Streamline

by Jennifer Lane

  “You sure?” Elaine looked worried.

  Audrey nodded, and her friend left, looking over her shoulder as she went.

  Audrey once again locked the stall door, trying to find some sense of security as her world crashed down around her. She could hear cheers rising, and she knew the final heat of the relay approached.

  Leo…Leo…how would he react to the news? She sobbed, clutching her lower abdomen with trembling hands. What would she do?

  Leo completed the last of his springy jumps and stood completely still behind Jake as Alex mounted the blocks. Three teams in the heat had a good shot at winning the race, but Leo knew the main competition was the squad to their left: the St. Petersburg team, anchored by Gary.

  Leo exhaled forcefully as the crowd quieted. Alex was the only one on the blocks wearing a swim cap — the rest had shaved their heads. Leo felt electricity in the air as the raucous cheers abruptly silenced. “Take your mark…”

  Alex got out to a slight lead, and Jake and Leo yelled encourage-ment to Eric on the block as Alex approached the wall. Eric had a decent start, though he soon fell behind in the first fifty. His stellar endurance kicked in, and he made up some distance in the second fifty, closing in on the lead swimmers in lanes four and five. Alex joined Leo in shouting, “C’mon, Jake!” as the third swimmer mounted the blocks. Then Jake was off, thrashing through the water.

  The Pensacola squad was within half a body length of the teams in lanes four and five, and Leo willed Jake to keep up. Just stay within striking distance. He stepped up on the block. Zoning in on the turbulent wake, Leo felt his skin tingle. Goose bumps prickled along his spine.

  He couldn’t freaking wait to get to that water. Leo felt more alive than ever, his peripheral vision blurring and the sight of Jake swimming toward him coming into sharp relief. Then all he heard was the pounding of his heart. This was his moment.

  He rocketed off the block in a perfectly timed start, his limbs a powerhouse of smooth and efficient action. He had Gary in his sights in the first length and pulled even after the first turn. The thrill of connecting to the water and pushing himself as hard as possible consumed Leo. On the third turn, he pulled ahead of Gary and actually picked up speed on the fourth length, leaving the field behind.

  As soon as Leo looked up after the finish, his three teammates raised their arms in victory, jumping up and down. The Pensacola Panthers had won a relay at state for the first time!

  Leo hopped out to exchange hugs and high-fives with his teammates. They grabbed their sweats and found their coach to continue the celebration. Leo reveled in watching his normally cool and composed coach shake with excitement, sporting a look of shock. We did that. They’d pleased their coach so much he was dumbstruck.

  As the lead-off swimmer, Alex already knew his split was 45.8, six tenths faster than his individual race. Matt looked up at Eric. “Forty-seven point oh, Eric. Not bad for a distance swimmer!” Glancing back at his clipboard, Matt looped his arm around Jake’s neck and knuckled his hair. “Jake you were forty-five-nine! You might be faster than Leo by the time you’re a senior.” Finally turning to Leo, Matt paused dramatically.

  “What was my split?” Leo asked.

  “That was one amazing swim, Leo. Forty-three-four.” Leo’s eyes bulged. “I went forty-three?”

  “Forty-three.” Matt nodded.

  Alex whooped and pounded Leo on the back while Eric shook Leo’s hand.

  “Not many college athletes swim that fast, Leo,” Matt added.

  Leo was in a daze. What an incredible meet. How he’d pulled that off after such a tumultuous year, he’d never know. What he did know was he needed to share his happiness with Audrey or it wouldn’t mean much at all.

  Scanning the deck, he caught a glimpse of long reddish hair across the pool. He jogged in her direction, slowing his pace as he drew near. She looked almost scared to see him, but he must have been reading her incorrectly.

  “I went forty-three!” He wanted to grab her in a hug but sensed he should keep his distance.

  “Wow. That was a beautiful race, Leo.”

  “And you pul ed out the one hundred breast! How’re you feeling?”

  “I actually just threw up. I’ve been sick all weekend.”

  “What bad timing.” His face fell.

  “I know. So unlucky. Maybe it was the flu or food poisoning.” Audrey glanced at something behind Leo. “Hi, Coach.” Brett Turner, the men’s coach at Florida State University, waved at Audrey. “Hello! I hear from Nancy you’re going to be a Seminole next year.”

  She smiled. “That’s right. This is my boyfriend, Leo Scott.”

  “Ah, yes.” Brett grinned, shaking Leo’s hand. “This man needs no introduction after that relay performance. Great job, Leo.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “So, word on the street is you’re going to the Naval Academy. Is that true?”

  Leo looked down. “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, one of our international recruits didn’t pass his English test. We have a fifty-percent scholarship still available at FSU. Think about it, Leo.”

  Leo swallowed, feeling his father’s glare from somewhere in the stands above. “Thank you, sir, but I’ve made a commitment to the Navy. I can’t back out now.”

  Brett frowned. “I was afraid you’d say that. Maybe we’ll see you when you visit Audrey in Tallahassee?”

  “If I have any time off from the Academy, I’m there,” Leo promised.

  Brett nodded and looked as if he might say something else, but then just walked away.

  A tinge of green colored Audrey’s face. “I-I-I think I’m going to be sick again,” she got out before sprinting back to the locker room, leaving Leo standing by himself. She seemed so distant and preoccupied.

  After his shower, Leo emerged to find Matt conversing with his parents.

  “I’m so proud of you, son!” CS beamed, stepping up to meet him. As his father put his arms out, Leo felt himself flinch. Once he realized his father was hugging him, Leo could barely remember what to do — it’d been years since his father had tried that. Over his father’s shoulder, Leo watched Matt’s forehead crease. He tried to act more enthusiastic about the hug.

  CS let him go. “We’re going out to dinner to celebrate when we get home. You can invite anybody you want.” Leo squinted. “Anyone, sir?”

  “Anyone.”

  “Audrey,” Leo immediately replied. “Audrey, and…Jason.” Leo held his breath, studying his father’s gray eyes for any signs of change.

  His father hesitated, a smile frozen on his face. “Fine.” Leo turned to his mother, whose blue eyes twinkled. They’d all go out to dinner together, just like a normal, ordinary family. But somehow he knew nothing would ever be normal or ordinary when it came to the Scotts.

  32. Unborn Babies

  The chocolate birthday cake looked delicious, but Jason’s appetite was nonexistent, and it was clear Cameron and her mother didn’t want any either.

  Jason stared at the cake, feeling the cake stare back. He tapped his fingers on his thigh and worried he was crashing their Sunday afternoon gathering — even though Cam had explicitly invited him.

  “He didn’t even like chocolate,” Cam said.

  “He didn’t?” Mrs. Walsh seemed distracted. “Yes, he did. He always bought chocolate for me on Valentine’s Day.”

  “That’s because you like chocolate, Mom.” Jason glanced back and forth, sensing tension. He felt like a major third wheel. He hadn’t even really known Lt. Commander Walsh.

  “Great. I got the wrong cake.” Mrs. Walsh glared at Cam. “Why don’t you get next year’s cake then, since you seem to know him so well?”

  Cam opened her mouth, but her face crumpled. Tears slid down her cheeks as Jason sat in pained silence.

  “I’m sorry.” Mrs. Walsh’s tone softened as she patted Cam’s arm.

  “This was a bad idea. Let’s throw away this stupid cake. It’s just…since it’s his birthday, I though
t we should do something to honor your father’s memory. But this turned out all wrong.”

  Sniffing, Cam nodded. “There’s no way I want to eat birthday cake right now. Especially without him…He should be here.”

  “He’d be forty-six today,” Mrs. Walsh murmured.

  Jason cleared his throat. “Seems like you both honor him, and you don’t need a birthday cake to do that. He’d be proud of both of you. Cam, you got a teaching job — what he always wanted for you. And Mrs. Walsh, you’ve moved on too.”

  “Jason, I told you to call me Patti.” She’d finally stopped him from calling her “ma’am,” but it would be even more difficult for him to call her by name. CS would be aghast. Cancerous Slimeball was all about showing respect. Never mind that Jason had zero respect for his father.

  Sometimes Jason felt almost jealous that Cam didn’t have to deal with her father anymore. Sometimes, on his lowest days, Jason wished his father was dead. But such thoughts were always followed by a tremendous wave of guilt.

  He was simply amazed that Mrs. Walsh had welcomed him into her family, especially since he’d learned Cam was pregnant with his baby when he’d left town years ago. The fact that he was an alcoholic facing prison time didn’t really sweeten the deal either.

  Terrified of raising the baby alone and with no idea how to get in touch with him, Cam had decided she had no choice but an abortion — a decision that had shocked her parents when they’d discovered it after the fact. Cam had told Jason her parents had been fighting more the last year of her father’s life, but otherwise they’d had a happy marriage.

  Mrs. Walsh clearly missed her husband, and Jason wondered if her grief had skewed her judgment about the man she allowed her daughter to date. He and Cam had been together when Mr. Walsh was still alive, and it seemed like Mrs. Walsh needed to turn back the clock to those positive memories. She’d just dismissed the more troubling aspects of his previous time in Pensacola. Still, he was grateful — almost as grateful as he was for Cam’s willingness, finally, to trust him again.

  When Jason’s cell phone vibrated, he saw it was his parents’ home number and excused himself to the foyer. “Leo?”

  “Hey, Jase.”

  “Hey, you’re back from Ft. Lauderdale, huh?”

  “Yep, our flight landed about an hour ago. Mom and Dad aren’t home yet.”

  “Still stoked about your forty-three in the hundred?”

  “Absolutely…I hope I can hold onto this feeling for a long time. But it’s back to the water on Tuesday. The high school season’s over — now on to nationals.”

  Jason exhaled. “You swimmers are nuts. You’ve been swimming nonstop since when? September? And now you keep going?”

  “Well, we get a break in April after senior nationals.” Leo’s voice faltered. “I’m calling you to, um, ask you out to dinner on Monday night.”

  “Sure. That’s the night before my sentencing hearing. I’m buying.

  Where do you want to go?”

  “You don’t have to pay, Jase. I, um, I…”

  “What’s going on?”

  “It’s dinner with Audrey, and Mom…and CS. He offered after I did so well at the meet.”

  “What?” Jason exploded. “I’m not spending my last night of freedom with Criminal Shithead, Leo.”

  “He told me I could invite whoever I wanted, and I wanted you. Please? For me?”

  Jason sighed. Leo sounded so needy. “Where is this dinner?”

  “Bonefish Grill on Twelfth Avenue.”

  “CS okay with me going?”

  “Truthfully, he seemed kind of mad. But he didn’t say no.” Jason sighed again, licking his lips. “Okay. But you owe me. You better visit me in prison, Leo.”

  “I seriously doubt you’re going to prison, but if you do, I’ll be there. Thanks for coming, bro. I’ll call when I know what time dinner is.”

  They hung up, and Jason stared at the linoleum floor, shaking his head.

  “What’s wrong?” Cam asked when he returned.

  “I have to go out to dinner tomorrow night with CS.”

  “Who’s CS?” asked Mrs. Walsh.

  Jason winced. “Uh, that’s an abbreviation for my father. Commander Scott.”

  Cam chuckled. “That’s not what it stands for.” Jason’s eye’s widened.

  “Relax. Mom and I tell each other everything. Life’s too short to keep secrets.” She turned to her mother. “Jason and Leo call their father Cruel SOB.”

  Mrs. Walsh shook her head. “You boys sound exactly like Bill.

  Sometimes he’d be so frustrated with your father, Jason. I’d hear him rant for hours when he got home from work.”

  “Yeah.” Jason nodded. “I feel sorry for his new second-in-command. What’s his name? Ronald something?” Mrs. Walsh seemed to bristle. “It’s Roland Drake. I do not like that man. He seems so…slick…so smug, or something.” She shuddered. “I’m glad I don’t have to deal with the lot of them on the base anymore…Anyway, I’m going shopping. Will you be here later?”

  “We should be,” Cam said.

  “If I miss you, good luck at your hearing, Jason. I’m pulling for you.”

  Once again he was awed by her kindness. “Thank you, Patti.” They smiled at each other. “My attorney thinks it’s looking okay for me.”

  Cam tilted her head. “Is he still scared of you?”

  “Yeah.” Jason grinned, flexing his sizeable biceps for the ladies.

  “I’ve got no idea why.”

  The women laughed.

  Once her mother left, Jason reached out and stroked Cameron’s hand. “This day’s almost half over, Cam. You can get through it.” Her mouth formed a tight line.

  He tried to distract her. “I’m kind of hungry. S’okay if I have a piece of cake?”

  “Sure.” She served him a big piece.

  Digging in, he purred in a deep rumble. “Mmm.” He took another forkful and held it out to Cam. “Will you eat a bite?” She pursed her lips, considering for a moment. When she nodded, he lifted the fork to her mouth, accidentally smearing frosting near her lip. Oblivious to her chocolate moustache, Cam grinned at him.

  Suppressing a laugh, Jason took another forkful, this time pur-posefully smudging frosting on her face.

  “Hey!” She snatched a napkin to wipe her mouth.

  This time he didn’t bother with a fork and instead grabbed a gob of icing and lathered it on her cheek, eliciting a shriek. Ducking her head, she scooped some frosting and tried to plaster it on his moving target of a face.

  It became an all-out food fight, and both screeched with laughter as they flung chocolate frosting everywhere.

  Final y Jason took Cam in his arms and languorously kissed and licked the sweetness from her cheek, chin, lips. They ended up on the sofa, kissing and caressing.

  “Thanks for getting me through this day,” she whispered.

  “March twelfth isn’t only your dad’s birthday. It’s also the day we had our first food fight.”

  She beamed. “Our first food fight? Well, then, I can’t freaking wait for our second.”

  Leo strolled the hallways of Pensacola High, trying to hide his disappointment at the lack of attention he received. He felt like a changed man after reigning victorious in one individual event and helping his relay win their first state title, but besides congratulations from a teacher or two, no one else seemed to care. They didn’t even notice his shaved head.

  At lunch, Leo studied Audrey while Alex and Elaine bickered over the sexual orientation of Tom Cruise. Alex was convinced he was gay, but Elaine said the rumors were simply to sel magazines.

  Audrey seemed far away.

  “I don’t think you two will figure out it out anytime soon,” Leo finally interjected. “Why don’t you just let the guy live his life?” Offering his hand to Audrey, he rose from the table. “Want to take a walk?”

  Audrey hesitated a moment before she slung her purse over her shoulder and grasped his hand. She tossed her
half-eaten sandwich in the garbage. He led her outside, and they meandered the school grounds. The clouds seemed to reflect Audrey’s gloomy mood.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t have the meet you wanted,” Leo said. “I’d be upset too.”

  “What?”

  “I…uh…it’s not right you had a bad meet, and I had a great meet.

  You worked so hard, and you didn’t screw up like me. It should’ve been the other way around.”

  “Leo?”

  He forged on. “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to intervene on my behalf at a crucial time in the season. I totally ruined it for you.”

  Leo looked down and Audrey let go of his hand. “No — ”

  “You’ll be better off without me next year.”

  “Will you shut up?”

  He turned to her with frightened eyes.

  “My meet had nothing to do with you!” She chewed on her lip.

  “Well, it did, actually, but not in the way you’re thinking.”

  “Audrey, don’t be mad,” Leo pleaded.

  “Leo, I know you have to go the Academy, but I hate that we’ll be apart. I could never be better off without you…you got that? Don’t say anything like that again.”

  He’d jammed his hands into his pockets. “Sorry.” They resumed walking. “So you don’t think the Oxycontin mess screwed up your swims,” Leo said. “Then why’ve you been acting so weird since the meet?”

  Now Audrey looked down. She stopped short and gazed at him.

  “There’s a reason I didn’t swim well.”

  Leo nodded. She turned to continue their walk. After a few moments, she spoke again. “There’s a reason I didn’t swim well.”

  “I got that part.” He smiled to encourage her.

  She kept walking in silence, seeming to grow increasingly frustrated. “Ughhh!” She threw her arms up.

  Leo once again took her hand and led her to sit next to him on a bench, far from the other students who’d ventured outside.

  “There’s a reason I didn’t swim well,” she said a third time. She gripped the strap of her purse and stared at her hands. “Oh, okay…This is how I’ll tell you.” She groped in her purse and took out a pink box. She shoved it into his hands.