The Summer I Learned to Dive

Chapter 24

I should have been tired from being awake all night, but I wasn’t. I was wired and anxious. I felt like I was beginning the rest of my life and really living it for the first time. This was the first major decision I had ever made on my own without influence from anyone. It was liberating and frightening at the same time. I grabbed my phone and called Jesse. I wanted to tell him about my dad, my mom, about my plans to stay for a little while longer.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hey, how did it go?” he asked referring to my meeting with my dad.

“Better than expected,” I said.”I have so much to tell you.”

“Good,” he replied. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“Let’s go swimming,” I said with a hint of excitement.

“I’ll meet you at the pool in twenty minutes,” he said and hung up.

***

I stood waiting for him outside of the gate. He saw me standing there and smiled at me as he pulled his car into a parking space. I could never get used to how beautiful he was. He got out of the car and walked over to me.

“Hi,” he said and smiled, quickly kissing me on the lips. Every kiss with Jesse felt like a first kiss, perfect and electric.

“How was your dad?” he asked me. Always the perfect gentleman, he opened the gate for me. He grabbed a hold of my hand and we walked toward the pool, swinging our arms back and forth. We each took off our shoes, and sat down at the edge of the pool. Our feet dangled over the edge, touching the cool water.

“He was amazing. I want you to meet him some time. There’s so much to tell you,” I said excited to share this part of my life with Jesse.

He smiled and said, “I want to hear everything.”’ He paused. “Finn, I talked with my dad,” his tone more serious.

I looked at him surprised. “You did?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I told him that he needed to get help, that I couldn’t enable him any longer.”

I didn’t say anything. I was shocked but pleased.

“What you said to me at Dixon Park really hit me. I mean, it made me think about things, about how I’m always living for him instead of for me,” he said. “And I can’t live my life like that anymore.” He looked at me, his eyes sincere, his expression serious.

“What did he say?” I asked hoping beyond hope that his dad decided to see reason, to get some help. It hurt me to see Jesse act his caretaker. It wasn’t fair to him.

“He’s going to get some help,” he said and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s great, Jesse.” I smiled happily.

“I wouldn’t have had that talk with him if it hadn’t been for you.” He looked at me again, his expression still serious.

“What, no,” I said nonchalantly.

“It’s true, Finn. You’ve made a difference in my life.” He touched my hand and gently squeezed it.

It was a perfect morning, cloudless and sunny. The air was warm, not overbearingly hot. I could tell it was going to be a gorgeous day. He took off his shirt, his beautiful muscular chest exposed. No matter what, I could never get used to his remarkable body. I would always look at it and marvel, staring as if it were the first time seeing it. I blushed and looked the other way.

“Finn,” he said standing. I looked up at him. “Do you want to dive off the high dive?” he asked moving his head up in its direction.

“Yes,” I said with conviction. I was ready, more prepared than I had ever been. At that moment and in that time, I wanted to do it. I would have time to tell Jesse about my dad, about my talk with my mom, and about my plans to stay. But first, I wanted to jump off that high dive, to prove to myself that I could do it. He offered me his hand. I took a hold of it and stood up. I kissed him long and hard, my lips tingling from the sensation. I walked toward the high dive and took off my t-shirt and shorts, my skimpy bikini that I still wasn’t used to, now exposed. He sat on the edge of the pool watching me as I climbed the ladder.

The view was intimidating and frightening. I could see so much from up there, the top of buildings, the entire town of Graceville. Everything below looked so small, so insignificant. If I had thought about what I was doing, standing so many feet off the ground about to dive into a pool of water, I would probably have turned around and walked, no, ran, out of there. Instead, I ignored the foolish voice in my head that told me to stop. I listened to the other voice, the one that told me to go for it. I looked down at Jesse.

“You can do it, Finn!” he yelled encouragingly.

I raised my arms above my head, clasping my hands together, pointing my fingers to the sky. “I’m ready!” I shouted. I looked down into the deep water and plunged forward, never looking back. My body hit the water, nearly swimming to the bottom of the pool. I swam toward the surface, my head bobbing up. I saw Jesse’s pleased expression. Feeling triumphant, I swam toward the steps, ready to dive again.





Acknowledgements

I’d like the following people for impacting me in one way or another: My best friend and awesome husband, Chris Jones, for his constant support and constructive criticism. His encouragement helped me to keep on trucking. Thanks for talking to me about these characters like they were real people and offering opinions about what they would or would not do or say. My mom, for offering great suggestions on how to improve the story and for uplifting me in my darkest moments of despair. My dear friend, Audrey Perrott, for her meticulous eye for detail. Without her expertise in all things grammatical, this could have ended up being one big conglomerated mess. Betty Jones, for making the sunrise even better. Annie Koelle, for her beautiful and inspirational art work. And the band Vetiver for singing The Swimming Song.





About The Author

Shannon McCrimmon grew up in Central Florida and moved to the upstate of South Carolina a few years ago. Although she has enjoyed writing since she was a little girl, it was the move to South Carolina that inspired her to listen to and write down the words of her beloved character, Finley Hemmings. She lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her husband and toy poodle.