The Summer I Learned to Dive - By Shannon McCrimmon Page 0,40

thought. “And you’ve never had a drink until tonight?” he asked. He leaned forward.

“No. You don’t drink either.”

“I’ve definitely been to a party and I’ve definitely had a drink or two before. I just choose not to drink for personal reasons,” he said. I knew what his personal reasons were.

“I didn’t have the quintessential teenaged experience,” I confessed. He raised his eyebrows at me and looked at me interested. “What I mean is, I spent a lot of time focused on my academics instead of on social things,” I said.

“So you were a shut in, a recluse of some sort?” he asked with a tone of sarcasm.

I rolled my eyes at him but found I couldn’t be mad, instead I laughed. “I wasn’t a shut in, Jesse. I just didn’t experience what most teens experience. I was too busy focusing on my plan,” I said.

“How’s this plan of yours working out for you?” he asked.

“It’s not. Things have... changed,” I told him. He was so easy to open up with. I couldn’t believe I was telling him so much.

“So going to this party tonight and drinking was sort of a rite of passage?”

“I guess my entire time in Graceville has become a rite of passage for me. What made you come and rescue us tonight?” I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Meg’s a close friend and you sounded desperate which doesn’t surprise me considering you were at Dylan’s house.”

“I wasn’t desperate. I…”

He interrupted. “It’s okay to make a mistake every now and again as long as you learn from it,” he said.

“Well, I learned plenty tonight,” I said nearly whispering but he still heard me.

“That’s what builds character.” He smiled. I sat back. I felt comfortable with him. The conversation felt real, not strained. I blew on my coffee and took a slow sip. He stared at me pensively. “What made you realize Dylan’s a jerk?” he asked.

“He kept trying to put the moves on me,” I said disgusted.

“Put the moves on you.” He said mocking me.

I rolled my eyes at him. “You know what I mean. He wouldn’t lay off. And then he got mad at me when I didn’t reciprocate,” I said.

Jesse pondered what I said. “Doesn’t surprise me. He’s a real dick. He treated Hannah like crap. They dated last summer and then she found out he was cheating on her the entire time.” He stared at me and lightly touched my hand. “Come on, let’s go check on Meg.”

Meg lay on the couch sound asleep. She snored lightly. “Should we wake her?” I whispered to him.

“No. Let her sleep it off. It’s good she’s snoring,” he whispered.

“So what can I do then?” I asked feeling helpless.

“Nothing. She needs to sleep it off. She’ll pay plenty for it tomorrow. Do you want to play a game of checkers?” he asked.

“Checkers?” I said surprised. “I haven’t played that game since I was a kid.”

“All the more reason to play then, Finn,” he said. He grabbed it off of a shelf that was full of board games. “We’ll play in the kitchen,” he said quietly. “We won’t wake anyone in there.” I knew he was referring to his dad.

I nodded in agreement and followed him. We played checkers for a few hours. He won every game which frustrated me. What wasn’t he good at? We talked the entire game but not about anything deep, just talked. He told me stories about my grandparents, about Graceville, about growing up in a small town.

“Your grandfather was the best scout leader. He’d take us all out in the middle of the woods and we’d have so much fun camping. He’d tell the best stories and make these awesome breakfasts over the campfire,” he said and then paused. “If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know where I’d be.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“He kept me in line. He helped me with school, you know, kept me out of trouble. I could have gone down a different path. My dad, he tried to be a parent and he loves me, but the whole concept of parenting is foreign to him. Your grandfather helped fill those gaps,” he said.

“I had no idea,” I said suddenly aware of the importance my grandfather played in shaping Jesse’s life. For one brief moment, I felt jealous, green with envy that Jesse had my grandfather all of these years. Then my sanity came back and those feelings ceased. “I could tell you two were close. I just didn’t know