Chapter 40

On the ride to school, I asked Kim if she knew what she was going to say at lunch. She said she was still working on it. She liked what I had done by setting goals for the following year and then telling my coaches. Her situation was different. I could lead the Porter baseball team in every category but we could still have a crappy season. With cheerleading, it was different. There weren’t any individual stats or goals or records. Maybe there would have been if there were scholarships available.

I turned in a paper for English and got a good grade back on a science quiz. The final exam for trig looked like it would be easy for anyone who had memorized the formulas and paid attention. If you hadn’t memorized the formulas, you were pretty much screwed. I’d memorized them as we went. The end of the school year looked like it was going to be pretty easy.

Kim was already at our table as was Spot, Mel, and Claire. They were all quiet. I grabbed a seat and ate lunch quickly. Kim apparently wasn’t hungry. Everyone else trickled in and Lori grabbed the last seat.

“I don’t want to cheerlead next year,” Kim started and it was really quiet. No one expected that. “Not if we’re going to compete and be satisfied with eighth out of nine. Five girls are graduating and I figure most if not all of us will move up to varsity. So, I want to know if I’m going to be cheerleading next year. I already talked to Lori about what Ben Lippen squad did to win. Tell them, Lori.”

Lori looked up and down the table to see if everyone was paying attention. We all were. “They were faster than anyone else, their routines were really tight, and they didn’t have any slack between routines. There was no fluff or filler. Let’s see. They did two full ups to liberty at the same time and the synch was awesome. They did three full up immediate stretches, one after the other, then roll calls into pancakes, four single base extensions into full twist downs at the same time. They had two fliers that were never on the ground for more than a few seconds and half their lifts started with a tumble into position. All their stretches were solid. No wobble at all. When they were done, they were wiped out. It looked exhausting. The judges loved it and I don’t think they won by a little. I think they won by a lot,” Lori said. It didn’t take her long to lay it all out.

“Anybody else feel like I do?” Kim asked. It was quiet and I’m not sure if they knew how to move forward.

“Why don’t you each say what you think,” Bobby said. “Just go around and say it.”

“I’ll start,” Fling said. “I think we should do it. We know a lot of routines. We should just try to get really good at them.” A couple of girls nodded but not everyone.

“I don’t know,” Giggles said. “I mean, how much work are we really talking about? I did this because Kim did and I thought it would be fun. It was fun. I don’t know if I want to sign up for a lot of work, do you know what I mean?”

“I kind of feel like Giggles,” Bounce said.

“We should go for it or get out of the way and let someone else do it,” Spot said. “We already spend a lot of time on it. Let’s do it right. What do you think, Lori?”

“I think the girls from Ben Lippen must have put in a lot of work.”

“Were they having fun?” I asked.

“Yeah. Definitely. They were good and they knew it and they were showing off, you know?”

“What do you think, Aquaman?” Giggles asked. “You competed against some good people.”

“Ask Bobby. He went to state. Plus, it’s his second year.”

“I’m not sure why you want my input,” he said.

“Because Giggles is your girlfriend and what she decides matters to them and you,” I answered. “And you know more about it than me.”

He seemed pretty reluctant but then he started, and once he did, he really got going. “I think Spot’s right. Swimming’s kind of weird. I put in a lot of laps. A lot of miles, really. So did Birch and so did Jack. Seriously, you don’t get the nickname Aquaman if you don’t put in the effort. That’s a lot of time spent staring at a black line on the bottom of the pool while you put in the miles and work on tiny little things. You just do lap after lap thinking about your hand and if it’s going in smoothly, if your breathing is good or if you need to measure it more. I can’t even begin to tell you how many turns I practiced. But then, there’s the payoff. Going to regionals and then state and doing well was pretty cool. Hard to beat. But you know what else? Beating Bishop England was awesome. How many miles I put in didn’t matter. We kicked their asses and that was pretty sweet. You know what else was sweet? When there were only four of us and we beat Colleton County in a relay.”

“It was worth it, then,” Giggles said.

“It was to me. I gave us a lead and then Birch and Jack did great but when Pendleton hung on for the win, it was like winning the fucking Super Bowl.” He was pretty excited about it. He calmed down and added, “That’s me, though. Maybe it’s worth it to you and maybe it isn’t. Mel, whatever you want to do is okay with me.”

“If it was exhausting for Ben Lippen, I bet they were in pretty good shape. I could do to lose a couple of pounds,” Bounce said. “I guess I’d like to try. If everybody else does, I will too.”

“What Bobby said,” Lori started, “Seems right. I don’t think the Ben Lippen squad cared about all the hours they put in. It was like that sports show, the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. I want to find out what the thrill of victory feels like.”

“Alright. I’m in,” Giggles said. “If we work harder, I get to have more dessert, I’ll bet,” and everyone laughed.

“Alright, Kim,” Spot said. “Happy?” Kim nodded. “Good. If we’re going to be serious about this, let’s be serious. My name is Lisa, not Spot.”

“I’m good with that,” Giggles said. “No more Giggles. My braces are gone anyway. I’m Melanie. Mel. No more Giggles, okay?” Everyone agreed and all the nicknames were gone.

“What about Aquaman,” Fling asked.

“No,” Spot said. “This is about us. Plus, he earned his. It’s legitimate. Bobby needs one, though.”

I looked at Kim and she knew I wanted to say something. She nodded. “I set some pretty outrageous goals for next year. I’m going to do my best to reach those goals but I might not. If I don’t reach my goals because I didn’t do my best, I’ve got no one to blame but me. If I do my best and come up short, I won’t like it but I’ll be okay with it. I’ll just try harder the next year. I won’t come up short because I didn’t give it my best shot.”

“So, if we do our best,” Kim said, “But don’t win state, don’t be too disappointed?”

“You don’t have any control over what other schools do, or, I guess, how the judges judge. I was pretty happy to be third at regionals, you know?”

They talked some more about what they could each do better. Kim shared that she had been weight training. Lori and Lisa both said they needed to start some sort of cardio. It was pretty cool to see the change happen. The bell rang, they gave themselves a group hug and went to class smiling. I took hold of Kim’s hand and held her back.

“I’m proud of you, Baby. That was awesome.”

“I’m proud of me too. Spot stepped up, too and that was good.”

“Lisa,” I corrected.

“That’s what I meant. Dang. Going to have to break some habits but it’s good. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“This is all on you, Aquaman. I wouldn’t have done this if you hadn’t set some outrageous goals for next year,” Kim said.

“Better give credit for that to Doctor Legare.”

After another afternoon of combat badminton, Kim and I went back to the house for a good workout. It felt like we were pretty much back up to speed and could look forward to progressing, rather than catching up. She went home to write a paper and after dinner, I called Sally.

“Hey,” I said when she answered.

“Hey, yourself. It’s the middle of the week. Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Great, actually. School is winding down, Franklin gets married next week, and I have my summer planned. How are you doing? How’s the actor?”

“First, how did it go after we spoke last time?”

“You were right. You’re always right. It’s one of the reasons I call you. You don’t sugarcoat it or anything. It’s all good. But right now, I want to hear about him. And you.”

“Okay, I’m trying to remember what I told you before.”

“Just tell me everything.” I wanted to know that she had found a good guy. I really did.

“Jeff’s nice. He likes me a lot. He’s an actor and has been in a bunch of school plays. They have a really good drama department. I saw a video of him playing Donald in You Can’t Take It With You from last year.”

“I don’t know that play. Is that a good role or something?” Jeff. Take note, Pierce. Remember his name, I thought.

“Not really. It was a small part but then he got the role of juror number eight in Twelve Angry Men.”

“And that’s a good role? Who or what is juror number eight?”

“It’s a great role. Henry Fonda played that part in the movie.”

“I remember that. He’s the guy that convinces everyone else.”

“That’s it. I went to see him in it last Friday, on opening night. It was so cool. He was so good. They had the Friday night performance and then two on Saturday and two on Sunday. I went to all of them. So good. I’m really proud of him. Everybody loved him.”

“Wow. You seem pretty happy about that.”

“I am. Really proud of him. I know he put a lot of effort into it and then he did so well. They all did but he had the leading role and he did so well.”

“Good. That whole thing is so foreign to me. I don’t think I even know who is in drama here. What else?”

“Well, I didn’t get to see him play football but everyone says he’s good. He played safety this year. He’s a sophomore and he’s trying to beef up. That’s what he calls it. Doesn’t that sound good? Beef up? Anyway, he wants to play middle linebacker or something like that and he says he needs to be bigger. He eats more than you do, Jack.”

“That’s all good. How does he treat you? Is he nice?”

“He is. He’s so nervous all the time. And he’s gentle. I think he’s afraid he’ll break me. And he tells these stupid jokes. But he thinks they’re funny and laughs and then I have to laugh, too,” she said and laughed.

“Good. I’m happy for you, Sally. It sounds like he’s treating you right.”

“He is. He’s always asking me questions. You remember when you asked me all those questions about piano and the music I liked to play? That felt so good. He does that too, Jack. It makes me feel good. Important, you know?”

“I’m happy for you, Sally. And I guess I’m kind of relieved.”

“I get it. He’s not you. It took me a while to realize I couldn’t get a substitute for you and it wasn’t fair to want that.”

“I’m really happy,” I said. “To be honest, I’m kind of surprised that I’m as happy for you as I am.” We were quiet for a couple of moments. “I love you, Sally Hinkleman. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be happy for you.”

“You’d be jealous.”

“I’d be jealous. That’s absolutely true. How about you and your dad?”

“Better. He knows he screwed up. He’s been treating me pretty well. We went to see Alabama at the Grand Ole Opry and then Barbara Mandrel, so I think he’s trying his hardest. He never would have gone to see them. Alabama was really good. I hope they make it big.”

“But he’s listening to you? He’s taking you seriously?”

“He’s trying. But he knows that the most important thing I’ve ever told him, he just ignored. I forgive him but he knows he can’t get that back.”

“No. I guess not. I wish I could hug you right now.”

“Yeah. We might come back for a visit, maybe this summer. It’s kind of up to his schedule so I might not have much notice. Mom’s calling. What does she want?”

“I’m happy for you, Sally. I love you. I really do.”

“Are we always going to wonder what might have been?”

“No. We can’t. I’m happy. Kim is super and I love her, and now you have Jeff,” I said, remembering his name.

“Yeah, but you know what? I don’t know if we’ll be together a year from now. It seems like it. But I’ll be okay, you know? Flying away from Charleston was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me so if I can recover from that, then I’m indestructible, right?”

“Right. Absolutely right. You should go see what your mom wants.”

“Yeah. Tell Franklin and Karen I said congratulations. I hope they have an amazing wedding.”

“Alhambra Hall.”

“Nice! Gotta go,” she said and hung up. I set the phone down and just sat there for a few minutes, thinking about it. And then I cried. I didn’t even know why. I didn’t know if I was crying because I was happy for her or sad for us, or mad at her dad or what.

I’d been there a while when Mom came in. “What’s up, Buddy? Are you okay?” she asked with her soft, mothering voice. I told her about it. I told her about our conversation and that I was happy for Sally and that I’d cried and didn’t know why.

“It’s probably relief as much as anything else. You loved her, Jack.”

“I still do. It’s different now, but I still do.”

“I know,” she said. She had sat next to me and was running her fingers through my hair. “You know what? Sally’s dad didn’t take her seriously. I didn’t take you as seriously as I should have, either. I screwed up too. Probably just as much, but what I thought didn’t have consequences, you know?”

“Not real encouraging, Mom,” I said, looking up at her.

“I do, now. And Kim, too. She is every bit as committed to this relationship as you are, maybe more.”

“More?”

“Maybe. She is so proud of you. It’s not lost on her that you are so young and that you are just going to get better as you mature.”

“Not really sure I like the sound of that. I’m not giving up my doofusness. Not going to happen.”

“I don’t think anyone expects that. I still have to clean up the kitchen. I bet it’s later than you think,” she said and left. I picked up Shogun but put it back down. No way I could concentrate. I hit the sack.

Thursday, at lunch, the squad was talking about how they might be more competitive. I looked down the table at Bobby and motioned for him to come with me. I squeezed Kim’s hand but she barely noticed. We walked over to where Birch was eating and sat down. He was sitting with a couple of other seniors I didn’t know. They finished talking about an upcoming final and Birch turned to Bobby.

“What’s up?”

“What do you think?” he said. “Swimming, of course. What do we do in the off-season so we can kick ass when it starts?”

“And you think I have the answer for that?” he asked, laughing. His friends joined in. They looked athletic but I didn’t know them. “I don’t have a lot of advice there. A little. How long has it been since you were in the pool?”

“I don’t know. A week? Probably a week,” Bobby said and Birch looked at me.

“Same, I guess. I haven’t done any work since before, let me think, it’s probably been a month.”

“Alright, that’s a good start.”

“How do you figure?” Bobby asked.

“Claire, if you spend all your time in the pool, it gets stale. Do something else. Jack, you lift, right?”

“Yeah. Been doing it all year.”

“Don’t stop. Especially the muscle groups you need, you know. Lats and shoulders and triceps, but endurance counts for a lot.”

“What do you do for endurance?” Bobby asked.

“I get bored easily,” he said, and Bobby and I looked at each other.

“Dude, you look at a black line on the bottom of the pool for hours at a time. How can you say that?” Bobby asked.

“That’s different. I’m concentrating on improving something with every lap. But running or biking is tough. I have a treadmill with a TV in front of it. I’ll run while a show is on. And I have a bike. I’ll ride down to Folly and then along the coast for a while. Running on the beach is good because it’s like resistance training, plus, babes.”

“Okay, that sounds like a decent formula. Kind of loose,” I said, “but I’m kind of glad I haven’t been missing out on anything major,” I said.

“Alright, you want to know the real secret?” he asked and we both nodded. We probably looked like bobbleheads on a rollercoaster. “Don’t get fat. Nutrition. You’ve been burning a buttload of calories and thinking you can eat anything. I guess that’s actually sort of true. But body composition is really important if you want to take it to the next level. I hate it and it sucks but it’s true.”

“I eat when I’m hungry,” Bobby said. “Is there something special I’m supposed to eat?”

“More like stuff you’re not supposed to eat. You want the big three?” We showed him our bobbleheads again. “You’re not going to like it. No fast food, no processed food and cut way back on sugar. Almost everything that’s left is good for you.”

“Shit,” Bobby said.

“Shit,” I said. “I just had the exact advice from Doctor Legare a week or so ago.”

“Doctor Hank Legare?” Birch asked. “Big guy, deep voice?”

“Yeah. Know him?”

“I don’t know him but I heard him speak last year. If he said that, I’d go with it.”

“He’s friends with my mom’s fiancé. He was over last week and gave me a bunch of advice. What you just said about what not to eat was part of it.”

“I heard him speak last year at College of Charleston. There was a Fitness and Physiology symposium and Coach Miller scored a ticket for me. He was good. It took him an hour to give us twenty minutes worth of advice because he talks so slow but his twenty minutes worth was pure gold.”

“Is that what he talked about? Nutrition?” I asked.

“No. I got that from the Q and A at the end. His whole speech was about the shoulder. He spent the first fifteen minutes or so explaining how difficult it was to recover from reconstructive shoulder surgery. Then, he told us how to avoid needing it.”

“Well, that sounds useful,” Bobby said. “How do you avoid it?”

“Let’s see. Don’t do flies. Don’t do military press behind the neck. Don’t do upright rows. Always do face pulls,” Birch said.

“That’s it?” I asked.

“Almost. Don’t be a baseball pitcher. There were a few other things but that was what I got out of it. He was really good and I’m being really quick but that’s the biggies. He answered a bunch of questions at the end and his answer about food and nutrition was really good. Really good.”

“He was pretty serious about it when he was talking to Kim and me.”

“At your house. Why was he there?”

“Mom’s fiancé knows him and he came when Kim and I were recovering from our accident. He was there a week later, too. He got in a little workout in my gym. That guy was benching three-fifty for reps.”

“Not at all surprised. Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. Oh, one more thing. The start. Work on your starts. You’re both good but if you can get out in front, you can see better and the water is cleaner. Just don’t come up too early,” Birch said and Bobby and I nodded, thanked him, and left him to his senior friends.

“Shit,” Bobby said. “I’m going to have to re-think this.”

“Why? What was so different?”

“Pretty much everything I eat.”

“Yeah. That’s a tough one. Mom’s started cooking Greek food because it’s supposed to be healthier. As long as she doesn’t use eggplant, I guess I’m okay.”

“If I have to give up tacos and burgers so I have a chance to win state, I might join the chess club instead,” Bobby said. “Ugh. Think the squad would want to hear the bad news?”