The water splashed up, and then there was no sign of Keith.
“Great, he died. We’re not supposed to be over here, and now we’re in for it,” J.J. said and looked around like the police were going to come and arrest them.
“We’re here because Mr. Ewald is at the council meeting. They all are. Quit worrying.” Libby said to J.J.
They knew all the good places. If Viv didn’t have these friends, she’d spend her summers by herself reading the latest Sidney Sheldon or Danielle Steel. She’d spent more time at the Irish Hills Library than she did by the lake until she met J.J.
J.J. had spotted Viv at the store that first summer and recruited her into this girl gang. She’d showed up at Viv’s family’s summer rental one day and asked Viv’s mom if there were any girls in this house to play with!
Viv’s mom had shoved her to the door. Viv’s mother always wanted her to play outside, and there it was, the invitation to do just that.
But Viv and J.J. hit it off immediately, score one for Viv’s mom. J.J. introduced Viv to the other girls with the declaration, “I’m tired of being the only one that’s not a teen yet. Now there will be two of us!”
That was several summers ago, and now, the moment Viv got to the summer house for vacation, she was on the phone with J.J.
“I’m back!”
And off they’d all go, pretty much every day and night. They rode bikes, swam at Libby’s, ogled boys, and roller skated. Viv still had her book to read, but now she did it on the raft of the pontoon and traded paperbacks with Goldie every few days.
This particular day was all about trespassing. Mr. Ewald had a great rope swing but never let anyone on his property to use it.
Hope was the instigator on this one and decided that Ewald was keeping a Lake Manitou treasure to himself. “It’s un-American!”
They all agreed, and now there they were, in the back of Ewald’s place, deciding who was next into the water. Usually, J.J. wasn’t so nervous. But they were trespassing on Mr. Ewald’s lake frontage. Ewald had caught her once before.
“This one time, Ewald turned his hose on Jared and me. We were just walking through here to get to the public dock. It was freezing.”
“You survived,” Hope said.
“He’s mean, and we were just walking,” J.J. said.
Finally, Keith’s head popped up from the water. “Okay, who’s next?!!” He was treading water and waving them all in.
“I think I’ll lose my suit!” Goldie was sporting a two-piece that did not look like it would survive a plunge into the lake at high velocity. But it was pretty.
“But it’s the whole reason we came out here. Ugh, look, Hope and I can push. Who wants to try?” Libby and Hope were tall and had long arms. They’d be able to give the rope a good heave.
Viv wasn’t usually the first to dive into trouble or adventure, but something came over her. They were here! It looked fun. And darn it, she’d show J.J. who the chicken was! She raised her hand like she was in class.
“Me! I’m doing it.” Viv stepped forward. She kicked off her Keds and wiggled out of her cutoffs. She had her bathing suit under just about everything she wore in the summer.
Her mother had nagged her to wear a t-shirt today, even if she was swimming. Since she currently had blistered shoulders thanks to their ten hours on the raft over the weekend.
“Here, hold this too. I don’t want Michael Hutchence to be damaged.” She gave Goldie her shorts and her prized INXS t-shirt.
“Ducky,” said Goldie.
“Okay, just hold on tight and let her rip when you get out there over the water,” Libby said, instructing her on the fine art of hurling her body into the air.
Viv climbed into the disk. Both her feet fit better than Keith’s did, but still, it was a tiny space.
“I’d not recommend a flip. Keith’s good at that stuff,” Hope cautioned her.
“Yeah, and don’t forget to let go. You come flying back this way, and you’re going to smack into the tree,” said J.J.
“Quit scaring her. You’ll be great, Viv. It’s going to be fun,” Libby said. Libby’s confidence was catching. If Libby said you could do it; you could do it!
“I’m not scared.” Viv wasn’t. She was excited. Her mom would blow a gasket if she saw it, but her mom wasn’t here.
