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One window was lit—the living room—but no one answered when she knocked. She tried again. Maybe he wasn’t back yet. She couldn’t see his car anywhere.
She was about to turn away when Marie opened the door.
“Oh. Jane, is it?”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t seen you in so many years. We never seemed to attend the same family gatherings. I think it was a wedding. Or a funeral? Anyway, it was years ago.”
Anne smiled. “Yes, many years.”
“Finn told me everything. I’m sorry things turned so bitter. I hope you can work it out with your family, for Finn’s sake, for Max’s sake. You know, back then, I thought—if I couldn’t give him a family—because it was just him and I—maybe Avery’s family could be his family. I didn’t know about you. In a way, that family was his family, but not the way it could have been. I hope you can still sort it out.” Marie leaned against the doorframe, looking lost in her own thoughts.
“Is he here?” Anne asked.
Marie seemed to snap out of some internal reverie and realize they were standing at the door and that it was cold. “He’s not. I’m sorry.” She ran a hand through her short, coiffed hair that was dyed the color it had been originally—Finn’s dark blond or light brown. “Would you like to come in? Max and I were watching TV, but I guess we both fell asleep. We just got back today.”
“That’s okay. Can you tell me where he is?”
“Where can my son be?”
Anne looked at her. “The pool?” She dropped her gaze to her cellphone. Almost eleven p.m.
“The pool,” Marie confirmed. She then smiled. “Always the pool for that kid.”
“Thanks, Marie.” Anne patted the woman’s forearm. “Happy New Year.” She then rushed to her car, hearing Marie call, “Happy New Year,” after her.
She didn’t know where the pool was, but Google Maps led her there.
The parking lot was almost empty. There was only one car there. Her heart melted, as if she had seen Finn himself.
Silence draped the large building, and only the distant sound and blaze of fireworks from the far beach reminded her that it was New Year’s Eve.
Even in the cold night air, she could smell the familiar pool smell as she neared the entrance.
She climbed the few stairs and pulled open the heavy metal door. A wave of heat, humidity, and chlorine hit her. And the sound of rippling water echoing in the large, empty space. It was fully lit, the lights shimmering on the blue, sparkling surface.
She went inside.
He was swimming. Of course he was. He had just begun a new twenty-five-yard freestyle lap. He couldn’t hear or see her come in. The noise of the water and his concentration kept her arrival a surprise. His body was fully immersed in the water, every muscle working, straining.
He was naked.
She noticed his clothes, car keys, and cellphone in a heap on one of the benches next to a white towel.
Circling the pool, she went to the other end, the one he was aiming for. She removed her jacket and crouched. The water was warm when she dipped her fingers in it.
She watched him. Here it was—the resilience of the human body, this beautiful human body, and she knew the resilient, beautiful heart that resided inside it.
Her own heart flooded with love.
He touched the pool’s wall and was about to turn, his head completely underwater, when he noticed her.
Anne smiled when Finn emerged, panting, looking at her with surprise, water dripping from his hair, his face, and his corded shoulders.
“Jane.” A surprised smile lit up his features. He ran both hands up his face to drive the water away, ruffling his hair. Standing in the pool, he was tall enough for it to reach just beneath his pecs. “Baby,” he said, lifting himself a bit, his abs against the pool’s edge, so he could reach her. He cupped her face.
She leaned forward but steadied herself on the tips of her feet.
