Page 7 of Something Like Forever
“Just takes practice,” Timsaid. “We can do it.”
They had a few falsestarts, Tim landing on his back for one of them, which smarted. Hegot it on the next try, realizing that he just needed a lot ofbounce. This was less intimidating on the low dive. He managed toflip on three separate attempts, each easier than the previous.Then he coached William until he too was able to do it.
“I’m surprised they don’tteach you this in the Coast Guard,” Tim said when climbingout.
“Diving boards andhelicopters don’t mix,” William retorted. “Not unless you’relooking for a haircut.”
“Maybe we should try itfrom the high dive,” Tim suggested.
“I’m game!” Williamreplied, grinning at him.
This earned them a smallaudience. Jason rose and walked closer to take photos and record avideo. A handful of a little kids sat on the edge of the pool andclapped or called out numbers, like scorecards from an Olympicjudge. “¡Nueve! Cinco.Ocho.” Or if they were really lucky,“¡Diez! ¡Diez ¡Diez!”
Even a backflip didn’tearn them a perfect score. Only a cannonball would do the trick,the kids giggling if they got splashed enough, or once, Williamkept jumping up and down on the board until he had a ridiculousamount of air. Tim was certain he almost hit the ceiling.Eventually the kids got tired of sitting on the sidelines andstarted participating, but on the lower diving board instead. Onlyone of them was brave enough to attempt the high dive. He justhappened to be the smallest one too. The kid couldn’t have beenmore than six years old. Tim stood on the sidelines and watched,unsure if he should feel impressed or concerned. He looked over,trying to find the parents, and saw a woman on her cell phone. Sheseemed to be arguing with someone about a travel reservation. Thenshe looked up and shrieked.
Tim followed her terrifiedeyes, turning just in time to see the little kid plummet toward thewater. The boy hadn’t dived or pulled his limbs in. He looked morelike a skydiver, arms and legs spread wide. Not good. The boy hitthe water facedown and flat, a painful smacking sound echoingthroughout the hall. He didn’t come up again. Not quickly enough.Tim braced himself to dive in, but a blur blew past him before hecould. William shot beneath the water like a torpedo, only breakingthe surface again when a small bundle was in his arms. Then hebegan swimming backward, dragging the child along, just like he haddemonstrated to him the other day.
Tim got down on his kneesso he could pull the child free from the water, wishing desperatelythat he had refreshed himself on CPR, because the kid was making aterrible choking noise. Then the boy started coughing instead,thank goodness.
“¡Mi bebé! ¡Mi pobre bebé!”
The mother rushed to herchild. Tim made room for her and turned to William, who was out ofthe pool and looking like he meant business.
“He’s okay,” Tim informedhim. “He’s breathing.”
“He just got the windknocked out of him,” William said. “Same thing happened to meonce.”
The mother turned,spluttering emotional thank yous. Tim translated for William, whohad some emotional words of his own. They were politely phrased andsoftly spoken, but ultimately boiled down to the mother needing tokeep a closer watch on her child. That was less fun to translate,but the woman took it well, thanking him again. Then she alternatedbetween scolding her son and smooching the boy on his cheeks. Timchuckled at this display, then looked over to check on his own son.Jason was standing there shocked and pale. Tim thought he knew why,but he waited until they were upstairs in the hall before he saidanything.
William had slipped into his room, Jasonabout to follow when Tim grabbed his arm.
“Hey! Just asec.”
Jason looked surprised,then murmured something to William before pulling the door mostlyshut. “What’s up?”
“Funny how life works,”Tim said. “Sometimes it sends you a sign too clear toignore.”
Jason searched his eyes. “Ben told you.”
“Telling one of us istelling the other,” Tim said. “Unless you swear me tosecrecy.”
Jason exhaled. “I knowthat I need to let him go.”
“Right. William belongs inthe Coast Guard where he can keep helping people,” Tim said, “andyou need to go with him. For support.”
“But—”
“Ben and I have eachother,” Tim said. “You made sure of that by forcing us to getmarried.” He leaned forward and in a conspiring whisper added, “andI’m really glad you did.”
Jason flashed a smile. “Ithad to happen eventually.”
“Yeah. You’ve taken goodcare of us. We’ll miss you, but we won’t be lonely. Now it’s yourturn to figure out who you want to spend the rest of your lifewith.”
“I already have,” Jasonsaid.
“Then on to step two,which is actually spending your life with him. You’ll see us again.A lot. We won’t let you get away that easily.”
Jason just stared. When his lip startedtrembling, Tim grabbed him in a bear hug. “You’re doing the rightthing. Don’t let fear trip you up. Trust me. I speak fromexperience.”
