Free Sink or Swim by Laura Dower

too, sitting nearby. There were a few empty chairs in their area. Madison wanted to ask Mrs. Reed if they could change seats so she could be closer to her friends.
    But she didn’t have a chance.
    “Oh, it’s getting late!” Mrs. Reed said as she smeared sunblock cream onto Eliot’s arms and back. “I have to go to a ‘baby and me’ dance class inside the pool center for a while. You two will be okay here until I come back, right?”
    Madison nodded. Eliot was playing with some blocks and a fake plastic cell phone he liked to carry around. Mrs. Reed motioned to Madison. “If you want, in a little bit you can go and get an i-c-e c-r-e-a-m .” She smiled at Madison, swooped up Becka, and disappeared.
    Eliot offered to show Madison one of his plastic sailboats that he kept in a little carrying case. Maybe today would be g-o-o-d.
    Things even got better after a few moments when Hart walked by with Egg and Drew. Eliot remembered the boys from the week before and roared with giggles when Hart leaned over to tickle him again.
    “So how’s your boyfriend?” Egg teased again. He scruffed up the hair on top of Eliot’s head.
    Madison groaned. “Nice one, Egg.”
    But she didn’t mind the wisecracks. Eliot was being a good boy. All his good behavior convinced Madison that maybe things were looking up. Maybe all of Mom’s advice had sunk in? There were other mothers and mother’s helpers around the pool, and she seemed to fit right in—sort of.
    “Let’s go see?” Eliot asked Madison.
    “See what?” she asked.
    “See! See!” Eliot said excitedly. He tugged on Madison’s shorts.
    Madison grabbed him right back. “See what, Eliot?” she asked again.
    He made a face at her and tried to pull away. She kept her grip, but he kept pulling and groaning. They were standing up in front of everyone, and a few people started to stare.
    “Eliot, shhh,” Madison whispered. “Come back over here, okay?”
    Now Eliot screamed, “No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!” and yanked his arm away. Madison fell back onto a chair. He grabbed for her again. “No sitting. Come with me,” he demanded, pulling her up off the chair.
    Madison was trying to tug him gently back again when he broke free and swung out his arm. He hit her. Hard. When Madison stood back from him, her arm stung. Now several more people were staring. Madison could feel their eyes drilling holes through her back.
    “I wanna see Mama,” Eliot said.
    Mama? At last she understood what all his fuss was about. He wanted his mother—not Madison. It was more proof that he hated her.
    Positively.
    “Mama just went away for a little while,” Madison said softly, trying to reassure him. She gently took both of his wrists in her hands, but he pulled away again. Eliot lunged forward and grabbed Madison’s bag from the chair. Almost everything fell out of her bag, and the bag itself went flying.
    Splash.
    Right into the pool.
    Some kid in the deep end laughed out loud when he saw the bag float beside him. He hurled it up onto the pool deck, but it fell right back into the water. The lifeguard on duty blew a whistle.
    Hart was first on the scene to retrieve the orange bag. He leaned over the pool edge and saved Madison’s bag from sinking. She watched on in horror, knowing that her cheeks had turned blister red between the sun…and the shame…of the passing moments. Her crush had saved the day.
    “Funny,” Eliot said, sounding an awful lot like a parrot. “FUNNY! FUNNY! Funnnnnnnny!” He started to laugh and went right back to his toy sailboat as if nothing had ever happened.
    Madison was relieved to have him calm down, but at the same time her mind raced. What if Eliot had thrown himself into the pool and not the bag? she thought. What if Mrs. Reed had been there to witness the whole sequence of events? Could she do anything right when it came to baby-sitting?
    Madison leaned over Eliot and patted him on the back. “Are you okay now?” she asked quietly, praying for a quiet