By the time the sun goes down, some of the Belles and others leave, but nothing takes my attention away from Charlie. He is teaching me how not to flop around like a fish out of water, to really swim. We are in the pool for so long our fingers are beginning to look like shriveled raisins. Then: Flash! We jump as if we saw a shark, but it is just the pool lights.
“Like that?” Uncle Larry boasts. “You guys weren’t ready for it, but bam! There it is!” Uncle Larry laughs like maybe he’s had too much wine. These lights are so bright you probably can see them from outer space. Charlie and I get out of the pool and sit in the only seat available. I call it a snuggle seat, because it’s round and if two people get in, the only thing you can do is snuggle. I glance over to see if my aunt or uncle might have something to say about me being snuggly with a boy, but they seem too busy playing some kind of card game with Gabriella and Marc. And my little cousins are teaching Cameron how to catch fireflies. They’re so pretty when they light up at night, but if one crawled near me, I’d freak out.
“So you’ll be leaving pretty soon?” Charlie asks.
“Yeah, I can’t say I’m happy about going home,” I say. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
“Maybe you’ll come back next summer,” says Charlie. “Or maybe I’ll see you in Brooklyn.” Did he just say that?
“Seriously?” I ask. “When?”
“I don’t know,” responds Charlie. “My mom hasn’t figured out which holiday she wants me to spend with her. I don’t think she even knows what she’ll be doing next. It’s hard to explain, so I don’t say much about my mother. I just visit without expecting anything to be the same or different.”
“I thought you liked your mom,” I say.
“I love my mother,” Charlie says. “Let’s just say I go with the flow when it comes to my mom.” If I wasn’t mystified by him before, I am now. The way he looks at life is so intriguing. Maybe that’s what happens with divorced kids; they grow up a little faster than others and learn more because they have two separate families teaching them different things. “But I go and eat all the pizza I can. Brooklyn has the best pizza,” he adds.
“That’s very true. Well, there’s good pizza in Manhattan too.” I laugh. “And Queens…you’ll just have to come to New York! I’ll take you to this place in Queens that has the best, best pizza you’ll ever have! My dad took us there once.”
“I think I know a place in Queens too,” Charlie says. “I was kind of small, so I’m not sure if I remember. Anyway, going to New York will be more exciting now that I know you’ll be there.” I can’t help but blush.
“Thanks,” I say as I look away, unable to meet his eyes.
“Well, I have to get going. My stepmom doesn’t like me riding my skateboard late at night.” My heart sinks. This will probably be the last time I see him unless he comes to Brooklyn next summer. Wishful thinking.
We must have been sitting there for a long time, because all of Charlie’s friends have left. My little brother and cousins are back in the pool, and Sally and Ivy are hanging out on the swings, probably catching up. As Charlie gathers his things and says good night to my aunt and uncle, I head inside to the “powder room,” as my aunt calls it. I check the mirror to make sure the last time Charlie looks at my face I won’t have something crawling out of my nose or that my skin doesn’t look ashy. Just to be safe, I pump some sweet-smelling lotion from the hand soap set that sits on the counter and rub it all over my face, then check my breath to make sure I don’t smell like the onions on my burger. I read in some magazine that the biggest turnoff to boys is stinky breath.
Uncle Larry is walking Charlie to the door. Oh, Uncle Larry! I hope he’s not going to make sure he leaves without letting me say good-bye.
“Good seeing you, son,” says Uncle Larry. “And tell your father I said to stop by sometime—take a dip in the pool.”
“I will, Mr. Walker,” says Charlie, who sees me standing behind my uncle. Uncle Larry turns around to find me.
“Oh, uh, I’ll leave you two.” Uncle Larry tiptoes away. “But I’m not too far. I’m watching y’all.” I smile at him. I love that he trusts me enough to give me at least a little privacy.
As soon as I close the door behind me, Charlie plants a kiss right on my lips. I wasn’t ready, but I see fireworks again, even though there aren’t any real ones this time.
“Whoa,” I say as he backs up and stares into my eyes. “That was…”
“I like you,” says Charlie. “And I don’t like saying good-bye.” I try to catch my breath before I can say anything.
“So…say you’ll see me after practice tomorrow,” I say cleverly.
“I can’t,” Charlie says, disappointed. “My team is going to Raleigh to compete at this crazy skateboard park. It’s going to be awesome.” Skateboarder, right.
“Well, say you’ll see me in New York and that we’ll have pizza in Brooklyn, or Manhattan, or in Queens,” I plead.
“Now, that would be cool, but I don’t like making promises,” says Charlie. I
