Elena raised a friendly hand in greeting as Bonnie approached. She was busy watching the two boys, so Bonnie didn’t want to bother her. Besides, she was more interested in scoping out the pool for a sensory activity. The gentle slope of the beach entrance was perfect for kids afraid of the water. She wondered if they had some pool noodles as well. Pool noodles would be perfect for what she had in mind.
She set her towel on a chair by the edge of the water and walked over to the pool shed. It was just a small building off to the side of the pool that she figured housed the pool supplies. If there were pool noodles, they w
ould be inside.
She pulled open the heavy wooden door and looked around. The inside was neatly organized with pool cleaning equipment on one side and toys on the other. There were some arm floaties hanging on the wall, a couple of deflated beach balls, and about half a dozen pool noodles.
Bonnie grinned. There was so much she could do with this. Her brain buzzed with sensory activities that would help the camp kids feel comfortable in the water and learn to swim. She loved working with water because most kids ended up loving it.
That’s when she heard the sniffle.
It was small, but it made all thoughts of pool noodles and activities vanish. She looked around, closing the door and searching for whoever was crying.
Behind the pool shed, sitting on a smooth gray stone was a little boy. He was small and thin with shaggy blonde hair and big brown eyes. As soon as he saw her, he wrapped his arms around himself and shrunk down. His swim trunks were sun-bleached and worn, but the turtles decorating them were still visible. His dark blue sweatshirt was a size too big.
“Hi,” she said, taking a step forward and then crouching down, so she was at his height. He looked up at her and then quickly back down at the ground. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand.
“My name’s Bonnie. I’m new here.” Bonnie gave him a small wave. “What’s your name?”
“Tyson,” the boy replied, still looking at the ground. “T-Y-S-O-N.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Tyson. You must be, what? Eight years old?” She purposefully guessed high. The boy couldn’t be more than five or six, but kids always seemed to like that they looked older.
He smiled a little. “I’m five. My birthday is next month, and I’ll be six then.”
“Well then, happy early birthday, Tyson,” Bonnie told him.
The boy risked a quick glance up at her before returning his gaze to study the rocks in front of him. He had the longest eyelashes.
Bonnie wasn’t sure exactly what question to ask. Many of the kids at this camp were in the foster system, and all of them had a different story. Instead of simply asking “What’s wrong?”, she decided to go with a gentler question.
“Are you going swimming, Tyson?” Bonnie asked, keeping a friendly smile. “I was going to get in the water, but I’d love to have someone to play with. Would you like to join me?”
The little boy’s brow scrunched as he thought about it. He swallowed hard and kept looking down, never meeting her eyes.
“I don’t know how to swim,” he said quietly. “The other kids just want to jump in.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Bonnie replied. “I was just going to go in the shallow end anyway.”
Tyson fiddled with the string of his hoodie. He looked over at the pool, his eyes focusing on the pretty blue water and then filling with tears he tried to blink away. He obviously wanted to swim but was afraid of something.
“Would you like me to teach you how to swim?” Bonnie asked. “I used to give lessons, and now I teach kindergarten. I can give you my resume if you want.”
Two brown eyes flickered up to look at her for a split second. They were the biggest, most beautiful eyes Bonnie had ever seen on a child. The sadness in them broke her heart, and all she wanted to do was scoop up the boy and hug him until his eyes sparkled with joy rather than tears.
“Are you going to make me go underwater?” Tyson asked. His voice was uncertain. “I don’t like the way it feels on my ears.”
“If you don’t want to, then no,” Bonnie promised. “You get to be in control of the lesson the whole time.”
The boy thought for a moment. “Okay.” He wiped at his nose again.
She stood up and stepped over so the boy could walk beside her on the path back to the pool. Together they headed toward the water. It was then that she noticed that someone was now swimming laps at the far end.
A someone with a great male body. And dark hair. A someone named Dylan.
The idea that he was going to see her in her swimsuit made the color rise in her cheeks. She was glad she’d worn the suit that made her feel pretty. He probably wouldn’t even notice, she told herself, so she decided to ignore him.
She slipped out of her sweatpants and jacket as Tyson took his jacket off and left it on the chair next to hers. She offered her hand, and he took it as they walked to the edge of the water. He held on tight, betraying just how nervous he felt about this.