here?”
Kurt smacked his back and winked at Eileen. “Don’t pay him no mind. He’s just trying to impress a pretty lady, but everbody done knows I’m the sexy one here.” Kurt patted his swollen belly.
“Whatever, Tubby.” Carl positioned the dogs to sizzle on the grill.
Patty Malone dragged the trio over to her cooler, chatting the entire time about how much the recent humidity troubled her bad knee, and sent them away armed with beer. Jason Teague gave them flyers to a show his band was having; Dennis didn’t like the long stares he gave Eileen from behind his black-framed glasses and filed him away in the mental Rolodex. Terry Crowley invited them to play cards with him, Jack the maintenance man, and Tony Parker. Tony’s teenage daughter Sarah pulled up a chair and studied the men as they played.
A Golden Retriever came trotting up to Mike, panting and wagging its tail. It sniffed his hand and rubbed its snout into his leg. Mike knelt down and petted the dog. It licked his face. He turned his head and wiped a long string of spittle from his chin. Dennis and Eileen laughed.
“That’s Lucy,” a young boy said. He looked to be about twelve, shirtless and wearing “Transformers” swimming trunks. “She loves everybody.”
Lucy turned her attention to Dennis, jumping onto her hind legs and placing her front paws on his chest. He scratched her behind the ears.
The boy patted his thighs. “Lucy.”
Lucy jumped down and ran over to him.
“I’m Joey,” he said. “Lemme know if you ever wanna play with Lucy.” Then the two of them took off running towards the grill without another word.
“I want a dog,” Eileen said.
Mike nodded. “Me too.”
They made it to the pool and slid in, the cool water forcing sharp breaths. The air above it had the subtle, acrid tang of chlorine and sunscreen. Dennis and Eileen held their breath and submerged, popping back up and pulling their hair from their eyes, as Mike held onto the wall and kicked his feet around. A group of children splashed in the shallow end, but they had the deep end to themselves.
Margot swam over not long after and introduced herself to Eileen. She wore a red swimsuit that did a worse job of holding in her breasts than most of her clothing. She crept across the wall, hand over hand, until she floated next to Mike. Dennis nudged Eileen under the water and flashed a wink.
“How you been, Michael?”
Mike’s face reddened and he looked down at the water. A grin tugged at the edges of his mouth. “I’ve been good. How about you?”
“Just so damn hot.”
Eileen turned to Dennis and rolled her eyes.
“You must live down here, Margot,” Dennis said. “I see you here all the time.”
“I love this pool,” she said. “One of the reasons I moved in here eons ago.”
“How long have you lived here?”
“Oh, well…guess I moved in here in the fall of ninety-five.”
Dennis whistled.
“I just love this old place. There’s a pulse to the building, you know. You may have felt it already. The people, the seclusion, the history…it all adds up to something special, I think.”
Eileen tapped Dennis’ shoulder. “I’m gonna do some laps.”
“Okay.”
She dove underwater and swam off.
Mike shook his head. “What about all those creepy statues?”
She laughed. “Honey, I’m the reason those things are still around.” They gave her a puzzled look and she went on. “Rudy, God bless him, hates those damn things. Says they’re tacky.”
“I can see that,” Dennis said.
“You hush up now. Those things are wonderful. Sure, they may be a little bohemian, but that’s what makes them special. Anyway, Rudy has tried to get them removed about once every other year since he took over as manager in ninety-six. Every time he does, I get the tenants together and organize a letter writing campaign. Works like a charm. It’s kinda become a fun little game, our tug of war. I look forward to it and suspect he does too.”
“One
Kurt smacked his back and winked at Eileen. “Don’t pay him no mind. He’s just trying to impress a pretty lady, but everbody done knows I’m the sexy one here.” Kurt patted his swollen belly.
“Whatever, Tubby.” Carl positioned the dogs to sizzle on the grill.
Patty Malone dragged the trio over to her cooler, chatting the entire time about how much the recent humidity troubled her bad knee, and sent them away armed with beer. Jason Teague gave them flyers to a show his band was having; Dennis didn’t like the long stares he gave Eileen from behind his black-framed glasses and filed him away in the mental Rolodex. Terry Crowley invited them to play cards with him, Jack the maintenance man, and Tony Parker. Tony’s teenage daughter Sarah pulled up a chair and studied the men as they played.
A Golden Retriever came trotting up to Mike, panting and wagging its tail. It sniffed his hand and rubbed its snout into his leg. Mike knelt down and petted the dog. It licked his face. He turned his head and wiped a long string of spittle from his chin. Dennis and Eileen laughed.
“That’s Lucy,” a young boy said. He looked to be about twelve, shirtless and wearing “Transformers” swimming trunks. “She loves everybody.”
Lucy turned her attention to Dennis, jumping onto her hind legs and placing her front paws on his chest. He scratched her behind the ears.
The boy patted his thighs. “Lucy.”
Lucy jumped down and ran over to him.
“I’m Joey,” he said. “Lemme know if you ever wanna play with Lucy.” Then the two of them took off running towards the grill without another word.
“I want a dog,” Eileen said.
Mike nodded. “Me too.”
They made it to the pool and slid in, the cool water forcing sharp breaths. The air above it had the subtle, acrid tang of chlorine and sunscreen. Dennis and Eileen held their breath and submerged, popping back up and pulling their hair from their eyes, as Mike held onto the wall and kicked his feet around. A group of children splashed in the shallow end, but they had the deep end to themselves.
Margot swam over not long after and introduced herself to Eileen. She wore a red swimsuit that did a worse job of holding in her breasts than most of her clothing. She crept across the wall, hand over hand, until she floated next to Mike. Dennis nudged Eileen under the water and flashed a wink.
“How you been, Michael?”
Mike’s face reddened and he looked down at the water. A grin tugged at the edges of his mouth. “I’ve been good. How about you?”
“Just so damn hot.”
Eileen turned to Dennis and rolled her eyes.
“You must live down here, Margot,” Dennis said. “I see you here all the time.”
“I love this pool,” she said. “One of the reasons I moved in here eons ago.”
“How long have you lived here?”
“Oh, well…guess I moved in here in the fall of ninety-five.”
Dennis whistled.
“I just love this old place. There’s a pulse to the building, you know. You may have felt it already. The people, the seclusion, the history…it all adds up to something special, I think.”
Eileen tapped Dennis’ shoulder. “I’m gonna do some laps.”
“Okay.”
She dove underwater and swam off.
Mike shook his head. “What about all those creepy statues?”
She laughed. “Honey, I’m the reason those things are still around.” They gave her a puzzled look and she went on. “Rudy, God bless him, hates those damn things. Says they’re tacky.”
“I can see that,” Dennis said.
“You hush up now. Those things are wonderful. Sure, they may be a little bohemian, but that’s what makes them special. Anyway, Rudy has tried to get them removed about once every other year since he took over as manager in ninety-six. Every time he does, I get the tenants together and organize a letter writing campaign. Works like a charm. It’s kinda become a fun little game, our tug of war. I look forward to it and suspect he does too.”
“One
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