Within minutes, I was fast asleep.
I woke up in a good mood and did well on my swim pretest. I knew my conversation with Lamar had a little to do with that. My mood was brightened even more when I told Aunt Addy, since she insisted on being present for my official testing on Wednesday. The fact that she was feeling up to it made me happy because her energy levels had been dwindling. So, on Wednesday, I swam from one end of the pool to the other with my aunt and Monica beaming as they watched.
“I’m so proud of you,” Aunt Addy told me when I ran over to her. “You did it! You overcame the past. You should be proud of yourself.”
With water still dripping from me, I resisted the urge to hug her by pulling my towel around me tighter.
Iamproud of myself.
“Thank you for pushing me to do it. This feels good.”
“What time did you say your parents were coming over?” she asked.
“Noon.”
“Are they bringing lunch?”
I laughed. “I think so, but I’m not sure.”
She shook her head and then looked at Monica. “Remind me to call them at nine o’clock. It’s too early right now.”
“It absolutely is too early,” Monica responded. She turned to me. “But I am glad to witness you accomplish this.”
I grinned. “Thank you!”
I said goodbye to them and got back into the water. I practiced my stroke on my own and marveled at how good I’d gotten in two and a half weeks.
I’m still not going to the six-foot side, I thought, looking over at where my instructor was working with a couple of kids in the deep end.
An hour later, I was sitting at that same tattoo parlor I’d visitedwith Aunt Addy, getting my African violet tattoo and my belly button pierced. I didn’t tell her I was doing it. I planned on surprising my aunt with three things off my list instead of one when I returned to her house. So, when I entered the living room, I wasn’t expecting to be the one surprised.
“Not a cake!” I cried, staring at the sheet cake withYou can swim!scrawled in icing. “Thank you.”
“Now we have to wait until your parents get here to cut it since they’re bringing lunch,” Aunt Addy told me from her chair. “But we just wanted you to know how proud we are of you.”
I squatted beside her to give her a hug instead of leaning down like I’d normally do. “Thank you, Aunt Addy.” After giving her a squeeze, I turned to Monica, who had picked up the cake to take to the kitchen. “Thank you, too, Monica.”
“What took you so long to get back here?” Aunt Addy asked. “We had that cake sitting for an hour and a half.”
Rising to my feet, I laughed. “Well, actually, I have a surprise for you, too.” I extended my arm, showing her my wrist and the tattooed flower in the exact same spot as hers. As she oohed and ahhed, I lifted my T-shirt so she could see the L-shaped bar that went through my reddened skin. The jeweled ends sparkled when the sun hit it. “I knocked three things off my list today.”
Aunt Addy’s eyes widened. “Oh wow! You really did it.”
She tried to lean forward to get a better look, but I could tell she was struggling. So I stepped forward.
“Jazmyn, it’s beautiful,” she murmured, inspecting the piercing. “I’m so proud of you.” A sentimental smile tugged at her lips as she met my gaze. “Twelve-year-old you is proud of you, too.”
Hearing that choked me up. My eyes watered, and I blinked rapidly. “Thanks.”
“Lookin’ good, Jazmyn!” Monica commented as she strolled back into the room.
The distraction kept my tears at bay and I smiled. “You like?”
She nodded. “I had one when I was your age.”
“I bet you did,” Aunt Addy commented comically.
We all laughed.
