And I went for a swim. With Liam. When I got to the lake, he was already there. He had hauled the raft out from behind the tree and was leaning over it, pulling the broken bits off and tying fresh branches on with new string. “I thought I could take it out,” he said. “Stop you from drowning and all that. We could go out to the tree.” He motioned to a paddle lying on the ground nearby. “See? I came prepared.” I knelt down next to him. “Do you think this’ll hold both of us?” He shrugged. “Only one way to find out. Remember, if we start sinking, just float and wave.” I couldn’t bring myself to return his smile. Kneeling down like this, I could feel a knot in my leg — not pain, exactly, but a lingering tightness — and when I looked out at the water, my throat felt suddenly dry. I wasn’t quite ready to laugh about it yet. Liam tied off a length of string in a complicated knot. “So what do you think?” “Yeah, okay.” “Right. You take that end.” Together, we pushed and pulled the raft down the bank into the water.
