Dance For It

2

The pool wouldn't open for another 30 minutes, so Dex and I left Tyson, whose nickname Tyke now seemed very fitting, and Sammy to get ready, and went to the supply room, located behind the building to get the paint supplies. It seemed as though half the fence had already been repainted white, so we would probably be able to finish the job today.

As we got to work, Dex and I talked casually about the recent changes at the pool.

"Is it really wise to have someone you call Trouble Tyke working as a lifeguard?" I uttered the thought that had been on my mind since I had met the teen. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw he was now perched on the lifeguard chair and looking in our direction.

Chuckling, Dex explained, "Contrary to his foul mouth, he's actually a very good swimmer and lifeguard. Last year we had a pretty serious incident where a six year old girl had to be rescued from the deep end. He was on duty at the time, and he saved the girl's life."

"Wow." Not even I had ever been in that situation before. I decided I'd have to get to know Tyke better before making up my mind about him. "So what do you do, outside of helping out my mother at the pool?" I asked Dex, switching topics.

"Well, since I graduated college, I've been working in my dad's company. But that's definitely not my dream job, so in my free time, I come here to swim and help out."

"I see." I could tell there was a story behind why he wasn't following his real dream, such as swimming. But the five years apart made me too shy to ask him about it directly.

"What about you? How have the Yankees been treatin ya?" he inquired.

Thankfully the expression on his face told me he was only joking. Of course I had heard many comments on going North and leaving my mother behind, so that was not an argument I wanted to get back into.

"As you can probably imagine, med school was no cake walk. I feel like I spent more time in the library than anywhere else. But it was definitely worth it. A few more years of residency and I'll be able to work as a doctor myself. "

We continued to make small talk, as we painted. Swimmers were slowly starting to fill up the pool. On a Saturday morning, it was usually older people that came right after opening. After that parent's with younger children, and in the afternoon, teenagers.

Around 1pm, Tyke whistled for a 30 minute break, and my mom brought out a big cooler full of lunch she had packed for us. While Sammy, Tyke, Dex and I munched on my favorite, tuna salad sandwiches, my mom supervised the pool area, which couldn't be left unattended even during the break.

"So, I heard from Dex that you two just graduated high school?" I asked Sammy and Tyke.

"Yeah, I'm still deciding which college I should go to, so I'm trying to enjoy my last summer before that," Sammy told me.

"Our last summer as free people," Tyke added. "That means I'll have a lot of free time in case you get lonely." That last commented was directed at me, followed by a waggle of his eyebrows. Dex, who was sitting next to the Trouble Tyke, smacked the back of his head.

I simply ignored the kid and took a sip of sweet tea to wash down my last bite of sandwich.

"So you have y'all already decided on a major?" I just continued to question.

"I'd like to be a vet," Sammy informed me.

"That's great! I've been studying medicine myself, so feel free to ask me for advice if you need any," I smiled at her, getting a grin back.

"Wait you aren't gonna offer advice to me?" Tyke complained, pouting dramatically.

"Yeah I have some advice for you. It seems the perfect college for you, would be the School of Manners," I told him sarcastically.