Wings Away

It was one of the dog days of summer in Greenville, N.C., with ‘excessive heat’ health advisories issued. Lizzie planned to spend most of the day in her new in-ground fiberglass pool. She’d invited a few friends to join her for a swim followed by a cookout.

Cordelia, the youngest member of the group, was the first to arrive. Her ankle-length caftan was covered with large tropical flowers and her hair was piled high on her head and wrapped tightly with a wide strip of matching fabric. She flung the caftan onto a chair, revealing her generous figure. She gingerly dipped her pink-painted toenails into the water, planting her foot on the highest step. In seconds she was fully immersed. Her voice warbled. “This is lovely!” She delicately positioned herself on a floating chair and pushed off to the center of the pool.

Dorothea was the next to arrive. She looked anxiously at the water, but gamely approached it. Lizzie tapped her shoulder moments before Dorothea arrived at the pool wall. “I’ve got something for you. It’s a waist belt that I use for jogging in the deep end. It’ll help you stay afloat so that you don’t have to remain in the shallow end or grip the perimeter platform. It’s fully adjustable, and I’m hoping it will give you the peace of mind to float in the water.”

“Max didn’t want me to come. He was very worried about my going in a pool without him,” she offered.

“I didn’t know he felt that way. I wish he’d come with you,” said Lizzie.

Dorothea shrugged. “You know Max. He’s not much for mixing with people. He was worried about being the only man here. Is your husband going to be here?”

“I wish. But. No, he’s working all day.”

Lizzie helped Dorothea buckle up the waist belt and watched her bob in the water. The belt kept her upright so that her upper body remained above the surface. In an unexpected display of independence, Dorothea raised her hands above her head and let out a victory whoop. She looked at Cordelia using her hands to lazily propel the floating chair. “I’m coming to you,” she cried, placing her hands on top of the water and pushing them outward to help move her along.

Danica and Prince, her son, were the last guests to arrive. She was tall and slender. Her shoulder-length dreadlocks were loosely gathered together and pulled back. Prince was three years old, and his skin was a rich coffee color coveted by models. “He’s been clamoring to go swimming since I mentioned the pool to him,” said Danica.

As if on cue, Prince peeled off his shirt and shorts and jumped onto the top step of the pool, preparing to lift off. His mother’s hands caught him around the waist before he could make contact with the water. “He can’t swim but has no fear. I’ll watch him very carefully,” she promised.

Lizzie pulled a pair of arm floaties out of a bag filled with water toys. “These will help him stay above the water. He’ll be able to float safely.”

Prince was impatient to try out the flotation devices. “I want to swim,” he thundered.

Dorothea smiled apologetically at her hostess. Lizzie could appreciate the strain of being a single, working parent raising a child on her own. Lizzie gestured toward a table. “Why don’t you grab a drink and a piece of fruit from the tray? Relax for a few minutes. Let me take Prince. I’ll make sure he’s safe.”

Lizzie stepped into the water and adjusted the inflatable armbands on Prince’s upper arms. As he jumped off the step, she sprang forward and caught him. He laughed and called out to his mother. “More, more,” he demanded. For the next fifteen minutes, Lizzie gently grabbed him around the waist and returned him to the steps every time he jumped.

When he fingered a purple noodle, Lizzie asked if he wanted a ride around the pool. “You’ll have to hold on tightly. Are you big enough to do this? We’re going to be going fast.”

She took his laugh as consent. Lizzie grabbed the noodle, remaining about a foot away from her charge. She pulled the noodle through the water, traversing the shallow end. Prince squealed in delight, a smile lighting up his face.

Lizzie was so lost in Prince’s world of wonder that she didn’t hear Danica calling her name. She flinched when Cordelia touched her arm and pointed. “Lizzie, look up. At your side fence.”

Two teenage girls were peering over the fence. “We want to swim in your pool,” said one. “Now,” said the other.

Lizzie didn’t know what to do. The neighbors had rebuffed her since they moved in. They’d declined to open the door when she brought them a fruit basket to welcome them to the neighborhood. And they hadn’t responded to her multiple written invitations to a cookout and pool party.

She shrugged. Perhaps these were the neighbor’s kids. If she could establish a relationship with them, she might be able to get to know their parents.

“Ok, you can join us. Bring your towels. I’ll meet you at the door to the gate.”

When the girls came to the gate, Lizzie was taken aback to see a third person with them.

“We’re supposed to be babysitting him,” said one by way of explanation.

After instructing their brother to sit on the edge of the pool step and not to move from there, they swam to the end of the pool. Lizzie approached the little boy.

“Welcome to my place. What’s your name and how old are you?” she asked.

He remained silent, his big eyes staring at the other end of the pool.

He was dressed in what appeared to be his underwear and an oversize faded white undershirt that was way too big for him. “Do you know how to swim?”

“He dunno how to swim. We tol’ him to sit there,” shouted the two girls.

The little boy’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. Lizzie knew she could not leave him on his own, not just because he didn’t know how to swim. “I’m going to hold you and we will walk into the water.” She scooped him up and held him so that his feet could dip into the water. Then she twirled. He broke into laughter and made eye contact with her.

“I don’t have a children’s life jacket but I’m going to get you to slide onto this board and grip the edges with your hands. I’ll be holding the board and towing you across the pool. Do you want to move through the water like a big fish?”

He smiled at her and grabbed onto the board. “That’s it. Now hold on because we’re going for a ride!”

After his first time across the pool, she noticed that he was kicking his feet. “You’re doing great, almost swimming on your own. I’m sure your mom would be proud of you.”

Forty minutes passed. Lizzie felt bad for the boy, but felt she was ignoring her guests.

“Girls, it’s time for you to go home. We’ll be eating soon. You need to go now.”

They silently exited the pool and grabbed their towels. Almost as an afterthought, they collected their charge.

“You can come back for another swim providing your mother tells me she has given you permission to come over,” said Lizzie.

The weeks flew by. Many more pool parties were held. The same neighbors remained living in the house next door, but neither the children nor their mother ever knocked on Jeannie’s door.