“I’m enjoying the cheering,” he told me. “I hope you know that once Charlie gets a little older, he’s going to kill you.”
“He’ll have to catch me first. He’s slower on land.” Charlie was having a great meet, second in 50 fly, fourth in 100 back so far, two best times. His individual medley, or IM, was coming up.
I took out a Ziploc and handed it to Luke. “What’s this?” he asked, looking at me curiously.
“PB and J,” I answered. “I made you a sandwich.”
“Thanks, Em,” he said, opening the bag and taking it out. I saw Annie looking at me. It was just a sandwich.
“How was the hotel?” I asked her.
“As bad as I expected,” she answered, just as Macdara said, “So fun!” Annie burst out laughing. “It was ok,” she amended. “I wouldn’t pick it for a honeymoon spot.”
“That’s the marriage trip, right?” Charlie asked, mouth full of sandwich.
“Charlie, please don’t talk with your mouth full,” I directed. “Yes, it’s the trip you take with your new husband or wife after you get married. To, uh, celebrate together.”
Annie laughed again. “Where did you go on your honeymoon, Mommy?” Macdara asked.
“Greece,” she said, looking a little dreamy. “It was magical.”
“Where’s Milos today?” Luke asked her.
She looked away. “He’s in Chicago.”
Macdara looked unhappy. “I wish Daddy were here,” she said wistfully. “I’m going to call him.” She reached into her swim bag and pulled out a new iPhone.
“She has her own phone,” Charlie told me,sotto voce. “Can I have a phone?”
“No, you don’t need a phone,” I told him.
“Neither does Macdara,” Luke said to his sister.
“When you have kids, you can decide about their technology. She needs it for school,” Annie dismissed him.
“Sure,” Luke answered, rolling his eyes. This was clearly a conversation they had run through before.
“He’s not answering,” Macdara said, putting the phone back into her bag. Luke ruffled her hair. “Don’t mess up my bun!” she told him, smoothing it down.
Luke looked grim and I raised my eyebrows in a question to him, but he shook his head. Hmm.
I looked around the crowd of the Shark parents. Someone here had to know how to fix a water heater, and maybe I could get some tips. Ah ha, here was a likely victim. He had unthinkingly worn his work hat from Jason’s Plumbing.
I sidled over. “It’s Jason, right?”
The man looked up. “Yeah…Emily?”
“Yes, hi! Great to see you again. Listen, I don’t mean to bother you, but my water heater went out this morning, and I almost died of hypothermia in the shower. Any ideas about what I can do to fix it myself?”
“Fix a water heater yourself?” Jason shook his head. “I don’t know about that. Is the pilot light out?”
“No, it’s lit, I checked.” And had the dirty face to prove it!
“Is it making any strange noises? How old is it?”
“It’s quiet, and it’s probably older than I am.”
“You’re what, eighteen?” He laughed.
