiree’s hand and crossed the hall into Jessie’s room, closing the door behind her with a gentle click.

Stacey turned to Chad and Tiffany. ”Do you have any idea how we might be able to get ahold of Mark?”

“His number was at The Plunge,” Tiffany said. “But when I tried calling, no one picked up, and there wasn’t a machine.”

“Do you think we could find his address in the phone book?” Stacey asked.

Tiffany shook her head. “They’re unlisted.”

“He took me by his house once,” Chad said. “It’s near the golf course. I don’t totally remember how to get there, but we could drive around until we find it.”

“Jessie really wants to talk to him.” Stacey gestured over her shoulder. “He made me promise to ask Mark to come visit.”

Chad nodded, pulling his keys from his pocket. “Desiree can take my car, and I could go look for Mark with you.”

Stacey looked at Desiree. “Do you mind?”

Desiree shook her head. “Not at all. I can take Melissa and Tiffany home.”

Tiffany nodded. “When you find Mark, tell him to call me, too.”

Chad handed Desiree the keys. “If Jessie’s still awake, tell him we went to find Mark for him, okay?”

The girls nodded. Stacey headed for the elevator.

Chad kissed Desiree quickly, then trotted to catch up with Stacey. “Let’s go.”