Danger: Part Three
Alex watched as her daughter climbed the ladder. All the other parents oohed and aahed, murmuring over what a brave little girl Meredith was. Bobby looked at Alex and winked. Alex smiled back nervously, her heart in her throat, her breathing shallow. Her daughter, in her brand-new navy blue Speedo bathing suit – "the racer back straps, Mom! God!" – walked across the diving board staring straight ahead. Alex knew she wouldn't look down, up, or even over at her parents momentarily; in an increasingly rare moment in which father and daughter spoke meaningfully with each other, 10 year old Meredith had confessed that diving scared her silly. She did it because the feeling of the rush of water as she sliced through it was a better feeling than speeding on the Thruway with Uncle Mike. Bobby made a mental note to kill Mike as Meredith continued. "Mom's a cop. She's so brave. Diving's not so scary compared to what you and Mom do all day." Bobby told this to Alex, whose heart soared and then was shot down by the guilt that rushed back in. Alex said a silent prayer, forcing her eyes open. She watched her daughter exhale, close her eyes, wiggle her fingers (which she claimed she had no recollection of doing up there), and finally she leapt off the board, twisting and turning through mid-air before slicing through the water, leaving no trace that she'd been there. A couple of seconds later she resurfaced, smiling. Her other teammates surrounded her in a hug and everyone else stood, clapping. Alex stood and clapped along with them, resting her head on Bobby's shoulder. She was thankful her child had lived, had not slapped her head open on the end of the board or some other hideous scenario. She also marveled in her daughter's braveness as well as her daughter's ability to recognize it in her mother without holding it against her.