The next morning she awoke to the sound of ice tinkling in a glass. The alarm clock on the wicker nightstand read 7:20. "Geez, what's he doing up so early?" she grumbled as she rolled out of bed and went stumbling around until she found him.
In the garage, Dave was already dressed in shorts and tennis shoes examining Marks golf clubs. Last night he had noticed that they were left-handed and although the shoes were a little big, they would do. "I thought I would just go and play a quick round this morning. You don't mind, do you? Or do you want to come?"
"No, no, you go on. I'll find something around here to do." With her permission, he packed the clubs into the back of the rental car and left the driveway. A quick round will probably take him the better part of the day. She wished him a good game and sauntered back into the house.
The sun moved higher in the sky filling the kitchen with it's bright warm light. It was shaping up to be a gorgeous day. She thought about her husband out on the golf course all day, he would get fried and would probably need some special care when he got home. The thought made her giddy with anticipation, "but what to do for now?" she wondered out loud as she reached for a glass and poured herself a coke. There were two ice cubes left, he never could remember how to fill an ice cube tray! She stared out the window as she was filling the trays. The pool looked a little green from there. She wondered if she could fix it, having never dealt with pool chemicals before.
Carla, still dressed in her night clothes, crossed the living room to the French doors and stepped out onto the patio. It was already getting hot. High of 96 degrees was expected for today. The pool was bean shaped, hugged with a cement walk all the way around. Two wrought iron patio tables with umbrellas were placed on each side and a pair of chaise lounges were sitting together at the bend in the bean. Tropical plants grouped all around the pool area gave the oasis effect much like the courtyard. The tall wooden privacy fence seemed to invite nakedness. Carla laughed at the thought. She wondered if her brother and sister-in-law ever tried skinny dipping. As she walked closer to the water she noticed that the shallow end was curled with bench like steps, a nice place for relaxing, and a tile placed in the sidewalk near the diving board boasted a depth of ten feet. She would spend all day here by the pool, awaiting Dave's return, if she could just get it clean.
"Hey. You must be Mark's sister," came a voice from the other side of the fence.
An expletive popped into her mind and slipped out from between her lips as she realized how scantily she was dressed and wondered if anyone could see her through the fence. "Uh, yes, uhm, that's right, I'm Carla," she managed as she backed up to the patio doors.
"Mark said to tell you he was sorry about the pool, he didn't have time to clean it before he left but he paid me to come over and see to it. I'll be over there in about thirty minutes," threatened the voice.
"Thank you, uh, no hurry, just come when you can," Carla stammered realizing that she was trying to hide behind a glass door. She ran in locking the door behind her and giggling all the way to her suitcase. It was silly but she found that she was actually turned on by the thought that someone might have seen her in the see through cloth, especially since it was most certainly a man's voice. She removed the gown quickly and dressed in a pair of jeans and a short sleeved blouse.
No sooner had she buckled her sandals than there was a knock at the front door. Carla rushed to open the door, not wanting to waste any time getting that pool clean. On the other side of the door stood a young man in bicycle shorts, only bicycle shorts, and a smile. He walked right in, like he was a regular here, and moved toward the doors leading to the backyard, making conversation all the way. He introduced himself as Shawn. She asked a few questions about him and found that he had just graduated from Bueno High School and was looking forward to attending the University of Arizona South, she thought he had said, in the fall but didn't know yet what he wanted to study. He said that he and Mark were good friends and that he even had Mark as a history teacher last year. Standing just inside the patio doors talking reminded Carla of their last conversation less than an hour ago and felt her face flush.
Shawn headed straight to the pump shed. He tested the water first and then he dumped the contents of a large drum into the water, Carla guessed it was a chlorinator of some kind, her sinuses were already burning.
Still standing in the doorway, Carla forgot her embarrassment and remembered her manners. She hurried to the kitchen to fix some sodas. She was sure Shawn would be thirsty when he finished. From the window she could see him sweeping the bottom of the pool. Carla watched his movements as he made the swishing motions back and forth. He was a big puppy now but she imagined him in ten years all firm and hard. He'd be Herculean when he matured. Now he seemed so soft, so young, so. . . . "Oh he's done," she panted as she was brought back to her senses.
They sat at a patio table nervously chatting. Carla watched his hands as he fumbled with the tumbler. They were still baby smooth and flawless. On his right hand he wore a class ring with a huge black onyx in the setting. She wondered if this meant that he had no steady girlfriend or if the kids just didn't exchange class rings anymore. She watched him lift his glass to his full, creaseless, cherry red lips. " Wonder what they would taste like?" curiosity asked. When the glass was empty, Shawn stood up to go. He warned Carla not to go swimming right away but to wait a couple of hours and let the chemicals do their thing. Carla agreed and accompanied him to the front entrance. "If you want to swim later, come on over." She had no idea why she just invited him.
"Uh, thanks, but I promised Mom I would help her with some chores around the house," he shouted in reply already halfway across the yard. Carla watched his back until he was out of sight and was a bit relieved that he had not accepted her spontaneous proposition.
Carla glanced at the time, 11:00 already, time flies. She fixed a sandwich and sat down to eat. As she picked up her drink, she imagined Shawn's hands on his cup. Her pulse quickened. She was beginning to feel disappointed that he wasn't coming back to swim. She wondered if he swam in shorts or one of those hot little bikinis and tried to picture him in the skimpy little suit. "Maybe not," she grinned. Carla tidied up the kitchen and went to the bedroom to change into her swimsuit. She brought two, her one piece "public bathing suit" and her "worn only to sunbathe in private because she was to fat for it" bikini. She chose her bikini and put it on.
It was still too soon to swim by Shawn's estimation, so Carla sat down in the chaise and covered her body with a light sun screen. She laid down on her belly and untied the strings around her neck and bust so she wouldn't be getting any funny tan lines. The heat massaged her tired, tense back. She soon relaxed and drifted off to sleep.
"Hi! I'm back!"
Carla was so startled that she shrieked and jumped up off the chaise leaving her bra behind.
"I... Uh . . . finished helping Mother and . . . uh . . . thought I would come and . . . and swim." Shawn continued as he tried not to notice Carla having a hard time holding her bra and retying the strings. He wanted to offer his help but thought better of it.
"Where'd you come from? How'd you get back here?" Carla stammered as she nervously groped for her top trying to cover her breasts. She hadn't noticed the gate in the side of the fence leading to the neighbor's yard. It didn't make a sound as it opened and shut. She noticed Shawn grinning and looked down at her twisted bra. "Well don't just stand there laughing, help me." Carla giggled.
