Zander and I head for the airport around 11am. Sue’s plane is right on time as we wait at the luggage carousel for her. “Sue,” I call when I see her, jogging over to give her a hug.
“Hello sweetheart. I’ve missed you. Let me get a good look at you,” she says, stepping back and holding my upper arms. “You look like a whole new person. You’re radiant!”
I chuckle at her. “Come on, Zander wants to see you,” I say, guiding her over to the carousel. Zander gives her a big hug as well. “Any luggage?” He asks.
“No, just the carry-on,” she tells him. Zander grabs the handle, and we head for the Jeep. “Oh my, it’s warm,” Sue says, sucking ina deep breath. “I always forget what the humidity feels like down here.”
“Have you been to Charleston before, Sue?”
“I have, many years ago. I spent a week here once, but it was in the fall.”
Zander opens the trunk to put Sue’s suitcase in. “Summer, you’ve got a beautiful vehicle,” Sue says.
“Thanks, I love it. I’ve only driven once so far, in an empty parking lot.”
Sue remarks on all the blooms and the huge bridge as we drive. I tell her about the diving meet this afternoon, and she’s happy to accompany us to it. I give her a tour of the house when we get home, leaving her suitcase in the guest room. “You’ve made a beautiful home, Zander. The renovations are brilliant,” she smiles at him.
“Thanks Sue. Still a few to go, but it’s mostly done now.” We enjoy the chicken salad I prepped this morning, then Sue freshens up and we’re off to the diving meet soon after. Zander knows where the high school is, and Seb texts me that they’re waiting at the gym entrance for us.
The school parking lot is fairly empty, so Zander can park by the door. Seb opens my door and pulls me out for a hug. “Hello Sunshine,” he smiles.
“Hi Seb. Come meet Sue.” Zander holds the door open for her as she gets out.
“Miss Sue. I’m Seb,” he tells her and folds her into a big hug.
Sue is laughing at him. “Oh my. Hello Seb.”
“Thanks for taking care of my Sunshine,” he says, giving her a big smile.
“It was my pleasure,” she says, patting his hand.
We walk over to the door, and I introduce everyone else. Troy and Gabby have joined us today, too. Seb and E lead the way inside the building to the pool. It’s a nice facility, just a little older thanour school. We find seats about halfway up in the stands so we can see everything. I point out Bay and Alex to Sue, so she knows who we will be cheering for. “How many schools are here, Seb?”
“I’m not sure. It looks like 4 or 5. The whole team isn’t here, though.” I nod as an announcement comes on. Looks like they’re starting with single divers, then pairs, so we have a bit of a wait.
“It’s fascinating to see in person,” Sue comments. “How can the body twist and turn like that so fast?”
“That’s what I thought the first time I saw the guys diving. It’s mesmerizing,” I agree. We watch the single divers as the guys explain the scoring to us. It seems subjective to me.
When we finally get to the men’s pairs, I see eight pairs of groups. The first ones to dive are damn good. They’re in sync and hardly leave a splash. “They’re new this year,” E tells us. “Moved here from out of state.”
“They’re good,” Seb comments.
Bay and Alex are fourth in line. We cheer for them when they emerge from the pool. They complete a nice dive, but their scores are lower than the first pair.
“Don’t worry. That will be their lowest score,” Seb offers. “Bay always gets nervous for the first dive.”
After the second round, the guys are in second place. As the final round starts, the first-place pair makes a bit of a splash entering the pool. “That’s the opening they need,” Seb says excitedly.
Alex and Bay perform a near-perfect dive this time. We jump up and cheer for the guys. We get a wave from Bay when they exit the pool, and he’s got a big smile on his face.
“They should have first place now,” Seb says. The scores confirm they’ve moved into first as we watch the remaining dives. The guys finish first and the newcomers place second, with our school finishing fourth overall today.
We wait in the stands for Alex and Bay to emerge, and they’re pretty quick to join us. We congratulate them on their win,and I introduce Sue to them both before we walk out to the parking lot together. “So, what do you think of the newcomers?” I ask Alex.
“I am not sure yet. They performed the same dives as last year in the competition today. Time will tell if they are holding back some more complicated dives.”
I nod in acknowledgment as we get to our vehicles. We say goodbye as we go our separate ways until tomorrow.
