Luke caught up with Isaac when Isaac stopped at one end of the pool to rest for a moment. “You don’t always have to be the asshole,” Luke said.
“But I so enjoy it.”
“I haven’t seen you like this in… years, I think.”
“Am I annoying you?”
“No. No, not at all. You used to love this sport. You had fun. You won races because you had fun. You remember your first Olympics? One of the youngest American swimmers to win a gold medal, and do you remember what you said during the interview when you got out of the pool?”
“That was fun.” Isaac didn’t have an actual memory of this happening, but the clip had aired on TV a zillion times.
Luke nodded. “I’ll always remember that. I think about it whenever I compete. I do this because I love it, because it’s fun. You used to also.” He shook the water out of his hair and leaned on the pool wall. “You were so unhappy the last few years before your fake retirement. I always kind of thought that if you could remember how much fun this sport was, you’d be all right.”
Isaac nodded. He’d been unhappy largely because he faced the end of his career. Well, and because he’d been drunk most of the time. He treaded water for a moment, ducking his head under the water and resurfacing again. “I have three more days of competition. I plan to make the most of them. I’ll give it whatever I have. And then I can retire for real and feel good about it.”
“You clawed your way back just to retire again?”
“I’m thinking about coaching.”
Luke tilted his head. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I think I have some unique experience I could share. You’re right, you have to love something like this. Enjoy it, find it fun. Because otherwise what the hell is the point? I’ve pulled muscles. I’ve gotten banged up. After Worlds six years ago, I came home with a huge bruise on my thigh where that guy kicked me. It took forever to heal. Remember that?”
“Yeah. That guy had some kick.”
Isaac smiled. “I want these kids coming up to know what it’s really like. The temptations you face when you’re successful. How not to let defeat crush you. It’s something I thought about a lot in rehab. I love this sport, but my body will only allow me to do it for so long. My meets as an athlete are numbered, but I can stay involved with the sport in other ways.”
Luke smiled. “You are absolutely right. I think you’d be a great coach.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“You’re leaving Raleigh too, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to make any concrete plans until the Olympic bubble pops. I love my family and my friends. I’ll keep training with Adam as long as my body lets me. Then maybe he’d take me on as an apprentice or something.”
“Is that what you really want? To stay in Raleigh?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I guess if there are other opportunities out there, they might be worth thinking about.”
“I’ll miss you.”
Yeah. Despite everything, Isaac had people at home who cared about him, and moving away from them would suck. But it felt like the next phase of his life was beginning, and Isaac needed to keep moving forward instead of treading water. Isaac grabbed Luke’s head and pulled him in for a hug. “I’ll visit and shit.”
Luke laughed. “Come on, let’s finish the warm-up.”
TIM WAS very close to pulling out of the springboard event. After a day of training, his body felt like he’d been thrown in a blender.
“Selaya pulled out,” Donnie said, his tablet in his hand as Tim approached him after the last dive.
“What, no ‘hey, that was great’ or ‘you bent your body too much’ or ‘your legs were separated during the pike’?”
“No, you looked good. It was a solid dive. You’re fine for competition. But the Australian team just announced Selaya hit his foot on the springboard during practice yesterday, and apparently he hit it hard enough to break a bone, so he’s out. One less competitor to worry about.”
“That sucks for him.”
“Oh. Yeah. It does. Try not to hit your feet on the springboard.”
“No, I won’t. Are you sure I should do the springboard competition, though? You don’t think it’s going to put too much strain on my body to do two competitions next week? If I make it to the finals of both springboard and platform, that’s