George was from a very protective family. In his family, there were a few rules, like no TV and no phone calls during dinner. Those were moments for sharing about the day, at school for him and his siblings, and at work for his parents. Another rule was that dinner was being eaten all together, around the table, between seven and eight, and everyone had to help his mother.
His parents checked his notebooks and homework every night after dinner.
To invite a friend over, George’s parents needed to talk with his or her parents first.
His parents never missed a parents-teacher’s conference or a game. Sometimes they had to split in order to attend the game of one of George’s siblings, but they always were there, on the stand, cheering for them.
George found all this attention a little too much, a little suffocating. Like any young kid, he used to roll his eyes every time and he got scolded for his attitude.
None of his friends’ parents were so protective and shielding, and he found himself starting to envy his friends for their freedom, as he used to call the lack of protection from parents.
When George was in high school and started to volunteer at the local youth center, he totally changed his mind about the protectiveness of his parents.
At the center he discovered that there were parents who totally neglected their children, and seeing the result of that kind of negligence, he stopped complaining and rolling his eyes. He was grateful for having caring parents. That was an eye-opening job.
He decided to register for a self-defense class and by the time he finished high school, he was an instructor.
He went to college and found a local youth center where he could help young kids teaching them self-defense.
The purpose of self-defense, for what George learned during the years of training, was not only for self-protection, but mostly to gain self-confidence, to feel safe more than to be safe.
George’s counselor asked if he wanted to teach self-defense to the college’s students, especially girls, so they would feel safer around campus, and in exchange, he’d get free meals. George accepted the offer and at the end of the first semester, between his studies and the two jobs, he got very busy, but he was driven.
It was teaching self-defense that he met Kelly, a very shy student, but driven almost as much as him.
George fell in love with Kelly the first moment he saw her. She had leukemia when she was twelve, she fought, she got a bone marrow transplant, and she won. But all the cures left her weak, so George used extra patience and extra care with her.
George graduated in business and economy and his dream was to open his own youth center, a dream he shared with Kelly.
After college, George and Kelly got a job at one of the biggest local gyms. George, of course, taught self-defense and swimming, while Kelly taught yoga.
It took them five years of saving, but at the end, with some help, they opened the G&K Youth and Sports Center.
Two years after the inauguration, during a regular checkup, they got the terrible news, leukemia was back and this time it was more aggressive.
At thirty, George lost the true love of his life, his first and only love.
He was full of rage and used his gym to relieve all that rage, punching and kicking a sac every morning and every time he had a free moment. He almost never went home because every corner of his house reminded him of Kelly. The center became his home and his family worried about that.
He sold the house despite his parents’ protest. He instead built an apartment very close to the center.
Five years later, he opened a swimming pool attached to the center and named it after his wife, Kelly Pearl Farland (KPF Aquatic Center). He built it using her ideas, with a prevalence of green all around, with windows on two walls and on the ceiling to have most of the daylight in, and a stone spa in a separate room, with small fountains and white sounds all around. People using the spa had to respect the quiet.
In his center, other than regular classes like yoga, Zumba, water-Zumba, kickboxing, self-defense, he also offered free daycare for families in need and employees, support for teenagers, and anything else in order to keep them away from the streets and from drugs and alcohol. He got the town's support, as he helped the town to be safer.
After fifteen years, George was still loyal to his late wife. Never, after she died, had he laid an eye on another woman. He could take care of his basic needs, but loving another woman was out of discussion.
The pandemic brought his business down resulting in a problem for the town as the kids had no place to go.
He had meeting after meeting with the mayor and the health commissioner. He wanted to find a way to reopen the center, at least for the young kids.
Thanks to an anonymous donation, a very big donation, he had the money to guarantee masks, disinfectant, Covid tests, and medical support. At that point, the city could not oppose reopening the center.
After a few months he could also reopen the rest of the center, but with a reduced attendance. Also, the equipment had to be placed at least six feet apart, cleaning tools had to be available at all times, no team sports were allowed, only one person per lane were allowed in the lap pool and with an appointment.
George had a cleaning service available at all times, from open to close.
His only problem was to find employees to oversee every corner of the center. People were scared and did not want to risk getting the virus, so nobody wanted to work. He involved some friends and family members, he called his mates from college, and some of his former teachers. To have it all covered he put in some extra hours.
He covered the aquatic center early in the morning, then moved to the self-defense class, and again back to the aquatic center in the evening.
Other than the Sunday lunch with his family and a few visits with Kelly’s parents, he didn’t have much of a social life. He wouldn’t define himself as happy, but he was content with his accomplishments.
His morning chores, after turning on the lights and opening the door for the morning shift, was to set up the music in all the areas, low white sounds by the spa, and classical music by the lap pool. What he liked most about the lap pool shift was the quiet. It’s not easy to talk while swimming, so the only sounds were basically the light music and the splash of the water. It was the perfect environment for relaxation and meditation.
Everything was smooth and quiet, all the patrons respected the rules of social distancing, cleaning the equipment, and wearing a mask.
George’s life was back in a good spot without frustrations. That said until one Monday morning, September seventh. That was the day George’s quiet, boring, monotone life endured a turmoil. That was the day he saw a mermaid entering the lap pool.
Of course, she wasn’t a real mermaid, but George thought she was.
He looked at her feet to check if she had a fishtail, instead she had regular feet framed in black flip flops.
“Good morning,” George managed to say.
“Good morning to you,” the mermaid said, smiling.
He could see she was smiling even under the mask because her eyes were smiling too.
“Your name is?” he asked, looking down at his clipboard with the schedule for the reservations.
“Shauna. I should be in lane two,” the mermaid answered, always smiling.
“Yes,” he replied, marking a check by her name and lane.
She walked to the head of the lane, put down her water bottle, goggles, and a chrono watch.
Never in the past sixteen years had he had such a strong reaction to a woman’s body. It was just a body and not even perfect. She was probably in her forties, her stomach a little protruding, a sign of her age and probably pregnancies, but she had big breasts, light skin, and green eyes.
She took off her mask and he could see her full mouth. Her mouth was beautiful with dark pink lips.
George couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He looked while she hopped into the water, put the goggles on, stretched her arms and shoulders, started her chrono, and began swimming.
Yes, she was definitely a mermaid swimming with the grace of a mermaid.
After one hour without stopping except to drink water, she seemed to be done. She took off her goggles and took a long sip of water, then she took off the cap, showing pretty, short, red hair. It fitted her perfectly.
She swam under the dividers to go to the ladder and get out of the water. In that moment George held his breath and his cock had a twitch.
Holding the handle of the ladder, she pulled up her body, swaying her sensuous butt. Oh god. He wished he could stroke that magnificent ass, possibly naked.
George stepped down from his tower and approached the mermaid, and, in a low voice, asked, “Hi! Do you come every day? I’m asking in case you want to book the lane for the rest of the week,” he said, hopeful.
“Can I do that?” she asked.
Still keeping his voice low, he said, “Normally not, but what’s normal in this crazy situation?”
She snickered.
Even her snicker was sexy.
“Well, in that case,” she replied, “Yes. I used to work out in the gym, but I can’t do that anymore and swimming seems to be my only option. So, yes, please, I’d love to book the whole week six to seven.”
George wrote the note and asked, “Do you have a last name? To enter the note in the database.”
“Campbell, like the soup,” the mermaid said, snickering.
“OK,” George said, “One request, please note that this is an exception we make for special guests, so –“
She interrupted him saying, “I won’t say a word to a living soul,” making the gesture of zipping her mouth, and winking.
She was about to leave, then she stopped, turned, and asked, “So, does that mean I am a special guest?” She didn’t wait for his answer and left, giggling. She knew the answer. She knew she wasn’t a special guest. Why should she be? She had a regular yearly subscription and never paid any extra class. She couldn’t afford it.
Shauna was a widow, her husband, Flynn, died three years ago, leaving her to pay all his gambling debts. She had three children, thank god they were all settled with their lives. They could probably help her, but she didn’t want to ask. Their father was an incurable gambler, and it wasn’t their fault.
Shauna worked as an office assistant in a firm, and, in her free time, she was a bookkeeper for some business companies.
The only time she had for herself was the morning workout and the Sunday lunch with her children and their families when they could make the time. Her children loved her enormously and she was a great cook.
“I don’t understand, Mom,” one day her middle child, Liam said, “Why two jobs? You barely have free time. Don’t you want to have time for friends?”
At that moment her heart went into thousands of pieces. She didn’t want to burden them with her problems. Trying not to cry, she answered, “I feel lonely. I need to keep myself busy. Until you decide to give me grandchildren.” And that was their cue to change the subject.
After that morning in the pool, she found herself excited. Excited because the swim invigorated her. It was several years since she swam the last time, but she found she still had the style.
Also, she noticed the lifeguard looking at her. Every time she took her face out of the water to breathe, she saw him looking at her, almost drooling. Was it possible? But she looked around and the other guests of the pool were, well, not to be offensive, but they were old ladies. Definitely, he was looking at her, but why? Last time she checked in the mirror, she had nothing special. She was fat, big boobs, flabby belly, and big thighs, not to mention her huge ass. She hoped to get rid of all those extra pounds, but it wasn’t easy at her age.
Her doctor said, one day, “You need to eat less. A little of everything, but less quantities.” Right, if only. Food became for Shauna her only source of pleasure. Whenever she got her monthly bank statement, she vented her frustrations by digging a spoon into an ice-cream jar, watching a tearjerker movie. How could she fall in love with a gambler? Her life was sexless, free-timeless, friendless, and a list of debts so long she couldn’t see the end.
She didn’t have the money for the subscription at the gym, but it was a gift from her children. They said she needed some time for herself. That was probably a nice way to say she was fat and needed to work out.
The next morning, on schedule, she woke up at five, had a light breakfast with cereal and a banana, got ready and went swimming, with a new excitement this time. She wanted to sneak a better look at the lifeguard, hoping he’d be there. He could have a different schedule.
Shauna locked her locker and went into the shower. When she stepped into the aquatic center, she immediately checked the lifeguard tower and he was there, talking to an old lady, and nodding to something the lady was saying.
With nonchalance, Shauna walked beside them, and said, “Good morning, sorry to interrupt. Lane two?”
“Good morning, Shauna,” George said, wanting to hug her, to touch her skin warm and wet from the shower, “Yes, your usual.”
The old lady resumed talking, but George wasn’t listening. He was lost in his naughty thoughts looking at the mermaid hopping in the water and her nipples stiffening.
“Well,” the old lady said, “See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow,” he managed to answer the lady. He had to sit to hide his erection. He felt like a teenager. He didn’t want to embarrass himself, but that mermaid was absolutely beautiful, totally different from Kelly. His late wife was beautiful, smart, funny, and a bomb in bed. But she was on the thin side and not very chesty.
After the swim, Shauna usually indulged in the sauna, totally naked. Sometimes she was all alone and those times she let her imagination fly. Imagining the handsome lifeguard joining her in the sauna.
How could she? Three years ago, she promised herself to not look at another man, ever.
After her husband’s funeral, Flynn’s lawyer contacted Shauna and asked her to pay him a visit. She still recalled that day.
“Shauna,” the lawyer said, after the formalities, “there is no right way to say it, but Flynn was in debt, badly,” handing her a folder, he continued, “He asked me to keep the secret, but now, there is no way to do that. You need to know.”
The folder contained twelve sheets stapled together, each with the name of a creditor and the amount of the debt. The last page contained the total that amounted to more than a million dollars.
“Fuck,” Shauna said, and started crying, “Even with a mortgage, I can’t reach that amount. I have $250,000 in my savings.”
“Did Flynn know about your savings? Because likely he already took that money,” the lawyer asked.
“No,” Shauna said, “He couldn’t touch it. It was a safety net my dad made for me. I never touched it and I never told Flynn about it. I checked it last week and it was intact.”
“That’s good news. I talked with the creditors and the bank, I explained to them the situation,” the lawyer explained, “And they are okay to give you time. I put the list in order of who needs to be solved first, giving you time, paying $2,000 every month and the interests are frozen. Can you do that?”
“My job pays $1,200,” Shauna said, wiping her tears with a Kleenex, “I need to find a second job. Can I pay the two-hundred and fifty to calm them down while I’m looking for another job?”
“I’m sure that will work,” the lawyer said.
After she looked some more at the last page and made some calculations, Shauna said, “I’ll give the money to you every month and you issue a receipt and a statement. I don’t want to deal with any of them. Can you write it down?” Shauna asked. He printed out their agreement and they both signed. He made a copy for her. Shauna gave him the folder keeping only the last page, “I don’t want to know who they are and who will be solved first. That’s on you. I understand about confidentiality, but you,” gathering all her strength to get up and raising her voice, “You are a son of a bitch like my husband.”
“I’m sorry Shauna, really,” the lawyer said, mortified.
She left slamming the door behind her.
Shauna went home and promised herself to never, never again, trust a man. Her children were the only exception.
Fantasizing about a man didn’t mean she had to trust him. It just meant that she had a sexual attraction. Oh, she missed sex so much.
For the weeks to follow, George struggled to find an excuse to approach her, to know something more about her. That excuse came up one day in October. Shauna finished her swimming session and was about to leave the pool when George approached her.
“Shauna?” he called her out.
She turned and, with a smile, said, “Yes?”
“Good morning,” George began, “I hope your day will be nice. We are organizing a swimming class for kids in the evening. The goal is to keep them busy, so they don’t loiter on the streets. I’m looking for help. The group is pretty big and to maintain the social distance, I have to split them into three groups. Would you mind helping me? You’re a good swimmer.”
Her eyes sad, she had to swallow the knot in her throat. This is exactly what she wanted to do in her free time, helping others, not working her ass off to pay her late husband’s debts.
With her voice broken, she managed to say, “I’d love to help, believe me. I’d love it very much. But unfortunately, I’m struggling between two jobs and this is the only hour I allow myself. I really can’t. But if something changes, I’ll be glad to help,” and she walked away, because she didn’t want to cry in front of the lifeguard.
Struggling between two jobs? Why was that? He needed to know more.
That day, during a break, he went to the accountant's office, and asked, “Layla, I need some information, but it might violate the privacy of one of our patrons.”
“Well,” Layla said, “try and if I see it’s too risky, I won’t give you the answer.”
“Is it possible to know who is paying the subscription for a guest?” he asked.
Layla thought for a minute or two, then answered, “It depends why you need that information.”
“If I tell you that we have a guest who is struggling, and I might want to help her?” George explained.
Layla leaned forward on the desk, and said, “Help her? How? Paying for her subscription?”
“Why not?” he replied.
“Tell me her name,” Layla asked.
He gave her the name and after a moment she said, “Already done, apparently. Her subscription has been paid with a check by a person with a different last name. Maybe a friend.”
“Okay, better. I feel better,” George was quiet for a moment then said, “I want to involve her in the swimming class for the high school kids. Any ideas? She said she has two jobs.”
“You can hire her,” Layla suggested.
“Can I?” George asked expectant, with a nice smirk on his face.
“Let me check, I need to verify a few numbers. Can you contain your eagerness and wait until later?” Layla said, giggling. She worked for George from the very beginning when his wife was still alive. She saw his desperation when Kelly died and since then, she saw how he threw himself in the Center to fill the emptiness in his heart. She wanted to help George in any possible way.
