Between You & Me (23 page)

PENNY

We've met.

Lily looks over at him, in his suit, with his hair smooth and the anxious furrow in his brow that she has started to see only recently. She has a pang of fondness for him. Penny excuses herself, leaving them alone, and is swallowed by the merriment of the house. The lights dim.

When the lights come up, time has passed. Lily and Bobby sit together beside the pool, beneath a lantern hanging from the balcony. The buzz of voices inside the house is louder. He has just found cause to reach for her hand when there is a clamor from inside and Michael stumbles through the French window. He has had too much to drink.

MICHAEL

There's my girl.

He moves toward Lily, and Bobby steps between them.

BOBBY

She's not
your
anything.

Michael ignores him, holding his hands up toward Lily's face.

MICHAEL

Lovely Lily!

Penny and her friends have appeared in the doorway.

BOBBY

That's enough. Leave her alone.

Michael turns on Bobby.

MICHAEL

Who says?

BOBBY

Me.

MICHAEL

And who are you to tell me what to do?

LILY

Stop it!

Michael swings at Bobby. Bobby steps back, narrowly avoiding the punch. He lunges at Michael in retaliation. They stumble backward, catching Lily in the fray. With the sudden commotion and the shouts that follow, no one sees her grab for something to regain her balance, find nothing, and tip into the water.

I hit the water hard, barely taking a breath before going under. Remembering that there's only four feet beneath me, I level out and feel the bottom of the tank against my palms. Opening my eyes, I override my instinct to swim to the surface and, trying not to cause a ripple, I swim along the floor of the tank where I can't be seen. My dress is fanning out around me and getting heavier as it takes in water. I look up at the lights on the surface—shimmering yellow orbs that make the blue of the water look green. I can see the dark shapes of the boys still tussling, the shouts strangely muted in this tranquil world. The pool stretches across the middle of the stage and appears to stop where it's covered by a lid at one end but the tank continues beneath the lid and into the wings where it opens again. Above me, blurry, I see the fake edge, and swim as smoothly as I can beneath it, lungs bursting, into the hidden part of the tank. Surfacing on the other side of the curtain, I take a silent gasp of air. The chants of
Fight, fight
onstage burst back into my consciousness, and I can already hear the murmurs of the audience wondering why I haven't resurfaced. Lily has hit her head on the bottom of the pool and with everyone's attention on the fight, no one has noticed. I push the wet hair away from my face and watch the stage.

Kate grabs Gabe's arm, Zach on his knees, his shirt torn, raising his hands above his head. Gabe holds his jaw and
looks through the crowd for me. Not finding me, he goes toward the house but Kate is at the edge of the pool. More people start to assemble alongside it. She calls out, pointing frantically into the water. Gabe pulls off his jacket, kicks off his shoes, and jumps in. When I hear him hit the water, I take a breath and swim back into the tank.

We meet under water. He smiles, his skin pale in the blue light, his white shirt clinging. It feels like slow motion. He reaches for me, puts his arms under mine, and pulls me up. We burst through the surface of the water.

Lily gasps for air, spluttering. Bobby rolls her up and onto the side of the pool, and climbs out beside her. Kneeling down, he wipes her wet hair away from her face. She opens her eyes and everyone crowds forward but Bobby puts up his hands.

BOBBY

Give her some space!

LILY

Bobby?

After a few moments, people start to retreat inside and there is quiet. Lily slowly props herself up on her elbows. She puts her hand to her head. Bobby, still dripping, smiles at her.

BOBBY

When I said I'd have you home by midnight, I pictured you alive.

She reaches for him and wraps her arms around his neck, still struggling to clear her throat.

LILY

Let's go home.

A few lights inside the house go off. The glistening surface of the water lies still. Bobby puts his jacket around her shoulders and picks her up. Blackout.

Wet hair, clothes clinging to me, I stand in front of Mia. She reaches out and hugs me even though I'm soaking. I am very much me again. I hope I'll remember exactly how this feels when it's over. She holds my shoulders and puts me at arm's length, patches of damp left across her chest and arms.

MIA

You were brilliant. Even better than I could have hoped.

There's a knock at the door and it's you. There are voices beyond you but you squeeze through and close it behind you. Your smile is intense.

YOU

Phy!

That's all, just “Phy,” and it's better than a million words. You hug me. With you, I forget that my clothes are still wet. You're the first to step away and we're still smiling when I notice Mia moving toward the door. I turn to tell her to stay but she gives me a final nod of approval and, with a farewell wave, I watch her go. Mom appears in her place. She looks at me with new pride in her eyes.
See you at home, my star
, she says as she leaves. Cara's face is the next to appear.

CARA

F-ing genius! You can be in my movie any day.

She sends me a kiss and you follow her out. Elated, I change out of my wet clothes. I have this sense of achievement that I've never had before. I'm warm and dry—except for my hair, eyes still pink and hazy from the mixture of water and makeup—when you reappear. You're sitting by the mirror, talking about the effect the swimming-pool scene had, and behind you again is Mia. She beckons me to her.

MIA

I want to show you something.

I swing on my coat and follow her backstage. She pulls the curtain open a crack. There at the edge of the stage is a crowd of fifth graders, craning to see into the pool.
“How did she do it?” “She held her breath.” “I could do it.”
Pleased, I draw back through the curtain and Mia smiles. She tugs my coat around me in the dim light and begins to button it, saying something about staying warm with my hair wet but I'm watching her hands and I don't fully hear.

MIA

Are you ready to head out? Shall we walk?

You appear from the dressing room and I gesture for you to follow us. You shake your head.

YOU

Go ahead. I'll see you later.

I falter but Mia has already started toward the foyer so I skip to catch up.

Together in the darkness, Mia and I cross toward the main school building. It's a fresh clear night but I don't feel the cold. My heart is warm. Time spent in darkness feels like a dream, like it might not have happened at all. Mia pulls her coat tighter around her, the silhouette I can recognize a mile away. She's leaving at the end of the semester. I wonder how clearly I'll be able to picture her face when she's gone. Tonight, the feeling doesn't fill me with concern. Something has changed this evening and right now I can't tell if it's resignation or if I'm just not scared to think of a world without Mia anymore. We cut through school and head into the warmth. Light breaks the mood of the darkness, washing out the shadows. As I'm wondering who I'll look out for each day, I see your reflection in the glass door as it closes. I turn, pleased.

ME

Hey. I thought you'd gone home.

YOU

Not yet.

MIA

I can drive you if you like.

I look from Mia to you.

ME

No, it's okay.

I wait for your confirming nod.

We'll walk.

We step out into the courtyard again, just the two of us. I glance back. Mia waves from the glowing window. She looks tiny surrounded by darkness. I stop to pull on my hat to keep out the chilly night air. You step in front of me and knot my scarf around my neck, reminding me of how Mia just buttoned my coat. You coax the scarf up around my face before walking on without a word. It felt nice. My expression changes but just for a second and I hope it's too dark for you to see.

First day of vacation. I slept in. I'm still trying to adjust to the idea of free days, never seeing Mia again, and the end of the play. The phone rings and it's you. We talk, me sitting cross-legged and recalling, as I look out the window, that Mia could still someday show up expectedly.

YOU

How are you? I thought you might need cheering up.

ME

So did I!

Maybe you can hear the relief in my voice. And the surprise.

But I'm okay.

And I really mean it. There's a pause at your end, and when you speak again, you sound cheered.

YOU

Great. I'm really glad. That's great. So, maybe we could get together soon.