Chapter 2
Thelma
Thelma was talking with Darin's wife, Martha, when Bil and Darin walked inside. Martha was a very beautiful woman, and fairly intelligent too. Martha used to be envious of Thelma's looks back when they first met, back when their only child was Billy. Raising four children had taken a huge toll on Thelma's health, though. She looked older than she was. When she saw Martha, she wondered what happened to her body, how she could suddenly be envious of Martha's looks.
"So, is it okay for the kids to play in the pool?" Thelma asked. "I spent all last night cleaning it up, so it should be fine." Martha said. Thelma turned to her children, who were very eager to play in the swimming pool. "Hey kids, did you hear that? Go change into your swimsuits and play!" Thelma said. Her children raced to the bathroom. Billy was holding PJ's hand. "Come on, PJ! I'll help you get changed!" Billy said. Martha turned to Thelma. "Your baby can swim?" She said, impressed. "Well, kind of. We're teaching him. I brought a floatation device for him too, just in case." Thelma said. Thelma walked to the car and grabbed a blow up life preserver in the shape of a turtle. "We like to call him Mr. Toddly Turtle." Thelma said. Martha laughed. "That is so cute!" She said.
Thelma removed her clothes, revealing that she was wearing a swimsuit under them, and jumped into the pool with Mr. Toddly Turtle. Martha did the same and jumped in. Thelma noticed that Martha wore a far more revealing swimsuit. Thelma looked at herself and remembered why she could not wear such a thing. Stretch marks, C-section scars, and that fact that she barely ever exercised anymore. She was not ugly by any means. She just wanted to keep those parts of her body a secret. "Nice swimsuit." Thelma said, a little jealous. "Thanks. Darin loves it. He bought it for me a month ago." Martha said.
The Keane kids walked out of the house, now in their swimsuits. Jeffy was very excited, as he ran out of the house. "Don't run by the pool!" Thelma said to her son. Jeffy instantly slowed down. He was still the first one in. Martha smiled. "Your son really loves it here." Martha said. "I know." Thelma said, laughing. Dolly followed close behind, while Billy helped PJ into the water. Once PJ was in, he started to swim, until he began sinking. Thelma lifted him up and put him into Mr. Toddly Turtle. "There! Mr. Toddly Turtle loves you! He wants you to ride on him!" Thelma said.
Jeffy saw that PJ had a turtle pool toy. "Mom, why can't I have a Mr. Toddly Turtle?" Jeffy said. Thelma turned to Jeffy. "He needs it. PJ is still learning to swim, honey." Thelma said. "But mom!" Jeffy said. "Jeffy, please. Have fun. You're at the pool!" Thelma said, trying not to let her son get on her nerves. "Okay." Jeffy said, pouting.
Jeffy swam to PJ. PJ was smiling in his turtle life preserver. "Stupid PJ. I wish I were still the cutest one." Jeffy said. Jeffy remembered before PJ was born, back when he was the youngest. He felt like he was the center of the world, like everyone loved him and everyone was always paying attention to him. Now it was PJ who was the youngest, PJ who was getting the most attention, and PJ who was getting the coolest toys. Jeffy was very jealous. Even though he was jealous, his parents always told him to be nice to PJ, to play with him and make him feel like part of the family.
PJ stared at Jeffy with a very smug grin. "You're having the time of your life in that turtle, aren't you?" Jeffy said to his little brother. "Yes! Yes!" PJ said. PJ's vocabulary was very limited, but he did know some words. Jeffy rocked PJ's turtle. "Whoops! Here comes a wave!" Jeffy said. PJ laughed. He enjoyed playing with his brother Jeffy. "Here, let's get your head wet." Jeffy said. He tipped Mr. Toddly Turtle over, leaving PJ's legs in the air and quickly turned PJ back over, his head soaking wet. PJ enjoyed this. He laughed and splashed the pool water with his tiny arms. "Be careful playing with him." Thelma said, noticing Jeffy playing a little bit rough.
"Your kids are cute. What's it like having them?" Martha asked Thelma. "Well, it's good. There really is nothing like raising children. It's a lot of work, though. Too much, actually." Thelma said. "I know it's a lot of work. Well, I just wanted to know. We can't have any." Martha said. She moved in close to Thelma to whisper in her ear. "Darin's sterile." Thelma was shocked when she heard this. "He is?" Thelma said. "Well, at first we thought he just had… slow swimmers, but then we found out that the problem was a little more complicated." Martha said. "Oh. I'm sorry." Thelma said, a little bit disturbed.
At that moment, the Keane kids heard something almost every child in The United State recognized, the unmistakable music of an ice cream truck. "Ice cream!" Dolly shouted, jumping out of the water. "Ice cream!" Billy shouted, following his sister. They ran to the truck, which had stopped once the driver saw that there were children running towards him. "Don't run by the pool!" Thelma scolded, following her children. Martha jumped out of the pool too. "I should spoil myself. I love ice cream." She thought to herself. Jeffy capsized PJ's turtle while playing their game, when he heard the ice cream truck. "Stay right there, PJ. I'll be back with some ice cream." He said, smiling. He did not know the kind of danger he was subjecting to PJ.
"What do you kids want?" Thelma asked. She was still wet from the pool and was digging through her purse to find her wallet. "I want a spongebob pop!" Jeffy said. "We don't have those. How about an ice cream sandwich?" The ice cream man said. "I want a spongebob pop!" Jeffy said, with increasing anger. "Jeffy! If you keep that up you won't get any ice cream!" Thelma said. "But mom!" Thelma cut her son's words short. "You've been acting up all day, Jeffy. Pick an ice cream and be happy with it." Thelma said.
Martha had already ordered her ice cream. It was a popsicle. She turned to Billy. "Want a taste?" She asked. "Thanks!" Billy said. He bit a part off of it and at it. "You're nice, Martha. You're also very pretty." Billy said. "Well, thank you, Billy!" Martha said. Thelma finally found her wallet now. "Okay, what do you want?" Thelma asked. "I want a popsicle. A rocket pop!" Billy said. "I want an ice cream sandwich." Jeffy said, his arms crossed, still bitter about not being able to have a spongebob pop. "What about you, Dolly?" Thelma asked. Dolly was quiet. "Umm…." She said. Thelma was used to being patient with Dolly. "I want…" She said, trailing off. "Dolly, pick something." Thelma said. "I want… A sundae." She said. "We don't have those either." The ice cream man said. "Okay! I want a choco taco." Dolly said.
After Thelma finished paying for her kids' ice cream, she noticed something strange. "Where's PJ?" She said. "Oh, I left him in the pool. I promised him I'd be back to turn him back." Jeffy said. "Turn him back?" Thelma said, confused. She ran to the pool and saw her baby, upside down, with his legs in the air. He was completely limp. Thelma dove into the pool and grabbed her son out of the water. His body was cold and he wasn't moving. "PJ! PJ!" She shouted, with tears in her eyes. She turned to Martha, who was so shocked that she dropped her popsicle. "Call an ambulance!"