Sunset Beach(136)

“It was Yvonne’s idea,” Hernandez said. “She got called in to work at the hospital today, so I said I’d help out. Aliyah has been driving her crazy, asking when she was going to have her swim lesson. Today seemed like as good a day as any.”

“You couldn’t call first and check with me? What if I had company? What if I hadn’t been home? Would you just leave her on my doorstep?”

“Of course not,” Hernandez said. “I didn’t call first because I figured if I did, you’d find an excuse to be someplace else. And I knew you were home, because I had one of our patrol officers drive by fifteen minutes ago.”

“No,” Drue said. “Today is absolutely not a good day. I said I would teach her to swim, and I will, but…”

“No buts,” Hernandez said cheerfully. “I’ve got some paperwork to do at the office, so I’ll check back with you in, what—two hours? That’s enough time for a first swim lesson, right?”

“Don’t do this to me, Hernandez, please?” Drue said, looking over her shoulder into the living room, where Aliyah sat patiently on the sofa, staring out at the beach. “I don’t know anything about kids. Or teaching. Or teaching kids to swim. What if something happens to her?”

“You’ll be fine,” Hernandez said. “Just don’t let her drown, okay?”



* * *



“Okay,” Drue said. She’d changed into her swimsuit. Now they stood at the water’s edge, Aliyah’s hand clutched tightly in hers. “Let’s do this! Let’s wade into the water.”

The girl looked up with saucer-size eyes. “You won’t let go?”

“No,” Drue said solemnly. “I will not let go.”

When the child was ankle-deep in the water she looked up at Drue.

“I don’t like it.”

Drue sat down in the sand, letting the gentle waves wash over her. “What don’t you like, sweetie? The water’s nice and warm. Here, sit down beside me. I’ll hold your hand. Okay?”

“It’s touching me!” Aliyah screeched. “Something touched my foot!” She wrenched her hand from Drue’s and ran all the way to the safety of the dunes.



* * *



Drue filled the bathtub with warm water and coaxed Aliyah to climb in. “See? There’s nothing in the bathtub. No shells, no minnows, no seaweed. It’s just like your bathtub at home.”

“My bathtub’s white,” Aliyah said.

“But pink is even nicer, right? Okay, put your goggles on again. And then, I want you to stretch out on your tummy. Can you do that?”

The girl nodded and looked up. “Now what do I do?”

Drue was wondering the same thing. She couldn’t remember a time when she didn’t know how to swim. After puzzling over it for a moment, she decided to plunge ahead.

“I want you to take a deep breath. And then, I want you to put your face in the water, and blow bubbles. Can you do that? Like this?”

“Bbbbbb,” Drue said, pursing her lips and blowing out. “Like that.”

Aliyah obediently ducked her head underwater, but came up seconds later, sputtering and gasping.

“No, no, don’t suck the water in,” Drue said, laughing. “Blow it out. Like I showed you. Big breath in, then put your face in the water and blow out. Bbbbbb. This time, I’m going to count to five. When I say five, lift up your head and take a breath.”

After five more minutes of bubble blowing, Aliyah looked up expectantly. “Now what?”

Drue was ready. “Now we float! Like a jellyfish! I want you to let your arms and legs just relax in the water. Can you put your face down and do that? Let everything relax? And remember, blow your bubbles while you’re doing that, to the count of five.”

Without further prompting, the little girl did as instructed. Drue counted down, and Aliyah raised her head triumphantly, water streaming from her face. “I did it! I floated like a jellyfish!”

“You are the best jellyfish ever,” Drue assured her.

“When do I get to be a mermaid?”

“Very soon. Next, I want you to fly in the water,” Drue said.

“I never saw mermaids fly,” Aliyah said.

“It’s just an expression. So, I want you to scooch all the way down to the other end of the tub, and this time, when you’re doing your jellyfish, I want you to use your feet to push off from the end of that tub, and fly to the other end of the tub. Can you do that? Remember, face in water, blow bubbles, let your arms and legs relax, and then jet to the end.”

Aliyah jetted back and forth for the next ten minutes, giggling hysterically as she sent great waves of bathwater sloshing over the edge of the tub.

“Okay, I think you’ve got bubbles and floating and jetting down pat,” Drue said, drying her off with a beach towel.

“What next?”

Drue stood up and winced as her bad knee protested.

“We really have to get you in deeper water to get you swimming,” she said. “Do you feel like going back down to the beach again?”

Tears brimmed in the child’s big dark eyes. “Do I have to? I’m afraid.”

Drue sat down on the edge of the tub and hugged the child against her. “No. You absolutely don’t have to. But you know, mermaids are rarely found in bathtubs. Even pink tubs like mine. Mermaids swim in the ocean, right?”