We rode down the road with all the windows open. It was like standing in front of the oven with the door open, but we enjoyed it all the same. I couldn’t help but smile; the excitement was infectious. When we made the turn to head towards the spring, I could hear everyone in the other trucks whooping and hollering. I went wide in the turn and pulled abreast of Thad. He looked out, smiling as usual. I pressed the throttle and passed him. The little red pick-up didn’t have the ass to keep pace with the Cummins.
Jamie and Ian were bringing up the rear in one of the MRAPs. The old man thought it would be a good idea to have some muscle with us, just in case things went sideways. Jess and Doc rode with them and I could hear them cussing on the radio about everyone leaving them behind. Sarge came over the radio and called for everyone to slow down. He cussed me when I sped past him. They could wait; we were going swimming!
But I did slow a bit, enough to keep them in sight. I wasn’t worried about the big armored truck getting in trouble, but the Suburban would be a prime target for someone not paying attention to the line of vehicles coming up behind me. The worry was wasted though. It was a beautiful day and we didn’t encounter any trouble.
I drove right past the little pay station. I used to call it a ranger station. But it was no longer that. The Forestry Service had contracted the operation of the parks to a private company long ago. Naturally, it got a lot more expensive to visit what was supposed to be public land. The land belonged to the people…..if they could afford to get in.
At the swimming area, I got out and took down a section of the split rail fence that bordered the spring. I wanted to drive down to the water, keep the trucks close. I wound the truck through the trees, sometimes on the sidewalk, sometimes on the grass, until we were down near the beach. The park was empty, we had it all to ourselves. Before I was stopped all the way, the doors flew open and the kids bolted for the water.
Getting out, I laughed as they all ran into the water and dove head-first into the crystal-clear spring. Mel walked to the front of the truck and watched them. Still watching the kids, I said, “Remember how long it used to take them to get into the water?”
She looked over at me. “It’s still going to take me that long.”
I held out my hand as Thad pulled to a stop beside the Suburban. “Come on, babe. Let’s go swimming.”
It wasn’t long before everyone was in the water. Everyone except the old man. He, Miss Kay and Cecil were sitting on the stone wall that surrounded the near side of the spring with their pants rolled up and their bare feet in the water. Mel and I waded into the cool water. She never did like going to the spring. Well, she did, but she hated the getting in part. Florida springs stay at seventy-two degrees year-round. In the summer, that means at least a twenty-degree difference. To say it was brisk was an understatement.
Mel and I held hands as we waded out into the water. Her breath was short and in quick gasps as she tried to hold her stomach out of the water. But it was useless, and I had to laugh. “Come on, babe. Just get in.”
“You get in!” She shouted back.
Glancing over my shoulder at the rest of our group as they all dashed for the water, I said, “Ok.” And I turned and dove in.
The water was cold, but awesome. I swam through the cool water as far as I could hold my breath before surfacing. When I came up, I saw Mel was with Jess and Fred. They were watching the kids who were all clinging to a bright pink raft, trying to clamor aboard. Aric and Thad were both swimming as hard as they could, racing one another towards the bubbling spring.
Coming up, I waved at Mel. She waved back, and I started towards the gurgling water. Getting to the giant crack in the ground where the cool water issued forth, I found Wallner there with two of the Guardsmen. I smiled and splashed water in his face, “So, you did make it.”
He smiled, took a mouthful of water and spit it into the air like a fountain. “Yes, I did! Man, this feels good!”
Thad and Aric were splashing each other in a fury of spray. Everywhere you looked, people were laughing and smiling. It was just the break we needed. I looked towards the shore and saw Perez sitting under a tree, smoking of course. He was barefoot and down to his t-shirt. I saw Danny in the shallow water, sitting in water up to his chin. The kids’ raft had found its way to him and he was spinning them around. Hearing another truck, I looked up to see Baker, Terry, Scott and Eric running for the water. They’d driven the bucket truck all the way out here and were quickly in the water with everyone else.
We spent the day like this. At some point, Thad left the water to start cooking. I headed for the shore, stopping to kiss Mel on my way and to splash the kids chasing minnows along the bank. Catching up to Thad, I told him I’d collect some wood for the fire. We were going to use one of the grills at the park. It didn’t take long to get the wood. The park had numerous hardwood trees, and their limbs littered the ground.
We loaded the grill with wood and kept feeding it until there was a heavy bed
