The Solitude of Swimming

A short story byK.C. Sharpe

The Solitude of Swimming

A short story byK.C. Sharpe

1

Helpless heroes broken by bullets and bombs wait for Tasha to heal them as they

struggle with the stress of surviving. New cases motivate her and closed cases inspire her.

Journeying down the hospital hallway, stopping in room from room, she discovers a

returning patient.

Pushing down her anxiety with deep breaths, Tasha exerts intense eye contact and

listens to the patient’s confession. When he explains the overwhelming urge he had to

drop his baby over an atrium railing, her eyes zigzag as she tries to recall overlooked

clues from previous sessions. He tells Tasha he can’t be around people he loves because

he is afraid he will hurt them. Frightened by the finality of failure, she listens but wonders

how she can manage this mistake and correct her miscalculations.

2

Scott searches the hotel room for his clothes while Ben, lying in bed, tells Scott to

stay and stop being a hooker. The difference between him and a whore, Scott jokes, is

whores charge; he gets rewarded. Tip by tip, good bartenders flirt when they are cooking

cocktails and cracking long necks, Scott says. As he pulls up his jeans and buckles his

belt, Scott says he navigates between tempting without teasing before promising he does

not entertain, but he is entertaining. When Ben skeptically looks back with an eye roll

that reviews the damage the two did to the hotel room together, Scott confesses when he

does trick, they treat.

Without apologizing, Scott owns up to being into out-of-towners and hooking up

at hotels. He says boyfriends at home are bad for business, so he tricks with visiting

businessmen and trampy tourists who have other places to go and different lives to live.

Hotel sex, he continues, brings out the lover in him and turns his passion into tiny

temporary moments like honeymoons and affairs. Once dressed, he jumps back into bed

and makes out with Ben one more time. Between kisses, Ben invites Scott back home to

Boston — his treat.

3

The whole fraternity groans during the chapter meeting when Mannish gripes that

he is not on the flag football team. Eric, the intramural chairman, responds back, calling

Mannish by his nickname, saying Slumdog has the mind of a jock, but the body of a

mathlete. Mannish laughs with the rest of his brothers, pretending to threaten hacking

their email accounts.

Another brother uses the moment to criticize Mannish’s performance as social

chairman, adding Slumdog should forget about intramurals and focus on getting more

girls to their happy hours. Eric agrees, saying he loves Slumdog but he needs to stop the

spontaneous keggers and put more into planning and promoting parties. Mannish slams

back with a smile and says he loves Eric back but he needs to start building some

winning teams so the house has something to celebrate.

4

Carol Christmas feeds Scott another shot and zips up the back of his dress for the

Annual Bartender Review. He says this is not what he had in mind when he asked Carol

to be his drag coach. Carol reminds him he needs to compete if he wants to keep his

shifts. Scott reminds Carol he needs to win if they want those plane tickets to almost

anywhere. He adds he hates the dress, the wig, the shoes, even the song. Before Barbra

Streisand starts to sing “With One Look” from the musical Sunset Boulevard, he shouts

over the opening instrumental he really hates his drag name. Carol hands him another

shot and tells him to shut up and swallow. Taking one last look as soon as the emcee

introduces Scott as Tammae Duexmae, Carol grabs his shot glass and pushes him onto the

stage.

Frozen at first, Scott lip syncs to Streisand singing her show tune. He can’t

remember the words or the choreography, so he makes up moves and flirts with the

audience. Regulars rush up and hand him dollar bills as they vote for their favorite

bartender. His composure is clunky and clumsy as he stumbles across the stage, laughing

when he should be singing. He is still bending over and pulling dollars from the crowd

before he trips, falls backward and collapses. With his legs in the air, Barbra ends the

song, belting out, “With one look, I’ll be me!” Carol rushes out and asks him how the

heels are. When he says he thinks he broke his ankle and not his heel, Carol is relieved

the shoes are fine.

5

Holding candy apples and cotton candy, Tasha squats down to hug her twin boys

after they run across the midway to reach her. Their father walks behind them carrying a

turkey leg and a stuffed panda. She tells them how much she missed them and asks if

they had fun weekend with their dad. Both talk over each other, rambling off adventures

about nachos, water guns, goldfish and Ping-Pong balls. She listens to their father as he

sarcastically highlights new skills and emerging talents like flushing toilets, washing

hands and putting away toys. Tasha hugs her sons again and says she is proud they

remembered everything she taught them.

Hand in hand, the twins lead their parents toward the rides, their father

mentioning how he heard Tasha wasn’t letting their boys go to their cousin’s birthday

party. Unsurprised when Tasha explains it away, he gets frustrated and insists the boys

start taking swim lessons. She agrees and promises she’ll get to it as soon as she finds a

class that works with her irregular shifts at the VA hospital. He says he understands and

wants to compromise, but admits he is tired of her excuses and stalling. She assures him

she will get the twins enrolled in swim lessons, insisting she will not let them grow up

afraid of the water.

6

Again, Mannish’s father says no to a loan and repeats how the old bike in the

garage is good enough for racing. Mannish pleads for money to buy training gear for a

triathlon, but his father resists and wonders who needs money to run. He talks about

growing up running everywhere in Mumbai for free, and that he will not pay for another

one of Mannish’s sports obsessions. From basketball and soccer to lacrosse and hockey,

he recites the long list of sports Mannish grew up playing, including his latest love of

rugby and volleyball.

His dad credits Mannish’s mother for his love of sports and competitive spirit,

adding she was the athlete while he was the student. To him, Mannish is neither a scholar

nor a champion — just average. Mannish grins and says his dad has to agree – at least he

is awesomely average.

7

Recovering from his broken ankle, Scott melts from fit to flabby as he heals. First

surgeries and stitches, then a cast and crutches. After a boot, another operation festers

infections. His friends hang around long enough to sign his cast, but move on over the

months while he mends. Even Carol Christmas takes off to Provincetown with the

almost-anywhere plane ticket they won and gets a cabaret gig for the summer.

After the doctor says it’s okay to get back into shape, Scott takes on the treadmill.

His ankle swells. His knees ache. His back spasms. A physical therapist recommends

elliptical machines, but Scott is fed up with not getting anywhere. Weights aren’t

working. Extreme boot camp feels excruciating. Yoga looks awkward. Zumba sounds

goofy. Depressed instead of disciplined, he wakes up too hungover for morning

workouts. He grows a gut and gets back fat, and his chiseled cheekbones disappear while

his face gets puffy. His embarrassment cannot motivate him to stick to any regular

routines. Scott grows into middle age, unconditioned and uninspired.

8

Too early to text, Tasha posts, shares and likes her way around the Internet while

her twins cannonball and belly flop into the shallow end of the pool. She coaches her

boys from the bleachers and shouts at them to stick their faces in the water and blow

bubbles. She hollers, ordering them to kick with their legs, stroke with their arms, swim

underwater and float on their backs.

Although bored watching her boys bounce around, she is excited to see early

mornings in the pool make a difference. She is calm as they splash around far from the

deep end and appreciates their confident carelessness. It is when they crawl too close to

parts of the pool that are over their heads she jumps to her feet, screaming she cannot

save them if they drown.

9

The dance floor lights can be distorting, but Scott recognizes Ben from Boston as

he approaches his station at the bar. He shows off his surprise with a grin that’s nearly as

wide as Ben’s smile. His one-night-stand says he’s back in town for business as his eyes

scan Scott over. Sensing a sudden shift in Ben’s enthusiasm, Scott amplifies his happiness

and shouts over the music that it is great seeing him. He repeats himself even louder

when Ben says he can’t hear. Ben shakes his head and agrees, admitting it’s been a long

time since they first met.

Unable to hear Scott offer him a drink on the house, Ben yells back he should let

him get back to work. He scopes out the dance floor when Scott says it would be great to

hang out before Ben heads back to Boston. He says he has an early flight the next

morning, dropping eye contact. He backs away to let a dancer get through and order a

drink. Scott yells past the customer between them, telling Ben to stop by for a shot before

he leaves. More dancers start crowding around Scott’s station as Ben cruises over to the

other side of the club. A few songs before last call as the crowd starts thinning out, Scott

watches Ben leave the club, guy in tow, without saying goodbye.

10

Mannish struggles with swimming. The closer he gets to the other side of the

pool, the more he looks like he is saving himself from drowning. His strong and solid

strokes turn choppy and sloppy when he runs out of air. While Olympic swimmers he

YouTubes seamlessly skim across the water, Mannish drags downward and sinks to a stop

whenever he lifts his head to breathe.

No matter how graceful he is dribbling on basketball courts or striking on soccer

fields, Mannish cannot coordinate kicking and breathing with stroking and floating.

Wading in the water during childhood beach vacations was not helpful. He discovers

racing requires choreographing efficiency with endurance and managing strength with

power. Every sluggish movement and punishing lap is awkward and exhausting, and

Mannish likes it.

11

Shy with shame, Scott gets to the pool early in the mornings so no one sees him

shirtless and he can swim solo. After months of short workouts, struggling through ten,

then twenty and thirty laps, he gets the stamina to swim longer and further. Too

embarrassed to be seen out of the water when others arrive at the pool, he is trapped

swimming laps until everyone leaves.

New confidence strengthens his pace when he realizes he is out-swimming the

young guy in the next lane. He gets the pool back to himself once the mother leaves with

her boys and the other swimmer takes off too. Scott is energized by sore muscles instead

of feeling weak with pain in his bones. With each stretching stroke, he grows taller and

stronger.

12

Mannish shares his lane with the boys. He tosses the twins around in the shallow

end rather than swimming laps down into the deep end. Their mother on the bleachers

doesn’t mind, and the man in the other lane doesn’t matter.

For weeks every morning, Mannish tries to teach himself new swimming

methods while attempting to visually pick up pointers from the man who swims endless

laps in the next lane. Mannish wades around when the children leave but cannot stay

around as long as the experienced swimmer. He never interrupts the guy’s workout, but

Mannish waits when he can as long as he can, hoping to get some help to improve his

technique.

13

After many mornings, Tasha sits closer to the pool but not too close. She lets her

kids learn from the young man in the middle lane who struggles with swimming himself.

Despite his weak skills, she is not worried he will drown since he is taller than the deep

end. While the older man in the far lane is off on his own swimming, the younger one

plays and laughs with the boys. He looks like he prefers lifeguarding her sons instead of

swimming laps as he cheers on the twins, competing to see who can stay under water the

longest.

She moves closer to the edge over a matter of weeks as small talk with Mannish

grows into longer conversations about his triathlon training. Together, they study the man

in the far lane, analyzing his non-stop swimming. Mannish’s triathlon is only weeks

away, and Tasha worries he will not master swimming before the race.

14

The solitude of swimming is like traveling through time warps. The water and the

waves wash away the world. Surrounded by silent splashes and muffled vibrations, all

that matters is the motion of the moment.

Scott grows within the water as the outside universe moves on without him.

Underwater, he rockets along until he floats to the surface, sliding and gliding with each

stroke. Stretching, bending, rotating, reaching, pushing and pulling, his arms take charge

and lead with every lap as his heavy legs stay suspended. Lost in the privacy of the pool,

Scott focuses on what he is accomplishing to avoid sinking with anxiety over what he has

not done. He counts strokes and laps instead of seconds and minutes as he slips into a

swimmer’s coma rather than a runner’s high. He is only lonely outside the pool, back to

feeling flabby and forgettable as he blends in with other middle-aged men who should be

fathers or have a family of friends.

15

A month before the triathlon, Mannish charms more coaching out of Scott. His

confidence grows and he learns how to pace himself to gain stamina. He cannot beat

Scott in a race, but Mannish manages to finish four laps without stopping.

Between drills, he tells Scott stories about school and weekends, family and

friends, dating and breakups. He does not learn much about Scott, but Mannish figures

out how to drill down beyond replies as short as ‘yes,’ and barely longer than a ‘no.’ He

updates Scott about the triathlon as it approaches, including when, where, and how cool it

would be if Scott went. Scott does not seem interested, so Mannish jokes around and

hypothetically asks Scott what kind of coach he would be if he were not at the big race.

16

Around where the deep end begins, Tasha sits poolside with her legs in the water,

blocking the boys from leaving the shallow end. She eavesdrops, listening as Scott

instructs Mannish and repeating his advice to her twins. She tells them to watch and do

what Scott and Mannish do, just not in the deep end.

Mannish leaves early one morning and Tasha crosses the deck toward Scott’s lane.

She introduces herself, compliments his swimming and suggests they surprise Mannish at

the triathlon. She ignores his excuses and talks him through her plan. To make sure

Mannish does not figure out what they are up to, she tells Scott to keep acting like a cold

jackass.

17

The crowd of swimmers runs into the lake, racing from the shore into the water.

Mannish rushes forward wildly, smiling but not knowing what to expect. Without

warning, he panics when he hits the cold, muddy water. Surrounded by waves and

splashes from the other swimmers, he forgets to float. His arms swing in and out of the

water, but he is barely moving forward. Waves of pain pound him as faster swimmers

from behind crash and crawl over his body, pushing him under the surface. While

everyone else races to the other side, Mannish wonders how not to get hurt. As stronger

swimmers pass, Mannish gains room to face forward, stretch his strokes and lift his legs

to kick harder. Crawling through the chaos, he struggles to keep up with the last of the

other weaker swimmers. He mentally pushes his mind as he physically pulls his body

closer to the middle of the lake.

With winners ahead and losers behind, Mannish centers himself halfway between

first and last. He swims through the calm of the lake’s smooth water at its peaceful center,

recalibrating his strokes so he can finish hard and catch up to make up for his

unaggressive start. He reaches a rhythm he rides to the other side. Crawling onto the

shore, exhausted and fatigued, Mannish works up enough energy to rest for a bit. He pulls

himself up, leans onto his knees and catches his breath as he loses his lead over slower

swimmers who run past him toward their bikes. Hearing his fraternity brothers yelling to

keep going, he gets his mind back into the race. First, though, he puts on a bit of a show

as he takes off on his bike — grinning and waving back at Tasha and her kids who are

standing next to Scott.

18

Coping with karma is a consequence of being middle-aged, Scott tells Tasha as he

recovers between laps. He says that’s why he feels like being in his forties is more of a

mission than a phase. Then, he pushes off to start another lap. Even though his broken

ankle healed nearly a year ago, he is now dealing with the damage daily. Done swimming

for the morning, he explains getting back into shape will prove he’s not letting age slow

him down. Toweling off, he laughs at himself as he breaks down how he has to work to

look athletic even though he has the genetics for the aesthetic. Tasha flatters Scott with

doubt and disbelief. He appreciates her compliment when she says he’s got sexy

handsomeness all over his face, but reminds her she is not his target. She bets all the guys

must like him since he is so nice, but he knows it has always been for a price.

He says these days he feels like a has-been working behind the bar. Tips are

down. Regulars are coupling up and keeping cozy at home together. Younger bartenders

are attracting the new wave of customers who are either just out or new to the

gayborhood. The lonely-homely are good for a buck a beer or a dollar a drink when hot

bartenders make them feel appreciated and appealing. Pour a beer and tell them they look

good. Let them know how great it is to see them, while squeezing a lime into a gin and

tonic. Keep them coming back for another round, for another dollar. Scott says bartenders

stay sexy because the flirting gets creepy if they’re not.

19

Although he does not admit to Tasha how much he hates swimming, Mannish

tells her about a club for crew he wants to join on campus. Sliding back and forth on the

rowing machine, he explains how he’s focusing on rowing in the mornings instead of

swimming in the pool. Tasha struggles to bend down, meeting him at eye level, as

Mannish explains how the guys raised money posing nude for a calendar. He mentions

that his skinny ass would be perfect for October since it is so scary.

He stops grinning as soon as he realizes Tasha is scolding him for disappearing on

them. Unable to break in with excuses or promises, Mannish faces forward, pushes off

with his legs and leans back, continuing to row rather than listening. He blushes a bit

when Tasha says she remembers how he said he was training for a triathlon because he

couldn’t click with a team. She wonders if Mannish has any gratitude for Scott’s help and

whether he realizes the impression he has made on the twins. Ashamed and embarrassed

as he continues rowing, he lets Tasha calm down during his silence before she goes into

gossip mode about going to Germany with Scott.

20

Tasha tenses up trying to relax, struggling to float. She hides her fear by not

taking herself seriously in her swimming cap. With her ears soaking in the pool as water

tickles her face, Scott’s muffled voice quietly coaches her to stay calm. He sounds far

away though he is kneeling down behind her in the pool’s shallow end, lifting her back

and raising her to the surface. Rather than be in the moment, she mentally checks her to-

do list and starts solving problems waiting at work. Processing and pondering, Tasha

wonders why holding her breath with her face in the water is easier than breathing on her

back floating on the surface. Then she asks herself if she just had a Zen moment after she

synthesized learning how to swim requires teaching yourself how to stay still.

She becomes flustered when Scott says focus. He says take it easy but she wants

to take a break. He will not let her grab him, so she holds on to his promises that the

water will lift her up when she lets it. Then she tries to concentrate and contemplates his

warning that she will sink only when she struggles.

21

Alone in the pool, Mannish swims an occasional lap but mostly soaks in the

shallow end and waits for Scott. He surprises Scott when he arrives and they catch up

with small talk about teaching Tasha how to swim and traveling with her to Germany.

Mannish smiles, flattered when Scott credits him for the trip. Scott explains helping

Mannish prepare for his triathlon motivated him to focus on a swimming competition of

his own. With a plane ticket to almost anywhere about to expire, Scott says it was time

for his first trip out of the country when he found an international sports festival in Berlin

that included swimming.

Mannish apologizes for not being around lately and thanks Scott for helping him

train for the triathlon. Then he confesses how terrifying it was swimming across the lake.

He admits he wasn’t prepared for the panic crashing into other swimmers, choking down

water, battling waves and fighting his urge to quit. He says the most frightening part was

how lonely he felt once he reached the middle of the lake. Being honest lifts his feelings

of sinking when Scott says he understands how isolating swimming gets. Mannish listens

as Scott talks about how fun it was growing up swimming on teams, but how much he

struggled getting back into the pool during his recovery. Scott adds the thing that sucks

about swimming is it forces him to think inward, something he realizes he’s been

avoiding as an adult. Then he explains the willpower Scott needs to face himself is what

Mannish will need to finish what he starts — even if there’s no way of winning.

22

The twins swim back from the deep end toward Mannish, while Scott and Tasha

wade in the shallow part of the pool talking about Germany. She tells stories about

growing up in West Berlin when her father was stationed there, and what it was like

returning on her own to a unified Berlin when she was an exchange student. Practically

speaking in German, she recites a list of things to do, food to eat and places to see.

In between bobbing up and down in the water with the boys, Tasha says the

countdown to Berlin is five months and ten days. She tries to keep Scott calm after

Mannish converts the countdown to just one hundred and sixty-three days. His stalling

and doubt makes Tasha worry Scott might back out at any moment, especially since he

still does not have his passport. He gets overwhelmed when calculating costs, but Tasha

tells him they will find ways to pay. She says he is being brave when he says he feels

foolish. He thinks it is impossible, but she promises it is. Mannish interrupts and tells

Scott to chill, because Frau Tasha is going to make things happen.

23

With all the men in the pool, Scott gets campy with Tasha. He settles into silent

seriousness when he gets the look from her, warning him it is time to work. She

introduces Scott to her group as he scans the line of young vets mentally maimed by the

military. They look comfortable with their comrades, but guarded when Tasha takes

command. This is the first time he is seeing their faces in person, rather than just reading

their names on lists. As he picks up on their bright energy and their buddy-buddy

behavior, he wonders if they are a different group of volunteers since none of them looks

like he wants to kill himself. He senses vibes of vulnerability watching them listen to

Tasha explain her Heroes Helping Heroes program. He wonders whom the hell he is

watching as she gives the men her word that they are neither guinea pigs nor lab rats,

even though this therapy is experimental. Watching her work, Scott feels intimidated by

her professionalism but then second-guesses her approach, considering she is wearing a

bathing suit and a swim cap, instead of a lab coat carrying a clipboard.

Following Tasha’s coaching, Scott projects calm confidence and commanding

compassion as he leads from the water. Together, they show Tasha’s group how to float,

find focus and keep calm from overwhelming anxiety. Scott teams up strong swimmers

with weaker ones. He uses what he learned from his certification training and tells the

weaker to support the stronger who are instructed to float on their backs. Following the

strategy he and Tasha planned together, he says they are here to float, not swim. To show

the difference, Scott explains how swimming takes you somewhere, but floating helps

you control where you are. He asks the weaker swimmers if they notice how all the big,

bad, experienced swimmers struggle to stay still. He says it’s because they are fighting

urges to move, not because they are scared of sinking, but because they feel awkward and

uncomfortable. Quietly and calmly, he narrates their situation and points out that here,

they are all together in the water. They are exposed and nearly naked, depending on

someone else’s help just to be in the moment. He adds that getting around in the water is

second nature to the strong swimmers, so their minds center on how they are feeling, not

on what they are doing. Scott guarantees the weaker swimmers will forget about feelings

and focus on staying on the surface when it is their turn. Complimenting these men for

being alert and ready for action, he challenges them to relax and recharge. Smooth

splashes and gentle waves calm the pool filled with tough and terrifying warriors, who

start to heal by surrendering to trust.

24

It is a flawless fundraiser filled with frat boys and fairies, soldiers and sailors.

Mannish is flattered and feels fantastic when Scott says how grateful he is for the

surprise. Since Scott is having trouble covering expenses to travel to Germany for his

race, Mannish hosts a Sunday afternoon party where Scott works. Just when the party

vibe peaks, Mannish gets on stage to welcome everyone. He thanks them for helping

support a middle-aged man make his global premier in competitive swimming at Berlin’s

Gay Games in Germany. The crowd roars during the pause for applause.

The queens gasp, the vets shout and the frat boys drink when Mannish explains

Scott will compete in the men’s division, ages 45 and up. Pretending to apologize, he

smirks as he says he is sorry for telling everyone Scott is middle-aged. He asks for faux

forgiveness, saying he assumes everyone knew Scott was in his fifties. He jokes with

backhanded praise, explaining Scott’s odds of bringing home the gold are pretty good,

especially since not many men his age are alive let alone capable of swimming long

distances in the first place. He then goes in for the zinger and says Scott might as well

compete in the high jump, too, since he is a master at lowering the bar. None of the

groans and moans from the audience keep him from stealing the show.

25

Passing through security, Tasha sees the TSA agent pull Mannish to the side. She

cannot hear the agent but can tell by the intensity in his face Mannish needs to start

looking serious. From the wand to the pat down, her heart breaks watching his smile

dissolve and the joy of their journey to Germany evaporate. Mannish does not resist, but

he does not look pleased. Tension escalates when other agents come to assist. She prays

he cooperates and asks another agent what is wrong, wondering how to help.

She punches Scott in the shoulder and tells him to knock it off when he says he

jokingly warned Mannish the beard he just grew made him look like a terrorist. Tasha

tries to interrupt the interrogation by offering assistance, but the agents push her aside and

tell her she is interfering. She says she understands the misunderstanding. Swearing

Mannish is harmless and not hostile, she explains to the agent Mannish is nervous

because this is his first time flying. Her concern creates more stress, and Scott tries to

keep her calm while the agents do their duty until Mannish fades through glass offices

and disappears into a back room.

26

This is what life is like for boogiemen, Scott tells Mannish, who sits silently

sunken, stunned, and still humiliated as other passengers finish boarding. All the attention

on Mannish from attendants on alert adds anxiety so Scott tries to distract from the

tension. Being protective, Scott explains the insignificance of the agents who mumbled

Mannish might be Muslim. He says the rednecks back in security who have nowhere to

go simmer in jealousy, watching those they judge unworthy go places the agents will

never see. Calling them cowards, he says they abuse authority, thinking they can keep

people who appear to be different in their places. When Mannish wonders if he will be

singled out and interrogated again when they land in Germany, Scott warns that assholes

are everywhere.

Sharing the shame he felt losing his job teaching high school history and coaching

the swim team, Scott talks about a delusional senior girl who spread rumors they were

secretly dating. He says he thought admitting he was gay would explain away the gossip

when it got to the school board. He smiles when he says they fired him for telling the

truth, citing the morality clause he signed when he accepted the district’s job offer. After

he puts his parable into perspective, he notices Mannish is not moved. Scott unbuckles

his seatbelt, gets up, unzips his hoodie and takes off the Team Texas T-shirt he got for the

Gay Games. Standing shirtless in the aisle, he hands it to Mannish and tells him to wear it

with pride so everyone knows he is a Texan.

27

The men and women cheer and chant near the top of the bleachers as Scott crawls

closer to the lead. Tasha catches Mannish noticing the noise, too, as they both look back

and forth between the swimmers in front of them and fans behind them. She agrees they

sound like they are from the United States but says they look too clean-cut to be students.

The crew gets louder as Scott’s race gets longer, and Tasha yells in their direction that she

and Mannish are Scott’s fans, too. A young woman with close-cropped hair shouts back,

asking if she is Tasha. Next to her, a young man pointing his phone at the pool says

colleagues back in the States emailed them to be on the lookout for Tasha and a guy

named Mannish. He then explains he is streaming Scott’s race live for their veteran

friends back home who are recovering from their time in service.

Overwhelmed with pride, Tasha covers her mouth screaming and then slaps her

cheeks laughing, before wiping her eyes from crying. The men and women in the stands,

cheering behind her, were off-duty soldiers from a nearby base, sent by her group of vets

at home to support Scott. Tasha waves at the phone shouting thank you and that she loves

them. Altogether, Tasha and Mannish chant U-S-A with the soldiers as Scott finishes his

final few laps.

28

No excuse matters when Scott volunteers Mannish to substitute on the Vegas relay

team of twinks in their twenties. After partying around Berlin following the opening

ceremonies, they lost a swimmer who went off with either a British weight lifter or a

runner from Spain. They do not care Mannish is not gay, just as long as he is in his

twenties and from the United States. They have goggles and a swimsuit for him. He only

has to start and finish without standing, stopping or drowning.

Despite Scott’s encouragement and coaching, Mannish stands around on the deck,

timid and nervous, nearly naked in a Speedo too tiny even for his skinny ass. Focusing on

the race, no one notices him until it is his turn to get on the starting block. Elevated, he

sees Scott and Tasha in the stands, clapping and waving. There is way too much noise,

but he laughs out loud smiling when he hears them lead the soldiers chant, “Just-don’t-

stop! Just-don’t-drown! Just-have-fun!”

The End