Free Surface Tension by Brent Runyon Page A

towel in the sun. I close my eyes.
    At the end of Richardsons' dock, we can barely even hear the minister talking on the phone. It's almost like he's not there.
    We're all sitting out in the sun. Dad's drinking a beer, Mom's got a wine cooler, and I'm having a Coke. I don't get to have a Coke that often, so it's kind of a special thing. I've been ripping through this bag of Chex Mix too.
    I can hear a boat motor gunning it from not too far away. It sounds like a pretty big engine, like maybe a 200 or a 250.
    It comes around the point and shoots by us. It's going so fast it's almost skipping across the water, like a perfect skipping stone. It looks like there's a dude and a chick in the boat. The chick is driving and her blond hair is whipping around her face.
    I think that's Mike and Eliza. They slow down and bring the boat around so it's coming right toward the dock. It is Mikeand Eliza. They're down for the weekend. I guess Mike's finally got his speedboat in the water. He calls it the
Purple People Eater,
because it's made out of this sparkly purple fiberglass.
    Eliza cuts the engine and turns the boat just right so that it eases up to the side of the dock. Dad and I stand up and Mike throws us a rope. I'm about to catch it, but Dad reaches in front of me and snags it. He was throwing it to me. Mike pushes a couple of those rubber protector things over the side so the sweet purple fiberglass doesn't get scratched up by the dock.
    Dad sits down and uses his feet to keep the boat out away from the dock anyway. I do the same, but my legs aren't quite long enough to steady it.
    Mike doesn't have a shirt on, and Eliza is wearing a bikini top and a pair of shorts. Wow, what a set of tits. She's sipping on some kind of alcoholic beverage, and she's wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. She says, “Any of you hotties want a ride?”
    I say, “I do,” before she even finishes the question and before I look up at Mom and get the head nod. Mike gives me a hand and I climb right into the back.
    Mike says, “You guys sure you don't want to come?” I really hope they don't say they want to come. That would suck.
    My parents shake their heads, push us off, and throw the ropes back into the boat. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me.
    Mom yells out something about a life jacket as Mike starts the engine up again. Eliza brings me over an old orange life jacket that slips over the head, instead of the cool blue kind with the zipper. Mike and Eliza aren't wearing life jackets.
    She says, “Will this fit?”
    “Yeah, I think.”
    She leans over a little bit closer and whispers, “You only have to wear it until we're out of sight.” I've got a boner.
    The air smells like the perfect mix of gasoline, oil, and lake water.
    The seats are white leather with purple on the sides. There are only four seats, so I sit in the back, next to the engine.
    Mike guns it and the bow goes way up in the air. I have to hold on so I don't fall out into the water. My hair is blowing in the wind like crazy, and I have to squint to see.
    This boat is so cool and so fast. It's like a purple bullet going through the water. I bet it's the fastest boat on the lake.
    We head toward the power station on the other side of the lake. I've never seen this side up close before. Mom and Dad and I tried to canoe across once, but we got so tired of paddling we had to turn around before we got halfway.
    Mike pulls back on the throttle and we slow way down. They look back and they're both laughing at me. I must look funny. My hair is blown way back and my eyes are watering.
    Mike says, “Want to drive?”
    I say, “Sure,” take off my life jacket, and move into the driver's seat. Mike shows me the throttle and the steering wheel and says, “Have fun,” and then goes over to Eliza and lights a cigarette. I didn't know they smoked.
    Apparently, they don't smoke that much, because they only have one cigarette, which they pass between each other. Is that weed?
    I