Page 5 of Dreams
“What are you doing in there?” he asked, knowing how stupid it sounded as soon as he said it.
“Swimming,” she answered, a slight tremor in her voice. “You can go back inside now.”
He almost did. She obviously didn’t want him there, and he wasn’t so sure he wanted to be there either. It would have been so easy to let her be someone else’s project. That’s what he wanted. But, that wasn’t who he was.
He walked towards the pool and she became clearer. Her long hair hung in ringlets, sticking to her face. Black lines streaked down her face, but her eyes weren’t swollen.Just the water then. No crying,he thought.Interesting.
* * *
They didn’t talk much, and Taylor was glad for that. She let everything go and just floated on top of the water. Danny was still on her mind - he always was, but she wasn’t ready to talk about him.
For months, her parents had been trying to get her talk about her feelings. They’d even sent her to a therapist. She spent an hour sitting across from a lady with a clipboard, but refused to speak.
Danny’s family wanted her to say something at the memorial service, but again she declined.
When Josh first sat down, she assumed he’d been sent by her parents to get her to say something about it, anything at all. Send the cute, unknown boy out to help her. It’d be a good tactic if she could feel anything at all. She knew she should feel guilty for everything she’d put her family through in the last year, but she couldn’t muster up even a shred of remorse.
Now this boy sat nearby, watching her but not asking her to say anything. He didn’t demand she deal with her grief like everyone else in her life did. She didn’t know him, yet she found it so comfortable to be around him. Maybe it was because he didn’t know how broken she really was.
“I’m Taylor,” she finally said.
“Hi, Taylor.” There it was again - that smile. It wasn’t full of sadness or fake celebration like everyone else in that house. It wasn’t a happy smile, either. That would have been out of place on a day like today. It just was. There were no expectations in his expression. He was just… nice.
“Do you like Portland?”
His question reeked of small talk. A year ago Taylor would have laughed at that. Now she was grateful for the lack of substance in the conversation.
“It’s okay,” she finally said. “But we’re moving to Columbus, Ohio.”
Josh smiled again. “You don’t sound too excited about that.”
“Oh, I’ve always wanted to go cow-tipping. And don’t forget the tractor shows.” She groaned, and Josh just laughed.
“It’s not so bad,” he said. “I’ve been to Columbus, and it’s actually a pretty cool city. No cow-tipping, I promise.”
“Well, at least the weather will be better.”
“I wouldn’t count on that.”
“Sounds like you know a lot about the place.”
Josh shrugged.
They continued their small talk and Taylor appreciated it. She had forgotten what it felt like to talk to someone who didn’t ask her how she was every five minutes.
The temperature seemed to be dropping as a breeze blew across the top of the water and her teeth clattered together.
“You must be freezing,” Josh said, jumping to his feet. “Hold on, I’ll go get you a towel.”
He disappeared into the house for a few minutes before returning. Taylor climbed out of the pool and let Josh wrap the towel around her shaking body. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms for warmth, but she stepped away from him as she grew uncomfortable with the closeness.
Her sopping dress clung to her legs, making walking a challenge.
“Taylor,” her mom called, appearing at the door. “We’re heading out.” Her eyes landed on her wet daughter and she sighed. “I’m so very glad I spent all that time on your hair today.” She then smiled indulgently and shook her head. “Come on, sweetheart.”
Taylor glanced back at Josh one more time before following her mom into the house.
