Chapter 41
Towards the end of June, the heat began to ratchet up with the longer days.
‘Told you folks would want to cool off in our lovely lake,’ said Walter, as he stood next to Alex on the small beach.
Alex smiled his agreement but didn’t feel like reminding Walter of his objections to the water sports centre. In fact, the pensioner seemed to positively revel in the daily activities.
Walter was a secondary lifeguard in the mornings, keeping watch on the busiest swimming sessions from his position on the jetty. Then, in the afternoons, he would keep busy in his workshop.
More picnic tables and even a couple of benches had appeared over the past couple of weeks and all the swimmers were taking advantage of a sit down after their dip in the water.
‘I was thinking that perhaps we could add some sort of low shelving unit over there,’ carried on Walter, turning around to point at an empty spot near the water’s edge. ‘I’ve been watching and some people want a place to pop their bags and shoes in.’
‘That sounds great,’ replied Alex, grateful for both the fresh ideas and the support.
In fact, all the Jackson family were revelling in the success of the water sports.
Faye and Frankie were taking turns to man the reception booth.
Word had also spread about the snug and Frankie had been telling Alex the previous evening that the weekend had been their busiest nights since opening.
Meanwhile, Ben and Lily had both mentioned the uptick in bookings as word had spread about the hotel from visitors.
Then there was the queen of the swim club, Dotty. She was a positive life force, always around during the swimming sessions to encourage any nervous newcomers, both young and old.
All in all, the water sports centre had turned out to be a huge success and it had given him a sense of fulfilment that he had never imagined. He found that he garnered the most pleasure from the more reluctant swimmers.
‘There’s no rush,’ he would tell them. ‘Go at your own pace. You can be as slow or as fast as you like. Just take your time and enjoy yourself.’
Over the days and weeks, Alex watched with pride as the hesitant swimmers’ confidence began to soar.
‘It’s my favourite part of the day,’ one elderly gentleman told him. ‘Gets me out of the house, to be honest.’
‘I’ve always felt a bit vulnerable because of my size,’ one larger lady had said. ‘Now I don’t give two hoots what I look like. I’m just enjoying it too much to care what other people think of me.’
‘Work is so stressful,’ a younger man told him. ‘This just takes me away from all that and I just focus on swimming and being in the here and now.’
Alex had been both amazed and thrilled with all the positive reactions.
Everyone felt differently about their experiences in the water but the sense of satisfaction and overall well-being was the same for each person.
He was beginning to realise just how much the swimming clubs meant to them and how much enjoyment that in turn gave him as well.
Alex placed the paddleboard in the water and looked down at Tiny.
‘So are you coming with me?’ he asked.
The puppy recognised the familiar words and threw himself at the paddleboard, landing far more gracefully than his bulky weight suggested or indeed Alex would have thought.
‘You’re getting better at this than I am,’ Alex told him.
But he couldn’t help but smile at the dog as he too climbed onto the paddleboard from the jetty.
He was really enjoying having a dog. The company was nice but also the dog was benefitting from all the training and commands and was growing into a delightful companion.
He was a gentle soon-to-be giant with both young and old.
Children delighted him with their shrieks of laughter as he bounded in and out of the water and older, more cautious hotel guests found themselves unable to stop patting him or stroking his thick fur when he was sprawled out in the middle of the entrance hall.
‘Morning, Alex, morning, Tiny,’ said Maud, who had only just arrived for her second week of swimming club.
‘Morning, Maud,’ said Alex. ‘How are you today?’
‘Battling on,’ said Maud, with a smile.
She was at least seventy years old and Alex knew that she had a number of health issues. And yet she had already told him that she had slept better after last week’s swim out on the lake than she had done in years.
Dotty had also told him that Maud had been widowed the previous summer and had become somewhat of a recluse in her grief. With Dotty’s gentle encouragement, Maud had finally joined what they had named ‘The Old Girls’ Swimming Club’ and was promising to keep coming twice a week.
‘Water looks perfect,’ she told him.
‘A balmy 22 degrees,’ he replied.
‘And clean as a whistle too,’ she said, peering down at her feet in the water.
As Maud waded into the lake, Alex steadied himself with the paddle and, with Tiny sprawled on the front of the board as a fluffy mast, they headed out.
It really was a glorious day, thought Alex. He had the headspace now to be able to enjoy it and not think about timings and training and all the pressures that had smothered him when he had been competing.
He had had no idea how tense he must have been all those years. But day by day, he could feel how relaxed he had become. How much he was enjoying each and every day. How much time he had to take for himself.
He paddled out past the shallow water and on to deeper depths where the water became a little bit darker. He wanted to check the rope line to ensure that both the paddleboarders and swimmers were safe and kept separate.
A few swimmers had already completed a couple of laps, their bright swimming caps and floats highlighting where they were. Alex knew them and that they were more than competent but still he kept an eye on both them and Maud as she began a more gentle circuit.
Noting some rope had become tangled with a bit of weed, he paddled over and bent down to correct it. Carefully standing back up again, he thought back to how unsteady he had been in those first early practices and how much Hannah had laughed with him.
He was still enjoying her company and yet there seemed to be a distance between them that he couldn’t understand.
He was still puzzling over what might have happened when Tiny suddenly barked and sat up, almost unbalancing Alex, who just about kept his balance to stay standing on the board.
Imagining it was a duck or goose nearby, Alex glanced around. But Tiny barked again and all of Alex’s attention was focused on Maud, who Tiny was barking at.
Instantly Alex could see her struggling to breathe and paddled quickly over to where she was splashing around in the water, looking panicked. He jumped in next to her, reaching for the lifebuoy that he had placed on the back of the paddleboard and placing it over her.
‘Hang on,’ he said, letting go of the board and holding on to both the buoy and Maud to start to take her towards the shore.
‘Can’t breathe,’ she gasped.
‘It’s OK,’ he told her, gently turning her onto her back and pulling her back quickly across the water towards the beach.
On the beach, he could see Dotty and some other swimmers had gathered by the shore in a group and were looking concerned.
When his feet finally reached the sandy bottom, Alex continued to pull Maud out of the water.
‘What is it?’ asked Dotty, as Alex removed the lifebuoy from her to lay her gently on the sand.
‘Inhaler,’ gasped Maud, lifting a finger to point at a bag nearby.
‘She’s got asthma,’ said Dotty, rushing over to feel around in the bag.
When the inhaler was produced, they gently sat Maud up a little, with her leaning on Alex, and she took a couple of puffs from the inhaler.
As Maud held up a thumbs-up to say that she was beginning to feel better, Alex suddenly realised that he had abandoned Tiny on the paddleboard.
He looked back at the lake to check the dog was OK, figuring that he would still be cast adrift where he had left him.
But to his amazement, Tiny was in the water and had the long lead of the paddleboard in his mouth and was gently pulling it back to the beach.
‘Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,’ muttered Walter, who had just joined them and had noticed Tiny as well.
As Tiny reached the beach, he let go of the paddleboard, which one of the other swimmers brought ashore.
After a dramatic shaking of his coat, Tiny padded over and slumped next to where Alex was still kneeling on the ground.
‘Sorry about that,’ said Maud, looking up at him and still looking a little red in the face. ‘Haven’t had an attack for ages.’
‘It’s fine,’ said Alex. ‘Let’s just sit here quietly for a little while whilst you get your breath back.’
‘And he means literally,’ added Dotty, with a grin. Although she was looking somewhat relieved. ‘Think we’ll need something stronger in our post-swim coffee this morning,’ she said to Hannah as she rushed up to them, looking concerned.
‘What’s happened?’ she asked. ‘I heard Tiny barking and then saw everyone gathered here.’
‘Maud had an asthma attack in the water,’ Dotty told her granddaughter. ‘Alex saved her.’
‘I think “save” is perhaps an over-dramatic way of saying that I helped her to shore,’ said Alex. ‘And actually the hero of the day was Tiny. He barked when he saw Maud in distress.’
‘Good boy,’ murmured Maud, reaching out to stroke the dog’s wet head.
‘Extra treats for Tiny later,’ said Dotty.
The dog’s ears perked up at his favourite word and his tongue lolled out in anticipation.
‘Well, as long as you’re both all right,’ said Hannah, looking from Maud to Alex.
He nodded at her to say that he was fine.
He was a little shaken after the dramatic encounter in the past half an hour and yet grateful that he had insisted on all the safety measures that he had put in place.
Also that he had been studying the lifeguard practices for saving and helping people in distress in the water.
It had been worth all the reading and studying to be able to help Maud that morning.
When she was ready, they gently helped Maud to her feet and took her into the Boathouse Café for a reviving drink.
Finally, Alex could relax and leant against his lifeguard chair with a heavy sigh of relief.
‘Are you OK?’
He looked up to see Hannah nearby and realised that she had stayed behind, concerned about him.
‘A little shaken,’ he told her. ‘But I was just grateful that I was there to help.’
‘So are we,’ she replied.
She hesitated before stepping forward to give him a hug.
‘And you are a hero,’ he heard her murmur into his shoulder before stepping back. ‘No matter what you say.’
She appeared to hesitate before she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek before walking away towards the boathouse. And that was the greatest prize of all, he realised.