It was a sticky, hot day. The kind of humid day where your skin seems to stick to everything. The temperature was in the high 90’s and we had two electric box fans going, one upstairs in the hallway and one blowing in the TV room. Suzanne  made chicken salad sandwiches, coleslaw and potato salad for lunch. After eating, I sat back in my thrift store, reclining chair, wearing a white tank top and grey shorts, sipping a big glass of ice tea. Buddy lay at my feet, right in front of the  fan with Bella, who was letting her Barbie doll’s hair blow in the breeze. Sam was stretched out on the couch wearing only his gym shorts.  Suzanne had just sat down in the rocker as I was flipping through the channels.  I happened to stop on a channel playing Terminator 2.

“Hey! Can we watch this?” said Sam, excitedly.

“Yeah, can we Travis?” said Bella, turning towards me.

“Sure, sounds fine to me.”

Bella looked towards the door and yelled, “Hank! Terminator 2 is on. You wanna watch it?”

Hank yelled back from the porch swing, “Nahhhh, it’s way too hot in there.”

We were about 15 minutes into the show when the phone rang. Sam got up and answered it.

“Mom! Aunt Cindy’s on the phone.”

Suzanne took the phone and Sam plopped back down on the couch. “Yeah…Okay… No we just ate…hmmm, maybe, well,…let me ask them. Hey, Cindy wants to know if we would like to go swimming at Lake Carnico this afternoon. She and Arnie are going.”

“Me me me!” yelled Bella, waving her hands from the floor.

“Yeah, I wanna go too,” said Sam, jumping to his feet and stretching.

“Yeah Bella and Sam want to go…Sure…okay…meet you there in about 45 minutes. Great. Hey Travis, Arnie wants to know if you want to come along?”

“Uhh, yeah, maybe I guess so.”

“He said maybe…Great. See you there. Bye.”

“Hank!!!! Hank! We’re going swimming at Lake Carnico! You coming aren’t you?” screamed Bella, all excited.

Hank came walking in from the porch ignoring her question.

Sam ran to the phone. “I’m gonna call Brittany and see if she can meet me there okay?”

“Yeah, I suppose. So how is she going to get there?” said Suzanne.

“She just got her driver’s license and can borrow her mom’s car,” said Sam, already dialing the number.

“Do I have to go? I really don’t like the water all that much,” said Hank, shaking his head side to side in disapproval.

“You don’t have to go honey, but it would be nice if we could all be there. Maybe we can go to the Dairy Queen afterwards. Would you like that?”said Suzanne.

“He just don’t want anyone to see his bird chest! ha ha,” Sam chuckled, looking up from the phone.

Hank scrunched up his face when he heard Sam say that.

“Sam, apologize to Hank! That wasn’t very nice,” said Suzanne, raising her voice.

“I‘m sorry Hank. You really take things way too seriously geesh!”

Bella ran up the stairs. “I’m gonna put on my swimsuit.”

I heard the conversation and said, “Hank, I got teased a lot when I was your age, also.”  

“Really?” Hank said, looking at me surprised.

“What did they tease you for Travis?”

“Well for the longest time, I was the shortest boy in my class and I was terribly thin. In PE class they would choose up sides and I was the one they always picked last. I was just a late bloomer. I finally grew taller by the end of 10th grade. My dad made me join football, but at the time I hated it.”

“Wow, it’s hard to imagine you getting teased in school,” said Hank.  

“Oh man, I was a total geek, but things got so much better once I graduated.”

“Well, we best get ready. Can I talk you into going with us Hank?” said Suzanne.

“Yeah,I guess so.”

Bella came running down the stairs. “Mom, can we call Ben and see if he wants to come too?”

I spoke up and said, “Mmmm, I don’t know if that is such a good idea.”

Suzanne looked a bit puzzled.

“Ha ha ha! Oh My God! You’re right, Travis. That would be too funny!” said Sam, who caught on to what I was getting at.

“Okay, I don’t understand. Why is it such a bad idea to ask Ben to come along? Isn’t he your best friend Travis?”said Suzanne, acting all concerned.

“Well, he is my best friend, but…(sigh) They tend to do things a bit differently where he comes from. I don’t want him to get into trouble.”

Suzanne looked very confused and scrunched her eyes and shook her head, “What! Why would he?”

“Ha ha ha He’s a nudist Mom! He said he doesn’t believe in going swimming with clothes on.”

“What’s a nudist?” said Bella.

Suzanne’s eyebrows went up and a bit of a smile crept across her face. “Oh my.”

“What’s a nudist, Mom?” said Bella, repeating the question.

“Uhhh well they uhhh…” she mumbled.

“They like to walk around naked!” Sam blurted out. “Every time we would go fishing, he’d take off all his clothes and swim in the cold water naked. He said it was a spiritual thing. He’d also kiss fish on the head after he caught ‘em. He said it was honoring their lives or something. He’s a true hippy, Mom.”

“Yeah, it’s all true,” I said, “But you won’t meet a nicer, kinder guy than Ben. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. I’d rather not see him get into any trouble with the law for being naked.”

“Yeah, he is a good guy, Mom, just a little different,” said Sam.

“O’kay,…Now that that is settled we best be gettin’ ready to go. Cindy’s gonna be waiting on us,” said Suzanne, heading for the stairs.

We arrived at Lake Carnico around 2:20 pm. It was muggy and hot. The sun  beat down making the asphalt bubble with hot tar. I took off my shoes before leaving the truck. Suzanne let Sam drive her car. They pulled up before me and were all  standing at the concession stand as I gingerly crept barefoot across the hot, loose, rough gravel. I wasn’t used to going barefoot. I carried a big towel over my right shoulder, wore my geeky black sunglasses, and my dark blue swim trunks and my white t-shirt in case I started to burn. I left my wallet in the truck, but had my keys clipped to my pocket. I got to the concession stand just as Suzanne was paying the 4 dollars entry fee, “one dollar per person.” Sam ran towards the beach and Bella followed behind him.

“Bella, don’t you go in the water until I get there, you hear me?”

“Yeah, Momma.”

A cute, young, blond guy most likely in his late teens, said, “That will be a dollar, sir.”

“Sir!” I thought. Damn, do I look that old to be called sir already? I paid the buck and walked with Suzanne towards the beach.

“He he. ‘Sir’, Oh well he called me, ‘ma’am,’” said Suzanne, giggling.

Hank walked slowly towards the beach with his head down. We nearly caught up with him. He wore an overly large, baggy white t-shirt that came part way to his knees and some red flip flops. He was flicking  gravel as he walked with the tips catching the loose stones. As we caught up to him he looked over at his mother.

“Mom, do I have a bird chest?” said Hank.

“No, Sweetie, Sam was just trying to get a rise out of you. There’s nothing wrong with the way you look. You’re just a bit skinny and many boys your age are skinny. You still have a bit more growing to do.” She pulled him close and gave him a sideways hug as they continued to walk.

Past the fence, the gravel ended and we walked across a hot, brown, sandy beach. The place was pretty packed since it was a hot day. Towels blanketed the sand in quilt-like fashion. We searched for a place to sit when Suzanne spotted Cindy waving at us to the far right.

“Suzanne! Travis! Over here! We saved a spot for you,” yelled Cindy.

We walked past the packs of teenage girls lying on their towels and the mothers who came with their folding chairs, coolers, and big mamma purses full of everything. Cindy was lying on a towel in a two piece swimsuit. She was at that age where she still tried to dress like the younger girls, yet her body was becoming more like the other mothers who dressed more modestly.  Arnie sat on a towel beside her wearing big swim trunks and an oversized white t-shirt. He was busily applying more sunscreen because being a redhead meant he burnt easily.

“Hey guys! I was wondering if you were ever going to get here,” said Cindy, all excited. “Isn’t this great all of us here together?”

“It sure is a nice day,” said Suzanne, placing her beach towel on the sand.

“Look at you Travis. All nice and buff,” said Cindy.

I was feeling somewhat self conscious being a bit overweight with a gut. I just smiled and sat down on my towel next to Arnie. I liked Arnie. It surprised me that we were never friends in high school. He was a bit nerdish and shy, unlike Cindy who was so outgoing. I suppose she felt wanted around Arnie. Cindy was yapping on and on to Suzanne who just smiled and kept looking out at her kids. Bella walked up to us holding little Stevie’s hand.

“We’re going to make sand castles. Is it okay?”

Stevie was trying to hold on to his plastic bucket and plopped down on his butt in the hot sand.

I’m not the type that likes to just lie in sun and bake. The sun was very hot and the air was very humid. I saw a bunch of shirtless young men out on a floating wooden raft in the deep water just past the pylons. They were showing off in front of a few young women sitting on the edge of the raft. I decided it might be fun to swim out to the raft, just to get a better look and jump in the water myself.

“Be back later. I’m going for a swim. Can you hold on to my keys?” I said, getting off my towel and taking off my t-shirt.

“Suzanne, Can you watch Stevie? I want to come too. You coming Arnie?” said Cindy.

“No, I’m not much of a swimmer. You two go ahead.”

Cindy ran up beside me and we both waded out into deeper water. Farther down on the beach I saw Hank wading up to his ankles near the far edge of the beach next to the tall grass. It looked like he was watching some birds. Sam was on the other side on the beach standing and chatting with two teenage girls who were sitting in lounge chairs. We looked back and Suzanne and Arnie smiled and waved. I waded just past the wooden pylons and swam towards the raft.

“You a good swimmer Travis?” asked Cindy.

“Yeah, I think good enough to get me out to the raft, but I don’t think I could save anyone if they were drowning.”

“You don’t think you could save me if I were drowning Travis?” said Cindy, laughing.

“Nope, you’re on your own.”

I reached the raft first. It was a little farther out than it looked. Cindy was behind me. I grabbed hold of the side and pulled myself up. The water was a lot cooler this far out. I sat down on the edge and let my feet dangle in the water. The boys were diving in the water at the other end and every time they would jump, the raft would rock wildly in the water. Cindy reached the raft near my feet and stuck out her arm.

“Pull me up Travis. That felt like a long swim.”

I pulled her out of the water.

“Wow, you’re strong,” she said.

“No you’re just little.”

We sat on the edge of the raft panting from the long swim, kicking our feet in the water, and then, kerplunk! A teenage boy did a cannonball into the water right in front of us and popped up out of a cloud of bubbles.

“Sorry dude,” the kid said.

It was cold but felt good. I stared at the four, handsome, young men standing on the edge of the raft. Their golden tanned bodies and wet skin gleaming from the sun. It was a beautiful site seeing guys that age of late teens and early twenties with boundless energy. Comparing myself to them, I really wasn’t that old, but I felt older with an extra fifty pounds to my frame. I would never be allowed to be this heavy in the army. They would have made me run the weight off.

The boys got tired of diving and swam back towards the beach. The raft got quiet and I was lost in thought. I noticed that Cindy was looking off towards the beach. Arnie and Suzanne were waving and she waved back.

“I can never get Arnie to swim out this far. He hates being in water over his head. I don’t think he knows how to swim,” said Cindy

“Well I never learned to swim until I joined the army and I can swim just well enough to get short distances. I’d probably drown if I had to swim any great distance.”

Cindy got up and lay down on her back in the middle of the raft staring upwards. I sat with my feet in the water looking back towards the beach and started to reminisce. “I was just thinking. Back when I was a kid, my mom took me and my older brother, Jimmy, here every summer, but when I was ten years old we came here to swim one day in late August. Jimmy and I were here with my cousin Dougie. He’s my Mom’s nephew who I’ve not seen in many years. Well, anyway. Jimmy and Dougie were racing each other to see who could reach the pylon and back the fastest. I couldn’t swim a lick, but had waded as far out as my neck and bouncing on my tip toes. They were doing this for a long time. Jimmy beat him a few times, Then Dougie dared Jimmy to swim out to the raft. I told Jimmy that Mom said we weren’t supposed to go past the pylons. They swam out towards this raft anyway, but Jimmy was already tired I guess from swimming all those laps and he got about halfway there when he started splashing around saying help. Dougie looked back and was laughing. He thought that Jimmy was faking it, but then Jimmy just went under and didn’t come back up. I yelled Mom! Mom!, but she didn’t hear me. I tried to get to the beach fast, but I couldn’t swim, so I tried to walk fast. When I got to the beach I ran to Mom and said that Jimmy went under the water and didn’t come back up.”

“Oh my god! So your brother drowned here?”

“Yes, it was terrible. My mom cried for months and my dad would accuse my mom of not watching us good enough. They almost got divorced over it.”

“That’s terrible, Travis. I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks, but it was so long ago and it just feels like a bad dream now. I think somehow I got blamed for that. As his younger brother I was expected to be good at sports also. I think Jimmy was always their favorite and I just never could measure up.”

“Do you ever talk to your parents?”

“No, Mom died a while back and my dad moved to Phoenix. I call him up ever once in a while, but he never wants to talk more than five minutes.”

“That’s sad.” She rolled over and looked at me. “I’m kinda like that with my parents too. I hardly ever talk to my mom cause she’s always drunk or hanging out with her no account boyfriend. Me and Suzanne, we totally grew up redneck, trailer park trash. Seriously, when we were going to high school we lived in a trailer park outside of Lexington. Most of the time we was raised by our grandma. Me and Suzanne, we always looked out for each other. She’s my best friend. I mean we ain’t perfect, but we tried to be better than our mom.” Cindy paused a bit and said, “You know…Suzanne. Well Rodger is such a fucking asshole. I don’t know why she ever hooked up with him. But when she was 17 she was dating this really hot senior on the school softball team. He was tall and had dark brown hair and blue eyes and everyone thought he was so handsome. I remember when Suzanne brought him home one night, He smiled and winked at me. He wasn’t like the other jocks. He was nice to everyone and he didn’t care that we lived in a trailer with our grandma. One day in November, just after homecoming, I came home from school and Suzanne was outside crying. She told me that she missed her period. She’d gotten pregnant and had talked about getting an abortion. She said she didn’t want to turn out like Mom. When she told Paul, he said he would marry her. They got married on New Year’s Eve and nobody ever knew that she almost had an abortion. Paul was the best thing that ever happened to her. They bought a house in North Middletown and he got a good job working construction and had three kids. Then four years ago Paul was working on a project and a bunch of rebar bust loose from a truck and fell on him, crushing him to death. It was horrible. Everybody was all tore up, but once he was gone, she didn’t have the money to pay the mortgage on the house and had to move in with me. Those poor kids had it rough since their daddy died.”

“Wow, I had no idea. I never heard them talk about their dad much.”

“It’s still painful for them. They loved him dearly. Rodger, though, was bad news from the start.  She never loved that creep. I think she only shacked up with him because he had a house and she was feeling guilty for staying with me. They seem happy living on your farm Travis.”

“Sometimes I wonder if the boys like it there.”

“Oh trust me, they might act like they’re bored but I can tell they like it there. And Bella is a little chatterbox. She’s so excited about having chickens and a friend next door to play with. Those kids were always walking on eggshells around Rodger, especially when he would be on a drunk. When he’d lose his temper all hell would break loose.”

I looked out at the beach and saw Sam and some other boy swimming towards the raft. Cindy stood up adjusting her swimsuit.

“Ughhhh, I’m baking.” She came back and sat beside me with her feet in the water.” Ahhhhhh, much better…So Travis, how come that cute friend of yours didn’t come today?”

“Well, we didn’t ask him.”

“Why not?  You know, I think Suzanne has a crush on him.”

“Really?” I said. “Did she tell you that?”

“No, but I saw the way she was looking at him when you had us over for that cookout a week or two ago.”

Sam swam up beside the raft, panting. “Who does Mom have a crush on?”

“Oh, nobody,” said Cindy.

“I bet I know,” said Sam, pulling himself out of the water.

“Okay smart ass, who do you think it is?” said Cindy, shaking her head and scrunching her face.

Sam stood up and shook the water from his hair. “Ben… I’m right ain’t I?”

I guess I saw it, but didn’t want to believe it. A bit of jealousy crept through my thoughts. It did make sense.  I sat there staring out over the water. Sam grabbed his friend’s hand who had just made it to the raft and pulled him up. Sam went over to the far edge and jumped up and down causing the raft to bounce and tilt.  His young skinny black haired friend went to the other end and rocked the raft. I tried to stand up but fell in the water. The shock of the cold water felt exhilarating.  I came back up and they were all laughing at me. I jostled the raft and the rest tried to hold on but Cindy and Sam plopped in the water. It soon turned into a game that lasted a good 15 minutes or more. Suzanne waved at us and held up the cooler.

“Ahhh looks like they are ready to eat lunch. Ready to swim back?” I asked.

“I’ll race you!” said Sam, as he dove into the chilly water.