Taking the Plunge

Jay admired herself in the full-length mirror, pleased with the way her broad shoulders formed an inverted triangle as they tucked into her compact waist, pleased with the closely shorn brown hair that gave her a slightly alien appearance and above all pleased with the ropey muscles that scurried beneath her skin like rodents. She stretched the silvery swim cap between her pale hands and pulled it over her heard, tucking in her ears. She snapped on her goggles, adjusted the band with practiced eased, and tested the suction against her eye sockets, enjoying the pressure in her skull. Last, she tugged on her swimsuit a few times, around the leg holes, across the straps on her shoulders and above her nearly flat chest, testing to make sure every millimeter of fabric was exactly where it belonged. She gave her reflection a winning grin. This was it. This was going to be her race.

Up in the rafters, the noise of the swimmers and spectators woke Leon from the strange dream he was having. He shifted in the small nest he’d made of his belongings, trying to dislodge the images of faceless doctors in an antiseptic hospital. He knew it was the smell of chlorine that did it to him but he didn’t mind too much. It was safe here. He’d stumbled on the haven by accident. While crossing the bridge to the downtown core, he’d paused to admire a tree just turning orange with fall’s bite. Looking at the tree, he’d noticed a gap between the walls and the roof of the adjoining building. Without stopping to consider the height or the traffic at the bottom of the hill, he’d hauled himself and his bag up into the tree and then into the gap. He squeezed through the dark hole and nearly plummeted to his death. Luckily he regained his balance, and, clinging to the wall, lowered himself onto the thin ledge that circled the perimeter of the inside. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw that there was no floor here, just the ledge and a series of rafters crossing above the dark expanse of the pool. He experienced a brief moment of panic but it was quickly replaced by joy. Here was a warm, dry place that was too hidden and too frightening to attract other residents.

Below, Jay stretched by the pool. She ignored the other swimmers who stretched in small groups around her. She focused on her breathing, picturing herself slicing through the water, felt the smooth wall underneath her fingertips and then her feet as she pushed off. Her group was ready. She headed to the started block, anxious for that perfect moment when her arms would cleave the water and the sounds of the pool would be replaced by her rhythmic beating of her own heart. The moment furled around her until finally, with an agonizing screech, the starter bell cried. She dove into its echo.

Leon rolled on his stomach and dangled his head over the edger of the rafter to watch the action below him. From here, there was only a hive of dots but Leon enjoyed the almost omniscient vantage point. His eyes were drawn to a silver dot below. It stood apart from the other clumps. Leon immediately felt a kinship with this lone dot. He tried to imagine who this dot was and what it must be like to compete for pleasure. He touched his rib which was sore from an altercation with another binner. At the same moment, they had both spotted a pile of bottles someone had kindly stacked by the curb. The other binner, a young pockmarked man suffering the ravages of crystal meth, had shoved Leon, sending him to the pavement. The dots gathered at the edge of the pool and Leon watched as the silver dot was swallowed by the water. It quickly surfaced and began to pull ahead of the others. Go dot go, Leon thought. You can do it. You don’t need the others. Leave them behind.

Jay couldn’t see the other swimmers but she knew she was ahead of them all, knew it in her bones, knew it in her muscles, knew it in the ringing of her ears, knew it in each beautiful gulp of air that she took.

Leon strained his eyes to follow the silver dot. It was pulling further and further ahead of the pack. This tiny silver dot, this little fleck all on its own, was going to win. Leon let out a whoop of excitement and suddenly, he was falling, falling, falling into the blue sea of swimmers and one tiny silver dot.

Jay felt the water open up around her as something heavy dropped in front of her. She felt the air above the water move in a collective gasp of surprise. She saw a wet, mass of hair and clothes in front of her. She didn’t pause. She swam towards it. Through it. Over it. Pushing the heavy pieces away from her. Ignoring the thrashing below her and in the next lanes where panic was starting to build. She swam hard. She swam fast. She swam well. This was her race.