“Fantastic!” Dylan and Bonnie both praised him. “Do it again!”
Tyson grinned, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Okay!” His confidence was multiplying, and Bonnie was pleased.
This time, Tyson didn’t hesitate. He blew a great stream of bubbles into the water, his fear lessening with every second. He lifted his head, pride at his bubbles radiating of his small frame.
“You’re doing great,” Bonnie praised. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen better bubbles.”
“Tyson?” Elena called from the edge of the pool. The two boys who were jumping in earlier were wrapped in towels next to her. “Are you ready to come get some dinner?”
Tyson looked over at Bonnie and then to Dylan. “Um... no.”
“We got him,” Dylan said, putting his arm around Tyson. “We’ll make sure he gets to the cafeteria for dinner.”
Something about the way Dylan said, “we” made Bonnie’s insides flutter. She liked being a “we” with him.
“Okay. We’ll see you guys there. Thanks, Dylan. Bye Bonnie.” Elena waved and then began to guide the two boys with her toward the kid’s cabins.
“How’d they get Tyson in the wa
ter?” one of the boys asked Elena as they walked. “He’s scared of it.”
“I don’t know,” Elena replied. “But isn’t it great?”
“Yeah,” the other boy replied with a grin. “We need another person to play Marco Polo with. It’s no fun with just two.”
Their voices faded as the three of them got further and further away from the pool. Bonnie turned back to focus on Tyson. He looked so happy with his goggles taking up most of his small face.
“So, bubbles are how we talk to the fish of the pool,” Bonnie explained. “Next, we have to work on catching them!”
Tyson giggled. “But there’s no fish in the pool.”
“Are you sure?” Dylan asked, looking around and pointing to invisible fish. “You don’t see them? I see a rainbow fish and a dinosaur fish. I’m going to catch a... hippopotamus fish!”
Tyson laughed, getting into the game. “Okay. How do we catch a hippo-ta... a hippotatumus... hippopotamus fish?”
“Like this.” Bonnie put one arm out in front of her and dove it into the water, repeating the motion on the opposite side. It was basically the doggy-paddle. “You try.”
Both Dylan and Tyson mimicked her motions, with Dylan splashing as much as possible.
“I’m going to catch a Tyson fish!” Bonnie called out, moving to tickle Tyson. The boy giggled and used the new swimming motion to move away from her.
“I’m going to catch a Dylan fish!” Tyson yelled. He moved his arms through the water and Dylan let him catch him. He ducked under the water and then came up, his dark hair wet. With an easy motion, he pushed his hair out of his eyes and Bonnie had a hard time not looking at the way his biceps flexed when he did it.
“Bonnie fish!” Tyson and Dylan yelled at the same time. She tried to get away, but they both caught her and dunked her. She came up laughing.
They played this game for a while. Dylan and Bonnie took turns going underwater if Tyson caught them, but they never dunked him. They had him blow bubbles and practice putting his face in the water, but they didn’t push him past what he was comfortable with.
Bonnie loved it when Dylan caught her. His hands on her shoulders as he pushed her into the water were strong and gentle. He didn’t force her, but rather guided her down. She was enjoying having him touch her. It was a long time since anyone had touched her, even as a friend and it felt nice to be close to someone.
“Okay, who’s hungry?” Dylan asked, coming up after being caught. “It’s time for dinner, and I’m hungry. Tyson fish and Bonnie fish are fun, but I need food!”
Tyson retreated slightly. He wasn’t about to give up on this game without a fight. “I’m not ready to eat yet. I’m having fun.”
Bonnie glanced at her watch. It was almost past when Chef made food. They needed to get Tyson to the cafeteria soon if he was going to eat tonight.
“How about another lesson tomorrow?” she offered.
“Promise?” Tyson asked. He pushed the goggles from his eyes and onto the top of his head. Red rings circled his eyes like a raccoon’s markings, somehow making him even cuter.