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“No, what the fuck is that?”
“It’s like, for the summer. Like, when you’re a kid, you sign up for a swim team at the local pool so your parents can get you out of their hair for the day. Then all the other pools in town compete against each other,” I explain.
“Nah. We didn’t have any supervised activities. My brother and I mostly terrorized the neighborhood and smoked cigarettes.”
“How old were you?”
“13. That’s why It’s been so hard for me to quit,” Vince explains. I think of the Nicotine gum Vince keeps on his person as an extension of his physical body at this point. Now I know why.
“That’s crazy.”
“Yeah. I blame my brother. He’s a tosser. But I love him. You’ll meet him the next time he comes to the States.”
“I’d like that.”
“So, what about you? Were you in the swim club?” Vince floats by lazily, moving his massive arms in long, slow strokes.
“Yeah, but I was terrible. I was about as coordinated as Violet would be if you threw her into the deep end of a pool and told her to do the Butterfly. I came in dead last every time.”
“Oh, you poor thing. Did you at least get a trophy for being consistent?”
“No. Allison got most improved because, by the end of the summer, she cut her time down by half.”
Suddenly, I remembered what I had texted Allison when we landed.
“Shit, I’m supposed to meet up with her for coffee tomorrow afternoon. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, of course! Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Well, I didn’t know if you had anything planned.”
“Nah, I thought we could take the day to adjust to not being stuck on a bus, y’know? Priya always tries to sprint back into normal life the moment we get off tour, but I like to take things slower.”
“That’s perfect. I want to do yoga with you tomorrow and maybe take Violet for a walk?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Vince paddles over to me and plants a kiss on my lips.
“I’m feeling pretty tired,” I say with a yawn. The fact that I spent seven hours traveling suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Let’s go to bed then,” Vince says.
I swim back to the ladder, sticking out of the pool, and haul myself back onto dry land. Vince hands me a towel as he towels off himself.
“Now, there is a guest room,” Vince starts as we walk back into the house.
“Don’t even,” I kiss him again.
We fall asleep side by side on his ridiculous bed, Violet draped across his torso like a third person. She’s heavy and dense, almost like a weighted blanket. The pressure feels good. I fall asleep almost immediately.
When I wake up the next morning, the bed is empty. I pad downstairs to find Vince in the kitchen, wearing only track shorts. He hands me a bowl full of yogurt and granola.
“I’ve got strawberries, too, if you want,” he says. “And there’s coffee in that pitcher on the counter.”
“You’re the best.” I pour myself a cup of coffee and join Vince at the kitchen table. To my surprise, he’s reading a newspaper.
I shoot him a look.
