When Cathleen and Colm emerged from their room and made it to the pool, Sean and Dr. Basu were already swimming. Colm was annoyed and looked at his mother.
“They beat us here ’cause it took so long for you to get ready,” Colm said petulantly.
“Come on in, Cate, the water is great!” Sean said, splashing the water up at her.
“Sean, so help me God. If you splash me, I’m leaving.”
“Come on, Sis. Have a little fun, will ya?”
Dr. Basu couldn’t take his eyes off her. She had let her hair down, and he remembered the last time he had seen it down, on their night in Italy. They all looked on as Cathleen took off her cover-up. Colm thought her body had turned blue, but Sean and Dr. Basu knew it was only taking on the color of the pool below her. To Colm, though, she seemed to be glowing. The tiny sparkles on her white bathing suit caught the light from overhead and made her entire middle shimmer. Colm loved to see her shiny black hair loose and flowing down around her bare white shoulders. She was, as she had always been, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Dr. Basu, if he could have heard Colm’s thoughts, would have agreed.
“Beautiful,” Dr. Basu said quietly, not realizing he said the word aloud. But Sean heard him and splashed him hard, startling him.
“Simmer down there, Pops. That’s my sister you’re looking at.”
Dr. Basu, embarrassed, dropped down through the water. When he came up, several inches from Sean, he looked up again at the pool deck and saw Cathleen and Colm.
“I’ll race you to the pool,” Cathleen said playfully to Colm as he pulled off his T-shirt.
Cathleen almost gasped. Under the harsh light, Colm’s ribs appeared as though they were protruding, and his stomach was bulging. Dr. Basu and Sean looked at each other. They were both horrified. Colm looked transparent, as if they could see through him, or he would, at any moment, disappear before their eyes.
“Colm, are you up for this?” She looked concerned.
“You all right, Bud?” Sean asked, concerned now too.
“You bet,” he said, taking off and running awkwardly for the pool.
Cathleen, always surprised by his energy and playfulness no matter how ill, chased him.
Colm ran toward the edge of the pool. He launched himself into the air wildly and with the complete abandon only a child could have. His arms made large circles as he tried to keep his momentum going in the air while his legs moved quickly below him. From behind, he seemed to be walking on water.
Suddenly, his body disappeared into the pool. Cathleen stopped at the edge, afraid to jump in as quickly as Colm. As much as she wanted to be that kind of person, the type to just let go and jump, she could not do it. She could not go in without testing the water first. As she dipped her foot in and looked down at Colm swimming up toward the surface, his hair spread out around him like a golden halo, he seemed to her, despite his ghostly appearance, more alive than ever before. And just for a moment, she stopped worrying and thought that perhaps the miracle had worked. Yes, the miracle took. It would be impossible for her to lose him now. That knowledge made her feel light and ready to break free. She bounced slightly on the balls of her feet and dove in over Colm’s body, hardly making a splash or sound, slipping into the silence of the water.
When she rose to the surface, Colm was waiting for her, making a ring with his arms to catch her and hold on to her so he could ride along her back. She pulled him, swimming slowly and softly with the gentle force of her undulating body. Like a mama dolphin and baby move through the ocean, Cathleen and Colm moved as one. When Cathleen finally submerged her face in the water and dove downward, Colm held on tight, following her under. Once they were deep under the water’s surface, he let her go. From far below her, he looked as she swam away from him toward Sean and Dr. Basu, eventually heading for the surface before making her final breakthrough. Below, Colm moved his arms to tread, feeling weightless and free, no longer dependent on his failing legs, and looked up at his mother and the two men splashing and playing together in the distance. And Colm knew.
She’s going to be just fine.
While Cathleen, Sean, and Dr. Basu, exhausted from the long day and the swim, slept, Colm sat on the balcony of the motel. He could not rest. He was in agony. If he had been able to, he would have driven himself right then and there to Los Angeles. He could barely contain his excitement. He stood all night looking up at the night sky and out to the west—out toward L.A. Tomorrow he would be there. He would finally meet his father. He felt if his body could, it would burst. And when it did—he would shine.