Impulse Control (ON HOLD)

Chapter 5

After she's brushed that stupid fish away, Mom brings the boat back around so she can get back in. I offer a hand to her, and she takes it. I grab a towel off of the rack and I take it and Cleo up to the bow of the boat.

When we're both settled, I hand Cleo the towel. "Thanks," she murmurs, taking it. I watch in awed silence as uses it to dry her arms and legs. When she starts on her hair, I take the towel from her and say, "Turn around and I'll do it."

She obeys and soon I'm facing her thick, lustrous hair. Softly, I begin to pat it dry with the towel. I run my fingers through the silky strands, even bringing my face close to sniff them. Inhaling softly, I relish in the warm, comforting scent of rosemary.

A shiver runs down Cleo's back as I continue to play with her hair, even after it's dry. Looking up, I see that we still have some time left before we'll come to the cove. I begin to braid Cleo's hair, wrapping one strand around another in an elaborate fishtail. I use a few bobby pins to secure the do, but then I slip a ponytail tie around the end of it so it doesn't come loose while she's swimming.

She turns around after my fingers have stopped working. "Thank you," she says carefully. Then, quietly, more to herself than to me, she says, "Nobody's braided my hair for me since I was twelve." My heart rips in two at her words, and I want desperately to ask her what she meant, but I can tell that she just wants me to sit next to her and not respond to the wistful tone in her voice, so I do.

Softly, I press my shoulder against hers, and she wraps an arm around my back, pulling me closer. I lay my head on her shoulder and she does the same. I let out a quiet, soft sigh. And we sit like that, next to each other, for the rest of the boat ride.

***

"Take the wheel, Sierra!" Mom calls to me as we enter our cove. I jump up from my cuddled position with Cleo, a blush tinting my cheeks. I hurry to the wheel, steering our boat towards the spot where we always dock it.

Mom gets her water shoes on and prepares to pull our boat up onto the tire we always use. I press slightly on the throttle, propelling it forward as the tire grows nearer and nearer. When we're almost to it, Mom jumps out of the bow of the boat and gets ready to pull.

I steer the boat onto the tire, and Mom pulls it the rest of the way up. Then she ties the rope to a root in the gravel and secures the rope to the boat. I turn off the engine and reach into our little storage space for noodles and such while Mom ties the other rope to one of the trees, securing it on a cleat.

I find a dark blue noodle and I grab that. I also grab Mom's floatie and a lime green noodle. I toss Mom her floatie, then I get the green noodle and take it to David.

I approach him quietly, focusing all of my attention on him. "We are going swimming, now, David," I say. I hand him his noodle. "If you will promise to stay on the noodle and stay close to Mommy, I won't make you wear a life jacket. Can you do that?" He doesn't say anything, but he reaches for the noodle and slides it firmly under his butt. I lift him over the side of the boat, directly into the water, a few feet from Mom. He goes swimming out to meet her, and I shift my gaze to Cleo in the bow.

She's staring after David, but instead of the usual repulsion and contempt, understanding is written across her features. I stare at her for a few seconds, amazed by the indifference.

Clearing my throat, I ask, "Do you want a noodle or something?" She looks back at me finally, and shakes her head. "Okay," I say and I gather up my noodle.

Cleo joins me on the swim platform. "On the count of three, we'll jump off," she says, and I nod in agreement. "1...2...3!"

I launch myself off the back of the boat, and Cleo follows in my wake. "Cannonball!" she shouts from behind me, and I turn to see that she is, indeed, doing a cannonball. I cover my eyes with one arm as she hits the lake, spraying water all over me. Seconds later, I hit the lake and spray water all over her.

We both come up sputtering and laughing. "Get over here," she orders me, and I obey. As I'm coming towards her, she splashes me in the face. "Caack!" I cough, wiping water from my eyes. Cleo floats a short distance away, laughing her head off. I meet her gaze.

Oh, Cleo, you are going to sincerely regret that.

I start off towards David, making Cleo think I'm checking on him. She turns her back on me, and I circle around noiselessly so that I'm directly behind her. Then, I hook my arms around her neck and my legs around her waist.

"Aah!" she screams in surprise. She begins to flounder and splash, trying to regain her balance. After about 20 seconds of her trying to stay afloat, I tip my body backwards. The slight movement causes Cleo to lose her balance entirely, and she falls over backwards into the water.

I slide off of her back, laughing. She surfaces a short distance away, scowling. I laugh harder at the sight of her. Not only is her hair dripping water, part of her braid is anchored wetly to the side of her face.

"All right, now we're even," Cleo shouts, all evidence of anger gone. I smile and begin to swim over to her.

When I reach her, I gently reach up to swipe the braid out of her eyes. She gives me a grateful smile and asks, "Do you guys have a raft thingy we could float on?" I nod, then say, "Yeah, but it's only big enough for one of us." "Nonsense," Cleo snorts. I watch as she gracefully swims toward the boat to get the raft, leaving a faint trace of rosemary behind her.

When she comes back with the raft, she instructs me to hold it steady while she gets on, and I do so. She straightens her legs and lays her head against the "pillow" before offering me a hand. I take it, and she pulls me up onto her lap.

I lay my head on her shoulder, lying cross-wise so my legs dangle in the water. Cleo hooks an arm around me to keep me from sliding off, and I lean into her. And that is exactly how we stay for the rest of the afternoon, sitting together in the warm summer sun.