> # Using the pool again

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> Posted by Richard on July 18, 2016 at 22:07:48

> I was working from home today and as it happens it has been the hottest day of the year so far (still a very warm 79°F as I write at 8:30pm) here in the UK. It was just startng to get warm when there was a knock on the door and I found my neighbour’s son, Mark, looking for work washing my car. I’ve known Mark for ten years, since he was 5 years old, when his family moved in across the road. His dad and I play golf and squash together and are good friends, so Mark always knows he can get the odd job gardening, cutting grass or washing the car whenever he wants some extra cash.

> Mark is, and he won’t mind me saying this, a scruffy kid and proud of it. His parents are the exact opposite, so I guess it’s his way of rebelling gently. He and I have this little ritual where we always haggle over how much he’s going to charge me for a job, today we settled on £6.49 as my car is particularly dirty at the moment, and he always does a good job, even washing the door shut areas and leathering the car off after washing so as to prevent those dried water marks you get if it is just left to dry in the sun, and they show up on the dark blue colour of my car.

> Mark brings his own bucket, sponge, chamois leather and some car shampoo, so all he needs is a supply of water and a hose. He said he wanted to do my car as it was on the shady side off the road, the front of the house and driveway never get full sunlight, and then he added that his dad had told him my dirty car was lowering the tone of the neighbourhood ! Bloody cheek.

> I went back to my work and watched him from the window occasionally, not because I don’t trust him, but because my SUV is quite tall and Mark is not, so he sometimes needs a hand reaching the top of the roof. Today he managed OK as he opened each door and stood on the sill as he washed the roof. He looked to be getting a bit wet though, I could see darker patches on the front of his pale blue jeans and dark green tee where he had leaned across the the wet bodywork. He was getting even wetter when he hosed all the shampoo suds off the car as the water splashed back off the sides, but he didn’t seem to mind or take any action to avoid getting wet.

> When he had finished I went out to have a look at the finished job. It looked pretty very good, and when I asked if he thought his dad would still consider that it was letting the neighbourhood down, he grinned and said it looked like the smartest car on the road now. That earned him another £2 in my book.

> I asked if he wanted a cold drink before he left and he said yes, he was feeling rather warm. So I got him a cola and we sat in the garden. We chatted for a bit about his school and what plans he had for the school holidays, I knew they were going to Florida, and he seemed excited about that, but all the time he was chatting I could see his eyes wandering over to the small swimming pool we have at the far end of the garden.

> I never planned to buy a house with a pool, but it was there and we liked the house so accepted the pool as a bonus. My wife and daughter, four years old when we moved in, loved it and used it quite a bit even in the cool summers we mostly had, but when they died I rather lost interest in it and just keep it mostly covered, cleaning it out regularly and keeping the filtration system running so that I could use it any time, I suppose I think it is what they would have wanted and is my way of linking to them still.

> Seeing Mark looking longingly at it, I thought, well, it should be used so if he wants to, why not let him. I asked if he was thinking a swim on a nice day like this would be good. He nodded eagerly, and asked if he could, would I mind ? Of course you can, I told him, let’s get the cover off and see what its like. So we did. The water was clear and clean, just a couple of small twigs floating in it. We pulled the cover well back and when I suggested he go home and get his trunks, he just grinned and jumped in, saying, when he surfaced, these old jeans will do if you don’t mind. What could I say, he looked very happy and was obviously in his element. I asked if he thought his mum would mind him getting wet in his clothes and he replied that she didn’t when he got wet washing cars, so whaat was the difference ? Fair point I guess. I said I’d leave him to enjoy it, and to take as long as he liked, just let me know when he was leaving.

> I went back to my work. I rather lost track of the time and it wasn’t until the doorbell rang, that I realised it was gone 1:00pm. Mark’s dad, Steve, was there. He said he had spotted that Mark’s car cleaning stuff was still by my car and he had come over to see if Mark was making a nuisance of himself, and to take him home for some lunch.

> I explained that I had forgotten about the time whilst working. I asked him in and said Mark was in the pool. Steve looked surprised, said he hoped Mark had not pestered me to use it; Steve knows how I feel about it. I assured him he hadn’t and that I had made the offer unprompted as it was such a warm day. As we walked down the garden we could see Mark floating on his back in the middle of the pool, looking very relaxed. I apologised that he was still dressed and said he had just jumped in. Steve said that was OK, he enjoys getting wet in his clothes so we let him, doesn’t do any harm. As we approached the pool, Mark looked up and then stood up, the water was up to his shoulders. He swam to the side and hauled himself out, standing before us in his dripping wet clothes.

> I suddenly remembered getting soaked as a kid at the beach, I was maybe 14, and how surprisingly good it had felt, the memory was so vivid I was instantly transported back to that sunny day and the sight of my cousin and me laughing at how our wet jeans and tees looked as we waded in the surf as the waves continued to wash over us.

> I was bought back to the present by Steve putting a hand on my shoulder and asking if I was alright. I assured him I was and explained that the sight of Mark had bought back memories of getting wet at the beach when I was 14. Mark looked at me for a moment and then said that perhaps it would be good to relive that moment now and, this was really odd, put those demons to bed for good. I don’t know where he got that from, but it made sense. I realised that for the last three years I had been afraid to use the pool for fear of being overwhelmed by memories of being so happy in and around that pool with my lovely wife and child. So I did the most sensible thing possible at that moment, grabbed Steve and Mark by the arms and jumped in.

> Follow Ups:

> - Re: Using the pool again wetboy200 06:44:00 7/21/2016 (1)
>   - Re: Using the pool again Richard 08:17:01 7/21/2016 (0)
> - Re: Using the pool again muddysoakster 02:56:07 7/19/2016 (4)
>   - Re: Using the pool again Richard 05:34:04 7/19/2016 (3)
>     - Re: Using the pool again Allwet 00:41:11 7/20/2016 (2)
>       - Re: Using the pool again Richard 08:16:15 7/20/2016 (1)
>         - Re: Using the pool again muddysoakster 10:28:25 7/21/2016 (0)

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