The Friendship List(84)

But the pain of where she’d been was too much, she thought sadly. Too exhausting, too depressing, too everything. She wanted to be happy again. She wanted to feel good about herself and what she was doing. Starting now.

She drove to the local sporting goods store and spent twenty minutes trying on swimsuits. Not the cute kind but the serious ones athletes wore. She bought two, along with a bathing cap and goggles, then headed for the swim club out by the baseball field.

It took ten minutes and a hefty charge on her credit card to join. She was given a quick tour and a lecture on pool safety before being shown to the women’s locker room.

One o’clock in the middle of the week wasn’t exactly prime time, so she was alone as she walked out to the Olympic-size pool. There were only two other swimmers doing laps. She paused to watch them for a second, all the while inhaling the familiar scent of chlorine. She walked to the far lane and stepped into the water. After spitting into her googles, she rubbed the lenses and slid them into place. She adjusted the straps for the right fit, then began to swim.

She was halfway across the pool when her sense memories ignited. Her body remembered the easy movements, the pace of her breathing. She was desperately out of shape, but still this all felt good.

She spotted the color change on the lane lines, warning her she was near the end of the pool. She eyed the wall before ducking down to start her underwater turn, only to miss the wall and accidentally inhale. She came up coughing loudly and hung on the edge until she could catch her breath.

“So attractive,” she murmured before swimming out a few feet and trying it again.

The second time she was too close and couldn’t push off, but the third, she executed a perfect turn and shot out into her lane, the push-off giving her momentum.

Victory, she thought proudly. Good for her. She continued to swim, enjoying the sense of freedom and the knowledge that a small piece of her had finally been found.

  “What did you do?”

Ellen did her best to look innocent as she stood in the lobby of the hotel in Eugene, Oregon, a pair of room keys in her hand. “Do? What a question. There was a mix-up and we’re short a room. You don’t mind if we share, do you?”

Lissa glared at her. “I’m not fooled. You did this on purpose. You want to make sure—” She paused to look around, as if wanting to confirm they were alone. “You want to make sure I don’t sleep with Luka tonight.”

“Sleeping is really the least of it,” Ellen murmured. “It’s one night. You’ll live.”

She wanted to add that Lissa wasn’t the only one suffering, but that would lead to a conversation Ellen wasn’t about to have with Keith’s teenage daughter.

Lissa put her hands on her hips. “You’re treating me like a child.”

“Uh-huh. Newsflash. I have zero remorse.”

Ellen expected her roommate for the night to explode or stalk off, but Lissa surprised her by linking arms with her and grinning.

“This will be fun. The desk clerk said there are microwaves in the room. Let’s get some popcorn and then we can watch TV together. Maybe one of those dance reality shows. They’re my favorite. To be honest, I’m kind of tired and could use an early night.”

“Who knew you could be bought for the price of a bag of microwave popcorn,” Ellen said as they headed for the elevator.

“It usually costs more, but I’m feeling guilty about what happened this morning. If you could have seen the look on your face.” Lissa giggled. “You were not happy.”

“No, I wasn’t. And we still have to tell your father.”

Not something she wanted to think about. So far she’d yet to figure out a way to have that particular conversation. No matter how many times she tried to come up with a great opening line, she couldn’t find one that in any way distracted from the fact that Lissa was doing the wild thing with Luka.

“We don’t have to tell him tonight,” Lissa said cheerfully as Ellen let them into the room. “And look!” She waved a small bag of jelly beans. “I got them at the student bookstore. Only the good flavors.”

“It will be a feast,” Ellen teased.

They walked into the hotel room and stared at the two double beds separated by a nightstand.

Lissa sighed. “No offense, but I would much rather be with Luka.”

And I would much rather be with your father, Ellen thought with a sigh.

“At least you don’t have to worry about me leaving the toilet seat up,” she said instead.

Lissa laughed. “You’re right.” The teen surprised her by hugging her tight. “Thanks for not telling my dad until we’re home and thanks for worrying about me. It’s kind of nice.”

Ellen held her close. “I’m glad you think so.” It would all hit the fan later, but for right now, this felt really good.

  Keith drove off the freeway off-ramp and headed for the high school. When they’d stopped for gas in North Bend, he’d told all the kids to text their parents to let them know the bus was about seventy minutes out of town.

The drive from Eugene had been quiet. Everyone was tired after their trip. Ellen had kept him company, sitting behind him on and off, talking about the different schools.

He’d appreciated the company as he kept his attention on the road. Like the teens, he was tired, although he would guess some of his reasons were different. Or at least one of them.