“Sol, can you take some deep breaths with me?”
“Yes,” he said. It sounded like he was crying, but she wasn’t sure.
“Okay. I’m going to count to ten. Inhale slowly till five then exhale slowly.”
So she counted and he breathed. Then she counted again. And Clark, not knowing what to say or do, took his phone out and stared at it, pretending that something was on the screen.
“Can you guys give me a minute?” Solomon asked, sitting back up but with his eyes closed.
She stood up and grabbed Clark’s hand, leading him out into the hallway. With the door shut behind her, she put her arms around Clark’s torso and squeezed tightly.
“Is he okay?” he whispered.
“I think so. Embarrassed, maybe.”
“What should I say?”
“Just pretend it didn’t happen unless he brings it up.”
When Solomon opened the door, he looked a little better. Lisa could tell he’d wiped away a few tears, but he didn’t look especially sad or ashamed or anything. Maybe a bit tired, but with as little sunlight as he got, he always kind of looked that way. He told them to come back in and then sat down at his desk again.
“Sorry,” he said in a defeated tone.
“For what?” Clark asked.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said. “It actually helps me to not ignore it. It’s weird.”
“Are you okay?” Lisa asked.
“I’m fine. It was a fast one.”
“How often does it happen?” Clark asked.
“Depends. That was the first one in a couple weeks.”
“Damn,” Clark said.
“It’s okay, though,” Solomon added. “I can handle that. Before, it was every day. Every day. At school. On the bus. In fountains from time to time.”
“I never asked you,” Lisa said. “Why the fountain?”
“It’s the water,” he said. “Calms me down.”
“Is that why you want a pool?” Clark asked.
“That’s some of it, I guess. I also just miss it. I miss going out there.”
“I would too,” Clark said. “So, you’ve got two good reasons to make it work.”
“What if I can’t, though?” he asked. “What if they go to all this trouble and have their hopes built up, and I can’t take one step out there?”
“They’ll be disappointed,” Lisa said. “But they’ll understand. Do you think they’re betting on this being a sure thing?”
“Probably not.”
“Then wait and see what happens before you accept defeat,” Clark said. “Either way, you’ll be okay. And, when the time comes, if you need us to help you, we will.”
“You just want to swim in my pool,” Solomon said with a big smile.
“You bet I do, whether you’re out there or not, buddy,” Clark said. “I was thinking of volunteering to be the pool boy. Build myself a little shack in the backyard maybe.”
“Sol, if you don’t want Clark in your house anymore, just say the word.”
“He can stay. Look, until I can’t go out there, let’s just hold out hope, okay?”
“There you go,” Clark said, leaning forward to give him a high five. “Just wait, man. We’re gonna have sunburns all summer.”
“Not me,” Lisa said. “Melanoma is real and you’re never too young to be vulnerable.”
“She’s chief of the sunscreen police, by the way.”
“I didn’t choose to be this person,” Lisa defended. “It chose me.”
“Good,” Solomon added, standing up. “I knew the second I met you that you’d save my life someday.”
SEVENTEEN
SOLOMON REED
Summer didn’t mean much to Solomon. He still did the same amount of schoolwork, a plan he’d discovered would save him an entire year of high school. If he worked all through each summer, he’d have the credits to get his diploma just after he turned seventeen. But, since meeting Clark and Lisa, he’d started slacking off a bit. It was an easy thing, being distracted by the two of them. And they made it easier by showing up nearly every day.
It wasn’t always both of them, either. Lisa, being in Student Council and on the yearbook staff, was suddenly swamped at the end of the school year. So Clark started coming over without her. At first, Lisa made a big deal out of it—calling Solomon one afternoon, using that calm voice of hers, and explaining how busy she’d be over the following weeks. Eventually, Solomon just had to cut her off.
“Of course Clark can come over without you.”
“I know, but I had to make sure. What if you secretly hate him and you’ve just been hanging out with him for me or something?”
“Is that the impression you get?”
“Yesterday, you guys spent two hours writing a theme song for a board game. I think you’re probably the best friend he’s ever had.”