A Boy's Last Summer

Thankfully, Thomas had a pot of coffee going and David managed to pull himself together enough to begin his day. The morning was filled with supply requests as well as the thrill of getting to inventory the facilities closet where he got to take an accounting of every mop, broom, and box of toilet paper.

"Double check those boxes," threw in Roxy, "the vendor loves to short us a couple of rolls, and we don't need people wiping their asses on the furniture."

"Right, Boss," said David thinking this day couldn't end soon enough.

Though he had discovered the first day his cellphone service was mostly non-existent, he had determined he could sometimes get a signal if he went up to the second-floor break room and stood right next to the window. When he had an opportunity later that morning, he went straight there and tried to dial Heather hoping to apologize for the way their last conversation had turned out.

"Heather? Can you hear me!" he called into the phone.

The connection was terrible and kept cutting in and out.

"David...David, is that you? I can barely hear you," came her distant voice.

"I just called to say I'm sorry."

"What? You're breaking up really...bad..."

"Heather? I said, I'm sorry! Heather...Jesus," moaned David shaking his phone in frustration.

"I'm sorry! I still love you, and I'm sorry!" he said louder leaning closer to the window.

There was nothing but static now, and a second later the call dropped entirely. David was looking down at his phone, angry and sad when a shadow fell over him.

"You were supposed to be back from break five-minutes ago," said Roxy standing with her arms crossed.

"What? Oh...Sorry."

"You say that a lot. It makes me wonder if you really mean it," observed Roxy.

David's eyebrows knit together in confusion not sure if Roxy meant in this particular instance, or had she been listening to his conversation.

"Look, I just needed to make a call," he added.

"I heard. You want to suck up to some piece of ass do it on your own time, not the companies."

"Heather is not a piece of ass," retorted David.

"Oh...Heather...So the piece of ass has a name. How wonderful...I'm sure you two can kiss and make up when you're not working."

"I doubt it she left me for a guy I hate."

"Really? I would love to hear all about it, but if I wanted a teen soap opera, I would have stayed home and watched Nickelodeon with my kid."

"Wow...you could have a little compassion..." mumbled David under his breath as he tried to brush past his boss.

"Compassion? See how much of that you have when your husband comes home drunk for the umpteenth time after losing his job...again...You know what just get back to work!" yelled Roxy.

David froze in place suddenly feeling ashamed at his outburst.

"Roxy...I didn't know about...I mean I know that must be..."

"Save it. Just get downstairs we got a field inventory to do in the lay down yard."

Roxy turned on her heel and marched out, leaving David red-faced behind.

David had no idea what a "lay down" yard was, but he quickly got acquainted with the concept when he found himself facing row upon row of steel desks stack three high on pallets and covered with tarps. The massive collection seemed to stretch on for hundreds of yards and would have been impressive if he hadn't been sweating bullets in the burning desert heat.

"What is it we're doing out here again?" panted David.

"We have to check the serial numbers on all this crap before it gets removed from company inventory. This is all old shit that will be donated to charity."

"Isn't that nice," said David wearily.

He stood behind Roxy along with Thomas and a pair of blue hatted laborers who were there to help.

"Go around and untie the tarps on each pallet and check the serial numbers on the desks against what's on your clipboard," instructed Roxy.

Not wanting to give her an excuse to get angry with him again, David wiped a good bit of sweat from his brow and moved off to the closest pile. He spent the next hour working his way along in the sweltering heat thinking no amount of money was worth this misery. The second pallet he came to was a real struggle to uncover with the ropes that held the tarp in place dried from the sun, making undoing the knots a pain. When he flipped back the tarp to expose the first desk, a shadow darted from underneath, and David found himself face to face with the biggest spider he had ever seen.

The hairy tarantula reared on its back legs waving its front ones in defiance, and David did what came naturally to a young man with an unnatural fear of spiders.

The scream that followed brought everyone else running, and they discovered David crouched on top of the desk looking down at the pissed off arachnid.

"You're kidding me, right?" asked Roxy looking at her trembling employee.

"It came out of nowhere..." said David his wide eyes not leaving the giant creature.

"You realize you outweigh that tarantula by more than a hundred and eighty pounds?" observed Roxy.

"It doesn't look intimidated to me," whispered David.

"She was probably nesting under there. If a giant were crouching on top of my babies, I'd be pissed too."

"What do I do?" he said his tone laced with fear.

Roxy's expression softened as she realized he was genuinely petrified, and she took a step toward him, drawing his gaze. Her daughter was afraid of spiders, and she was all too familiar with the look of terror on David's face.

"David...It's o.k....I want you to get up and jump to me. It's going to be fine..."

He nodded and slowly stood on the desk, his body shaking. It took him three tries, but at last, his feet left the desktop and he lept over the spider to land in Roxy's arms. She held him, and for a brief instant, he felt her soft hands on his arms.

"You o.k., Tiger?" she said, looking worriedly into his eyes.

"I'm...I'm fine..." he managed to croak out.

"Watch out, David! She's coming after you!" called Thomas, making David jump backward and stumble. The group of men burst out laughing, drawing an angry frown from Roxy.

"Knock it off, idiots! Get back to the inventory!"

She went over to help David up.

"I'll take this pallet. You move onto to the next one o.k.?"

"Thanks," he said blushing in embarrassment, "I'm sorry. I have a thing about spiders."

"It's alright, David. Everyone is afraid of something," said Roxy patting him on the shoulder.

He shook himself and walked off, taking one last look at the tarantula which had calmed down now that he was moving away.

The rest of the day went by without incident, and David was grateful when the final whistle blew, and he could go home and get the sweat cleaned off of himself. Much like the previous night, he fell asleep almost before his head hit the pillow only to be pulled from his bed seemingly no time later by his dad who signaled to him that another morning was already upon him.

Roxy took pity on him after the incident from the previous day and left him to cover the supply window while she and Thomas went to finish the inventory in the lay down yard. It was a slow day with just a handful of people coming by, and it seemed like forever before lunch arrived. David retrieved his lunch pail from the employee's locker room and walked over to the cafeteria to find a cool place to eat. As soon as he opened the lid a big, shadowy looking thing dropped from the top. David lept backward so quickly he caught his legs under the table, and he fell sprawling half under it as everyone around him broke into laughter.

"What's a matter? Did the big bad spider try to get you?" laughed one of the same men who had been on the inventory crew the day before as he lifted the rubber spider from the table.

"Very funny..." groused David as he got back to his feet.

The laughter continued as the massed group watched David jump back when the laborer waved the fake spider in his face. Ashamed of his fear, David grabbed his lunch pail and ran out of the building were he stood almost hyperventilating on the walkway outside.

He was bent over, trying to catch his breath when a truck pulled up right in front of him.

"You O.K.?" called Roxy from the cab.

David straightened and walked over.

"I'm fine..."

"Thomas tipped me off that the guys were going to pull a prank so I thought I should drive over and check on you."

"It's O.K."

"You don't look o.k. you look white as a sheet."

"Seriously, I'm fine. Thanks for checking, but I'm just going to go eat in my office where it's safer."

"Get in. I have a better idea."

David went back and got his lunch pail before piling into the passenger side of the truck.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Relax. I promise there won't be any spiders," she said.

Roxy drove them half-way around the plant and out the rear gate that was usually used for freight deliveries. She followed a dirt road that ran off into the desert before turning off at a fork onto an even rougher surface that curved up into the low slung mountains that surrounded the plant. They climbed a short distance before turning again into a canyon that ended at a yawning black cave entrance.

"What the heck is this?" asked David stepping out.

"Old gold mine...There are a bunch of them in these mountains. Back at the turn of the century, men poured out here by the hundreds hoping to make their fortunes but most didn't find squat."

David started toward the entrance, but Roxy waved him off.

"I wouldn't if I were you. These mines aren't safe. The timbers are rotted, and they're the perfect haven for rattlesnakes."

"Why are we here then?"

"Follow me."

David grabbed his lunch and hiked after Roxy as she took a trail that ran passed the mine and up through a notch in the rocks. On the other side, David was surprised to find a bubbling spring that had formed a pool at the base of a large rocky outcropping. A few scrub trees had sprung up around it, and Roxy went over to sit in the shade of one kicking off her work boots and shoving her feet into the cold water.

"I happened across this place a few years back looking for some peace away from all the leering eyes. I used to take lunch up here when I had had my fill of men trying to hit on me my while I downed my ham and cheese," she said.

"It's beautiful," said David taking a seat next to her and emulating her by removing his boots and soaking his feet.

"Would you like some of my sandwich?"

"Thanks," she said as he handed her half his roast beef on rye.

"So...This, Heather...I take it you two were together a long time?" asked Roxy.

"I thought you didn't want to hear a teen soap opera?"

"Sorry about that, Kid. I can be a little harsh sometimes."

"No...I should be the one apologizing. You were right to call it that...We weren't married, and it was the first relationship for both of us. I guess it would have been a little silly for me to think I was going to meet the right girl the first time out of the gate."

Roxy kicked at the water, making ripples that spread outward.

"It's not silly. Sometimes adults call that first relationship 'puppy love,' but at the end of the day, it's still love, and it still hurts when it ends."

"Yeah..." admitted David.

"I didn't mean to bring you down more. This is my lame attempt at cheering you up," said Roxy seeing the pain on his face.

"It's fine. I appreciate the thought. Can I ask? When did you and your husband meet?"

"Oh...Are we playing true confessions now? I ask you about your girlfriend so now you get to pry into my life?" said Roxy with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to pry."

"Don't worry about it."

They sat in silence the sounds of their chewing the only noise other than the wind through the distant canyon.

"I was nineteen," she said suddenly not looking at David but staring off into the water.

"His name was Todd. We met at a bowling alley on a rainy Friday night, and he walked me to my car because he had an umbrella and I didn't. I thought it was pretty thoughtful of him at the time. We dated for two years and got married at the county courthouse. A year later, I got pregnant with our daughter, Emily. Things were o.k. at first, but Todd always liked to party, maybe a bit too much. In retrospect, I should have seen it coming. His dad was an alcoholic, and so was his grandfather, so it ran in the family. When Todd wasn't drunk, he was a decent husband and a good father, but as the years went by those times became fewer. So one day, I had my fill, and I kicked his ass out. There...Now you know more about me than just about anybody at the plant and I have no idea why I just told you all that."

"My mom says I have one of those trustworthy faces," said David and for some reason Roxy found this uproariously funny her laughter breaking the silence.

David finally joined her, and they both enjoyed a good laugh before he finished his half of the sandwich and offered her some chocolate chip cookies.

"Heather and I met at Wave World the summer before our sophomore year of high school. She was with a group of six other girls, and I made a fool of myself trying to get her attention."

"Every man has made a fool of himself at least once for that reason," said Roxy.

"I suppose. Anyway, our first date was at the ice cream parlor at Fair Oaks Mall, and we hit it right off. I guess maybe I did think at times she could be the one even if we were just kids."

"The only thing I can say to that is to make damn sure of your choice. You don't want to get stuck with a lemon, not when it's forever. Hell, I can't even get my Ex to pay his child support on time, and he is always letting Emily down not being there for her birthdays, or paying for her swim lessons like he promised."

"I could teach her to swim," blurted David without thinking.

"What?"

"Oh...I'm good in the pool. I was on my high school swim team and made all-state last year. I can swim like a fish."

"I don't know...I can't afford to pay you anything."

"That's alright. You did me a good turn today, and I don't mind."

Roxy looked away. It was clear she wasn't comfortable taking what she saw as charity, but she finally nodded.

"Emily would like to learn, and I can't teach her I suck in the water."

"Then it's settled."

"O.K., Sport. I'll text you my address, and you can come by this weekend o.k.?"

"Deal!" said David grinning.

"Come on we need to get back to work, and don't leave any of your garbage behind this is my place and I intend for it to stay nice!"

THE DEEP END -

The week ended finally, and it was with a sense of relief that David got to sleep past sunrise. He rose late feeling refreshed for the first time in days and true to their agreement he received a text later that morning from Roxy giving him her address and a time to show up.

Her apartment wasn't hard to find though it was definitely in a poorer part of town than where he and his parents lived. Still, for all that, the complex was well maintained and seemed to have a good mix of older couples and young families just starting. David identified her apartment number but went on by since she had told him they would meet at the complex pool. He spotted Roxy immediately sitting poolside in shorts and a tank top showing off more of that fair-skinned beauty he thought he was never going to get used too. She was there with a young girl maybe seven years old with hair just like her mothers but much straighter falling like a waterfall down her small back.

"Right on time. At least you're punctual for something," commented Roxy as he came through the pool gate.

"I was only late to work that once, and it's not my fault my dad was the one driving."

"Excuses, excuses," said Roxy with a shake of her head.

"Who is this, Mommy?" asked the young girl across from her.

"This is the guy I was telling you about who is going to teach you to swim. His name is David. Say 'Hi,' to David, Emily,"

"Hi, David!" she said in a high-pitched voice.

"Hello, Emily. It's very nice to meet you."

He shook her small hand, noting that she also had her mothers piercing green eyes.

"Do I have to go in the deep end?" asked Emily looking apprehensively toward the far side of the pool.

"Not to start and not for a while yet. I'm going to show you the basics, and the first thing is to teach you how to float."

"Like a balloon?" she asked.

"Something like that...Come with me."

David stripped off his shirt, exposing his chest and removed his shorts to reveal the swimsuit he had on underneath. He wasn't sure, but he thought he caught Roxy staring at him for a moment checking him out, but when he looked up she appeared engrossed in a book she had brought with her, and he quickly dismissed the idea. Emily followed him over to the steps leading down to the shallow end, and he led her down into the water both of them shivering a little as they got used to the cooler temperature.

The truth was that David had never tried to teach anyone before, let alone a child, but Emily proved to be a quick learner with the same kind of razor-sharp focus that her mother possessed. He had also been worried about dealing with a kid since he had minimal experience with children but Emily put him at ease with her surprisingly mature manner for one so young.

"Mom says you're the funny one," she said at one point as she floated on her back.

"Is that right?" said David keeping his arms just under her in case she sank.

"Yeah...She says Thomas is the quiet one, and you're the one who tries to be funny but has a smart ass."

David chuckled and looked over at Roxy, who was still fully engaged in her book.

"What else does your mom say about me?"

"She says you swim like a fish."

"I do...like a shark!" said David reaching up to tickle Emily as she broke out in a fit of giggles.

"I see you two are getting along."

Roxy was suddenly standing at the edge of the pool looking down at the two of them.

"Emily is a quick study. Did you see how well she floats?"

"I sure did. If you don't mind, I need to go inside and get ready for a date. Can you keep Emily here with you?"

"Yeah, sure," replied David.

As Roxy left the pool area, David continued the lesson teaching his young charge to doggy-paddle across the shallow end.

"So your mom has a date tonight," he said casually wondering what type of men Roxy would let into her world given the level of contempt she seemed to have for the guys at the plant.

"Yeah, he has a big nose, but mom says he's got potential," was all Emily would say about the man in question.

David chuckled again, especially at Emily's use of a word with more than two syllables.

A short time later Roxy returned, and he had to fight down an urge to whistle as she breezed through the gate in a short cotton dress that revealed her gorgeous muscular legs, and dropped low enough to give David his first real view of the creamy white flesh of her huge breasts.

She stopped at the edge, looking down, "I guess you guys can take your time. My babysitter just canceled on me so I won't be going out tonight after all."

"Ah! No, Mrs. Foster..." said Emily with some disappointment.

"Sorry, Sweetie. Mrs. Foster caught a cold."

David rubbed his jaw in thought, wondering why he suddenly felt so selfless, but deciding to go with it.

"You know if you want I could babysit Emily tonight while you go on your date?"

Roxy pursed her lips together, turning her head to one side not sure how to take this new offer of help.

"I don't know...How does Emily feel about that?"

"David is fun," was all she said, splashing the water.

"With qualifications like that, how can I say no," said Roxy with a shrug.

David helped Emily out of the pool and went to dry himself while she did the same. Roxy stepped closer, giving him a nose full of her alluring perfume.