“Dude,” Solomon said, stepping past him and through the doorway. “I’ve been doing this all day. Relax.”
Once inside, they made their way to the kitchen, where she listened to the two of them banter back and forth about how to make the perfect pb&j. They both had it all wrong. You’ve got to stir the peanut butter and jelly together before applying it to the bread. Then they sort of ventured off into their own little world and left Lisa sitting there to watch, unable to get a word in edgewise.
Maybe that was her fault, for all the time she’d spent quietly observing them and studying Solomon’s tics and triggers. It was like they spoke a language she’d only just forgotten. She could pick up on some of their references, but mostly found herself completely lost in their jargon.
So, Lisa eventually stopped trying to understand them and let her mind drift back to her conversation with Clark. She knew he’d probably never forgive her if she wrote that essay. But, she also knew she had to. It was a surefire way to save herself and she was too close to give up now. Just as Solomon needed to leave the house, Lisa needed to leave Upland. He was better. She did that. She deserved to get out, too.
TWENTY-ONE
SOLOMON REED
For Solomon, swimming was the opposite of a panic attack. Fluid and calm and quiet. The world was muffled just enough when he went under, and the way the wind felt on his wet skin when he came up for air made him forget he was closer to all the things that scared him so much and had for so long.
As he got into the pool for the first time, his family and friends looking on in silence, he felt like he could cry. And he did, but just a little, and to avoid it being a big deal, he fell face-first into the water and then came up smiling. After that, he wouldn’t stop swimming long enough for anyone to ask if he was okay. But, of course he was. Nothing worked like the water.
When Solomon’s dad cannonballed into the pool, he waded over to his son and made a big show out of trying to kiss him on the forehead. And all his mom could do was take pictures, this look in her eyes like she was documenting a miracle. Finally, after they’d been begging her for an hour, she got in the pool and joined them for Marco Polo.
“He’ll never get him,” Solomon said to his mom and Lisa. They were all sitting on the edge of the pool in the shallow end by the stairs, an area Solomon’s dad had designated as the Loser Zone. He’d caught all three of them but hadn’t even gotten close to Clark once.
He drifted slowly through the water like an alligator watching its prey, his nose above the surface just enough to breathe and the rest of him hidden underneath. He’d let Solomon’s dad get close enough to touch him and he’d answer Polo in a whisper then sort of magically float right by him to one side. He was taunting him and every time he did hold his face out of the water, he’d shoot a huge grin over toward his audience.
Solomon, Clark, and Lisa stayed in the pool long enough to see the sun set and slowly watch the moon creep up to the center of the sky. They only got out to eat, pee, or when their fingers turned so pruney they started aching. Around ten, after Solomon’s parents had gone to bed, the three of them lay side by side, Solomon in the middle, with their feet in the water and their backs resting on the cold, pebbly ground that surrounded the pool.
“If this were an indie movie, we’d start talking about the constellations,” Solomon said, looking up at the stars.
“I always thought Ursa Major would be a cool name,” Clark said. “Hi, I’m Ursa Major Robbins. Nice to meet you.”
“Ursa Major Reed, Attorney at Law,” Solomon added. “God, I missed this view.”
“It is pretty damn good, isn’t it?” Lisa said.
At midnight, they finally said good-bye. He walked them to the front door, a towel around his waist and his half-wet hair sticking up and out in all directions. Lisa kissed him on the cheek and whispered into his ear. I’m so proud of you, she said. Then Clark attacked him with a bear hug that raised him off his feet. And, despite it hurting his mildly sunburned arms, that was the best hug of his life.