Andy had always known he would give in if they persisted. “Then I
guess we’d better get out in the lake tomorrow.” He located his phone and sent Loretta a quick text. A few minutes later the phone buzzed. He picked it up and laughed. “She says why not tonight.”
“Well, why not tonight?” Andy made a ‘really?’ face. “Yeah, really.”
“Okay. Put that wine down. No, Victor, you can finish it later. Believe me, you’re going to want it.” He took the glass out of his husband’s hand.
“Get in your swim trunks.”
They met Loretta out on the dock twenty minutes later. She was in a boogie-boarding wetsuit, so excited she was bouncing. “Oh my God Andy, I’ve always wanted to do this. Can I do it? Will I kill Victor?”
“We are going to go slow,” Andy said. “I don’t think you’ll kill Victor.
You are going to crash a lot. Ready for that?”
“Yes, Andy.” She stood there with clasped hands, looking very serious.
“Okay, let’s do the plane first.” Andy put three beach towels down on top of each other, and a yoga mat on top of those, for a cushion. Victor stretched out on his back, and they worked on the flying position until Victor consistently had the hand placement and Loretta consistently held her balance, even when Victor went from bent to straight arms. “That’s so good, you guys. So his hands will be right there all the way. You jump straight up, he’ll carry you the rest of the way, you dive over his head. The hard part is stopping the dive at horizontal. Everybody in the lake.” Once they were all in the water he gave them the same disclaimers they’d already heard about a dozen times, warning them that Loretta would be slippery. “That suit will help a lot but you’re probably not going to get it tonight, okay?”
“Okay.” Victor and Loretta both looked disappointed.
“Don’t feel bad. This isn’t easy. Let’s focus on getting the elevation here where there’s a safe place to fall.” Sort of safe, Andy thought, cringing at the potential for disaster. They really wanted to do it, though, so he carried on.
Forty minutes of splashing, shrieking, and laughing later, they all hauled out onto the dock. They were resting there when they heard Jonathan.
“Nobody told me there was a pool party.”
“Jonathan, Andy is trying to teach us the lift. I am so, so bad.” Loretta’s voice was husky from shrieking.
“She is not bad.” Andy was flat on his back on the dock. He’d done his share of lifting, getting Loretta to really commit to the jump, challenging her
with his extra two inches of height. “This shit is difficult.”
“Yes it is.” Victor was sitting cross-legged, rolling his neck.
“I’m sorry I’m so heavy,” said Loretta, who weighed about a hundred and twenty pounds.
“You are not heavy. That’s not why we’re crashing.”
“Did you really think you’d get it in one night?” Andy sat up. “And with a very not-the-best coach? We can work on it some more tomorrow.”
Jonathan said, “Same time?” Everybody else looked at him. “Well, I could spot you. Then Andy could watch and see where the problems are.”
“If you could help spot them, we could do this in the gym with the crash mats.” Those were in place for fight rehearsals. Andy would have suggested it already if he hadn’t thought it was a really bad idea to risk Loretta and Victor both falling. “And with their shoes on.”
The following night, things improved fast. In the well-lit gym, with crash mats and a tall strong spotter on each side, Loretta and Victor both had more confidence. They actually got up to the lift four times. “That is amazingly good!” Andy said, when he finally made them stop for the night. “Next time you’ll be able to hold it.”
“Are you sure,” Loretta said, wincing. “Ay, my hips. It’s a good thing I’m not in a swimsuit for the rest of this thing.”
“Sorry about the bruises, honey.” Victor had a few himself.
“What the hell is going on in here?” They all looked around, as guilty as teenagers caught with a bong. It was the location producer.
“Um, we’re practicing?” Victor said. “For the dance scene?”
“Ms. Bautista, are you injured?”
“No! I’m fine. I’m tired, that’s all. We’re done here, sí?”
“Sí amiga, go take a hot bath and get some rest.” Victor kissed her cheek.
The producer let her go, studying the three men with narrowed, suspicious eyes. “Mr. Morris, I don’t believe you and Mr. Martin are in the dance scene.”
“Nope.” Jonathan didn’t give her anything else.
“Andy was giving us some professional pointers,” Victor said, reminding the producer of his husband’s bona fides. “And Jonathan didn’t feel like staying in his room alone. Right, Jonathan?”
“Right.” He said the one thing the producer would probably appreciate.
“Hey, it’s better than all of us being in the bar.”
She gave him a sideways look and flapped her hand. “Fine. Whatever you’re up to, at least everyone’s still walking. But get out of here now.” They all made cooperative noises and headed out.
They didn’t say a word until they got up to their floor of the hotel. “Oh my God you guys, I haven’t felt so busted since my mom caught me with a six-pack.” Jonathan was laughing as quietly as he could. Andy and Victor were cracking up too, stifling it. “You think you can get it tomorrow? If she catches us again, you’re toast.”
“We’ll get it tomorrow,” Victor said.
Andy said, “You’d better.”
Victor had a break the next day.
