Nightswimming

         I heaved a massive sigh as I crashed down into my bed, about two hours before I would usually go to sleep. “I guess things don’t always work out as planned,” I thought. And, despite the elaborate ring-out-the-summer plans we had made, I didn’t actually get to see my two best friends, Liam and Lily, on my last day before I went away to Wayne State. Both of them had cited that dread two-word phrase which has deflated many an ego and ruined many a day – “other plans” – and my ego and my day were claimed as yet another victim of those three syllables.  Despite loads of evidence given to me over the course of this summer that blatantly pointed to the fact that neither of them would ever do this, I couldn’t help but think the two of them had ditched me. In my mind’s eye, I saw them sitting at Brewed Awakening, the lovably quaint coffee shop my group of friends had long ago declared to be our second home, enjoying a hand of rummy and making fun of me behind my back.
         “Now, Emma,” I reassured myself. “This will not happen. Maybe they did have other plans. The two of them probably just spent the day getting ready to go away to college as well. By playing cards at Brewed Awakening without you. Chances are, they congratulated each other for cleverly abandoning you to suffer in doubt while they had fun. Yeah, that’s what they did.”
         No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t chase “worst-case scenario” out of my head. I have no idea why I’m such a damn neurotic, but I am. Given my mother’s much-professed love of Woody Allen, I can’t help but think that he, not Michael Greenwood, is my father. That would explain a lot.
         “Fuck ’em,” I thought. “It’s not like I’ll ever have to deal with them a…”
         My inner monolog was interrupted by my phone going insane. I had been texted, and there was only one person who, at 11:29 PM, would send me a text that said “You have five minutes to pack yourself a bag containing the proper gear for a visit to the beach. Then come to your driveway. This message will self-destruct now.” It was Lily.
         “Ha!” I thought triumphantly, throwing my swimsuit and towel into a backpack. “They didn’t ditch after all! Take that, me!” Then, as quietly as possible – I knew that my parents wouldn’t approve of me sneaking out at night like this – I made my way to the driveway. Conveniently, both parents were already fast asleep. Neither of them was known for staying up late.
         A blue Toyota Camery sat on my driveway, and a tan, red-headed face was looking out from the passenger-side window. “Hey, Emma,” she said.
         “Lily!” I whispered excitedly, my temporary animosity forgotten. “What brings you here at this hour?”
         “Well, we never got around to a beach trip this summer, so Liam and I thought it would be appropriate to take a trip out to Stony Creek,” she explained.
         “Now, though?” I asked.
         “Couldn’t fit it in any other time,” replied the deep, soothing voice of Liam, a large black guy who, contrary to all stereotypes, was the most passive person I’ve ever met. “I was with family all day, and Lily was packing her stuff for college.”
         “But we still wanted to see you, so here we are,” added Lily.
         “My parents will kill me if they find out.”
         “That’s why they won’t find out,” Lily assured me. “As long as they’re heavy sleepers, we’re good till… when do they usually get up?”
         “Between six and seven,” I replied.
         “We should probably be back by 5:30, then,” said Liam.
         “Why not six?” asked Lily.
         “She has to look like she’s been asleep.”
         “Ah. You think of everything.”
         “I do my best.”
         Lily turned her gaze to me. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get in the car!”
         I laughed, threw my backpack in the backseat, and got in. And off we drove.
         “Where are we going?” I asked no one in particular.
         “Stony Creek,” replied Liam. “Lily wanted to go to Lake Michigan, but I vetoed it. Too far in the dark.”
         “I still think it would be more fun,” insisted Lily. “No shame in Stony Creek, though.”
         “Hate to change the subject, but did you remember the inner tubes?” asked Liam.
         “Oh crap…” sighed Lily. “Forgot them.”
         “Too late to go back now,” said Liam. “We’d probably wake up your parents.”
         “Yeah. Oh well. We’ll have a perfectly good time without them, I’m sure.”
          “Definitely.”
         “You’re oddly quiet,” Lily told me.
         “I’ve been plotting,” I explained.
         “Plotting.”
         “Yeah, plotting.”
         “Plotting anything specific?”
         “No, just plotting.”
         “Okaaay. I’ll leave you in your own little Emma Greenwood world, then.”
         “I’d actually rather if you didn’t. It’s getting a bit lonely in here.”
         “In that case, Liam and I are here to keep you company.”
         “Good. I have a feeling leaving me alone in crazy Emma land for too long might not be a smart idea.”
         “Probably not. I mean, who knows what you could dream up?”
         “You two are weird,” said Liam, shaking his head. “Just, you know, putting it out there.”
         “Would things be the same if we weren’t?” I asked.
         “Of course not. I’m just saying I’ve never met anyone like the two of you.”
         “And you won’t happen anytime soon,” added Lily.
         “Unless we clone ourselves,” I suggested.
         “And the clones take over the world,” Lily contributed.
         “And find a way to clone themselves after the world has been taken over?” asked Liam, who I suppose decided resistance was useless and waded right into the Kiddie Pool of Weirdness.
         “You get where we’re going,” I said appreciatively. “Which, seeing I ceased to follow this discussion a long time ago, and I’m an active part of it, is kind of hilarious. Nobody understands me. I don’t even understand myself.”
         “You’re not turning into some emo douchewrap, are you?” asked Lily.
         “Douchewrap?” I laughed. “Maybe they should add that to Pita Pit’s menu…”
         “Pita Shit’s more like it,” sighed Liam. “The food was crap, and I hated working there. Hated it!”
         “How dare you insult the awesome power and tastiness of Pita Pit?” ranted Lily. “Remember how Grace, Emma, and I used to eat there like every day over the summer? And how you’d always wait on us, and spend more time talking with your friends and being irresponsible than making pitas?”
         “That’s why they fired me,” replied Liam.
         “So it’s our fault?”
         “What was I supposed to do, ignore you? That would’ve been downright rude of me.”
         “Liam, I assure you, none of us would’ve been offended if you had, you know, done your job.”
         “Speak for yourself,” said Lily.
         “Let’s not talk about Pita Pit,” suggested Liam. “I should’ve never worked there. Should’ve guessed my boss would’ve been caught smoking crack in the little loading zone between the Barnes & Noble and the railroad tracks less than a week after I got fired. Let’s get some music on instead.”
         “Music is good,” agreed Lily, flipping through a CD case. “Do you have anything in mind?”
         “If you can find Automatic for the People...”
         “As much as I love Automatic, could we please do something else?” asked Lily. “It seems we listen to it every time we’re in this car.”
         “All right, all right. I thought it was our driving-around CD.”
         “This is a special occasion, though. We need something different. On second thought… why not once with ‘Nightswimming?’ It’s kind of what we’re doing, after all.”
         “Only sans the skinny-dipping,” I added sagely. “And on the subject of nudity… Liam, do not, ever, get turn into an idiot pervert. Okay?”
          “You have my word.”
         “And if you break it, you’re getting castrated.”
         “I’ll do the honors,” volunteered Lily. “If the honors ever need to be done, which I hope will never happen.”
         “Hey, now. Will not be happening. I promise not to participate in any sexual activity that is non-consenting or involves the transaction of money (including lap dances from strippers), watch porn, drink too much or become a frat boy or do drugs or join any suspicious cults or…”
         “Let’s all promise something along those lines,” Lily interrupted. “And swear on our mothers’ graves.”
         “Even if none of our mothers are dead?”
         “That doesn’t matter. If you swear by a parent’s grave, even if that grave has yet to be dug, it shows you mean business.”
         “Ah. Well… okay, then. That does nothing to change the fact that you’re, essentially, swearing by nothing.”
         “Hey, it’ll mean something in forty years when my mom actually is dead and the three of us are at our houses, sitting on the Lay-Z-Boy with a brewski, watching TV, stressing about our jobs, and thinking about the way things used to be. And, with any luck, you can say you kept your promise.”
         “Of course I will. Even without the threat of castration, that wasn’t part of my plan. It’s difficult to get a PhD when you’re partying every night, after all.”
         “Yeah. You’d have a hell of a time sitting through class through class on a hangover. So save yourself the trouble.”
         “You’re talking as though I plan to take the party route, which I do not.”
         “I just wanted to be absolutely sure.”
         “You have my assurances that I’ll be studious.”
         “Just not too studious, because then you’d be boring.”
         “Is there no satisfying you?”
         “Oh, that’s easy. Have a good time, but don’t lose sight of your goals.”
         “And I expect the same from you.”
         “If I had any big, lofty, lifelong goals like you did, that would make more sense. But at this point, the name of the game is Make it Out Alive.”
         “Definitely a goal to keep sight of.” 
         “Yeah. Dropping down dead in the middle of my freshman year could prove itself to be just a bit of a problem.”
         “Might put a damper on your college experience.”
         “You think?”
         Throughout this exchange, I had remained silent. This was a complete oddity, at least when I was among friends.  But the song had kinda got me thinking. It was right at the start when I shut down – Michael “Crazy Guy with Shaved Head” Stipe sang “These things, they go away, replaced by every day.”
         “What if that happened to us?” I asked, half to myself.
         “What if what happened?” Lily replied.
         “Like the song says. ‘These things, they go away. Replaced by every day.’ What if we all forget each other in the rush of our day-to-day lives?”
         “We won’t,” Lily assured me.
         “How can you be sure?” I asked.
         “Holy crap, you’re a basket case. I’ll tell you how I can be sure. Because if you forget me, I will hunt you down and kill you.”
         “Fine by me. One more reason not to forget you.”
         “Would you forget me even without the threat of death?”
         “Of course not.”
         “Good. Then what’s your worry?”
         “I’m just neurotic, that’s all.”
         “To say the least. The way you act sometimes, it’s like you think everyone’s out to get you.”
         “Not everyone. Just the people I think suck.”
         “Which is pretty much everyone.”
         “Correction: Pretty much everyone who isn’t in this car. Big difference.” 
         “Of two freakin’ people. Wow. Impressive.”
         “Yeah, but it’s important. To me, anyway.”
         “To all of us,” corrected Liam. “By the way, Lily, if you want to pick a new CD pick now. Because ‘Find the River’ is just about to begin, and I will not stand to see it interrupted once it has begun.”
         “All right, let’s see… Hey, Aga… Agay… aajy…”
         “Agaetis byrjun,” said Liam, in what sounded like perfect Icelandic. “You want to listen to that?”
         “Of course I do. It’s Sigur Ros, innit? Much as I love R.E.M., I need my weird music.”
          “Agaetis byrjun it is, then.” Liam ejected Automatic for the People and put Agaetis into the CD player.
         “I’d like to put in a request for ‘Staralfur,’ if that’s okay with you,” I said from the back.
         “We can do ‘Staralfur,’” confirmed Liam. “Track three, right?”
         “That’s the one.”
          “All right.”
         And as we got on the freeway that would eventually lead us to Stony Creek, Sigur Ros’ hymn to the word “bittersweet” began.



“Stony Creek…” muttered Liam as we pulled up. It was 12:20 AM, and the park was, technically, closed. The barrier in those classic switch-and-barrier combos you see all the time attached to the tollbooths you sometimes see at parks was down. We probably should’ve thought of that.
         “Damn!” shouted Lily. “We come all the way out here, and it’s closed.”
         “That won’t keep us out,” replied Liam calmly.
         “What do you plan to do? Drive right through that barrier they’ve got right in front of us?”
         “Of course not,” Liam answered. “That would be vandalism. I plan to see how well a Toyota Camery can off-road it.”
         I couldn’t see her, but I was almost certain that the crazy look Lily got on her face whenever she did something insane was on her face right then. “That. Sounds. Amazing.”
         “Let’s go for it, then.”
         Liam drove clear around the tollbooth, off-road as promised. And at 80 MPH.
         “I think Lily’s rubbing off on you,” I said to Liam when we were around the barrier, as Lily let out a shriek of delight.  “You never would’ve done that a couple years ago.”
         “You gotta do what you gotta do,” explained Liam simply. “Even if it does mean breaking the law. Hopefully no one saw that…”
         “How was that against the law?” asked Lily. “We wanted to get in there, so we could appreciate nature and whatnot. We got in.  What’s wrong with that?”
         “The park closed hours ago, so technically, this is trespassing.”
         “What, do you want to go back, then?”
         “Of course not! I’m just trying to explain why what we’re doing is illegal.”
         “Okay. Just making sure we’re on the same page.”
         “Isn’t it more fun when we aren’t, though?”
         “Yeah, you’re right. Leads to more interesting conversations.”
“Purple alligators,” I added.
         “All right, you’re trying too hard,” said Lily. “That was clearly a case of strained randomness.”
         “Strained randomness? Never heard of that before.”
         “I’m surprised. Very serious problem in the world today. It’s when you say something so out-there that it’s clear you were trying way too hard to show the world just what a wacky person you are. It’s a textbook example.”
         “If it’s so serious, how come I’ve never heard of it until just now?”
         “Because your mind isn’t properly expanded enough to take it in,” explained Lily. “You have to be in a state where everything, even the most stupid of remarks, seem brilliant to you.”
         “So I have to be high to get this?” I asked.
         “No. Just very, very bored. Which, incidentally, summed up my mindset when I invented the term. I’d go into depth, but honestly, you probably aren’t interested. Let’s just say Comedy Central sucked last night.”
         “Strained randomness out in full force?” asked Liam.
         “Understatement of the century,” replied Lily.
         “Hey, now that we’re here at Stony Creek, it might be a good idea to unpack the car,” I suggested. “Just, you know, putting it out there.”
         “Brilliant idea,” concurred Liam.
         “As long as I don’t have to do the work,” said Lily. “For I am a frail, innocent little girl.”
         “Even after the nine years of martial arts training?” I asked.
         “I could use some of it on you. I mean, I wouldn’t, but after that little crack of yours, I could.”
         “Wasn’t there something in your code about not using the things you learned in abusive or reckless ways?”
         Liam stopped the car, got out, and headed for the trunk. Taking the hint, Lily and I followed, going back and forth about her martial arts code the whole time.



         “Here’s a good spot,” said Liam as we made our way over the (rather steep) hill you have to walk down to get to the beach at Stony Creek. The beach is over that hill, past the basketball and volleyball courts, which I’m sure were pretty crowded a few hours back but had been long since deserted by the time of our arrival, and just a bit beyond the bathroom-changing room structure that usually smells like something died in it but is still a hell of a lot better than the Stony Creek porta-potties, which usually smell like several things died in them. Lesser of two evils, people.
         Anyway, over this hill was what is, in my opinion, the best Metropark in Michigan. How these so-called “Metroparks” differ from state parks or national parks, I don’t know. But there are a lot of them in Michigan, and they’re pretty hit-or-miss. A couple flat-out suck, and are havens for hicks who go strictly to get drunk. Furthermore, they refuse to watch their kids, which means said kids will do nothing but throw rocks and mud and crap at you the entire time. I speak from experience. It’s not fun.
         But if you can find a good one, and if the weather’s okay, you’re pretty much guaranteed a great afternoon or your money back. Despite the terrible state of the changing room (which the three of us changed in nonetheless, because there really wasn’t anywhere else to go), the lake in and of itself was among the best in the state.
         “Really makes you sad that all the other lakes around here are polluted, huh?” I asked Lily as we descended into the chilly water, the moon shining over and making the lake seem more silver than blue.
         “Hey, the lake at Kensington’s pretty nice, if a bit rocky,” argued Lily.
         “Somehow, I’ve never been to Kensington.”
         “Well, in that case, you’re not a true Michigander. You should just move to Ohio.”
         “I’m not moving to Ohio. There’s nothing in Ohio. It‘s like hell, but more boring than actually painful.”
         “Hey, my mom was from Ohio!” shouted Liam. “Granted, she thought it was the most boring state ever, but still, I can’t help but feel a bit of hometown pride.”
         “It does have those weird rest stops,” I argued. “And Cedar Point. And yes, I do realize I just killed my own anti-Ohio argument. Being able to see both sides of every situation is just part of growing up, you know.”
         “Okay, I’ll give you Cedar Point,” agreed Lily. “But that’s it. I mean, what else is there?”
         “I don’t know. Hey, Liam!”
         “What?” asked Liam, who was sitting on the beach.
         “What’s in… actually, scratch that. What are you doing?”
         “Building a massive sand community.”
         “Why?”
         “Because I’m a dork.”
         “Well, I think Poseidon should come along and destroy your dorky little massive sand community.”
         “Oh, come on. I’ve spend ten minutes meticulously working on this!”
         It was true. He actually, without the aid of a bucket, shovel, or any other traditional sand castle making tools, had managed to set up a pretty elaborate community of lumps of sand in various sizes and shapes. It was sprawling. It was impressive. It was a work of art. It was doomed.
         “And I’ll spend ten minutes meticulously destroying it,” said Lily. “No big deal. I mean, it won’t be hard to rebuild, right?”
         “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Liam replied sagely.
         “But it was sacked in one,” replied Lily as she set about smashing up Liam’s elaborate creation.
         “You’re ruining it!” protested Liam.
         “Well, thank you, Captain Obvious,” replied Lily as she threw a particularly impressive chunk of the sand castle into the lake.
         “Noooooooo!” shouted Liam.
         “Big no,” Lily yelled back.
         “Definite narm,” I added.
         “What the hell are you two talking about?” asked Liam.
         “It’s probably a good thing you don’t know,” replied Lily.
         “That means you have a life,” I added.
         “Why are the two of you finishing each other’s sentences again?” asked Liam.
         “Because it’s creepy,” I replied.
         “And fun,” added Lily.
         “But mostly creepy.”
         “Could you stop?”
         “Yeah.”
         “We’re finished now.”
         “It was a good time while it lasted, but….”
         “You’re done,” interrupted Liam.          
         “That was a very wise decision on your part,” said Lily as she and I lay down on the beach and gazed at the stars.
         “What do you think it’ll be like, anyway?” I asked her.
         “What the hell are you talking about?” answered an utterly confused Lily. “Us lying down on the beach and looking at the stars? A lot like this, I’d expect.”
         “No,” I replied with a laugh. “I mean college.”
         “I’ve heard our AP classes are a good indicator,” said Liam from a few feet away. “So as long as you work hard and stay focused and all, you’ll be fine.”
         “And what if I don’t?” I asked. “Assume I… I totally flip out in the middle, or get lazy, or don‘t make any friends, or…”
         “Maximum narm,” interrupted Lily. “I mean, are you being serious here, or just playing this for lol’s?”
         “Lily!” I shouted.
         “Don’t worry,” said Liam. “She wouldn’t be talking like that if she wasn’t worried about the exact same things. Even though I still don’t know what narm is.”
         “Stuff that’s supposed to be really sad and epic but turns out funny instead,” Lily explained. “And why would I worry about that kind of stuff? I’mma be fine.  And so are you, Emma, so quit wangsting. Everything will be okay. Promise.”
         “You say that as though you have some sort of control over how college will be for me.”
         “Well, maybe I do. Now, I’m going swimming.”
         “Me too. Liam?”
         “Of course I’m coming.”
         “Excellent.”
         
         We swam, floated, and body-surfed out into the lake. The moonlight turned it a shade of silver so beautiful I’ll probably never forget it. I lay there in the lake, letting the waves me wherever they wished, a woman at peace with herself for the first time in ages. Sometimes the waves would fail to carry me, and I would sink under the surface, only to find myself dragged up by a concerned Liam and greeted by Lily’s laughter, and other times I would just float, like a ghost, my body gliding across the water as gracefully as possible. Either way, I was glad every minute I spent on that lake that we had forgotten the inner tubes.


         “We should’ve done that a long time ago,” I said to Liam as we headed back.
         “It had been in the back of my mind all summer. Unfortunately, I couldn’t work it around the Pita Pit job.”
         “Oh well,” said Lily . “It was awesome anyway. Made all the more awesome because it was at night and, technically, trespassing.”
         “Seconded,” I said.
         “Thirded,” agreed Liam.
         I don’t think the three of us could’ve been happier as we made our way home, even with the dread beast Reality breathing down our necks about college and the like. After all, I think it’s safe to say that this was the most fun any of us had over the summer. We even managed to find a Dairy Queen that was open 24 hours on the way back, which was totally sweet, although I did not envy the harangued-looking guy behind the counter, especially considering that it could’ve been me behind that counter, and probably would’ve been me if my summer had gone the way my parents had planned. Thankfully, I fought the power, and got to have the summer my way instead of my parents’.
         We pulled up at 5:34 AM.
         “Well, goodbye to both of you,” I said. “It’s been great, especially today. And… I’ll miss you.”
         “Hey, ”interrupted Lily. “It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”
         “Yeah, we’re not gonna ditch on you,” agreed Liam.
         “That would be lame of us. But… good luck.”
         “Good luck to you, too. Both of you.”
         “You’ll keep in touch, I hope?”
         “I’ll call every day, if I have to.”
         “That might be a bit extreme,” suggested Liam.
         “Yeah, but you know.”
         “I do.”
         “And until we meet again, remember… there are plenty of asses to be kicked. Don’t rest until you’ve kicked them all,” said Lily.
         “Got it,” I replied as I left the car. Then, for the first and last time, I sneaked into my perennially messy room and went to sleep.