Diving In (Open Door Love Story)
Page 16
“And I know what you’re thinking, because let’s be real, we all know how Kathleen Garrett was, but in this case she stayed because I asked her to. I wanted to get it right. Swimming the butterfly was something that was important to me and my mom worked with me until I could do it. My love of swimming began that day, and I know without a doubt that my mom was proud of me. Because her four-year-old was doing laps while all the rest of the kids my age were messing around in the baby pool with floaties on their arms.”
I look up to find quite a few people crying and I wonder if they’d maybe had a moment like that with Mom too. Something that made how she was the rest of the time forgivable.
“This is what I’m going to choose to remember about my mom. She wanted me to be the best and she put her everything into making sure that happened. That’s how she loved me – how she loved Liam and my dad and Grandpa – with expectations that couldn’t be met, with standards that were too high, with the hope that we would want the best for ourselves.” I pull in a deep breath. “Thank you.”
Pastor Gerike comes over and squeezes my shoulders. “Would anyone else like to offer up a remembrance of Kathleen?” Several people raise their hands and stand where they are, telling us about some little thing Mom did for them or how she used to make them laugh way back when. Finally Liam and Dani stand and a jolt of fear shoots through me. I love my brother, but I’m actually not feeling too horrible about my mom at the moment and would like to keep it that way.
Liam holds his hand up to me and then turns to the crowd. “My girlfriend Dani and I would like to sing my mom’s favorite song. Her real favorite song. As nice as Amazing Grace is, Pastor Gerike, Kathleen Garrett had a secret love of ABBA.” Liam winks. “And so do I.”
My brother and his girlfriend then proceed to bring down the fucking house with an a capella rendition of Dancing Queen.
I can’t help but think that Mom would’ve both appreciated the “screw you” aspect of it as well as the fact that Liam perpetuated the lie that she was more fun than she was.
After that everyone gets in their cars, some going ahead to our house to get the food laid out while the rest of us head over to the cemetery.
Gabe holds my hand while I sit on a cold metal folding chair and watch my mom’s casket be lowered into the wet spring ground. I let the crying start then.
I cry until Gabe and I are the only people left at the grave site. Then I crawl in his lap and let him take me home.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I stick an errant lock of hair back underneath my swim cap and then slide my nose clip on. I step up on my starting block. Travis takes the one on my right and Gabe positions himself on the one to my left. We’re working on Gabe’s time for the butterfly and also the best way for him to leave the starting block – currently he’s favoring a sort of sitting-crouch where he basically flings his upper body willy-nilly into the water to gain momentum.
We’re Team Gabe and this is how we like to spend our time. Travis graduated last June and is home in Boise for good, working for his dad. I’m running the entire chain of dry cleaners after Grandpa decided to retire in July. He gave me his two extra percentage points for my birthday. Owning a company at twenty is scary, but so are a lot of things.
Like facing your demons or telling the truth or accepting yourself just as you are.
Gabe has been employee of the month at Sunny’s twice now. (Nonconsecutive. Don’t ask.) He’s yet to lose one hundred pizzas, but he spills a lot of drinks. He’s learned to always bring a pitcher. “Got a bitcher? Bring a pitcher!”
I’m thinking of making t-shirts.
And when the three of us aren’t working, or the two of us aren’t making out on the couch in our apartment, we swim and we get Gabe ready to compete.
He could probably hire a real coach – Travis and I have told him as much - but Gabe seems to think someone else would be a bad fit.
“Get ready,” Mrs. Caswell shouts, bringing the whistle up to her mouth. Mr. Cleveland stands next to her, his thumb poised over the stopwatch button.
I stoop down on my block, prepared to launch myself into the pool. The whistle blows and we’re in, the three of us neck-and-neck, cutting through the water.
Moving forward.
THE END
About the Author
Stacey Wallace Benefiel is the author of the Zellie Wells trilogy, the Penny Black trilogy, the Day of Sacrifice series, the Open Door Love Story series, The Toilet Business – a collection of humorous essays, and multiple short stories. She sometimes goes by S.W. Benefiel or Reina Stowe, but knows she’s not foolin’ anybody. Stacey lives in an orange house in Beaverton, OR with her two young children who have old people names. When she’s not writing, thinking about writing, or driving the kids somewhere, Stacey is at CrossFit lifting heavy things, and cursing the inventor of the Burpee.
www.StaceyWallaceBenefiel.com
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Also by Stacey Wallace Benefiel
Open Door Love Story series (NA Contemporary Romance)
Crossing (#1) – Free!
My Remedy (#3) – Izzy and Duncan’s story (Coming Winter 2015)
Day of Sacrifice Omnibus (NA Urban Fantasy Romance)
Day of Sacrifice – Free!
Rebellion
Dormant
Takeover
Dissent
Unfavorable
Day of Sacrifice Omnibus
Penny Black trilogy (NA Sci-fi Romance)
Found
Frayed (Coming 2014)
Fearless (Coming 2014)
Zellie Wells trilogy (YA Paranormal Romance)
Glimpse – Free!
Glimmer
Glow
Zellie Wells trilogy
Contemporary Erotic Romance by Reina Stowe
Upton All Night
Open Me
Twenty Questions
Cheating Hearts
The First Time
Crazy On You
Flinging In the New Year
Upton All Night (The Complete Series)
Employees of the Month
As always, much love and a neon green nose clip to Sarah Scott for reading Diving In, in all its stages of draftitude.
Hugs, and a vat of iced coffee to my writerly BFF Chanda Hahn for talkin’ it on out with me at the Panera every Friday.
Kisses, snugglebugs, and a heaping helping of wonder to my chickenmonkeys, G and A. You’ve taught me how to write during a dance party and to type with a sleeping child on my lap. Mama loves you.
F.Y.I. My parents are fantastic and I adore them!! They are the opposite of all the suck parents I write. Really.
Just so ya know, Kevin, my bizarre defining moment with you was when you knew all the words to Super Bass and sang along with me in the minivan. That’s pretty much all I ever wanted.
Imagine there is a thought bubble above my head that says “Thank you!” to my awesome beta readers: Sarah Scott, Lisa Nowak, Angela Carlie, and J.R. Pearse Nelson.
I’m unsure about a lot of things, but I know you all have got my back.
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