41 Lines

The brightness of the sun has rendered these Gucci sunglasses
helpless. Oh I must sit down under the sunshade – it’s an
authentic Cinzano that Dave bought for me last time we
touristed Venice because it just fit so well poolside.
And the pool has just been re-surfaced, we’ve a nice
Mexican man who does a little bit of gardening &
trims hedges and such, and then, one day on a cloudless
day like this one Dave asks him what else he does and
he says . . . hey kids, stay in the shallow end, okay?. . .
your little one was out in big water there . . . he says,
in English, “I can do that.” So we have the man here,
sitting in that same deck chair that you’re in now, and
he looks at the pool and he throws out a number,
a number thirty percent lower than any contractor had quoted
Dave before. So he resurfaced the whole thing, from
sandblasting to a new fiberglass finish a week ahead
of schedule. Dave was so pleased. Would you care
for some more lemonade? Would the kids like some?
I can go inside – it’s only Country Time straight out
of the packet but it sure hits the spot, doesn’t it? Dave
really likes it when he comes home from the club . . .
no, kids, leave those floaties on . . . I know they’re
a bit bulky but they’ll help you go anywhere, help
you keep your head above water . . . okay? I . . .
No no, you don’t have to get up, the kids will do
what they’re told. Besides, I don’t think they
can work those floaties down the elbow and off the
arm anyway – I could barely get your son’s on
and this was before I slipped a little vodka into my
lemonade glass, you know what I’m saying? Just sit
back – the deck chair comes from our friend’s
catalogue business. He’s an inventor and developed
a deck chair that is balanced on a fulcrum of weight
distribution – sorry about the hiccup – so one can
lean all the way back until and not tip backward.
Hold it, I need to get some more lemonade.
Wait a minute. I see two floaties but I don’t see
Erik. Erik? Nikki, call your sister to stop
listening on her headphones and come out
here. Erik? Erik?
Erik?