“Well, No, I’m sorry for the confusion. I am Denver. You are ‘No.’ I got it.” I point at her, and wink, leaving her with my smartass response. Ineeded that. It’s been a while since I’ve had any game.
“Dad!” Aya yells again. She’s neck deep in the water, treading through the four feet like a champ. I had one summer at home when she was two, and I spent every single minute I wasn’t working teaching her to swim. Two is young to understand the logistics of floating, but by the end of the summer, I didn’t have to worry about her drowning. In Hawaii, being born with the instinct to swim should tie right in with real-life experience. I want to believe that my kid is destined to be a surfer or an Olympic swimmer.
I find the towel bin and grab a couple of freshly folded white towels, dropping them down onto the empty lounge chairs near the lifeguard's stand. I can’t give up that easily.
The lifeguard straightens her neck and with what I assume to be irritation, tilts her head to each side probably needing a good crack in her tense neck. In my defense, I haven’t said anything else. I mean, the chairs are empty, and they’re in the direct sun, which is right where I want to be. “I’m coming for you, baby-girl!” I shout over to Aya.
I cross my arms over my torso and peel my shirt up over my head. I guess if this chick is going to see any part of me, it can be my best asset. I’ve been a human machine for the last eight years, and I’m proud to showcase the hard work I endured in the Marines. I unhook my worn, brown leather belt that I’ve probably had since my Abercrombie days, and drop my shorts to the pool deck. After a quick shuffle around the side of my chair, I lean over slowly and proudly to retrieve my shorts so I can place them down on the lounge chair. I can’t look over to see if I’ve caught her attention yet, but I’ll just boost my self-confidence and pretend she did.
“Well, aren’t you so sweet. Cleaning up after yourself and all,” she mutters.Ha.She saw me. She was probably staring at every move I made, and now, she’s cleaning up her drool. I bet she wishes she gave me her name now.
Right. Ah well. I can keep my confidence in check even though I’m broken baggage to the rest of the world. No chick in their prime wants a single dad with all the responsibilities in the world, but I wouldn’t give up Aya for all the hottest women in the world. She’s the only girl I need in my life.
With my show over, I catapult myself off the side of the pool and into the water, splashing Aya as hard as I can.
“Dad, no!” Aya gasps as she rubs the water from her eyes. “You’re in trouble now.” Aya pulls herself out of the water, dripping wet and shaking as she wraps her arms around her body, staring at me with the devil’s glare in her eye. “You better watch out, Dad.”
I back up a few feet, knowing what’s coming at me. She jumps into the water, pulling her knees up into her chest at the same time, and the splash is epic for my little peanut. It was so epic, it soaked the lifeguard. Ha.
I grab Aya and swing her around over my head, watching the lifeguard remain still like a statue. She’s dripping wet but doesn’t care. Or she does, and she doesn’t want me to know. I guess this is what life is like when I don’t have somewhere to be every second of the day. I have to find ways to entertain myself and clearly that means torturing this woman. Pool rules. Pool rules. Think, think, think. Surely children wouldn’t be allowed on anyone’s shoulders. That could be dangerous if I weren’t a responsible adult holding on tightly. I toss Aya up on my shoulders, holding her steady as I pace around the pool.Come on. You know you want to yell at me. What do I have to do, run around the pool?
A whistle blows because she must assume I wouldn’t be able to hear her voice from less than ten feet away.Attention is needed.“Sir, no horse playing in the pool,” she says, monotone as if she must recite the same line four hundred times a day.
“I’m not horse playing, Miss No. I’m just holding my daughter up on my shoulders. Dads do that sort of thing.”
“Not in the pool,” she replies.
“Okay, No.” She is not bending or breaking. Maybe she’s married or something. Oh well. I lift Aya off my shoulders and bring her over to the shallow end, so she doesn’t have to tread next to me.
As usual, Aya finds a little girl around her age and asks her to be her friend, then initiates a spontaneous playdate. I don’t think she will ever have trouble making friends, which is a good thing until she’s old enough to date. I have years. I can’t think about that now.
“Dude!” I hear from the distance. I cup my hand over my eyes, looking around because he sounded like Noa, but the sun is blinding, and I can’t see far.
“What are you doing here?” I hear from the lifeguard. She’s not talking to me, so it must be the guy, but why would he be calling her dude? When he steps into the shade of the guard stand, I see it is Noa, but he’s not facing me. He’s facing the guard.Oh shit. He knows her.
“I’m meeting my good man, Denver. This guy right over here,” he says, pointing at me.
I’m silently waiting for the … “Oh, you know him” line, but she just nods her head, disappointed it seems.
“Hey, man!” Noa waves. I check over my shoulder to make sure Aya is still all set in the shallow end, and she’s diving for neon rings with her newfound friend, so I climb out onto the pool deck and grab Noa’s hand, shaking it, and then pulling him in for a hug.
“It’s so good to see you, bro. God, it’s been a while, huh?” I walk the few feet over to the lounge chair that I dropped our towels on and wrap one around my waist.
“Look at you, beefcake!” He laughs and checks me out like a fucking weirdo.
“What, are you sizing me up now?”
“No, no, I’m impressed.”
“All right, well ah ... how’s this fiancée of yours? Does she know your checking dudes out on the side?” I punch him in the shoulder.
“She knows,” the beautiful lifeguard pipes up, and a hint of a smile touches her lips.
“So, yeah, this lovely sweetheart is going to be my sister-in-law soon. How lucky am I?”
The lifeguard throws her head back, and her mouth falls open with disdain. “Noa, I think I’m the lucky one,” she groans. “Blah, blah, blah.”
“She hates me,” Noa says. It’s obviously not a secret.
