The Reclamation

5

Mia and I shovel the Noodles into our mouths at lightning speed. They're still warm, and they taste wonderful after knowing that Mia and I are going to be okay. We'll be more than okay. My sopping wet hair and clothes are a testament to how great today has been going, and the faint aroma of chlorine makes the food taste that much better. We sit beside the pool on one of the lounge chairs, legs crossed, leaning over our bowls as we devour spoonful after spoonful without an ounce of shame.

We enjoy our carb-filled feast in the warmth of the sun. It's unusually warm for late September in North Bay, Wisconsin, so it goes without saying that we should take advantage of the beautiful weather while we can. I listen as a light breeze ruffles through the foliage surrounding the pool and a Mourning dove softly coos.

"So, how's your knee?" Mia asks over a forkful of noodles. I filled up minutes ago, even though only half of my food is gone. I place my bowl on the ground next to me and lean against the partially-reclined back of the lounge chair. I bring my legs up to a slight bend, careful not to kick Mia who is devouring her lunch like it's her job at the foot of our seat.

"Good. It hurts a lot less now," I reply, glancing down at the damp bandage on my knee. "Well, it did up until we fell in the pool."

"Fell?" Mia asks, a brow raised.

"Uhm, yeah. We obviously fell. Who in their right minds would jump into a pool fully clothed?"

"Well, you, Vada," Mia begins with a smirk. "But you're not in your right mind." My mouth hangs open.

"Damn, Reed. That was harsh. But not untrue I suppose." We both smile. I see Mia glance down at the bandage on my knee.

"For real though, I'm gonna get you another band-aid," she says. Mia polishes off the last bite of food and leaves her fork in the bowl.

"No, I'm good," I protest.

"Shut up. Are you done with your food?" Mia stands up and gestures for me to give her the bowl. I groan and hand her my garbage, and she heads into the house. "Stay there!" she shouts back at me. I throw my head back against the seat. She has been babying me lately.

While Mia is in the house, I reach for my phone. My mom likes to check in on me to make sure I'm alright, and I've been doing my best to reply. I have two notifications. One is a text from my mom asking how I'm doing. The other one...

Quin:
Hey

Fuck. I knew I was going to have to deal with this situation at some point, but I was hoping that if I ignore the kiss, it would all just go away.

I send a quick reply to my mom and shut my phone off as Mia comes back out with a new band-aid and the Neosporin. She sits on the chair again and opens up the bandage wrapper.

"Mia seriously, I can do it," I complain, reaching for the tube of ointment. She moves it away from me.

"Shut up and let me take care of you. You can take the old band-aid off for me." I groan again, louder this time. I straighten out my knee behind Mia to carefully peel away at the adhesive. It takes me a minute to get under it, but I finally pick off a big enough corner to pull from. The damp bandage holds tightly to my skin, so I peel slowly. As the first half comes up, it reveals a bloody, brown mess on the inside of the cotton padding. The wound itself doesn't look bad, though. I pull the other side off and fold the adhesive wings in so Mia doesn't have to see the grotesque residue. When I finish, she spins to face me and tenderly pulls my leg onto her lap once again. "It looks pretty good. I think we cleaned it well enough, so it won't get infected." She removes the fully prepared, dry bandage from its wrapper.

"Alright. No more impromptu swimming," Mia warns, smoothing it on. I watch her face as she focuses. There is a slight furrow in her brow as she makes sure her work is perfect.